Open House Begins for the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple

The public is invited to tour the newly completed Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first Mormon temple in the Keystone State.

Downloadable 1080p b-roll for journalists

The First Presidency of the Church has announced that the open house will be held from Wednesday, August 10, through Friday, September 9, 2016, and run every day except Sundays (August 14, 21 and 28 and September 4). Those wishing to make a free reservation for the open house, visit www.philadelphiamormontemple.org or call 1-855-537-2000.

The temple is located downtown on 1739 Vine Street, near the Free Library. Tours, consisting of a 10-minute video presentation followed by a 40-minute walking tour through the temple, will begin at the new Latter-day Saint meetinghouse adjacent to the temple.

Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, September 18. The dedication will be preceded by a cultural celebration featuring music and dance by the youth of the Church, to be held on the evening of Saturday, September 17, at the Liacouras Center on the Temple University campus.

The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is the 152nd temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world. It serves more than 40,000 Church members in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and all of Delaware.

Plans for a temple in Philadelphia were first announced by Church President Thomas S. Monson in October 2008. Construction began with a formal groundbreaking on September 17, 2011.

The 61,000-square-foot temple features classic Georgian architecture designed to blend with the historic Philadelphia architecture. The exterior is clad in granite from Maine, and the interior features stone from Egypt and Italy. The building includes original art glass and an oil-painting wall mural of landscapes important in both American and Church history, including the Susquehanna River and the Delaware River. The temple stands 208 feet tall and is crowned with a gilded statue of Moroni, a Book of Mormon prophet who is significant to Latter-day Saints for his role in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord,” where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity.

More information about the purpose of temples is available on www.mormonnewsroom.org. Additional information about the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is also available on www.philadelphiamormontemple.org.