Dallas, Texas - Mormon Temple
Somewhere on the building of every Mormon temple, it reads: "Holiness to the Lord." Whenever one enters the Temple, they know that it is a dedicated House of God. The Temple is a place of holiness and a place of peace apart from the world.
Mormon temples are sacred structures in which eternal questions are answered. The Temples are houses of learning where truths are taught and ordinances are performed. These truths bring knowledge of things eternal and motivate the participants to live a more Christ like life. The work that goes on in the Mormon Temple brings to light God’s eternal purposes with reference to man. For the most part, temple work is concerned with the family, with each of us as members of God’s eternal family and with each of us as members of earthly families. It is concerned with the sanctity and eternal nature of the marriage covenant and family relationships.
All are equal in the Mormon Temple; upon entering, the street clothes are exchanged for white clothing, which symbolizes purity. Regardless of race, status, education, etc., the Temple is a place where all are God’s children and all have the opportunity to participate in the sacred ordinances there. Whether living or dead the sacred ordinances are available to all. Through living proxies who stand in behalf of the dead, the same ordinances are available to those who have passed from mortality. In the spirit world these same individuals are then free to accept or reject those earthly ordinances performed for them, including baptism, marriage, and the sealing of family relationships. There is no compulsion in the work of the Lord, but there must be opportunity.
When the Mormon missionaries were sent to Texas in the 1850’s, conversion was slow, and when the Civil War began in 1860, it put an end to the missionary work for a time. Missionaries were called back to Texas in 1875 and still for several decades missionary work was very difficult. There were several small colonies of Mormons that played key roles in the growth of the Church there, and in 1906 the Mormons had a population of about four hundred. By 1930, the Church only had 3,837 members total in Texas. But, with God touching the lives of people and the heightened visibility of Latter-day Saints in the area, the Mormon Church grew. In the next fifty years the Church would grow so rapidly that, then, President Spencer W. Kimball, President of the Mormon Church, would announce plans to build nine new temples. The Dallas Texas Temple was to be one of them and would serve nearly 120,000 members in most of Texas, all of Oklahoma, and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.2
The Mormon Church chose the temple site in a quiet residential neighborhood twelve miles north of downtown Dallas. With the announcement of the Dallas Temple, some groups voiced strong opposition to the Church and its teachings. Opposition was voiced in magazine, television and radio programs devoted to warning the Christian community of the ‘danger of Mormonism’. But all efforts were ineffective and the members of the Mormon Church were strengthened in their beliefs as they renewed their convictions of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On October 19, 1984, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Dallas Mormon Temple. The temple sits on a site of 6 acres and is 18,000 square feet. With the Church growing rapidly, the Temple was remodeled in 1987 to increase its size and make it more functional and efficient. The addition gave the temple 22,749 square feet of added space.3
For more information about Mormon temples
Manhattan Mormon Temple New York City.com : Arts & Attractions …
Mormanity: Mormon Temples and "Secrecy"