Raleigh, North Carolina - Mormon Temple
The Raleigh North Carolina Temple is the 68th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
For over 150 years the Mormon Church has had a presence in North Carolina. It began with a lone missionary, Jedediah M. Grant, preaching the message of the restored gospel and truthfulness of the Book of Mormon in 1838. Today there are more than 40,000 Latter-day Saints living in North Carolina; the Raleigh North Carolina Temple serves about 27,000 of those Saints.
Groundbreaking services for the Raleigh North Carolina temple were held on February 6, 1999. After the temple was completed, about 31,000 people toured the temple during the open house. Visitors were surprised to see the many pictures of Jesus Christ. Wake County Commissioner Yevonne Brannon commenting on the pictures of the Savior said, "The artwork was simply stunning…I felt myself drawn to each painting and found myself wanting to linger in front of every scene so I could contemplate the meaning of what was being portrayed. But how could I selfishly do that with so many people behind me?" 1
During the dedicatory prayer of the temple on December 18, 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "We pray for all who enter Thy house that they may be pure and clean in heart and hand. May they here ‘feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness’." 2
The temple features art glass windows and a white marble exterior. The classic modern design features a lone spire topped with a gold statue of the angel Moroni. The Raleigh North Carolina Temple has two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, and a total floor area of 10,700 square feet.