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On the summer morning the Spokane Washington Temple was to be dedicated, the day dawned with uncommonly dark clouds, rain, thunder and chilling winds. Of the some 200 waiting outdoors on Aug. 21, 1999, for the ceremonial sealing of the cornerstone, many were bundled in blankets.
Then — in perhaps the most poignant moment of the day — the sun broke through the clouds, spraying rays of light as Church President Gordon B. Hinckley stepped out the front doors of the sacred edifice and walked around to the cornerstone.
He was accompanied by Elder David B. Haight and Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder John M. Madsen, a General Authority Seventy; and the leaders’ wives. As the entourage reached the cornerstone, an 88-voice choir of youth and young adults began to sing “The Morning Breaks.”
Two young boys, identical twins, were invited by President Hinckley to take a turn at a trowel with mortar. One boy jumped up and down with excitement. Earlier, before the cornerstone ceremony, the Church News asked the child why he and his family were there in such chilling weather. He replied, “Because it’s a holy place.”
Even before the temple was completed, young people wanted to be included. On July 4 of 1999, families helped remove rocks from the landscape. Children used toy wheelbarrows.
A truck driver — a member of the Church from New Mexico — was visibly affected by his part in the Spokane Washington Temple. The driver, Rush Hashie, transported the statue of the angel Moroni and the statues of the oxen, along with the temple’s baptismal font, to the construction site that April. But he was unaware of the nature of his cargo until he arrived.
Hashie “was so overcome with emotion ... that he went to the grove of trees just east of the temple and cried.”
Also emotional about the house of the Lord was building project manager Dale Reese, who related that when construction crews had delayed laying the sod for the temple grounds, members gathered to roll it out in early August — just days before the public open house. What grass they saw was brown and “basically dead.”
“All we did was water it and pray. ... Look at that grass now,” Brother Reese said, looking out over green lawns the weekend of the dedication. “That grass looks like it’s been there for five years.”
A plethora of faith-building stories was recounted during dedicatory events for the Spokane Washington Temple, including during open house sessions. Of the more than 11,000 who attended over the first weekend of public tours, one was overheard saying, “There are pictures of Jesus everywhere. Maybe they do believe in Jesus.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Touch the hearts of the people in this temple district, that the spirit of Elijah may rest upon them. ... May they experience the joy of totally unselfish service as they so labor, emulating the great vicarious sacrifice of our Redeemer.
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Spokane Washington Temple here.
The First Presidency — then consisting of Presidents Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust — announced a house of the Lord in Spokane, Washington, on Aug. 13, 1998. Three days earlier, the Detroit Michigan Temple was announced.
Elder F. Melvin Hammond, a General Authority Seventy and president of the North America Northwest Area, presided over the groundbreaking of the Spokane Washington Temple on Oct. 10, 1998.
A total of 51,953 people toured the house of the Lord in Spokane, Washington, from Aug. 6 to Aug. 14, 1999. VIP tours were also held Aug. 5 for government, civic and religious leaders, and Spokane Mayor John Talbott related, “You could almost sense the spiritual component of the progression [through the temple].”
President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the 59th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23, 1999, in 11 dedicatory sessions, with more than 16,000 attending at least one session. Of the 1,900 attending the first session, at least 520 were seated within the sacred edifice, while some 1,180 watched proceedings in the adjacent stake center via closed-circuit television.
President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed some 12,000 youth, young adults and their families at a local hockey arena on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 22, the second day of dedicatory sessions. The Prophet expressed confidence in the young people of the Church and encouraged them to “walk in gratitude and be thankful for every blessing that you have.”
The Spokane Washington Temple was announced Aug. 13, 1998, by the First Presidency. A groundbreaking service was held two months later, on Oct. 10, 1998. From Aug. 6 to Aug. 14, 1999, a total of 51,953 toured the sacred edifice in the Spokane suburb appropriately named Opportunity.
