Description

History

The Church has a unique history in Texas. Church founder Joseph Smith considered moving the Latter-day Saints from Illinois to Texas if they needed to escape persecution. This plan was abandoned, however, after Joseph Smith’s death in June 1844. During the 1850s missionaries from Utah taught the gospel in Texas. This continued until the beginning of the Civil War in 1860, which halted missionary work in the southern United States.

Missionaries were called back to Texas in 1875, but for several decades missionary work remained very difficult. Despite slow progress, there were several small colonies of Members that played key roles in the growth of the Church in Texas, and in 1906 the Church had a population of about four hundred. By 1930, the Church only had 3,837 members total in Texas. But, with God touching the lives of people and the heightened visibility of Latter-day Saints in the area, the Church grew. The Dallas Stake was organized on October 18, 1953.

The Church grew so rapidly across the country that, President Spencer W. Kimball announced plans to build nine new temples. The Dallas Texas Temple was one of them and would serve nearly 120,000 members in most of Texas, all of Oklahoma, and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri. ^[1]”Dallas Temple Dedication” by Susan Cobb, p 70

Announced

On April 1, 1981, Church President Spencer W. Kimball announced that the Church planned to construct nine additional temples, including one in Dallas, Texas. After hearing this exciting news, Church members were eager to assist in the construction effort. In one stake, children raised money by collecting and selling aluminum cans. Children in another area collected funds through a campaign called “Nickels for Nails.” Through these and other efforts, Church members contributed generously to the temple.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, temple recommend interviews tripled, and Laurels began making plans for a trip to perform baptisms for the dead. In Corpus Christi, members started committing to attend the temple, and the youth were elated. Members of the Shreveport Louisiana Stake contributed two-thirds more than requested to the construction fund.^[2]”Temple in Dallas Means Blessings for Southwestern Saints,” Ensign Oct. 1984: 75–77.

Groundbreaking

On January 22, 1983, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then a counselor in the Church’s First Presidency, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dallas Texas Temple. Church leader Ivan L. Hobson described the event as “a great day for the Southern Plains of the United States.”^[3] Ivan L. Hobson, quoted in “Dallas Temple Is Underway,” Ensign, April 1983. The invitation-only groundbreaking ceremony was attended by about 90 guests including Regional Representatives, stake presidents, and their wives.

At the groundbreaking of the Dallas Texas Temple, President Hinckley said, “I feel today in this great state, and all this vast territory, there is no building of such tremendous significance as will be the building we begin this day.” The private ceremony was attended by about 90 area leaders including Regional Representatives, stake presidents, and their wives. Also speaking was Elder Jacob de Jager of the First Quorum of the Seventy. As a convert to the Church, he testified of the great happiness and peace he has found in his life through participation in temple ordinances.^[4]”Dallas Temple Is Underway,” Ensign, Apr. 1983, 77.

During the temple’s construction, Church members contributed in meaningful ways. Several hundred volunteered to help the contractor with clean-up work. Some women in the temple district contributed knitted items and crocheted beautiful altar cloths to adorn the temple’s interior.

Throughout construction of the temple, members readily answered the call to serve. The contractor was pleasantly surprised at the turnout of several hundred members in response to a request for clean-up help. Others, like sisters in Harlingen who lived far from the temple, contributed knitted goods. A widow who was asked to donate twenty dollars gave one hundred dollars instead saying: “This is money I’ve been saving to go to the temple in Salt Lake City, but I’ll contribute it to the building fund and go to the temple here.”^[5]”Temple in Dallas Means Blessings for Southwestern Saints” 75–77.

Open House

The announcement of the temple had a much different effect among local Bible Belt religious leaders who held a negative view of the Church. The news sparked alarm and profound opposition. As the temple progressed, opened its doors to the public, and then took its place in the community, many leaders took the opportunity to re-evaluate their feelings toward the Church. Because of the temple, negative feelings were softened and misconceptions corrected.^[6]Kevin Stoker, “Dallas / Members ‘Not Fancy; Just Steady, Sincere,'” Church News 16 Jul. 1988: 8.

