By Adrienne Andros
On Jan. 15, the First Presidency wrote a letter announcing the Open House and Dedication dates for the Nauvoo Illinois Temple. The letter was to be read in sacrament meeting on the following Sunday.
The Nauvoo Illinois Temple, the 109th LDS temple, will be dedicated June 27-30, 2002. An open house will be May 18 through June 22, 2002.
The Nauvoo Temple dedication will be broadcast in stake centers across the world.
The First Presidency sent a letter to the leaders of the church to be read in sacrament meeting concerning the dedication, said Irwin Purcell, bishop of the BYU 138th ward. Students will need to have a current temple recommend, he said, even if they are attending a satellite broadcast of the dedication.
Not all temple dedications are broadcast to members via satellite. However, temples that have significant interest to the whole church usually are, said Gregg Wright, bishop of the BYU 187th ward, like the Church history temples.
'It provides an opportunity for all the members to participate,' Wright said.
According to the letter from the First Presidency, dedication recommends and instructions will be mailed to stakes at a date closer to the dedication. To obtain a recommend for the dedication, members must be baptized and temple worthy.
There have been 250,000 tickets issued and 50,000 more anticipated, said Susan Easton Black, a religion professor at BYU and author of 'The Nauvoo Temple: Jewel of the Mississippi,' a souvenir booklet to be available during the open houses and dedication of the temple.
From the clock tower to the sunstones, the restored temple will be almost identical to the original, Black said. One of the differences is that the weather vane of Angel Moroni will now position him upright, instead of horizontal, she said.
The inside of the temple will be decorated with painted wall murals and late 18th and 19th century furnishings, Black said.
'Of all the temples, this has been the most watched in construction,' Black said.
Across the street from the temple was a camera placed on a bank to take pictures every minute of the temple being constructed, Black said. You could look up these pictures on the Deseret Book Web site and observe the building of the Nauvoo temple.