Elder Matthew S. Holland, a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stood in a small “Sealing Room” at the church’s just-renovated St. George Utah Temple and spoke about a ritual that connected decades of his family’s history.
“There is not a more sacred spot on the earth than this altar in this room,” Mr. Holland, a political scientist and former Utah Valley University president, said. In this room, he was “sealed” in marriage to his wife Paige, making him the fifth generation in his family — on his late mother’s side — to have that ceremony there.
Church officials reverently describe the St. George Temple as a “Pioneer Temple,” one of the earliest constructed by Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons. The 143,669-square-foot building, made of red sandstone painted white to suggest purity, sits on 6.5 acres in this southern Utah city, once a dusty outpost now bustling with entrepreneurs, outdoor enthusiasts, college students and retirees attracted to the warm climate here.
The historic significance of the St. George Temple was not lost on officials who spoke at the press preview. Church Elder Erich W. Kopischke, also a general authority and assistant executive director of the church’s Temple Department, said understanding the temple’s function is key to grasping the faith’s meaning.
Temples are not used for weekly worship or the baptism of new members; those functions are assigned to local churches called meetinghouses.
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