New LDS temple in Idaho welcomes thousands of visitors

MERIDIAN, Idaho — Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 158th temple is dedicated here on Nov. 19, more than 200,000 people are expected to tour it, from its baptistry fashioned after descriptions of King Solomon’s temple to its cream-colored sealing rooms, where marriages are performed for a kneeling couple dressed in white under a sparkling crystal chandelier.

Once it’s dedicated, the elegantly appointed, 67,000-square-foot temple will be open only to members of the faith in good standing. And over the years, those closed doors have sometimes led to speculation, fear and myth.

“Many times, people think that things are secret that are really sacred,” said church Elder Quentin Cook, a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who helped lead a group of media representatives and others on a recent tour of the new temple.

Unlike the simple chapels or meeting houses where church members attend regular services, temples are built of the finest materials, from Egyptian marble floors to intricately designed art glass. Murals and paintings, some of them original and commissioned specifically for the new temple, portray biblical scenes of Jesus Christ, or scenes of Western mountains, streams and meadows.

Temples are the places where church members come to celebrate the faith’s most sacred ceremonies, from weddings that “seal” the couple for eternity to taking instruction in the faith and making promises to live better lives.

The baptistry in the temple isn’t for baptizing the living; it’s only for symbolic baptisms performed on behalf of people who have died, including ancestors of church members. Church members believe that through baptism and sealing, families, including multiple generations, can remain together after death, into eternity. That’s why the church sponsors extensive genealogical research efforts, which also are made available for free to the public.

The fast-growing church, also known as the Mormon church, has about 426,000 members in Idaho, more than a quarter of the state’s population. The new Meridian temple is the state’s fifth, and a sixth is in the works in Pocatello.

Spokane’s Mormon temple, dedicated in 1999, is just a sixth the size of the grand edifice that’s set to open in Meridian, a high-growth area for the church’s members. All of the church’s Idaho temples are in southern Idaho.