CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — In 2009, Raymond Carter was the newly called president of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake when Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to preside at stake conference.
At the conclusion of a training meeting, Elder Scott asked President Carter to remain momentarily as others left for the next meeting. Sitting knee to knee by themselves in the room, Elder Scott leaned in and shared wonderful news.
“President, I’m impressed to tell you that — I don’t know how and I don’t know when — but you will have a temple in Pittsburgh,” the Apostle said. “That is all.”
President Carter was stunned.
“An Apostle of the Lord has just said you are going to have a temple. That is a conversation you will never forget,” recalled President Carter, who now serves as president of the California Modesto Mission. “I can picture it as clearly as if it were yesterday, him touching my knee and saying, ‘That is all.’ ... What a marvelous memory it is.”
Elder Scott’s prophecy will be fulfilled 15 years later when Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicates the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple in two sessions on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. EDT. The dedication will be broadcast to meetinghouses within the temple district.
The new Pittsburgh temple will be the second in Pennsylvania and the 196th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The new house of the Lord will serve more than 29,000 Church members in western Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and southwestern New York state.
The temple district comprises 10 stakes — four in Pennsylvania, four in Ohio and one each in West Virginia and New York — with 80 congregations. Members in the area previously traveled more than three or four hours to the nearest temples — the Columbus Ohio Temple to the west or Washington D.C. to the east. The Palmyra New York Temple was also within a four-hour drive.
Pittsburgh is changed
Since President Russell M. Nelson’s announcement of the Pittsburgh temple in April 2020, “God’s work of salvation and exaltation has exploded,” said President Chris Hoke of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake, a former BYU football player and former member of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team.
In the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake alone, President Hoke said, baptisms have increased from 17 in 2022 to 46 in 2023, with 37 more through June 2024.
“The temple has changed this area,” President Hoke said. “There is more heavenly power in the Pittsburgh area now because of this temple, and we have seen the work take off. The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Mission is on track almost to double the baptisms they had last year, which is incredible. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this is aligned with the building of the temple and its upcoming dedication. It has changed Pittsburgh forever.”
To help local reporters appreciate Latter-day Saint excitement for the new house of the Lord, President Hoke, a two-time Super Bowl champion who now works as a sports radio and TV commentator, compared the completion of the Pittsburgh temple to the opening of the Steelers’ Heinz Field in 2001.
“I remember talking to the fans, and they just could not wait to get in there and wave their Terrible Towels and cheer for their beloved Pittsburgh Steelers,” President Hoke told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That’s the excitement that we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feel today as we are preparing to enter this temple.”
Along with the growth of the Church in the area, President Hoke expressed gratitude for how the Church was blessed to obtain the land for the temple site.
The land where the temple and nearby meetinghouse now stand had been owned by the Henry family and their descendants since the mid-1800s. In recent years, President Hoke said, family members have had differing opinions about keeping or selling the land, but they came together and agreed to sell two parcels to the Church — one for the meetinghouse in the early 2000s and one for the temple five years ago.
During the temple open house, President Hoke led two groups of family members through the temple.
“These people grew up on this farm. Their ancestors were on this farm, and now the temple is built there,” he said. “So it was a very powerful, moving experience taking them through the temple, letting them see the grounds and what a beautiful, meaningful structure the temple is, and they felt like it was a very worthy transaction, if you will.”
President Hoke continued: “I was able to express my love and gratitude to them for their willingness to sell the land. I felt impressed to talk to them about how that land was preserved for this time, that the Lord allowed them to keep that land sacred so His house could be built there. Some of them cried. It was a really good experience.”
‘Place of deep spiritual significance’
Elder Mathias Held, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency, and others guided tours through the new temple during the early days of the three-week open house in August.
Their reactions were unanimous: “They were awed by its beauty, impressed by the meticulous attention to detail and, most importantly, deeply touched by the profound peace and serenity it offered,” Elder Held said.
“The simple yet powerful inscription, ‘Holiness to the Lord. The house of the Lord,’ evoked a sense of reverence and humility in all who read it,” he said. “They quickly recognized that this was not only a work of exquisite architecture but also a place of deep spiritual significance.”
Elder Held said temples reflect the sacrifices made by Saints around the world, who dedicate themselves to the sacred covenants and ordinances performed within those holy walls, both for themselves and for their beloved ancestors.
“The presence of a temple in the Pittsburgh area is a direct result of the faithfulness, diligence and devotion of the members here, who, until now, had to travel many hours to other cities to participate in temple worship,” he said. “My hope is that as the members in Pittsburgh pass by this sacred building, they are reminded of their divine identity as children of a loving Heavenly Father and the eternal purpose of your lives.”
Continued Elder Held: “The Pittsburgh Temple will undoubtedly be a tremendous blessing in the lives of the members, their ancestors, their descendants and the entire community. May we always remember Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, whose Atonement makes it possible for us to return to His presence after our mortal journey.”
Understanding and peace
Elder Robert M. Daines, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency, guided a tour that included some Buddhist monks.
After talking about the endowment ceremony in the instruction room, the tour moved to the celestial room, where they sat quietly for a few minutes. One of the monks commented to Elder Daines that they very much liked this place of meditation and contemplation, and called it “the room of peace.”
As the tour continued to a sealing room, Elder Daines asked the monks if they had any questions or observations. One said: “After you learn about the plan and your promises [in the instruction room], then you go to the room of peace [the celestial room]. That makes sense. You find peace after understanding God and [covenants].”
‘Temples are important’
More than 27,300 visitors toured the Pittsburgh temple during the open house, while over 3,000 local Latter-day Saints served as volunteers, including young men and young women, according to Curtis and Donna Nelson, who served as temple open house co-coordinators.
Among the volunteers was a group of young women from the Pittsburgh 4th Ward of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake.
The group, which included two young women with special needs, was stationed outside the temple doors to help place and remove shoe coverings from visitors’ feet. Eliza Comer, the Young Women president, said the girls had an incredible experience as they bonded and learned how their service provided a more meaningful temple experience for others.
The two young women with special needs were able to stay and serve for most of their four-hour shift. “My favorite part was overhearing one of those girls sincerely ask every guest after removing the shoe covers, ‘Did you enjoy the temple?’” Comer said. “Every one smiled and gave her a genuine response back. I think it made the experience just a little bit brighter for those guests.”
Lydia Humphreys, one of the young women, was born in China and sealed to her family in the Washington D.C. Temple after she was adopted. Serving as a volunteer at the Pittsburgh temple helped her to “see the temple touch many hearts.”
“Temples are important to my family,” Humphreys said. “I am excited for the future families that will be sealed in the Pittsburgh temple. I hope they can feel the Spirit in their hearts. It is a comfort to know that families can be together forever.”
