Attending a Temple Dedication (Ogden Utah Temple)

On each of our meetinghouses, we proudly display the words "Visitors Welcome".
That's true, usually.

The only occasion in which it isn't true, to my knowledge, is in the case of Temple dedications.
The dedication of a Temple is an exciting event, and nearly every Mormon who is even remotely connected to the Temple being dedicated wants to be involved.  Not only is it a chance to celebrate another building dedicated to the work of the Lord, it is a chance to hear wisdom and counsel from local and international Church leaders.
With the wonders of modern technology, this is possible!

A Temple dedication service is much like a regular worship service - there are several sermons, hymns, and prayers.  All the furniture in the Temple is cleared out and replaced with hundreds of folding chairs, so that as many people as possible can fit inside the temple. But obviously it can't fit everyone, and not everyone could travel the distance required to get there even if there were space.  So now, dedication services are broadcast to Stake Centers (to be defined in a future post) in the area.  This way, nearly anyone who wants to participate can have the opportunity.
When a Temple dedication is broadcast (through an encrypted satellite or internet transmission), the stake centers receiving that transmission become extensions or satellite locations of the Temple, and thus are treated as Temples.  Only those who are baptized and have a current Temple Recommend are allowed to enter the church building - no babies, no young children, no unbaptized visitors, none who are unworthy to attend the Temple.

Today was the re-dedication of the Ogden Utah Temple.  All regular congregational worship services in Utah and parts of Wyoming were cancelled today and replaced by the live broadcast of the Temple dedication.  So, no visitors allowed. We could have replaced our usual welcoming sign with a "Visitors *not* Welcome (just for today)" sign.

What happens? Why is it so super secret?  As we always say with Temples, it isn't secret, it's sacred.  In this case, it's just the fact that the building becomes dedicated as holy edifice.  Simple as that.  I will tell you right now everything that happens:
1. A couple hymns sung by a local choir.
2. An opening prayer offered by a local leader.
3. Sermons delivered by the Temple Matron and Matron's Assistants, Temple Presidency, Seventies, General Auxiliary Officers (in this case the presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary), and Apostles.  In this case we had two female and four male speakers.  The only thing you might find interesting is that the speakers wear all-white from their wrists to their ankles, which we almost always wear in the temple (a future post on this).  The topic focus is on the importance of the Temple.
4. The Hosanna Shout. (this is something that is quite sacred to us, and which is a tradition at the dedication of every Temple - ancient and modern.  If you'd like to learn more about it and see an actual hosanna shout, the only public video and description I'm aware of is available HERE. The dedication of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City in October 2000.  The actual Hosanna Shout is the last 50 seconds of the video, and an excellent introduction is given in the video or in the text transcription if you scroll down.)
5. Singing The Spirit of God
6. Closing prayer offered by a local leader.

And so, visitors - you are welcome, just not today.

Secret?

Many people seem to think that the inside of a Mormon Temple is some sort of enormous secret. I have heard all sorts of comments about this, such as “Even most Mormons don’t know what it looks like!” and “They never let anyone who isn’t Mormon inside!” I once read an article from a respected national news service which posted a photo of inside a recently-dedicated Temple (released to the newsmedia by the Church) with the rouge-sounding comment “A rare and exclusive photo of the interior.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or to point out to them that they had probably received an entire collection of photos from the Church to use in their coverage of the story.

The fact of the matter is, what the inside of a Mormon Temple looks like is no secret. It was never meant to be a secret. In fact, when the Salt Lake Temple was built, the Church published an entire book describing it, detailing every corner, from the carpets and furnishings to the type of plumbing used. Photos of each room were included, even those that are only entered by top Church leaders. Every time a new Temple opens, the public is invited to tour the building for free, seeing every room save perhaps bathrooms and storage closets. These tours usually end with an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the building to Church representatives. (I once participated in one of these events, and the questions ranged from “How many crystals are in the chandelier?” to “What exactly goes on in that room?”) Temples are usually opened to the public for tours again if the temple is extensively remodeled or renovated.

The fact that pictures of the interior are available from the Church and are distributed to local and national newsmedia are also proof that what the inside of a temple looks like is no secret. We WANT you to know what it looks like. We WANT you to understand by seeing these photos that the ridiculous rumors you might have heard are not true. Most importantly, we WANT you to feel a sense of that sacredness that the temple contains. Anything good is worth sharing, and that is what we try to do with our Temples.