SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Open-house visitors to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple will view a variety of features similar to those found in many LDS temples. Guests also may see less-familiar items.In the latter category, for example, is a water fountain that responds to weather, two wall hangings cut out from another temple's mural and a baptistry where it's possible to see from the font into the confirmation rooms.The Oquirrh Mountain Temple also is a rarity among The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' 130 temples in that it is not named after the city or metropolitan area in which it is located. Both the Oquirrh Mountain and Jordan River temples are within South Jordan city limits, so neither is named the "South Jordan Utah Temple."A few things to look for:Murals. The mountain scenes in two of the Oquirrh Mountain ordinance rooms are similar to a mural in one of the Draper Temple ordinance rooms. Utah artist Linda Curley Christensen was the lead artist for those scenes in both temples.Aspen-forest scenes in the two temples aren't just similar — they're the same scene.One of the ordinance rooms in the Draper Temple has a mural of a quaking-aspen forest, painted by Colorado artist Keith Bond. Two cutouts from that mural were framed and now hang on walls of a third-floor hall in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.__IMAGE3__Baptistry. The font room is smaller than in many temples, so people watching from the waiting area are much closer to the ordinances being performed. Also, if the confirmation-room doors are open, it is possible for people in the font area to see into those rooms.Endowment rooms. With seating for 48, the ordinance rooms are smaller than in most Utah temples. The endowment instruction will occur in a two-room sequence. The A rooms have murals and not much room to spare beyond the seating. The B rooms are lighter and roomier.There are two sets of endowment-instruction rooms, for a total of four ordinance rooms.Also, note the video-monitor plug-ins along the back rows of the ordinance rooms. As in the Draper Temple, this allows a hearing-impaired worshipper to view the instruction in American Sign Language, said Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy. In most temples, sign language would be seen by all patrons on a monitor at the front of the room.Construction materials came from all over the world, including exterior granite and pavers from China, interior limestone from Morocco and Egypt, woods from Indiana and Kentucky, and doors and veneer from the German Alps.Elder Ronald A. Rasband, senior president of the Seventy, said that as Solomon in the Old Testament was commanded to build a temple of the beautiful things of the earth, so was the Oquirrh Mountain Temple constructed."The detail work throughout the temple is exquisite, the location is just magnificent," said Elder Walker, current executive director of the church's Temple Department. "We have a beautiful look across to the mountains on the east side; I just think it's a magnificent, beautiful setting."Water fountain. The temple location is in an area of the Salt Lake Valley that has a reputation for a constant breeze and frequent gusts.So the big fountain out front turns off if the wind is blowing too hard. "There is a little windmill that determines wind speed," church spokesman Scott Trotter said.If it's too windy, the large water jet turns off. "It's to keep people from getting wet out front," Trotter said. Some smaller water features stay on.Temple size. To Mormons along the Wasatch Front, or to longtime church members used to the older temples in places like Los Angeles; Mesa, Ariz.; or Washington, D.C., the Oquirrh Mountain Temple will seem small.__IMAGE2__But it's larger than many temples constructed the past dozen years as church leaders have rapidly increased the number of temples so that more members have easier access to temple worship.So at 60,000 square feet, call Oquirrh Mountain a medium-size temple — similar to the 58,000 of Draper, dedicated earlier this year, or the Rexburg Idaho Temple dedicated last year."These two temples (Oquirrh Mountain and Draper) will give the Latter-day Saints on the Wasatch Front a different experience in terms of size but not in the doctrine and ordinances," Elder Rasband said.By comparison, the Jordan River Temple is twice the size, and the Salt Lake Temple is four times larger. On the smaller side, the Twin Falls Idaho Temple, dedicated last fall, is half the size of Oquirrh Mountain, and the Gila Valley Arizona Temple, for which ground was broken earlier this year, will be less than one-third the size.The Oquirrh Mountain Temple, 11022 S. 4000 West, will be dedicated in nine sessions Aug. 21-23.Once dedicated and open for patrons, telephone reservations will be needed, at least initially.Immediately after the Draper Temple was dedicated in March, reservations were needed but no longer are.Like the Draper Temple, the Oquirrh Mountain Temple does not have a cafeteria.And there is limited clothing rental. "The hope for the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temple districts is that members will acquire their own clothing," Elder Rasband said.The district for the new temple encompasses 26 stakes, which include about 83,000 members in southwest Salt Lake County.Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "I think it's an exciting thing to know that the church is growing so strongly here in South Jordan and West Jordan, and the temples have been ... put in places where the people are."The open-house period continues through Aug. 1. Tickets for the tours are available online at www.lds.org/reservations or via telephone at 801-240-7645 or 1-800-521-5105.
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