Last Thursday, the heat of an already...

Last Thursday, the heat of an already scorching morning sun pressed

unmercifully on Newport Beach as group after group of visitors

lingered a few moments in the cool shade of the Salisbury-pink

granite entrance of the newly completed temple of The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There, each visitor slipped on a pair of white paper booties. With

the help of one of several Latter-day Saints young women stationed at

the temple entrance to assist, I put on mine.

The booties have no religious significance. Their job is to

protect the building’s exquisite carpets -- several of them ivory

white and carved -- from the soil of as many as 400,000 shoe soles.

From July 23 to August 20, while the Church hosts a month-long open

house to allow the public to view the interior of the temple, an

estimated 200,000 visitors are expected.

In spite of the familiar year-round presence of the Church’s

missionaries, it’s not uncommon for those outside The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints to think of its faith and practices as

mysterious, guarded and even strange.

This is a rare chance for outsiders to glimpse these soon-to-be

hallowed halls where the lintel above the entrance is inscribed,

“Holiness to the Lord -- The House of the Lord,” and to become a

little more familiar with the people most likely known to them as

Mormons, but who prefer to be known, as in the name of their church,

as Latter-day Saints.

The temple, once dedicated, is where Latter-day Saints in good

standing with the Church will come to learn what are regarded as

eternal truths and to receive and provide the Church’s special

blessings such as eternal marriage and baptism for the dead.

Latter-day Saints believe the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the

word of God and they also believe God’s revelation continues through

prophets today, unlike Christian denominations that believe God’s

last word was written in the New Testament book of Revelation, citing

Revelation 22:18-19: “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to

him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes

away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away

his part from the Book of Life.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, citing the Old

Testament book of Amos 3:7, teaches: “Throughout history, God has

chosen prophets, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others, to teach

the gospel and direct His Church. It is no different today.

...Because God loves His children, He continues to send living

prophets. Joseph Smith (1805--44) was the first prophet of our time.

Gordon B. Hinckley is God’s chosen prophet today.”

If you could be at a temple wedding, you’d never hear the words,

“until death do us part,” not because, as in much of society, they

have fallen out of favor because of their implied permanence, but

because they run against the grain of an important Latter-day Saints’

doctrine, which teaches that a marriage, when performed by the proper

authority, can be for all time and eternity, surviving even death.

The sealing rooms, where weddings take place in a Latter-day

Saints’ temple, bear witness to this belief. During the tour I made

of The Newport Beach Temple, Melanie T. Rasband, the wife of Ronald

A. Rasband, Executive Director of the Temple Department and my guide,

pointed out the symbolism with a recollection of their wedding.

On two sides of the sealing room where we stood were enormous

gilt-framed mirrors. For all their size, they were almost easy to

overlook given the general splendor of the temple, until Melanie

described what she saw 32 years ago gazing into two similar mirrors.

She suggested we stand to face the mirrors to get a sense

ourselves of what she had seen. Just married, she saw herself arm in

arm with her husband, the newly wed couple, reflected mirror in

mirror, again and again and again and again -- endlessly.

It was as visual an expression as she could imagine of the eternal

commitment they had just promised to keep with each other.

Much of what forms and decorates the temple is symbolic. From one

instruction room to another and finally to the Celestial room -- a

room given to silence for contemplation and prayer -- the floors are

subtly elevated, suggesting spiritual ascent.

The Celestial room itself is so replete with gold leafed white

walls, white carpet and radiant natural light caught and scattered by

a chandelier of tens of thousands of crystals, I needed my sunglasses

there as much as I needed them outdoors.

Twelve life-size, white cast resin oxen representing the 12 tribes

of Israel support the temple baptismal font, where members are

baptized on behalf of their ancestors who have died.

Even the garments members wear inside the temple -- white dresses

for women, white pants, shirts and ties for men -- are symbolic of

equality and purity.

Temples, which are closed on Sundays and Mondays, serve a

different purpose than the Church’s meetinghouses where Sunday

worship services, business meetings and other activities are held.

Meetinghouses remain open to anyone.

Once a temple is dedicated, only members of the Church possessing

a card to verify they are faithful to the Church’s doctrine and its

rigorous moral and religious lifestyle will be able to enter.

California is home to 770,000 of the 12 million members of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide. Of those,

50,000 live in Orange County.

For those who are allowed to enter a temple, the Newport Beach

Temple will soon mean no longer having to drive to La Jolla or Los

Angeles for many religious ceremonies, advanced spiritual instruction

or even time in prayer within what they regard as the house of the

Lord -- the most sacred place on Earth.

After the temple is dedicated on Aug. 28, its park-like gardens

will remain open for the public to enjoy. With its fountains and

pools and lavish, if presently young, landscaping, that should be an

attraction for Orange County residents and tourists alike, even on an

occasional blistering hot, coastal California days.

The temple is located on 2300 Bonita Canyon Drive. Tours are

available through August 20, on Monday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and

Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets are free

(but limited) and available by phone at 1 (800) 537-6214 or online at

https://www.lds.org/reservations.

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at michele@soulfoodfiles.com.