Albuquerque New Mexico Temple
The Albuquerque New Mexico Temple is the 73rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Prayers were answered as ground for the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple was broken in a special ceremony on 20 June 1998. About 6,500 members attended the event. During the ceremony, a 600-voice youth choir provided the music. Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen, who presided over the groundbreaking ceremony, commented, “It is during these special moments that we can feel and see the hand of the Lord moving in the work. You might not remember everything that was said this warm and glorious morning, but you will remember the feeling. What you feel today will help you in your search for happiness throughout your lives.” [1]
During the ceremony Elder Christofferson of the Seventy said, “The temple is a place where people can step outside the worldliness and refresh, regroup, and reorient themselves as to what really matters. It is a place to gain strength and gain fresh perspectives. The temple is the house of God. It is a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, and order.” [1]
During the 10-day open house about 70,000 people toured the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple. Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the temple on 5 March 2000. During the dedicatory prayer President Hinckley talked about the return of the prophet Elijah to Joseph Smith and the return of the sealing keys. He prayed, "May Thy people with greater diligence search for their kindred dead. May the hearts of the children turn to their fathers, and when they have identified them may they perform a great and wondrous vicarious service in their behalf in this Thy sacred house." [2]
The Albuquerque New Mexico Temple serves about 55,000 members in New Mexico and bordering parts of Arizona and Colorado. It sits on 8.5 acres northeast of Albuquerque. The exterior is finished with desert rose pre-cast concrete and trimmed with Texas pearl granite. A gold statue of the angel Moroni tops the single-spire. The temple has a total of 34,245 square feet, two ordinance rooms, and three sealing rooms.
Notes
- “News of the Church,” Ensign, Sept. 1998, 78
- "Dedicatory prayer: 'Open the hands of Thy bounty,'" Church News, 11 Mar. 2000, 25 Jun. 2005
