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See photos from the dedication of the Richmond Virginia Temple

President Dallin H. Oaks dedicates the Church’s first in Virginia

In this area steeped in U.S. history and known for religious liberty, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the Richmond Virginia Temple on Sunday, May 7.

“The work of the temples is centered in Jesus Christ. All that is learned and done here relates to Him.”

Temples, he continued “are essential to our Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. In these Houses of the Lord, we are taught the most important things we can learn in mortality, the knowledge of eternity.”

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Following are photographs of the historic event.

The Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple at sunset
The Richmond Virginia Temple at sunset in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife. Sister Kristen Oaks, walk the grounds of the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, second from left, is joined for a photo by Elder W. Mark Bassett of the North America Northeast area presidency and a General Authority Seventy, second from right; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, right; and Elder Michael John U. Teh, a General Authority Seventy, left; during the Richmond Virginia Temple dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Attendees line up to attend a Richmond Virginia Temple dedication session in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen Oaks, walk the grounds of the Richmond Virginia Temple prior to the dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, helps Ariana Ottonelli, 6, place mortar around the cornerstone in the Richmond Virginia Temple dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple and surrounding parking on the temple grounds in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Attendees wave to President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as he arrives for the Richmond Virginia Temple dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Trowel used in the Richmond Virginia Temple cornerstone ceremony in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Jake Davis hugs his daughter, Kelina Davis, during the Richmond Virginia Temple dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The angel Moroni statue atop the Richmond Virginia Temple at sunset in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
In Richmond, Virginia, churches dot the horizon on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Angel Moroni statue on the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Southern Virginia choir sing during the cornerstone ceremony of the Richmond Virginia Temple dedication in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks and Sister Kristen Oaks, walk the grounds of the Richmond Virginia Temple.
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen Oaks, walk the grounds of the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Marshall Nance places mortar around the cornerstone during the Richmond Virginia Temple cornerstone ceremony in Richmond on Sunday, May 7, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen Oaks, walk the grounds of the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Sister Kristen Oaks, second couple from the left; are joined by Elder W. Mark Bassett of the North America Northeast area presidency and a General Authority Seventy and his wife, Sister Angela Bassett, second couple from the right; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan, right; and Elder Michael John U. Teh, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Grace Teh, left; at the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The sun rises on the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
The sun rises on the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The sun rises on the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
The sun rises on the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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