Raleigh North Carolina Temple Wiki

A temple for the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, area was announced 3 September 1998, by the First Presidency — President Gordon B. Hinckley, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust.^[1]“Temple to Be Built in North Carolina.” Church News, 11 Jan. 2024, www.thechurchnews.com/1998/9/5/23250191/temple-to-be-built-in-north-carolina.

Ground was broken for the temple on 6 February 1999. Elder Loren C. Dunn, first counselor in the North America East Area presidency, presided over the event. Nearly 1,000 people attended.

An open house was held from 3 December to 11 December, 1999. A total of 31,638 people attended. Visitors were surprised to see the many pictures of Jesus Christ. Wake County Commissioner Yevonne Brannon commenting on the pictures of the Savior said, “The artwork was simply stunning. I felt drawn to each painting and found myself wanting to linger in front of every scene so I could contemplate the meaning of what was being portrayed. But how could I selfishly do that with so many people behind me?”^[2]Emerson, Randolyn J. “Open House Fosters Good Will in Temple Community.” Church News, 11 Jan. 2024, www.thechurchnews.com/1999/12/25/23247381/open-house-fosters-good-will-in-temple-community.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Church president from 1995 to 2008, dedicated the temple on 18 December 1999. Before the first session Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, talked to a group of reporters. He described “how the Church shares goals with other religions, such as safeguarding ‘values, family, fidelity, and the responsibility of parents for their children, teaching them correct principles, guiding, loving, and showing the way, not letting them get gobbled up by the ravages of the world.'” [1] It is because of this belief in families that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds temples.

During the dedicatory prayer of the temple on the 18th of December 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We pray for all who enter Thy house that they may be pure and clean in heart and hand. May they here ‘feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness.'”^[3]News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar. 2000, 74

The Raleigh North Carolina Temple’s timely dedication was indeed a fitting offering to the Lord while the world observed His birth of nearly 2,000 years before. Moreover, the edifice was dedicated just five days before the 194th birthday anniversary of Joseph Smith, prophet of the Restoration.

Apex Herald reporter David Leone prepared an eight-page Raleigh Temple commemorative insert for the 2 December edition of the weekly newspaper. When 75 percent of that week’s edition sold out two days after it hit the racks, the newspaper’s circulation manager called to express regret that the paper had not fully appreciated the event the reporter pushed so hard to cover. He asked for the locations of other LDS temples being built in the South so he could alert other newspaper editors to what an asset an LDS temple can be.

On 27 June 2017, The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the closure of the Raleigh North Carolina Temple for renovations.^[4]”Three Mormon Temples in the US to Close for Renovation: Upgrades planned for sacred buildings in Mesa, Baton Rouge and Raleigh“. Newsroom. LDS Church. June 27, 2017. During the remodel, crews upgraded the mechanical and electrical systems, made spaces ADA compliant, moved windows and doors to accommodate minor floor plan changes, enclosed the entrance canopy, and raised the height of the steeple by 10 feet.

Approximately 40,000 people attended a public open house held from Sept. 21 to Sept. 28, 2019.

The renovated Raleigh North Carolina Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was rededicated on Sunday, 13 October 2019. President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided at the single re-dedicatory session. The session was not broadcast.^[6]”Raleigh North Carolina Temple Is Rededicated“, Newsroom, LDS Church, October 13, 2019