Announced: April 20, 2001.
Location: 2300 Bonita Canyon Drive, Newport Beach, Calif. (949) 729-9148.
Site: 8.8 acres.
Exterior finish: Salisbury pink granite.
Temple design: Southern California traditional.
Architects: Lloyd Platt & Associates, Lloyd Platt architect of record, Allen Erekson, project architect.
Project manager: Vern Hancock.
Contractor: Jacobsen Construction.
Rooms: Celestial room, baptistry, two ordinance rooms, three sealing rooms.
Total floor area: 17,800 square feet.
Dimensions: 200 feet by 98 feet.
District: Nearly 50,000 members from 16 stakes in Orange County, Calif.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: Aug. 15, 2003, by Elder Duane B. Gerrard.
Dedication: Aug. 28, 2005, by President Gordon B. Hinckley; four sessions.
Dedicatory Prayer
Done by President Gordon B. Hinckley
Our Father in heaven, Thou Great Elohim, we come unto Thee with thanksgiving and in faith on this day of dedication. We have built unto Thee this sacred temple recognized as the house of the Lord. Hear, O God, our petition and our prayer.
We are grateful for Thy divine revelation to the Prophet Joseph, manifesting Thyself and Thy Son in a glorious vision to open this, the last and final dispensation.
Thou hast restored Thy holy priesthood which will be exercised in this, Thy house. Thou hast sent the prophet Elijah to restore the keys of salvation and exaltation for both the living and the dead.
This is the newest of temples erected throughout the world in which Thy faithful Saints may be baptized for those beyond the veil, and where other sacred and marvelous blessings, including the sealing of husbands and wives and children and parents, may be offered to the myriads who have previously walked the earth.
We thank Thee that Thy Church has come out of obscurity and darkness and now shines forth before the world, “fair as the moon, and clear as the sun,” as the Prophet prayed in dedicating the temple in Kirtland. May it continue to roll forth in majesty and power to fill the whole earth.
And now, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, and in the authority of the priesthood Thou hast bestowed upon us, we dedicate unto Thee and to Him this, the Newport Beach California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wilt Thou accept it, dear Father, and let Thy divine presence be felt here. May Thy Holy Spirit abide in these premises at all times. Sanctify and hallow it as the house of the Lord.
We dedicate the ground on which it stands with all that grows thereon. This sacred spot of earth has become holy unto us. We dedicate the entire structure from the footings to the steeple crowned with the figure of Moroni. We dedicate the baptistry and all of the rooms provided for instruction and the administration of sacred and eternal ordinances. We likewise dedicate all other equipment, facilities, and furnishings.
This temple has been built with the tithes of Thy people throughout the world, and through the generous offerings of many who in faith have contributed to its construction. Open the windows of heaven and shower down Thy blessings upon them, as Thou hast promised through the prophet Malachi.
O God, our Eternal Father, we pray that Thou wilt watch over and bless this, Thy house. Preserve it against the storms of nature, and from any destructive hand of man. May all who enter within these walls be worthy in every way. Save it from pollution of any kind.
Bless all who serve in Thy holy house. May a spirit of love be manifest in all of their activities. Bless the temple president and his counselors, the matron and her assistants, and those who will succeed them, that they may have strength and energy to carry forward the sacred work which will be done herein. May the youth of this temple district come with rejoicing for the great opportunity to serve in behalf of the dead. May such service build within them a testimony of the truth of this Thy great latter-day work, and fortify them against the wiles of the adversary and the beckoning ways of the world. May they grow in faith and testimony and love for the Thee and Thy Son.
We pray that in this temple district the hearts of the children may be turned to their fathers to search out the records of the past and then to act in behalf of those who have passed beyond and now await the redeeming work that will be carried forward in this, Thy house. May faith increase in the hearts of all of Thy people in this part of Thy vineyard.
We pray for all who serve in positions of responsibility, in stake presidencies, bishoprics, quorum presidencies, presidencies of the auxiliary organizations, as mission presidents and missionaries, and in any other capacity to which they have been called.
May the presence of this beautiful structure lead to interest and desire on the part of those who are not members of Thy Church, that they may be led to inquire and learn the truths of the everlasting gospel.
We pray for Thy Saints throughout the world. Watch over Thy people and safeguard and bless them, and hear their prayers wherever they may be.
We remember before Thee the general officers of Thy Church, those who have responsibility for Thy work throughout Thy kingdom. Grant unto them life and strength and capacity to accomplish that which they desire to do.
