In April, the Mormon temple near D.C. will open to the public for the first time since 1974
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 23, 2021
Millions who drive on the Capital Beltway in Maryland each year see the six dramatic white marble spires soaring hundreds of feet into the air, one topped by a trumpet-blowing golden angel, marking the District of Columbia region’s Mormon temple. But very few of them are allowed inside.
Until now.
For the first time since 1974, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday that members of the public will be allowed into the temple, which has been closed for renovations and improvements since 2018. Normally, only church members in good standing can enter temples, where private and somewhat-secret ceremonies are held.
The reopening, open house and dedications were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The temple in Kensington, Md., will be open to the public from April 28 through June 4 (except for Sundays) in 2022. That will follow a period of private tours from April 19 to 27.
The last time it was open, for about a month in 1974, more than 750,000 visitors came through, according to the temple’s website.
The tours will come before church officials rededicate the building, making it again sacred – and closed to the public, and to Mormons who don’t have what’s called a “temple recommend.”
“Temple recommend interviews allow members to demonstrate that they have a testimony and are striving to obey God’s commandments and follow His prophets. Priesthood leaders also affirm, through the interview, that the member is worthy,” the church said.
Kathleen Flake, a professor of Mormon studies at the University of Virginia, said the denomination is trying to maintain ancient ideas about sacred objects, relationships, people and buildings, “taking them out of the ordinary in order to facilitate particular experiences.”
Latter-day Saints temples are different from Mormon chapels, or “wards,” that are more like conventional church buildings where worship services are held. Temples are for specific holy ceremonies, including “sealings.” Mormonism teaches that they bond families together forever, even after death.