Dedication of the Spokane Washington Temple
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.
Timeline of the Spokane Washington Temple
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.
Architecture and Design of the Spokane Washington Temple
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.