The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Like the other 176 operating temples in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Virginia’s first house of the Lord is all about Jesus Christ.
“A temple is a symbol,” said Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Temple Department. “Wherever one is, it’s a symbol that Jesus Christ is there. Inside, we learn about who we are and our eternal potential. We learn about what Heavenly Father really has in store for us if we follow Jesus Christ—and that only in and through Jesus Christ can we return to our Heavenly Father.”
“Everything we build into the temple has one purpose,” added Richmond Temple Project Manager Dan Holt. “[And that is] to bring us closer to our Savior, to help remind us of our relationship with Him and the importance of coming to the temple to improve, to progress and grow closer to our Savior and our Heavenly Father.”
This temple, first announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in April 2018 and located in Glen Allen, is opening its doors to the public. Invited guests will tour this house of the Lord from March 21 to March 24, 2023. The public open house will then run from Saturday, March 25, to Saturday, April 15, 2023, except for Sundays and Saturday, April 1 (general conference).
The Richmond Virginia Temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 7, 2023, in two sessions (10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), by President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
In addition, the Church Newsroom also released the following information about the new temple. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Virginia Governor Praises the ‘Magnificent’ Richmond Temple
After touring the new house of the Lord in Virginia on Monday, March 20, 2023, the state’s governor Glenn Youngkin called the sacred structure “magnificent” and said “the work and love put into this building is strikingly apparent.”
The governor, speaking to journalists at a morning press conference, called attention to the fact that a house of the Lord is now in “the first state to forge religious freedom into the fabric of our nation.”
“Thomas Jefferson wrote in the statute of religious freedom that God created the mind free, and that all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion,” Gov. Youngkin said. “Today, the past meets present. … It is amazing to see the interwoven nature of this in this magnificent temple. Jeffersonian principles. Jeffersonian architecture. Virginia elements inside the temple, from the carvings of dogwood blooms, intricate patterns on the floors, pillars inspired by Monticello. You will see this blending present itself all over. There’s even a painting of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which we stopped for a moment and just absorbed.”
“I’m humbled,” Gov. Youngkin continued, “by the clear expression of faith eternal by this extraordinary [Latter-day Saint] community. May this temple be a lasting symbol to all Virginians of our collective legacy of true religious freedom and give the Latter-day Saint community across Virginia and around the world a powerful central location to practice their faith.”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
