TOOELE, Utah — Autumn colors were just starting to fringe the surrounding mountain peaks as Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Utah Area, and other Church leaders welcomed media representatives on Monday, Sept. 23, for the inaugural tour of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple.
The Tooele Valley, where the new house of the Lord is located, sits roughly 35 minutes west of Salt Lake City along the south shores of the Great Salt Lake. The Deseret Peak temple can be seen from throughout the valley, especially at night, when its light pierces the darkness.
“It’s already becoming an iconic part of this beautiful valley,” Elder Pearson commented, later adding, “It is literally an oasis in the desert.”
The media tour signals the beginning of the open-house period when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites all to visit this sacred house of the Lord prior to its dedication.
Primary General President Susan H. Porter noted that during the open house, everyone can come, everyone can learn, and everyone can feel what the temple is all about. “The doors are open,” she said.
Right now, the Church anticipates upward of 100,000 people will tour the temple during the open house, which begins Thursday, Sept. 26, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 19, excluding Sundays and Saturday, Oct. 5, because of general conference.
As Elder Pearson walked media representatives through what he called the “resplendent” grounds, hallways, foyers and rooms of the soon-to-be dedicated house of the Lord, he noted that many will come to the open house to admire its beauty — how it’s decorated, the architecture, color scheme, etc.
Faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, are much more interested in the “transcendent beauty” found in the temple’s covenants and ordinances, he said.
“Houses of the Lord are sacred, sacred parts of our worship,” Elder Pearson explained, adding “for us, the sacred covenants that we have the opportunity to make in the temple bind us to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In coming years, local members of the Church in the Tooele Valley will see beyond “the lit, shining temple in the valley” and instead think about the spiritual power found in the covenants made in the temple, he said.
“The covenants of the temple bring a peace and a tranquility and an assurance and a hope in life that no physical building ever, ever could.”
Elder Pearson was joined in providing the media tour by his wife, Sister June L. Pearson; President Porter; and Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Susan H. Bangerter.
A manifestation of love and reverence
Elder Bangerter explained that the house of the Lord is a centerpiece of worship for Latter-day Saints. “It informs our understanding of God, our True Father, and our relationship with Him and our Beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Some wonder why the Church expends so much time and so many resources in the construction of temples.
“It is a manifestation of our love and reverence for God. It’s also a place where we can go away from the commotion of the world and feel God’s love for us,” Elder Bangerter said.
Many of the decorative details found throughout the temple — including the plum-colored and mauve lupine flower towers and cliff roses and the gold or sage green desert grasses — reflect the local landscape, including a painting of the nearby Deseret Peak, for which the temple is named.
The nod to the local flora and fauna “helps patrons feel at home,” Elder Bangerter said, “like it’s their temple.”
Everything in the temple is symbolic of the Savior and reminds patrons of their relationship with Him. For example, President Porter noted, all of the arches, lighting — including the chandeliers — and stained glass draw the eye up toward heaven.
“Everything in the temple can point our minds upward to our Heavenly Father,” President Porter said.
‘Seminal for the Tooele Valley’
The Deseret Peak temple is one of 30 houses of the Lord in Utah and will be the fifth temple dedicated for the state this year, following the Orem, Red Cliffs, Taylorsville and Layton temple dedications.
As new houses of the Lord continue to be announced across the globe, President Porter said she hopes nearby communities feel how much the Lord loves them. “It shows how much God is mindful of them. He wants to strengthen them and their children and help them realize this is a place to build Zion.”
Elder Pearson explained that each new house of the Lord serves as a powerful evidence of the ongoing Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When he was born 67 years ago, Elder Pearson said, there were 10 temples on the earth. Now, he wouldn’t be surprised to live for the announcement of the 500th.
“The hope is, however, that the announcement of one additional temple is never commonplace. It represents all of the power and the glory of the Savior and the gospel of Jesus Christ to one more additional community.”
The Deseret Peak temple “will be seminal for the Tooele Valley,” Elder Pearson said, as local Latter-day Saints participate in ordinances and make covenants with God. “They build our faith. They give us spiritual power. They give us direction. Temple attendance makes men better husbands, better fathers, better individuals. It makes women better wives, better mothers. It strengthens marriages. It builds stronger families. It builds moral strength in our members, and that in turn strengthens the communities where temples also reside.”
