Straight out of a scifi book, with its six gilded spiers and pristine white walls towering over the surrounding trees, the Mormon Temple in Washington bewildered those who weren’t allowed inside for decades.
The mystery will soon be solved: for the first time in nearly half a century, the temple will open its doors to the general public.
This building, one of the most mysterious in the American capital, is generally only open to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, for whom family, chastity, and missionary work are core values.
“People think what we’re doing here is secret, but as you saw today, it’s just sacred. Very sacred to us,” Kevin Duncan, a senior community official, told AFP.
On Monday (18th), during an exclusive press launch, the mysterious temple welcomed visitors from outside its community for the first time since 1974. Visitors had to don white ballet slippers to discover the silent and luxurious interior, with its thick carpet and immaculate and pristine gilded surfaces.
According to the church, in 1974, when nonMormons were last admitted, approximately 750,000 people attended this church in Kensington, Maryland, just a few miles from the Washington, DC border.
The temple closed for renovations in 2018 and reopened in 2020 before the Covid19 pandemic changed the calendar.
Potential visitors must book admission to the temple from late April to early June.
Inside, it is possible to discover the rituals of the church, where its members change their street clothes upon entering and dress in white. For them, this is one of the most sacred places on the planet.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints has its origins in the United States in the early decades of the 19th century. The name “Mormon” refers to the “Book of Mormon” published in 1830 by its founder Joseph Smith and accepted as scripture.
Continue reading
In the Washington Temple, the curious can also visit the Baptistery, where a small basin is mounted on the backs of 12 lifesize white marble statues representing the 12 tribes of Israel. In the Mormon faith, baptism by immersion in the temple is reserved for the dead.
The Church allows its members to be baptized in the name of their ancestors, and it is up to the souls of the deceased if they exist and the Church firmly believes to accept (or not) the “gift”. Ordinary baptisms are performed in other temples.
iba/jh/sw/cjc/rsr/aa/tt