Rexburg Temple

As probably all of you know, yesterday the Rexburg temple was dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson. (I'm sure that President Hinckley was there too - just not in the same form we thought he was going to come as) It is such an amazing thing to have a temple pretty much built in your backyard. It is SO BEAUTIFUL when it's nighttime and it's all lit up and shining on top of the hill. Yesterday night, while Adam and I were driving home, the temple looked like it was shining brighter than it ever has. Though Adam and I didn't make it to the dedication, we did get to go to the open house a few weeks back. It is so beautiful inside. We got to take Adalyn and Mieley inside too. The emotions definitely caught up with me when I got to sit with my 2 little girls and my husband in the sealing room and then show Adalyn the mirrors that go on for eternity. Only 5 years ago, I was standing there with just Adam by my side. Now, I got to stand with my husband and my girls and look into the mirrors. It's just so powerful. In a video that we watched before we got to go through the temple, (I wish I could remember who said it) a statement was said that, "without family, heaven just wouldn't be heaven at all." How true that is! I am so grateful for the temples and the promise of eternal families. I am so blessed to have this temple so close. No matter where I am in Rexburg, I can just look up and see the temple there. It can bring such peace in the middle of a hectic day. Adalyn is so excited to go inside again someday. Everytime she prays, she thanks her Heavenly Father for the temple. I love my family!!!

Just some facts about the temple: (Info from http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/)

Location: 750 South 2nd East, Rexburg, Idaho, United States.
Telephone: 208-656-0880.
Exterior Finish: Precast concrete panels with white quartz rock finish.Temple Design: Modern, single-spire design.
Total Floor Area: 57,504 square feet.
Announcement: 12 December 2003
Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 30 July 2005 by John H. Groberg
Public Open House: 29 December 2007–26 January 2008
Dedication: 10 February 2008 by Thomas S. Monson

Temple Locale
Adjacent to the Brigham Young University–Idaho campus, the five-story Rexburg Idaho Temple soars high above its hillside location—creating a striking landmark visible for miles along the Highway 20 corridor. It is the finest, most notable building in this rural community. West of the temple lies a beautiful garden area open to the public for quiet strolls or moments of reflection.

Temple Facts
The Rexburg Idaho Temple was the third temple built in Idaho, following the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (1945) and the Boise Idaho Temple (1984).

The announcement of the Rexburg Idaho Temple came three and a half years after the announcement that two-year Ricks College would become four-year Brigham Young University–Idaho. The other two Brigham Young University campuses in Provo, Utah and Laie, Hawaii also have adjacent temples.

While most temple groundbreakings are limited to invited guests, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rexburg Idaho Temple was open to any and all who desired to attend. Over 8,000 people crowded on the field where the temple now stands, making it the largest group ever assembled for a temple groundbreaking.

The Rexburg Idaho Temple features beautiful ordinance room murals by Rexburg artist Leon Parson reflecting the wildlife and landscapes of the Upper Snake River Valley.

A wheat motif, created by Utah artist Tom Holdman, is used throughout the Rexburg Idaho Temple including most of the 700 art glass windowpanes. The wheat stock symbolizes the widespread agricultural industry in the area.

The finest materials were used for this House of the Lord including wood imported from Africa and stone and tile from Israel.

The exterior walls of the Rexburg Idaho Temple are made of 637 pre-cast panels from 45 different molds, including the retaining wall. The material is called China White—a white quartz finish (mined in Washington state) on concrete panels. A water-proofing compound allows dust to wash off in the rain, keeping the temple a radiant white.

Interest in the open house of the Rexburg Idaho Temple was so high that additional early-morning and evening tours were added to each day.

The Rexburg Idaho Temple dedication was delayed one week due to the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley on Sunday evening, January 27, 2008.

One week after his installment as the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Rexburg Idaho Temple. The dedication began late, as dense fog forced President Monson's pilot to land in Pocatello, Idaho. The remaining 80-mile journey to Rexburg was resumed by car.

Temple History
Rexburg received a big announcement from the Church in June 2000, when it said that two-year Ricks College would become four-year Brigham Young University–Idaho by fall 2001. New construction gripped the quiet farming community as housing complexes seemed to appear overnight. Rexburg became the fast growing city in Idaho as student enrollment grew by the hundreds from 8,949 in 2000 to 11,100 in 2003. By the end of 2003, the First Presidency made its second big announcement: Idaho's third temple would be built in Rexburg.1

On Tuesday, June 28, 2005, Architectural Nexus applied for a building permit to begin preparation work for the temple site. Included in the application materials were tentative building and site plans. The plans showed a five-story, 57,504 square-foot building. The single steeple, set on the east side of the east-facing building, would rise 168 feet, topped by a gold-leafed statue of Moroni. A garden plaza was shown for the land that separates the temple from an adjacent stake center to the west, leaving only the temple and its landscaping visible from 7th South. A 300-space parking lot would be built south of the stake center, and a second stake center would be built east of the parking lot.2

Elder John H. Groberg of the Seventy, newly called as president of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, presided at the Saturday groundbreaking for the temple where over 8,000 people were in attendance—the largest group ever assembled for a temple groundbreaking. Attendance was open to any who wished to attend including members of other faiths. Elder Ronald J. Hammond, an Area Authority of the Seventy from Rexburg, noted, "As the ground opens and as the shovel breaks it and turns it, your spiritual senses will know immediately that something very, very significant is happening—something that at once disturbs the devil and blesses God's children on both sides of the veil."3

On September 21, 2006—the 183rd anniversary of the first appearance of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith—a gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni was installed atop the spire of the temple. Thousands of spectators gathered under rain clouds, making for a memorable Moroni raising. At the conclusion, cheers erupted from the enthusiastic onlookers.4

1. Holden Parrish, "LDS temple slated for Rexburg," Idaho State Journal 20 Dec. 2003, 20 Dec. 2003 http://journalnet.com/articles/2003/12/20/news/local/news01.txt.
2. Josh Donat, "Temple architect applies for city building permit," Rexburg Standard Journal 30 Jun. 2005, 4 Jul. 2005 http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/articles/2005/06/30/news/news01.txt.
3. "Thousands attend temple groundbreaking," News & Notes 4 Aug. 2005, 26 Dec. 2005 http://www.byui.edu/pr/N&Narchive/N&NAug42005.pdf.
4. Matt Longmore, "Angel Moroni placed atop Rexburg Temple," Scroll Online 21 Sept. 2006, 23 Sept. 2006 .