On an uncommonly frigid summer morning, the Spokane Washington Temple was dedicated from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23, 1999, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, with more than 16,000 attending at least one of 11 dedicatory sessions.
The Spokane Washington Temple is a one-story edifice topped with a four-tiered steeple, upon which stands a statue of the golden-hued angel Moroni. The exterior of the 10,700-square-foot house of the Lord is white granite in traditional modern style.
This sacred edifice, which at the time of its dedication served 12 stakes in eastern Washington and parts of northern Idaho and western Montana, includes two rooms for instruction on the Lord’s plan of salvation, along with two sealing rooms for couples and families to be sealed for time and all eternity.
Located in eastern Washington, the house of the Lord is situated on 4.2 acres adjacent to a meetinghouse for the Spokane Washington East Stake. The site — once a softball field on Church recreational property — stands amid farmhouses, wheat fields and coniferous forests.
13 August 1998
21 August 1999
This was the second — and easternmost — Latter-day Saint temple in Washington state.
The Oct. 10, 1998, groundbreaking of the Spokane Washington Temple was held the same day as the groundbreaking of the Detroit Michigan Temple — the first time in Church history that two groundbreakings for a house of the Lord in two different cities were held in one 12-hour period.
For the July 4, 1999, holiday weekend, members helped landscape the grounds of the new Spokane Washington Temple. Children used toy wheelbarrows to move unwanted rocks. One family, from Troy, Montana, brought three sons to help with landscaping — camping that evening at a nearby lake.
The site of the Spokane Washington Temple was originally a softball field on Church-owned property, adjacent to the stake center for the Spokane Washington East Stake.
The Aug. 5, 1999, VIP tour for civic, government and religious leaders included the Rev. Robert Spitzer, president of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Also attending was Spokane Mayor John Talbott, who said of the tour, “You could almost sense the spiritual component of the progression [through the temple].”
It was dedicated less than a year before the Columbia River Washington Temple — the state’s third — was announced on April 2, 2000.
Local KREM-TV produced a positive two-minute news report relating to the Spokane Washington Temple and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was broadcast throughout the Northwest.
Some 12,000 gathered in a hockey arena in downtown Spokane the evening of Sunday, Aug. 22, 1999, between Sunday and Monday dedicatory sessions for the Spokane Washington Temple to hear counsel from Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. In the fireside directed toward young people and youth, the Church President urged gratitude, which he added “is the mark of an educated man or woman.”
This was the second — and easternmost — Latter-day Saint temple in Washington state.
The Oct. 10, 1998, groundbreaking of the Spokane Washington Temple was held the same day as the groundbreaking of the Detroit Michigan Temple — the first time in Church history that two groundbreakings for a house of the Lord in two different cities were held in one 12-hour period.
For the July 4, 1999, holiday weekend, members helped landscape the grounds of the new Spokane Washington Temple. Children used toy wheelbarrows to move unwanted rocks. One family, from Troy, Montana, brought three sons to help with landscaping — camping that evening at a nearby lake.
The site of the Spokane Washington Temple was originally a softball field on Church-owned property, adjacent to the stake center for the Spokane Washington East Stake.
The Aug. 5, 1999, VIP tour for civic, government and religious leaders included the Rev. Robert Spitzer, president of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Also attending was Spokane Mayor John Talbott, who said of the tour, “You could almost sense the spiritual component of the progression [through the temple].”
It was dedicated less than a year before the Columbia River Washington Temple — the state’s third — was announced on April 2, 2000.
Local KREM-TV produced a positive two-minute news report relating to the Spokane Washington Temple and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was broadcast throughout the Northwest.
Some 12,000 gathered in a hockey arena in downtown Spokane the evening of Sunday, Aug. 22, 1999, between Sunday and Monday dedicatory sessions for the Spokane Washington Temple to hear counsel from Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. In the fireside directed toward young people and youth, the Church President urged gratitude, which he added “is the mark of an educated man or woman.”