Oakland California Temple

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The Oakland California Temple

The Oakland California Temple is the 15th constructed and 13th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS temple in Oakland, California was announced on May 26, 1962, and dedicated on November 19, 1964 by David O. McKay.

1 Physical Description
2 Temple Prophecies
3 Prophecies of Protection
4 "And it Came to Pass" Pageant
5 Latter-day Saint temples in California
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Physical Description

Located in the city of Oakland, California at 4770 Lincoln Ave, it is the only temple built with a modern five-spire design and exhibits an Oriental motif. The exterior of the temple is reinforced concrete faced with sierra white granite from Raymond, California. On the north and south faces of the temple are two decorative friezes, and is the last temple to have such. The back (south side) is a depiction of Christ descending from Heaven to the people of the American continent soon after his resurrection in the holy land. The front (north side) illustrates Christ preaching His Gospel to the people. Within the front garden courtyard there is a statue of children in front of a bronze plaque bearing a scripture from 3 Nephi 17, telling how Christ blessed the children during his visit to the people of ancient America.

The temple sits on a prominent site in the Oakland hills and has become a local landmark. Through the Front courtyard are entrances which lead to the temple terrace situated above the ground floor of the temple. From the temple grounds and terrace are spectacular views of the Bay Area including downtown Oakland, the Bay Bridge, Yerba Buena Island, downtown San Francisco, and on a clear day, the Golden Gate Bridge. The Grounds are accented by flowers, palm trees, and a formal-style man-made river running from one fountain to the other.

The temple was built on an 18.3 acre plot, has 4 ordinance room, 7 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 95,000 square feet.

[edit] Temple Prophecies

The Oakland California Temple

The building of the Oakland Temple, as well as other temples in California was prophesied as early as 1847. The saints who had travelled by ship around Cape Horn to California were told by Brigham Young that "...in the process of time, the shores of the Pacific may yet be overlooked from the Temple of the Lord." In 1924, Elder George Albert Smith on assignment to the Bay Area saw in a vision "a great white temple of the Lord." He stated that "a temple would surmount the East Bay hills, one that would be visible as a beacon to ships as they entered the Golden Gate from the far flung nations of the earth." Today, due to the practice of illuminating temples at night, both ships and planes use the floodlit Oakland Temple as a psuedo-lighthouse for navigational use when docking and landing in Oakland and San Francisco.

[edit] Prophecies of Protection

In the Dedicatory Prayer given in 1964, President David O. McKay prayed for God to "protect it from earthquakes, hurricanes, tempestuous storms or other devastating holocausts." In 1989, the greater San Francisco area experienced the Loma Prieta earthquake, a magnitude 6.9 quake. While most of the damage occurred in San Francisco and Oakland, the Oakland Temple remained standing steadfast. Two years later in 1991, a small brushfire started the Oakland Hills firestorm which destroyed 1,520 acres of property. While the temple, set in the midst of the hills, was threatened by the fire it remained unscathed.

[edit] "And it Came to Pass" Pageant

In the nearby Interstake Center a yearly theatrical production is put on by local members. The pageant, commonly know as the "Temple Pageant" involves many actors, dancers, and singers. In addition to the people on stage, there is a technical crew and a balcony choir. This is one of only a few "temple pageants" around the country with others in Mesa, Arizona; Manti, Utah; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Hill Cumorah, New York. It remains the only such pageant performed indoors and the only pageant that is completely live with the aid of the Temple Hill Symphony Orchestra. Initially, the pageant would run on three consecutive nights but has over the years been trimmed down to a little over an hour and a half with some scenes getting the chop and others being reinserted.