San Diego’s landmark Mormon Temple open to the public until July 11
It is the first time in over 30 years the sacred space has allowed visitors.
Written by Jenna Ramiscal, Edited by Kate Morrissey and Lauren J. Mapp
An iconic landmark right off of Interstate 5 and long-time mystery to San Diegans — the San Diego California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is open to the public for a limited amount of time.
Community members haven't been allowed inside the space, commonly known as the Mormon temple, for over 30 years. After undergoing three years of renovations, the temple is hosting an open house until July 11 for non-members of the church to look inside and learn about the faith before a rededication ceremony closes it again to people outside of the church.
“It's an opportunity for us to show the sacred nature of what we do here and take some of the mystery and secret away — we never looked at it as being secret, but it can start to feel that way,” said Ted Schroder, executive secretary of the open house and rededication committee. “We make these open houses available to just encourage greater understanding.”
The open house has garnered the attention of thousands of visitors for the short window into the sacred space.
Schroder said thousands have visited the temple as tours run six days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. He said the church has over 6,000 volunteer members to make the process possible and that they spent more than a year planning the visits.
“A lot of people have been wondering ‘What is it like inside?’ and then for them to have the opportunity to see it for themselves takes away the mysteriousness and gives them greater understanding,” said Marilyn White-Harris, a member of the church. “It's important because good people that love Heavenly Father should unite, and we're hoping that that's what this does, inviting people in, that it unites our community and gets rid of some divisiveness.”
Last Tuesday, a line of cars flowed outside of the temple's gates, and community members waited to find parking before going on tours. Charter buses from tourist groups, outside parking lots and senior living homes also dropped off visitors at the temple’s lawn.
Tour guides escorted groups of about 20 people into the temple for 45-minute walkthroughs. Every visitor wore shoe coverings to prevent dirt from getting on the thick, beige carpets.
The temple had not been renovated since 1993 when it first opened, Schroder said. In the last three years, Schroder said, the temple’s renovations included remodeling rooms and refreshing the piping, cabling, carpeting and stain glass coloring.
John Tully and his wife drove an hour from San Clemente to visit the temple.
“I had been here the last time before it was sealed,” Tully said. “It was very different because at that time I really didn't have that many Mormon friends, but in south Orange County, especially the community we live in, we have a lot of Mormon friends. We wanted to see what their church was like.”
The tour explored four main areas associated with holy ceremonies.
Ancestral baptism
The tour guide first led the group into the ancestral baptism area that features 12 oxen meant to represent the tribes of Israel from Solomon's Temple in the Old Testament. The baptism pool rests on the animal's backs.
Members of the church, usually youth groups with children older than 11 years old, go to this space to baptize the dead, Schroder said. The person conducting the baptism brings the names of their family members who were not baptized when they were living.
In the 1990s and again in 2017, the practice drew criticism after reports that the church was baptizing Holocaust victims and ancestors of prominent figures.
The church adopted new rules in order to address concerns about proxy baptisms. In order to baptize someone who is not a close relative, either the person has to have been deceased for over 110 years or a close relative of the deceased has to have granted permission.
Schroder said that Latter-day Saints members believe the dead who they baptized have the choice to accept or decline ordinances that church members perform for them.
Endowment ceremony
The tour then moved to another room in the temple that featured theater-like chairs that surrounded an altar. Curtains strung along the sides gave the walls texture and depth.
In the center of the room, behind the altar, was a blank wall. Members of the church go to this room to watch the endowment ordinance, an audiovisual presentation about God and Jesus Christ.
Celestial room
The tour then took visitors inside one of the two spires that are visible from the freeway to the celestial room, meant to symbolize heaven. During the tour, visitors took a moment of silence to reflect there.
“It's hard to beat the feeling of peace and comfort that you get sitting in the celestial room,” Schroder said. “It's a really peaceful place to sit and think about where you're going with your life, how you might do better and how you're doing okay — no cell phones or no other distractions.”
Marriage rooms and sealing ceremony
A recent addition to the temple is the marriage waiting room, where family members and friends of a soon-to-be wedded pair wait before the marriage ceremony.
The tour also showed the sealing room, another part of the marriage process involving a ceremony symbolizing a couple being brought together for eternity. Church members believe that couples sealed in the temple cannot be separated, even by death.
“I felt so peaceful as I walked through there,” Schroder said. “To me that's been the most rewarding piece of it is people walk away saying, ‘Wow, this is a beautiful, safe, peaceful place.’”
After tours of the temple close, it will undergo a six-week period for touch ups before its rededication. After that, only members of the church will be allowed inside.
Community members can make reservations for a tour up until July 11 on the church’s website.
