Portland Oregon Temple

The Portland Oregon Temple is the 42nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Oregon temple sits on 7 acres of lush green land in Lake Owego, Oregon. The temple has six white spires and a white marble exterior accented with green marble trim and topped with a green slate roof. The three east spires on the temple represent the Melchezidek Priesthood and the three west spires represent the Aaronic Priesthood.

The land for the Portland Mormon Temple was purchased in the 1960s with the purpose of building a Junior College. However, when it came time to build a temple in Oregon, the Temple Committee realized that the property was the place for the temple. Getting approval for the temple's construction, however, was not without opposition though. The process of getting the property approved for the Portland Temple included at least twenty-seven public hearings, eight lawsuits, and four petition drives which were intended to stop the development. Elder Bean who was the Temple Committee Chairman said, "The Saints are tested; it is almost as though the Lord wants the members to know how much they want a temple." [1]

When the temple was completed the attitudes of those in the community changed and almost three hundred thousand people attended the open house. On August 19, 1989 the Portland Oregon Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley who was an apostle at the time. He pronounced that the temple is, "a place of peace and holiness, a refuge from [the] storms of life." [2]

The Portland Oregon Temple has a total of 79,220 square feet, four ordinance rooms, and fourteen sealing rooms.

Notes

1. "Saints to the Columbia", by Kullberg, 113
2. "Temple Dedicated", by Avant, 3

See also

• Inside Mormon Temples
• Mormon Temples
• The Temple Endowment
• Mormon Undergarments
• LDS Weddings

External links

• Official LDS Portland Oregon Temple page
• Portland Oregon Temple page
• Portland Oregon Temple page
• Mormon Temple Ordinances - ReligionFacts
• Mormon Temples - Lightplanet
• Mormon Temples and Secrecy
• Mormon Missionaries - BBC Religion & Ethics
• Joseph Smith - American Prophet
• A video about the Portland Oregon Temple