Sacramento Temple

From the Sacramento Bee on July 30, 2006:

Mormon temple serene, inspiring for first visitors

By Deb Kollars -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 30, 2006

Thousands of people journeyed to a serene hillside south of Highway 50 on Saturday to visit a new Mormon temple that opened to the public this weekend.
The white granite building, called the Sacramento California Temple, is the seventh to be built in the state. Until now, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who lived in Northern California had to travel to Oakland when they wanted to attend temple.

The new temple, at 2100 California Circle in Rancho Cordova, sits just south of the Folsom Auto Mall on an oak-studded hillside. Over the next four weeks, nearly 170,000 people are expected to visit the temple. It will be officially dedicated Sept. 3.

On Saturday, the first day of an extended open house, more than 9,000 people had booked tickets in advance to tour the new structure, said Lisa West, Sacramento area media specialist for the church. Many were Mormon, but the tours were open to people of all faiths and backgrounds.

As their cars streamed up the hill, visitors were directed by an orderly army of volunteers wearing straw hats and smiles on their faces. More volunteers drove small shuttles to the entrance and steered visitors into tour groups that launched every three minutes or so.

Many came in their Sunday best. They spoke in hushed voices as they were led through the temple's luxurious rooms, featuring graceful archways, marble details and hand-painted 24-carat gold images.

The reaction of Brad Wolfe of Chico was typical. "It's beautiful," Wolfe said, shaking his head in wonder.

An electrical contractor, Wolfe was among a contingent of 250 people from Chico who booked the first tours of the morning. He came with his wife, Diane; his daughter, Christie Bryant; her husband, Dan Bryant; and their two children, Parker and Izabel.

The family was struck by the temple's many elegant details, including crystal chandeliers and a massive marble baptismal font resting on the backs of 12 life-sized oxen representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

"I loved even just the door handles," Christie Bryant said. "It's very peaceful and inspiring."

Mormon temples are unlike cathedrals or other churches that have single sanctuaries or meeting rooms for gathering. Instead, they consist of a series of rooms with different purposes, including instruction and contemplation, sealing marriages, and performing baptisms by proxy for deceased ancestors.

Members attend regular Sunday worship services at neighborhood meeting houses and chapels. Their faith requires temple attendance as often as possible.

"We really feel this is the house of the Lord," said Marilyn Lund as she led a group through the temple along with her husband, Grant. "To members of the church, this is the most sacred place on Earth."

The Lunds ushered people through several rooms filled with plush rugs, chairs and sofas, and shimmering light sources designed to create settings of beauty and quiet reflection. The Sacramento temple includes a number of paintings and other details featuring the landscape and history of the Sacramento region.

The temple experience is deeply meaningful, Wolfe and other visitors said.

"To me, the temple means family forever. And closeness to the Lord," Wolfe said. "It's basically my life, not the temple itself, but what happens there."

The Fluckigers of Loomis were so anxious to see the new temple that they ordered their tickets June 26, the first day they became available. Richard Fluckiger is a production manager for a printing company, while his wife, Michelle, works at a Latter-day Saints bookstore in Roseville. They have four children: Sean, 15; Colin, 14; Alyssa, 11; and Kevin, 7.

Normally, Mormons must be at least 12 to attend baptisms in temples and at least 19 to participate in other temple "ordinances" and ceremonies. So Alyssa and Kevin were thrilled to be able to take Saturday's tour. They had gone shopping at JCPenney to prepare for the big day, with Kevin getting a new black suit and Alyssa a flowing yellow dress.

"This is a nice opportunity to show the younger kids what a temple looks like," Richard Fluckiger said. "It represents for us a place to learn about our Father in heaven and how to live a good life."

His oldest son, Sean, said he appreciated the serene surroundings and their closer proximity to his home. "It's good to feel the peacefulness. And now I can feel it more often."

According to West, the Fluckigers are among an estimated 80,000 followers in the Sacramento California Temple District, which runs from Red Bluff south to Stockton. As of Dec. 31, there were 756,807 Mormons in California, placing the state second only to Utah in membership, she said.

The new Sacramento temple brings to 123 the number of Mormon temples worldwide; another 11 have been announced or are under construction in places ranging from Panama City, Panama, to Helsinki, Finland, to Utah.

The 19,500-square-foot Sacramento temple sits on a 47-acre site that also includes a local LDS meetinghouse and two residences. To protect the construction bidding process for new temples, the church's Salt Lake City headquarters, which manages such projects, does not to disclose building cost figures, West said.

The overall price tag, she noted, was helped considerably by the fact that the church bought the property from Aerojet 35 years ago, when land prices were much lower.

Since then, members have waited for their new temple to rise. Against Saturday's vivid blue skies, it made for a striking addition to the landscape, as well as the spiritual lives of many.