An open house was held from September 7 to 26, 1984. More than 88,000 visitors toured the Dallas Texas Temple interior during the 20 day open house before the building was dedicated as a sacred place for worship. The open house received widespread media coverage, and approximately 56 percent of the guests were not Latter-day Saints. Many people who visited the temple were touched by what they saw and felt. One guest acknowledged, “I really seemed to feel the presence of God. . . . This was a very special experience.”^[7] Visitor at the Dallas Texas Temple open house, quoted in Susan Cobb, “Dallas Temple Dedication Opens New Era for Southwestern Saints,” Ensign, Dec. 1984. Grant Barton, who was then the president of the Texas Dallas Mission, appreciated how the open house created good will toward the Church among people in the community.

Less than a week after the open house concluded, one visitor had already been baptized; several others followed.^[8]Susan Cobb, “Dallas Temple Dedication Opens New Era for Southwestern Saints,” Ensign, Dec. 1984, 69–70.

Dedication

The Dallas Texas Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley in 23 sessions from October 19 to 24, 1984. Thousands of members who lived throughout the temple district attended. At the cornerstone ceremony President Ezra Taft Benson, who was then a member of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said that the temple would “be an inspiration not only to the Saints, but to many others as well.” He also stated that the beautiful edifice would remind people that God “has not left man to grope in darkness.”^[9] Ezra Taft Benson, quoted in Susan Cobb, “Dallas Temple Dedication Opens New Era for Southwestern Saints,” Ensign, Dec.1984.

At the dedication of the Dallas Texas Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley noted that there were many larger and more expensive buildings in Texas but that the temple was the most significant of all in the Lone Star State

In the original dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley expressed gratitude for Jesus Christ and petitioned, “May this beautiful temple, standing in this community, become a declaration to all who shall look upon it, of the faith of Thy saints in the revealed things of eternity, and may they be led to respect that which is sacred unto us, Thy people. . . . May this be a house of peace and worship, a house of faith and prayer to all who shall serve here.”^[10] Dallas Texas Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Oct. 28, 1984,

Dedication Order

The Dallas Texas Temple was the first temple built in Texas. 3 more have been built since its dedication, and a fifth has been announced. it is the Church’s 30th operating temple.

The Dallas Texas Temple is a sister building to the Boise Idaho Temple and the Chicago Illinois Temple.

Expansion

The Dallas Texas Temple was closed in 1987 for remodeling that more than doubled its size to 44,207 square feet. An additional 22,749 square feet was added to the temple, accommodating an additional ordinance room, a cafeteria, expanded laundry facilities, and a larger relocated baptistry.. President Hinckley rededicated the temple on March 5, 1989.

A renovation of the Dallas Texas Temple grounds was completed in June 2006. The monument sign was relocated outside the decorative fence, and fence itself was altered along the front side of the property. The entry plaza was enlarged, and stairs were added to create better access to the grounds. The water feature was replaced with a cascading fountain while flower beds were made larger and replanted. Several walkways were widened with added lighting and sitting areas.

Presidents

Details

Location

Approximately 12 miles north of downtown Dallas,

The Dallas Texas Temple is located on six acres of beautifully manicured grounds and features a distinctive design with six narrow spires. The beauty of the gray-white marble exterior is enhanced by neatly trimmed hedges, brilliant flower gardens, and a lovely water feature surrounding the base of the temple’s tallest spire.

Visitors to the Dallas Texas Temple are welcome to enjoy the temple’s exterior from the beautifully manicured temple grounds.

Exterior

Its six spires reach heavenward amid the trees of the surrounding residential area.

The three spires on either end of the Dallas Texas Temple are detached, and the roof of the building is sloped. Some of the other Mormon temples built in the 1980s — including the Boise Idaho Temple, the Stockholm Sweden Temple and the Lima Peru Temple — have a similar exterior design.

Interior

Within the temple are instruction rooms, a baptistry, five sealing rooms, and five Instruction Rooms.