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By Kent Larsen
Winter Quarters Latest of Unique 'History Temples'
OMAHA, NEBRASKA -- The dedication yesterday of the Winter Quarters
Nebraska Temple adds a second to what may be a series of unique
temples connected to LDS historical sites. The series started when
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Palmyra
New York Temple last year, and will continue when the Nauvoo Illinois
Temple is dedicated next year. Like the Palmyra Temple, the Winter
Quarters Temple is literally next door to an important historic site,
and like that temple, it features artwork that reflects its
historical context.
LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Winter Quarters
Temple Sunday in four sessions, the first of which was recorded and
broadcast yesterday evening throughout North America to members in
select meetinghouses set up to require special recommends for the
dedication. The only previous time that a temple dedication was
broadcast nationwide was with the dedication of the Palmyra Temple.
[However, some other dedications, such as the Boston Temple
dedication, have been broadcast to buildings in their temple
district.]
The Winter Quarters Temple is located across the street from the LDS
Church's Mormon Trail Center and next to a historic cemetery that
contains the graves of hundreds of Mormon pioneers who died while
living in Winter Quarters. The cemetery, once owned by the city of
Omaha and leased to the LDS Church for $1 a year, was recently deeded
to the Church, and was also dedicated by President Hinckley yesterday.
The Temple itself also memorializes the Mormon pioneers, featuring
stained glass windows by LDS artisan Tom Holdman of Highland, Utah
that depict Brigham Young, the construction of log cabins at Winter
Quarters, and other pioneer events. Other original artwork in the
Temple also features the Mormon migration.
The building is also slightly larger than most of the other 'smaller'
temples, 16,000 square feet instead of 10,000 square feet. It also
includes a second story and a chapel, unlike other smaller temples.
Source:
Nebraska temple dedicated
Deseret News 23Apr01 D1
By R. Scott Lloyd: Deseret News staff writer
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