Washington Temple Dedicated

Some 40,000 members of the Church from all parts of the eastern United States and eastern Canada attended the dedication services of the Washington Temple, November 19–22.

With its dedication, the temple became the 16th in use in the world today.

The dedicatory prayer was offered by President Spencer W. Kimball at each of ten dedicatory services. Three services were held on November 19 and November 20, and two each were held on November 21 and 22.

Members of the Church gathered in several rooms of the temple, including the ordinance rooms, chapel, cafeteria, and the solemn assembly room. Church members received tickets from their bishops to attend the sessions.

In addition to the dedicatory prayer, General Authorities spoke at each of the sessions. All of the General Authorities, with the exception of Elder Alma Sonne, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, and President Milton R. Hunter, First Council of Seventy, were in attendance at the dedication services.

Other speakers during the four-day dedication included Fred A. Markham, representing the temple architects, President Julian C. Lowe of the Oakton Virginia Stake and chairman of the Temple District Committee, and Robert W. Barker, Regional Representative of the Council of the Twelve.

Many out-of-town visitors at the dedication were housed in the homes of Washington area Church members.

The dedication followed a public showing of the temple that brought 758,322 visitors to the building in seven weeks.

Following the dedication, the work of the temple—ordinances for the living and the dead—began under the direction of Edward E. Drury, Jr., president of the temple.