Redlands, California - Mormon Temple
The building of the Redlands, California Mormon temple on April 21, 2001 was greatly welcomed by the many members of the area. Redlands is in the San Bernardino California area which has since 1851 been an area with a large number of Mormons some of whom are descendents of colonists that first established the community. The Prophet Brigham Young wanted to establish way stations between Salt Lake City and Long Beach. He sent two Apostles, Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich to California to purchase land. 437 colonists went with the apostles. The two Apostles purchased 35,000 acres. The place where the Redlands Mormon Temple now stands was a part of this originally purchased land. The group of Mormon pioneers was a diverse people. Some were veterans of the Mormon Battalion, others were recently freed slaves and others were new converts from the Southern United States, but their faith united them and they established a thriving community.
Within two months of purchasing the land, the colonists had built more than 100 buildings. Then word arrived that Indians planned to attack the settlement. The colonists dragged their newly built homes into a row using oxen. This formed a 700-foot long stockade with a twelve-foot tall outer wall. Juan Antonia, chief of the Cahuilla Indian tribe which had been friendly with the Mormon colonists came and told the colonists that he would help them. He took twenty-five of his warriors and captured the leader of the Indians that planned to attack and turned him into authorities, which stopped the attack. For the next two years the colonists worked together working community fields to pay off the debt of buying the land.
By 1853 plans were made for a city that resembled Salt Lake. Wide streets were planned so that wagons could turn around in them, and a center lot was planned for a temple. The land was divided into private plots and given to families to be used for their own. In 1857 the federal army threatened to invade Utah and Brigham Young requested colonists that had been sent to other areas to return to Utah. The Mormons in the Redlands area received this request on October 30, and on November 3, the first wagons left to return to Utah. Two thirds of the more than 3,000 Mormons that lived in the area returned to Utah selling their productive properties for almost nothing. Although the Mormon colony was short lived, the colonists contributed greatly to the settlement of Southern California. The area quickly became the economic center of California life, they developed a major irrigation system, a lumber industry that fostered the growth of Los Angeles, and provided almost all of the areas flour.
The site for the temple was dedicated in December of 2001 and construction began. Mormon members helped in the construction by donating rocks for its building, some of these rocks were from the area where the original colonists of 1851 camped. Young children also donated their pennies to buy the palm trees that are now planted around the temple. The temple sits on 4.6 acres and is 17,300 square feet. It houses two ordinance rooms and three sealing rooms.
From August 9th through September 6th 2003 an Open House was held for the Redlands Mormon Temple. About 11,000 people volunteered to help with the open house and more than 140,000 people were able to tour the temple and learn more about the purpose of Mormon temples. The temple was built on a lot that originally was home to an orange grove; during the open house visitors were served orange juice made from the trees that once stood there.
President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Redlands Mormon Temple on September 14, 2003. Thousands of members attended the four dedication services. In the dedicatory prayer President Hinckley stated, "“This beautiful structure has come of the consecrations of Thy Saints in all the world. Bless them for their faith and faithfulness. Open the windows of heaven, as Thou hast promised through the prophet Malachi, and pour down blessings upon them that there shall not be room enough to receive them.” The Redlands temple is the fifth temple in California and the 116th Mormon temple worldwide. Approximately 70,000 Mormon members in the area use the temple.