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OREM — "A Place for You," the slogan at Utah Valley University, has become more meaningful for Grace Miller as she can now see the Orem Utah Temple "shining perfectly" as the sun sets behind it from campus.
"The temple is a place for me, and the Orem Temple is available for all of us to come and to see and to feel the light that it so naturally emanates," she said. "It truly has become a beacon of hope, peace, stability and comfort."
She said during a tour with members of the media on Monday that the temple is a place where she feels God's love, and having a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orem makes it more accessible. An open house, where anyone can see inside the newly constructed temple, begins on Friday.
"I have felt, time and time again, so close to heaven while I've been in the temple," said Miller, of Provo. "Please come and feel close to heaven during the Orem Temple open house."
She studies finance at Utah Valley and said there is "an electricity" at the school as it gets closer to having a temple just across the freeway. She said she hopes it will have a positive impact on the atmosphere at UVU in general.
"That is the biggest dream of my life and I think that the Lord, that's his plan," she said.
She expects to be coming to the temple open house about once a week, showing the building to others each time.
Cherry blossom designs
Miller said the detail and depth of the designs in the temple showed her the Lord cares individually about her, and everyone else.
The temple is filled with pink and green colors and has stained glass depicting Utah Lake and cherry blossoms — which are also depicted in wood panels, handrails and rugs. Church officials said they picked these blossoms as a design motif because the area used to have fruit orchards.
The church said the building is 70,000 square feet, and sits on a 15.39-acre plot of land that was settled by Norwegian immigrants in 1864. The Williamson family built a homestead on the land and lived there until it was purchased by the church in 2004.
Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, general authority seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the temple will be the 186th temple and will serve over 57,000 members of the church. It will be the sixth temple in Utah County.
He said it will provide a place of refuge for students, because sometimes school can be really demanding. He said the temple will be a place where many people come to be married and sealed, both UVU students and others, in and out of the temple district, and it will also help people in the area still have another temple nearby when the Provo Utah Temple is closed for renovations on Feb. 24, 2024.
The property where the temple now stands has stayed undeveloped, like it was waiting for the temple, Elder Parrella told members of the media on Monday. He said the temple is beautiful, and right next to the freeway, in a location where it "will not go unnoticed."
Elder Parrella said it will impact people who drive by, just like it does those who go inside.
"It will be a beam of light to all," he said.
Elder Parrella said he wanted everyone in the area to feel welcome at the temple, and come to the open house. He said the open house helps everyone in the area feel like they are a part of the community, regardless of their beliefs, as they are invited to see everything inside the temple.
The Orem Utah Temple's open house will run through Dec. 16, and it will be dedicated on Jan. 21, 2024, after which it will be open only to temple recommend holders.
A landmark for Family City USA
Sister Reyna Aburto, former second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency who currently serves as a member of the local committee for the Orem Temple open house, said people are given power and knowledge at the temple they can bring into their communities.
"We ... come out of that building with a desire to share the life of Jesus Christ with everyone," she said.
Chad Lewis, a former BYU and NFL football player who now works for the BYU athletics department and serves as president of the Orem Hillcrest Stake, near the mall, said people in Orem are so excited to have a temple in their home town and it will be a beautiful landmark for the city.
"It will be the symbol of this 'Family City USA' forever. A place where families can be sealed together forever — perfect for 'Family City USA,'" he said.
Lewis said everyone can come to the temple and feel the peace, love and light of Jesus Christ. He invited everyone in Orem to come to the open house.
Members of his stake are volunteering at the temple during the open house, but they will remain, for now, in the Provo Utah Temple District. Because of this, Lewis said members in his stake will not be temple workers at the new temple — but they hope to be assigned to the Orem Temple District in the future, maybe as the Lindon Utah Temple is completed.
