Dedication of the Vernal Utah Temple
When President Joseph F. Smith — sixth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — dedicated the Uintah Tabernacle in August 1907, he said he “would not be surprised if a temple were built here someday.” Almost 100 years later, the tabernacle was converted into a temple and marked the fulfillment of that prophecy.
During the dedication, held from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, 1997, attendees considered the house of the Lord to be a “unique temple.” Approximately 20,000 people attended the 11 dedicatory sessions, with 3,528 attending the first session.
The Vernal temple was dedicated in 11 sessions by President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church. Other leaders in attendance included President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency; President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency; and Elder Neal A. Maxwell and Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The transformation of the old tabernacle was as much a community effort as it was a Church one.
“It’s a community temple,” said Gayle McKeachnie, vice chairman of the open house and dedication committee. “We’re a small community, and we’ve had thousands of people helping. We’ve had people help with parking and ushering during the open house who are not members of the Church but who wanted to participate. That’s been exciting.”
Among the generous contributions was the donation of a century-old home by a local non-Latter-day Saint. The home was made of bricks similar in color to those on the temple and were used to replace some 1,500 bricks on the outer wall that had fallen into disrepair as well as construct the west gates of the grounds.
Temple project manager Lloyd Hess described his work as “the highlight of my career. Because this was a restoration, which I dearly love, I put my whole heart into this.”
“This is a unique temple,” Elder Ben B. Banks, a General Authority Seventy and chairman of the temple committee, told the Church News. “Seeing the tears in the eyes of people, listening to the beautiful hymns and the Prophet speaking is something I’ll never forget.”
Indeed, the simple Georgian New England architecture and its historic tie to locals is only a small part of the significance of the building.
“It’s a blessing if we take advantage of it,” said the temple’s first president, Alva C. Snow, after the dedication. “That’s the only way it’s a blessing to us. To have it here and not use it is no blessing to anybody.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We are grateful for this beautiful new structure which utilizes the historic tabernacle built by Thy people nearly a century ago. The original tabernacle came of a great spirit of faith and sacrifice on the part of those Saints who settled in this area. It was built as an offering unto Thee, and was held in the affections of the people long after it was used as a house of worship.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Vernal Utah Temple here.
Timeline of the Vernal Utah Temple
The Vernal Utah Temple was announced Feb. 13, 1994, in a letter from the First Presidency. Ground was broken for the temple on May 13, 1995, with Church President Gordon B. Hinckley presiding.
After an open house from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, 1997, the temple was dedicated during 11 sessions from Nov. 2 to Nov 4, 1997, by President Hinckley.
Architecture and Design of the Vernal Utah Temple
The Vernal Utah Temple is made with clay brick, making it one of few temples without a light exterior. The house of the Lord has two domed towers on the west and east sides of the building, the east tower holding a statue of the angel Moroni. In the wall of the east side of the temple is a stained-glass window depicting the Savior holding a lamb.
The landscape has various trees and flowers and a wrought-iron fence with brick pilasters.
Inside the temple, the walls are hand-painted and feature sego lilies and wheat stocks — vegetation common to the area. The furniture was made to replicate the style of the early 1900s to honor the temple’s heritage. Pieces of furniture in the celestial room were crafted from horsehair and are replicas of the original armchairs the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles use in the Salt Lake Temple.
During the construction of the temple, additional brick was needed. Architects were able to manufacture some of the brick to look like the original brick, but they also had donations from a local resident who owned a house dating back to the same time the Uintah Tabernacle was built. The donated home, made from the same brick, provided the necessary additions to completing the temple. An architect stated, “From samples, it was determined fairly accurately that the brick in this house came from the same kiln as the brick used to build the tabernacle.”
The brick of the tabernacle was made from local red clay. When the tabernacle was first built, it took three days to bake the clay into bricks. An estimated 1,128 people volunteered over 5,000 hours to dismantle the donated house and salvage 16,000 bricks to use for the new temple.