25 years ago
President Spencer W. Kimball broke ground for the Atlanta Georgia Temple, "the first to be built in the South," on March 7, 1981, according to the March 14, 1981, Church News.
The article reported: "The Church has 'come a long, long way since the gospel was first taught in 1843 by one of our missionaries on a preaching tour through the South,' " President Kimball said.
At the time of the groundbreaking, there were 150,000 members in the projected temple district which included Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and portions of North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Among the approximately 10,000 people who attended the groundbreaking were members of the Seventy Elder Rex D. Pinegar, Elder Wm. Grant Bangerter and Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. Also attending was Georgia Governor George Busbee.
At a luncheon prior to the ceremony, the governor spoke and, according to the article, said, "Mormons do more for themselves and society than just go to church. Your way of living provides a model for all to follow."