Now, as we conclude our prayer of dedication, we bear witness of Thee and of Thy Beloved Son. We acknowledge our dependence upon Thee and pray that Thou wilt direct us in all that we do, that we may strengthen Thy work and build Thy kingdom all to Thy glory and to the glory of Thy Beloved Son, through whose atoning sacrifice we may be redeemed. For this we humbly pray, in His holy name, even the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The open house at the Newport Beach California Temple was described by the media as the “hottest ticket for an Orange County summer’s day excursion” — and free as well.
President Robert E. Greene, second counselor in the temple presidency, said turnout for the open house was outstanding, with a total of 175,165 people attending from July 23 to Aug. 20, 2005, except for Sundays. The temple will be dedicated Aug. 28.
Daily attendance climbed steadily during the last week, topping at 10,076 on the final Saturday.
“We are thrilled with the excitement and interest the open house generated,” President Greene said. “We are even more thrilled with the spiritual response indicated by the number of requests for family history kits and referrals.”
At the open house, visitors who were interested could receive assistance. Nearly 8,000 requests were received and more are expected as people mail in response cards. Nearly 1,000 missionary referrals were also received and more are expected.
Among those requesting family history information was Michele Marr, religion writer for the Huntington Beach Independent.
“Browsing through the ‘Our Family History’ guidebook in the reception area after touring the temple stirred up all my wishful thinking about getting to know my own ancestors,” she wrote.
Temple opens to appreciative public: 180,000 may attend open house in Newport Beach through Aug. 20
By Carolyn Sessions Allen
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The light of the Lord’s temple has attracted tens of thousands as the Newport Beach California Temple opened its doors to the public.
The Newport Beach Temple will be the 122nd operating temple in the Church when it is dedicated in four sessions on August 28. It will serve approximately 50,000 Latter-day Saints in 16 stakes in Orange County.
When the temple opened July 19, first to neighbors, construction workers and local merchants, some 1,168 visitors entered in the first wave. The next visitors included the media and special guests, who came July 20-22. Numbers attending far exceeded projections. Of approximately 4,500 invitations that were sent out, 2,959 people, not counting their LDS hosts, toured the temple.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy led many of the VIP and media tours. He told the press to notice “that each room is brighter and there’s a slight incline from one room to the next, symbolic to us of man’s journey through life.”
On July 23, the first public day of the open house, some 5,254 people attended between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The open house continues through August 20. More than 180,000 people are expected to attend.
“The preparations and organization were superb,” said Elder Stephen B. Oveson of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, newly called as the Newport Beach Temple president.
“The LDS hosts all came with the greatest desire to share this beautiful temple with their friends and neighbors. You could see the desire in their countenances.”
He also appreciated a visitors center set up in a nearby stake center.
“The center allows people time to sit and reflect upon the purpose of the temple and to ask questions in an unhurried atmosphere.”
The high number of VIPs to attend is the result of an innovative Orange County call center, the services of which were donated.
“The call center was phenomenally successful in scheduling many visitors,” said David Parker of Ladera Ranch Ward, Mission Viejo Stake, and overall coordinator for the VIP open house. “We had 3,041 confirmed reservations from approximately 4,500 invited guests. Of those confirmed, we had nearly 98 percent attend the open house. Innumerable lives have been touched and the impact of the Spirit in those lives will be profound.”
Michael McBride of the Harbor Hills Ward, Newport Beach California Stake, supervised the call center that was housed at a local business operated by Church members in Irvine. He said a total of 45 people served as operators at six stations that included a phone and a computer for three shifts each day, June 20 through July 22.
“We answered a lot of phones. It’s hard to say how many, but we received multiple thousands of calls,” Brother McBride said.
“One of the sweetest blessings for the saints in Orange County was having the opportunity to pay for the temple,” said President Weatherford Clayton of the Newport Beach California Stake. “We gained tremendous strength and it made the temple become real and our own. Even the Primary children of the county participated by putting their favorite scriptures on small rocks that were placed in the foundation. Everyone knows they had a part in seeing this beautiful building built.”
When the temple was announced, some opposition was voiced by neighbors, said President Clayton. “The temple is a testament of people working together. There were people with differences of opinion, but as we worked together, the city gave its approval with glowing reports.” The steeple was lowered from 136 feet to 90 feet, the granite color was changed from white to Salisbury pink, and lighting was dimmed and turns off at 10 p.m.
One of the neighbors who had been among the protestors said after the temple’s completion, “Seeing the beauty of the temple and what it adds to the neighborhood, I’m sorry I ever opposed it.”
Another neighbor said, “It is totally awesome and the hosts treated us like visiting royalty. We saw nothing short of a first-class effort and we’re proud to have the temple as our new neighbor.”
With nearly 800,000 Church members living in California, the state has the largest population of Latter-day Saints outside of Utah. When the Sacramento California Temple is completed next year, there will be seven temples in the state, the largest number of temples in one state outside Utah.
Los Angeles public affairs
