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SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 4½ years after the Washington D.C. Temple closed for renovation, President Russell M. Nelson will rededicate it on Aug. 14 in three sessions that will include the entire First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A true Washington landmark because of its lighting and location on a hill above the Capital Beltway, the temple closed in March 2018. The renovation included new artwork throughout the temple, new finishing and furnishing throughout, and updates to mechanical and electrical systems.
The rededication initially was scheduled for December 2020, but it was postponed for 20 months due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temple's doors opened to the public in April for the first time in 46 years for an open house that lasted from April to June. More than 250,000 people attended. The late President Spencer W. Kimball dedicated the temple in 1974 after another large open house that included a visit by the vice president of the United States.
This summer's open house drew members of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, the national media, ambassadors from around the world and leaders from other faiths.
After President Nelson rededicates the temple on Aug. 14, the temple again will be closed to the public. Latter-day Saint temples are reserved for church members in good standing.
President Nelson will preside at all three sessions, which will be held at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. He will be joined by his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring.
Three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also will participate, Elders Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson and Gerrit W. Gong.
Other church leaders who will attend the rededication include Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé, Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Presidency of the Seventy, Sister Amy A. Wright of the Primary General Presidency and four General Authority Seventies — Elders W. Mark Bassett, Kevin R. Duncan, Allen D. Haynie and Vai Sikahema.
The Washington D.C. Temple is the tallest Latter-day Saint temple at 288 feet. It is the church's third-largest temple at nearly 160,000 square feet.
The temple is located in Kensington, Maryland, 10 miles north of the White House and U.S. Capitol Building.
To see inside the temple now, take a 360-degree virtual tour here.
To see the open house in pictures, click here.
