The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the San Diego California Temple, which closed for extensive renovations starting July 2023, will be rededicated this summer on Sunday, Aug. 23.
The temple’s rededication is scheduled to be broadcast and rebroadcast that day to all church units in the area at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Preceding the temple’s rededication, a public open house period held every Monday through Saturday from Thursday, June 18, to Saturday, July 11, will enable guests of all faiths and ages to tour the multistory temple, free of charge.
Media day tours of the temple will be held Monday, June 15, and tours for invited guests will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, June 16-17.
“May thy watchcare be over this, thy holy house,” reads an excerpt of the temple’s original dedicatory prayer from 1993. “Preserve it from storm and tempest, from the tremblings of the earth, and most importantly from any defiling hand of man.”
First announced in April 1984, the San Diego temple became the third Latter-day Saint temple in California and was originally dedicated in 23 sessions held April 25 through April 30, 1993.
These dedicatory sessions were presided over by President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson, who were at the time serving as first and second counselors in the church’s First Presidency.
“People all over the world long for what you now have,” President Hinckley told sessiongoers then. “Brothers and sisters, be grateful.”
The San Diego California Temple is now one of 12 temples announced to help serve the state’s nearly 730,000 Latter-day Saints.
Of the state’s announced temples, seven are currently in operation, two are under construction, two are in planning/design stages and one — the San Diego temple — is scheduled for dedication.
Guests planning to visit the San Diego temple during its public open house period can expect the experience to include an introductory video, followed by a guided walk-through with explanations of each area and its significance.