President Dallin H. Oaks rededicated The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Oakland California Temple in three sessions on Sunday.
President Oaks, the first counselor in the Church’s First Presidency, said he was “astonished at the beauty” of the restored Oakland Temple, according to Church Newsroom.
“What is here is a remarkable house of the Lord in the quality of the architecture, in the quality of all the finishing of the various rooms and in the beauty overall,” President Oaks said. “It is marvelous, and it’s accentuated by extraordinarily beautiful original art that has been added during the restoration.”
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles joined President Oaks for the rededication. Elder Bednar, who was born in Oakland, shared his experience as a 12-year-old attending the temple’s first dedication in 1964.
“To be this close and think back more than 50 years to that experience in my youth — it’s kind of surreal,” Elder Bednar said. “It’s fabulous. I never could have imagined I’d be here in this role and responsibility, but it’s just a magnificent thing to participate in.”
The Church leaders spoke at a devotional for the youth on Saturday, in which President Oaks said technology may be one cause of the “alarming increases in diagnoses of anxiety in young Americans.”
The Church announced the temple’s closure for renovations in February 2017, and renovations started in February 2018. Before the rededication, the temple held an open house between May 11 and June 1.
According to the initial renovation announcement, the Church planned to upgrade the temple’s mechanical systems and refresh its finishes and furnishings.
