Oquirrh Mountain dedication takes more than building materials
It took more than cement, mortar and steel to build the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. In fact, it took a lot more.
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s Web site LDS.org, the Oquirrh Mountain temple required: 17,096 exterior stones, 47 miles of linear wood, 4,668 cubic yards of concrete, 407 tons of structural steel, 80 miles of electrical wiring, and 184 individual doors, not to mention the morning prayer offered each morning before construction.
According to a news release by LDS.org, the teams of engineers, construction workers and temple missionaries met each morning to inventory the day’s tasks and assignments. The meeting concluded with a prayer.
But while prayer may have helped in the construction process, it certainly didn’t appease the elements.
In June, as reported by the Daily Herald, a lightning bolt struck the Angel Moroni statue, blackening his face, arm and trumpet. A replacement angel was installed 10 days before dedication services began.
Open to the public for two months before its dedication, the Oquirrh Mountain temple drew nearly 600,000 visitors for an average of 12,000 people per day, excluding holidays and Sundays.
President Thomas S. Monson lay the cornerstone for the temple on Aug. 21, his 82nd birthday.
Following the cornerstone ceremony, Monson gave the first of nine dedicatory prayers. Second counselor in the First Presidency Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also participated in the dedicatory ceremony.
With the Draper temple dedicated in March of this year, and the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedicated Aug. 21, the number of temples in Utah is now 13.