Description

History

Announcement

The Boston Massachusetts Temple was announced on September 30, 1995 in a joint announcement with the Boston Massachusetts Temple and the White Plains New York Temple, later named the Harrison New York Temple. This announcement replaced the Church’s previously announced plans to build a regional Hartford Connecticut Temple to serve members in both New York and New England.

The Boston Massachusetts Temple site was originally purchased for the meetinghouse that adjoins the temple. And although the architect was asked to design the meetinghouse for the center of the property, he could only devise a design that placed the building in the lower corner. Despite the urging of Church leaders, he insisted that another architect would have to be hired if they wanted the building elsewhere. The design was accepted. That decision left a large empty parcel at the top of the granite crag, perfect for the later-announced temple.

The original design for the Boston Massachusetts Temple was a 94,000-square-foot structure with six bulky spires of varying heights—the highest reaching 156 feet. A priesthood assembly room would occupy the majority of the top floor with the Celestial Room opening up to a top floor balcony. In a gesture of kindness toward opposing neighbors, however, the Church eliminated the top floor, all but one spire, and reduced the overall size of the building to minimize its impact on the neighborhood.

Groundbreaking

Elder Richard G. Scott, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the groundbreaking on 13 June 1997

Not long after construction of the Boston Massachusetts Temple began, a few neighbors became alarmed by its size and filed suit with the intention to have the temple torn down. The plaintiffs argued that the state’s Dover Amendment, which exempts religious buildings from local zoning, violated the separation of Church and State. The federal judge disagreed and ruled in favor of the Church.

Open House

The open house, from 29 August to 23 September 2000, captured media and public attention. About 82,600 visitors toured the temple prior to its dedication. A local radio station and newspaper working together produced the first on-line tour of a temple. It included narration accompanied by photographs of the temple’s interior.

Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney escorted U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy through the Boston Massachusetts Temple during the VIP open house. Just six years earlier, Romney had challenged Kennedy for his veteran seat in the Senate in a heated race many considered too close for comfort.

Cultural Celebration

Dedication

The Boston Massachusetts Temple was dedicated on 1 October 2000 by President Gordon B. Hinckley. More than 16,000 people attended the four dedicatory sessions. President Hinckley acknowledged the historic nature of the temple’s location in his dedicatory prayer: “We thank Thee for this land in which we live and for the soil upon which this temple stands. In this area were enacted many of the historic events of the founding of our republic.”^[1]Boston Massachusetts Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Oct. 7, 2000, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/38601/We-dedicate-it-as-being-complete.html.

Because of a lawsuit from local residents, the Boston Massachusetts Temple was dedicated without the planned steeple. President Hinckley remained optimistic about the issue saying, “We wish the steeple were on it. I regret that it isn’t. But we can get along without it while awaiting the outcome of the legal action. In the meantime, we’ll go forward performing the ordinance work of this sacred house.” ^[2]“News of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 108

Dedication Order

The Boston Massachusetts Temple was the first temple built in New England (and in Massachusetts).

The Boston Massachusetts Temple holds the distinction of being the 100th operating temple of the Church—fulfilling President Gordon B. Hinckley’s desire to have 100 temples in operation before the end of the year 2000. It was also the 30th to be dedicated in 2000.

Presidents

Temple President	Years Served
Lloyd S Baird	2018–2018
Steven C. Wheelwright	2015–2018
H. Kent Bowen	2012–2015
Robert S. Wood	2009–2012
Kenneth G. Hutchins	2006–2009
Allan H. Barker	2003–2006
Bruce F. Sorensen	2001–2003
Loren C. Dunn	2000–2001

Details

Location

Standing atop a wooded granite hillside in the northwest suburb of Belmont, the Boston Massachusetts Temple is a striking landmark along and above the busy Concord Turnpike. The public is welcome to tour the grounds of the temple and adjoining meetinghouse. Flower gardens and pathways welcome visitors to the serene eight-acre temple grounds.

Exterior

Cladding

The exterior is finished with Light grey colored “Olympia White”c granite.

Windows

Twin vertical stained-glass windows featuring green, blue, purple and yellow hues decorate the temple’s front tower. Above these windows sits a single round stained-glass window set with a flowering sun. This window motif appears on two other sides of the temple.

Symbolism

Inscription

The Inscription on the Boston Temple is on the south side of the East face of the main body of the temple, near the top, in a strip of polished granite. it is Engraved in the stone and painted black.

HOLINESS TO THE LORD
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Cornerstone

Spire

The Boston Massachusetts Temple was dedicated without a steeple due to a second law suit contesting the proposed height of the steeple.

The folloowing May the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the Church. Previously, Judge Elizabeth Fahey had ruled that the building’s steeple was not a “necessary element of the Mormon religion.” Therefore under the law the building height limit could be enforced.

The Supreme Court overruled her ruling saying, “A rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral, a balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica, are judges to decide whether these architectural elements are ‘necessary’ to the faith served by those buildings?” The judges concluded that, “It is not for judges to determine whether the inclusion of a particular architectural feature is ‘necessary’ for a particular religion.” ^[3]Larsen, Kent. “Boston Temple Steeple Oked. News about Mormons, Mormonism, and the LDS Church.” 16 May 01 The 139-foot steeple was added about a year after the dedication.

Elder Loren C. Dunn, the first president of the Boston Massachusetts Temple, passed away just hours after the court’s ruling that the steeple could be added.

The temple’s single spire is reminiscent of other early American church steeples in New England

Moroni

The angel Moroni statue was installed atop the Boston Massachusetts Temple on September 21, 2001, in a tri-temple setting honoring the 178th anniversary of the first appearance of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith. (The other two temples participating in the setting were the Nauvoo Illinois Temple and the The Hague Netherlands Temple.)

The angel Moroni statue atop the Boston Massachusetts Temple is a casting made by LaVar Wallgren of the statue created by Torlief Knaphus for the Washington D.C. Ward chapel, which he made as a replica of Cyrus E. Dallin’s statue atop the Salt Lake Temple. (Other castings of this statue stand atop the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple as well as one formerly atop the Atlanta Georgia Temple.)

Interior

Within the 69,000-square-foot structure are a baptistry, instruction rooms and sealing rooms, where marriages are performed.

Baptistry, celestial room, four ordinance rooms, four sealing rooms.

Contractors and Individuals

Sources and Citations

External Links

• ChurchofJesusChrist.org
• Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
• ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org
• Wikipedia
• MormonWiki.com

Additional Articles

Sources/Citation