Dedication of the San Diego California Temple
During the open house of the San Diego California Temple, the original goal of 650,000 attendees was broken by almost 60,000 attendees. The success came as a result of a concerted effort to raise public awareness of the temple. The efforts received national recognition as the Church received the Silver Anvil, the top award given by the Public Relations Society of America.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the San Diego California Temple in 23 sessions from April 25 to April 30, 1993. President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, also presided over and conducted the sessions. President Hinckley conducted 12 sessions, in addition to the cornerstone session, while President Monson conducted 11 sessions.
“People all over the world long for what you now have,” President Hinckley told the sessiongoers. “Brothers and sisters, be grateful.”
But, he cautioned, members of the Church “must never lose sight” of the purpose of temples.
“The whole purpose is to provide a place where we can worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience, exercise the priesthood that has been restored in its fullness and receive the blessings that are administered only in these holy houses.”
During the last session he conducted, President Hinckley said, “God has provided opportunities for His children to partake of something that is far sweeter than what is available in mortality.”
While presiding, President Monson encouraged the young people to prepare themselves to enter the house of the Lord and to remember how they feel when they enter. “Make the temple part of your lives. The temple can bring you the supreme feeling of peace.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May Thy watchcare be over this, Thy holy house. Preserve it from storm and tempest, from the tremblings of the earth, and most importantly from any defiling hand of man. To the millions who will see it as they move swiftly over the adjacent highway, may it be a thing of singular beauty from which shall emanate a spiritual glow that speaks of peace and goodness.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the San Diego California Temple here.
Timeline of the San Diego California Temple
Plans to construct a house of the Lord in San Diego were announced on April 7, 1984. Four years later, President Ezra Taft Benson dedicated the site on Feb. 27, 1988. Five years later, President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, and President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the San Diego temple on April 25, 1993.
The temple was closed in July 2023 for extensive renovations.
Architecture and Design of the San Diego California Temple
The temple is 72,000 square feet, 85 feet wide, 190 feet long and 169 feet tall. The structure is built on a 7.2-acre site. The exterior is made of marble chips in plaster. There are two spires headed with the angel Moroni statue, surrounded by four smaller spires.
The interior includes the baptistry, the celestial room, four instruction rooms and eight sealing rooms.