Fresno, California - Mormon Temple
The Fresno California Temple is the 78th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
California is home to over 740,000 members of Mormon Church as well as four Mormon temples. California has long had a history with the Mormon Church starting with members who sailed to San Francisco aboard the Brooklyn. Then members of the U.S. Army unit known as the Mormon Battalion were discharged in San Diego, many stayed and helped build up the San Diego area. Members arrived in Fresno in 1907 and by 1920 a congregation, called a ward, was organized. The area continued to grow and at the time of the Mormon temple dedication there were 28,000 members in the Fresno area.
Elder John B. Dickson, of the Seventy, conducted the groundbreaking ceremony in March of 1999. He commented upon the growth of the Mormon Church saying, "We now find ourselves on the threshold of unprecedented growth and expansion." [1]
Before the Mormon temple was dedicated it was opened to the public. During that time 53,000 people toured the temple. On April 9, 2000 President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Fresno California Temple. In his dedicatory prayer he asked, "Wilt Thou bless all who will serve within this sacred structure. They will come here to assist in bringing to pass Thy work and Thy glory, even the immortality and eternal life of man." [2]
The Fresno California Temple has the same design as the other smaller temples that are being built worldwide. The exterior is white sierra granite and features a single-spire topped by a statue of the angel Moroni. It has a total floor area of 10,700 square feet, two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.