Detroit Michigan Temple

Dedication of the Detroit Michigan Temple

On the day of the dedication of the Detroit Michigan Temple, a cold front swept through the city, bringing intermittent showers of freezing rain. The frigid temperatures didn’t deter the determined Saints as they attended the dedicatory sessions.

Bloomfield Hills Michigan Stake President Thomas C. Bithell said of the temple, “There’s lots of sunshine inside.” The members focused on the warmth of the temple and the power that would come into their lives because of it.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church, said of the Detroit Saints, “They appreciate it very much. They have indicated that they’re so deeply grateful for this sacred structure, and we, too, are happy that it has been erected here and dedicated and that the work of the Lord now goes forward here in this part of the earth.”

The Detroit Michigan Temple stands as an ensign to the people in Detroit, as a major roadway passes directly by. The road running past the temple was actually built by the uncle of Joseph Smith, Stephen Mack. Stephen Mack was a significant person in the early history of Detroit becoming a trustee of the then-village of Detroit in 1812.

The house of the Lord in Detroit greatly reduced the time required for Latter-day Saints in the area to travel to a temple. Harold Rice of the North Shores Ward, Bloomfield Hills Stake, mentioned that the drive would be cut down dramatically from the across-the-border trip to the Toronto Ontario Temple.

Melanie Wells, 15, of the Ann Arbor Michigan Stake said: “I’ve gone to do baptisms for the dead in the Chicago temple a couple of times, and I really liked it. Now I’ll be able to come here and do baptisms for the dead without traveling so far.”

The cut in drive time also allowed for many to bring friends and family to the new house of the Lord. Around 30,000 people attended the 10-day open house. One such nonmember, Daniel Gatica, said, “The beauty of the temple is one thing, but the importance of the family and eternal marriage struck me as most significant. I could feel the serenity in the temple.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this structure shine as a bright and welcome light, a refuge from the storms and stresses of the world. May it be a house of peace and love and faith, where Thy children may find respite from the toil of their daily lives.”

Read the dedicatory prayer of the Detroit Michigan Temple here.

The Detroit Michigan Temple was announced by the First Presidency of the Church on Aug. 10, 1998. The groundbreaking was presided over by Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy on Oct. 10, 1998. The open house ran from Oct. 6, 1999, to Oct. 15, 1999. The dedication of the temple was on Oct. 23, 1999, by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Architecture and Design of the Detroit Michigan Temple

The 10,700-square-foot temple was built on a 3.1-acre lot with an adjacent stake center that was already built on the property. The Vermont marble that was used to build the house of the Lord was brought in from a quarry near the Prophet Joseph Smith’s home in Sharon, Vermont.

The single-spired temple features a wide base and two instruction rooms, with an additional two sealing rooms. A baptistry and a celestial room also are in the temple. Various trees and shrubbery highlight the property.