By Stephen Schwendiman
stephen@newsroom.byu.edu
Public tours are taking place for the Houston Texas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Heather Jones, a member of the LDS Church from Houston, TX., said she believes the response from the local community has been very positive. Jones helped usher for the V.I.P. tours Aug. 10 and 11.
Jones said she feels the people visiting can sense it is a special building.
The temple is leading to missionary experiences, Jones said.
'It's amazing to see the reaction of people,' Jones said.
The temple is beautiful, Jones said. She said she is especially impressed with the temple grounds and the fountains outside the temple.
Tours for the general public began Saturday and will continue until Aug. 22, said a news release from LDS Church Public Affairs.
Jones said tours have been pretty busy. Thousands of people visited the temple on Saturday, she said.
Kim Farah, said temple size can play a role in determining the duration of public tours.
Smaller temples usually have a shorter open house, Farah said.
Farah said the Houston Temple is a bigger temple compared to the mini-temples built by the LDS Church.
Farah said the temple is bigger because it serves a larger area.
Tamara Taysom, a member of the LDS Church living in Houston Tx., said a few of the areas the temple serves include: Austin, Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Tx.
Taysom helped usher tours of the temple last week.
There will still be people who have to drive far to get to the temple, Taysom said.
Taysom said she is relieved she does not have to travel as far to visit the temple.
Taysom said the nearest temple to her used to be the Dallas Temple. She said it used to be a weekend trip to visit the temple.
Although the Houston Temple is larger than the mini-temples, Taysom said it's not as big as the temples she is used to. Taysom is originally from Utah.
Because the Houston Temple serves a larger area there will be eight dedicatory sessions, Farah said.
The temple will be dedicated Aug. 26 making it the 97th operating temple, the news release said.