President Nelson to rededicate Washington D.C. Temple

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The Washington D.C. temple prepares for visitors during its open house period. (Virginia Payne)

President Russell M. Nelson will rededicate the newly renovated Washington D.C. Temple on Aug. 14, the Church announced last Wednesday.

The entire First Presidency will be among the 12 Church leaders present for the rededication, along with Elders Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson and Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The rededication will be President Nelson’s first such event since dedicating the Rome Italy Temple in 2019.

The temple initially closed in March 2018 for an extensive restoration project with the rededication originally planned for December 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the temple’s open house and reopening indefinitely. The public open house period finally began on April 28 and concluded in June, welcoming more than 250,000 guests over six weeks.

The temple was originally dedicated in 1974, becoming the 16th operating temple of the Church and the first located east of the Mississippi River since the abandoned Kirtland and Nauvoo temples. The original open house attracted more than 750,000 visitors, including First Lady Betty Ford.

Standing 288 feet tall on a spacious 52-acre lot in the suburb of Kensington, Maryland, the temple serves more than 120,000 Church members living in the Washington metro area, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Towering alongside the Capital Beltway, the temple has become a notable area landmark as a common point of reference in traffic reports, while captivating curious passing motorists.

“I’ve been driving past it nearly every day since 1974 and had the opportunity to get inside and to see what it’s all about,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said. “It’s not really just about the building, it’s about what goes on in there.”

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