SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Mormon Temple
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Temple is the house of the Lord; the most sacred place on earth. In the Mormon Temple, sacred ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are performed. Therefore, Mormons view the Temple as a spiritual center where each person can feel a special closeness to God.
In the Mormon Temple, we learn that life on earth is part of an eternal journey that began long before we were born and when we lived with God as his spirit children. We learn that we came to earth to be tested and to show whether we would obey God’s commandments. Consequently, those who come to the Mormon Temple make sacred promises of honesty, chastity, and service to God and to others. These commitments become anchors of stability in daily living and lead to God’s eternal blessings.
All of God’s children will have the opportunity to hear and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this life or the next. The Mormon Temple is the only place where sacred ordinances like baptism and eternal marriage can be performed in behalf of those who have died. These ordinances are an important part of God’s eternal plan for his children. In 1 Corinthians 15:29 the Apostle Paul referred to this important redemptive work for the dead when he asked, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" It is up to each individual in the next life to choose whether to accept the ordinances of the gospel or not. But if they do, the work is done, and eternal family ties have been created.1
The San Diego California Mormon Temple is located adjacent to the main thoroughfare between San Diego and Los Angeles. The temple, which is located on seven cares, reaches 190 feet in the air with a gold-leafed statue of the Angel Moroni atop the highest tower. Every day, tens of thousands of cars travel the freeway and see the temple with its gleaming white exterior.2
Latter-day Saints (commonly called Mormons), have lived in San Diego for nearly 166 years. On January 29, 1847, the soldiers of the Mormon Battalion entered San Diego, completing the longest infantry march in the history of the United States Army. Recruited to help secure California in the Mexican War, these pioneers left their wives and children and marched more than 2,000 miles from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to the Presidio of San Diego. After the Mexican War, some members of the Mormon Battalion settled in California, making the Mormon Church the second-oldest Christian denomination in San Diego.1
President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the San Diego California Mormon Temple on April 25, 1993. President Hinckley cautioned the members to never lose sight of the purpose of Temples…"the whole purpose is to provide a place where we can worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience, exercise the priesthood that has been restored in its fullness and receive the blessings that are administered only in these holy houses." And President Thomas S. Monson, a member of the First Presidency, admonished the members to, "come to the temple and place your burdens before the Lord and you’ll be filled with a new spirit and confidence in the future. Trust in the lord, and if you do He’ll hold you and cradle you and lead you step by step along the pathway that leads to the celestial kingdom of God."3