Columbia South Carolina Temple

Dedication of the Columbia South Carolina Temple

The groundbreaking for the Columbia South Carolina Temple was accompanied by 80-degree weather, not unheard of in South Carolina, except that the groundbreaking was in December. Attendees included state Sen. Warren Giese and L. Wayne Bryan, executive minister of the Christian Action Council. More than 3,500 people attended the groundbreaking.

The Columbia South Carolina Temple was dedicated on Oct. 16, 1999, by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. There were six dedicatory sessions over two days, four on Saturday and two on Sunday. President Hinckley was accompanied by Elders Dallin H. Oaks and M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Monte J. Brough, a General Authority Seventy and president of the North America Southeast Area, also attended the dedicatory services, and all four spoke during the sessions.

The knowledge of eternal families that are sealed together was a strength to a family in the temple district the day of the dedication. Mark and Judy Wilcox, members in nearby North Carolina, found out the morning of the temple dedication that their son had been killed in a car accident the day before. Judy Wilcox was supposed to sing in the choir for the dedication. After receiving a priesthood blessing, Judy decided to sing at the dedication despite the tragic news.

“The choir only had 18 members; I felt that I was needed,” she told the Church News. “I’d been planning to sing praises to the Lord. I had come to the temple to do that. The fact that I had something tragic to come home to did not change the fact that I wanted to sing praises.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Dear Father, we pray for Thy work in all the earth. We thank Thee for the faithful Saints wherever they may be whose tithes have made possible the construction of this temple. Shower down blessings upon them. Bless them with the good things of heaven and earth, with security and peace and love in their homes, with vitality and strength to do their work, and with great joy in their service in Thy Church and kingdom, whatever that service might be.”

Read the dedicatory prayer of the Columbia South Carolina Temple here.

The Columbia South Carolina Temple was announced on Sept. 11, 1998, and the groundbreaking was held on Dec. 5, 1998, presided over by Elder Gordon T. Watts of the Seventy. Nearly 20,000 people attended the open house from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, 1999. President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the temple on Oct. 16, 1999.

Architecture and Design of the Columbia South Carolina Temple

The Columbia South Carolina Temple is 10,700 square feet and stands on a 3.6-acre property. The outside of the temple is made of Imperial Danby Vermont marble. On the grounds of the temple are an assortment of various trees and shrubs, selected to show the natural beauty of the South Carolina landscape. The temple has two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms, the celestial room and the baptistry.