Photography by Scot Facer Proctor. Text by Maurine Proctor.
The Kansas City Temple Dedication was a day never to be forgotten. As Elder William R. Walker said, all those who attended will tell their children and grandchildren about it. This is not only because the early Saints would have scarcely comprehended that there could truly be a temple in western Missouri, but also because every temple dedication represents a cascade of light into the souls of those attend.
The temple in Kansas City, this weekend, was dedicated in three sessions by President Thomas S. Monson with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom and Elder Walker participating, but preparations for the event have consumed the members for months in the temple district that includes 45,000 members in 126 congregations in Missouri, Kansas and parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Long-time members of the Church in this area remember when there was only a handful of branches in western Missouri.
Nearly 2,000 members volunteered to be guides for the open house. Over 3,000 youth sang and danced in the cultural celebration the Saturday night before the dedication. Bishops visited with thousands of members so they could receive their temple dedication tickets.
One stake presidency member said he had worked on the temple dedication full-time for eight weeks, putting his outside job on hold.
Such commitment to the Lord yields a spiritual outpouring and people wept during the dedication because the Spirit was so strong and the sense of the Lord’s love was so sweet.
In these photographs, we take you to the temple the morning of the dedication. Things begin stirring early as people arrive hushed and excited. Some hope they can catch a glimpse of the prophet. Children congregate on the front row, hoping the prophet will invite them to come up and let them put some mortar in the coverstone. Choir members find their place on the risers.
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