President Russell M. Nelson attended the first dedication of the Washington D.C. Temple as a medical doctor in 1974. The leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints returned to the temple on Aug. 14, 2022, to rededicate the iconic building, which had undergone extensive renovations. 

“I was at the first dedication at the request of President [Spencer W.] Kimball to serve as the doctor available,” recalled President Nelson. “I will always remember the feelings in the room as President Kimball dedicated that temple in 1974 — a wonderful experience.”

President Nelson speaks about his experience and the sacred temple in this Church News video titled “House of the Lord.”

Also featured in the video are Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor in the Primary general presidency. 

“So much of what happens in the temple is symbolic,” said Sister Wright. “But there’s one thing that is absolutely literal, and it’s written on the outside of every single temple: ‘House of The Lord.’ This truly is Jesus Christ’s house.”

Church leaders pose after a tour of the Washington D.C. Temple on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, the day before its rededication, in Kensington, Maryland. They are, from left, Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé; Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; President Russell M. Nelson; Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor in the Primary general presidency; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, General Authority Seventy.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Cook spoke of President Nelson’s love for the temple. “Almost half the period he was in the Quorum of the Twelve [Apostles], he had some responsibility for temples,” said Elder Cook. 

Speaking of the renovation of the temple and the rededication of the members who missed attending the sacred building during the process, President Nelson said: “The temple has been renewed. The temple is different and we’re different.”