Provo City Center Temple Dedicatory Prayer
The Provo City Center Temple. Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News.
Provo City Center Temple facts
Location
50 S. University Avenue, Provo, Utah 84601Announcement
President Thomas S. Monson publicly announced the temple on October 1, 2011, during general conference.Temple district
The Provo City Center Temple will serve some 77,500 Church members in 29 stakes within the Provo and Springville areas.Background
The Provo City Center Temple is the 16th temple built in Utah, the fourth in Utah County, and the second in Provo (the Provo Utah Temple was dedicated in 1972). The Provo City Center Temple is the 150th operating temple worldwide. It stands on the site of the former Provo Tabernacle, which was destroyed by fire on December 17, 2010.Design
The Provo City Center Temple recaptures the historic beauty of the former Provo Tabernacle. Interior components that survived the fire—including wood moldings, newel posts, and balustrades—were used as models for the production of rich woodwork and other design elements used throughout the temple. Salvaged materials such as art glass, finials, and other hardware are also displayed. The temple comprises 85,084 square feet and is 150 feet high. It has a baptistry; several rooms for temple services and ordinances, such as the sealing of marriages and families; and offices for the temple presidency.Public open house
More than 800,000 people toured the temple from January 15 to March 5.Cultural celebration
Youth in the temple district celebrated the temple dedication with a cultural event with the theme of “To Give unto Them Beauty for Ashes,” on March 19, 2016, at the Marriott Center on the Brigham Young University campus in Provo. Music and dancing by more than 4,500 youth performers along with narration was preceded by addresses from Church leaders.Dedication
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the temple on March 20, 2016. The first of the three sessions included a traditional cornerstone ceremony with leaders placing mortar to seal the cornerstone cover and symbolize the completion of the temple.
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The following prayer was offered by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to dedicate the Provo City Center Temple on March 20, 2016:
Our Father in Heaven, as Thy grateful children we approach thee in prayer on this great occasion when, by the power of Thy holy priesthood, we will dedicate this Provo City Center Temple unto Thee and Thy Beloved Son for Thy work and Thy glory.
We give Thee the sacred thanks of our souls for the plan Thou hast established to bring to pass the eternal life of Thy children. We thank Thee for Thine Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for His Atonement for our sins, His Resurrection for our immortality, and His experiencing our pains and infirmities that He may succor us in those infirmities. We thank Thee for the Holy Ghost, Thy Holy Spirit, who testifies of Thee and Thy Son and who leads us into truth.
We thank Thee for the Restoration of the gospel in these latter days, beginning with Thy appearance with Thine Only Begotten Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, whom Thou hast called to bring forth the Book of Mormon as a second witness of Thy Son and of Thy great plan for Thy children. We thank Thee for restoring the authority and keys of the holy priesthood by which we proclaim Thy word and perform Thy prescribed ordinances of salvation.
We thank Thee for the members of Thy Church whose faithful payment of tithes and offerings has made possible the extensive restoration of this honored stake tabernacle that we now present unto Thee as Thy house.
We thank Thee for Thy blessings to this nation and pray that Thou wilt inspire and strengthen those who seek to preserve our constitutional form of government, including the freedom of religion that is so vital to the on-rolling of Thy work. We pray that Thou wilt strengthen Thy children in this nation to qualify for Thy promises that if we will serve Thee and keep Thy commandments we will prosper in the land.
We thank Thee for all of the righteous activities and occupations Thou hast caused to be established in this blessed valley, including the educational efforts of Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and Thy missionary training center. We pray that Thou wilt bless all of these in their efforts to enlighten and motivate Thy children in Thy service.
We pray for the president of this temple, who will hold the keys for the sacred work to be accomplished here. We pray for his counselors and for the matron and her assistants. We pray for all who work under their direction to exercise the authority of Thy holy priesthood in the sacred ordinances and covenants performed here and the blessing promised here.
We pray for all who come within these walls that they may come in worthiness and participate with joy and understanding of the great teachings and ordinances and blessings of this house, which are essential to the fulness of Thy everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.
We pray for the youth of Zion—the rising generation—that they may take the truths of Thy gospel into their hearts and manifest them in wise choices and efforts in the work of Thy Son. We pray for our missionaries, young and older.
We pray that the way may be opened for Thy servants and Thy work to be established and blessed in all the world, including the gathering of Israel and the fulfillment of Thy prophecies and promises for Thy people.
We pray for the millions of Thy children who have been displaced from their homes by the ravages of war and who have become refugees in other nations and places. Please bless them and all who seek to relieve their suffering and give them hope.
In this day of wickedness and selfishness, when men’s hearts fail them in turmoil and perplexities, we pray that Thou will blunt the powers of evil against Thy work and Thy children, and bless Thy covenant people with protection and strength to persist and stand fast in the works of righteousness.
We pray that Thou wilt bless our prophet-leader, President Thomas S. Monson, and his counselors and all of our leaders carrying out Thy great plan.
And now, acting in the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we dedicate this the Provo City Center Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Thee, our Holy Father, and to Thy Beloved Son, and we ask Thee to accept of this house of the Lord, which Thou didst direct Thy prophet, President Monson, to restore and establish in this place.
We dedicate to Thee every part of this sacred structure and its surroundings, including its underlying grounds and its ancillary structure and surrounding landscaping and decorations. We dedicate all of their structural parts from their foundations to their roofs. We pray that Thou wilt protect this temple and all of its surrounding facilities from every destructive influence of any kind.
We dedicate to Thee the baptismal font and all that is part of the initiatory ordinances. We dedicate to Thee the ordinance rooms, the sealing rooms, the beautiful celestial room, and all of the other spaces in this holy house. We pray that all of these spaces will be kept holy and that Thy Spirit will ever be present to enlighten those who are present here.
We pray that Thy glory will rest down upon this house of the Lord, that it may be precious unto Thee and Thy children and that Thy holy presence may be continually in its precincts.
And now, as we dedicate and consecrate this holy house as an abode for Thee and Thy Son and Thy Holy Spirit, we ask that Thou wilt place Thy seal of approval upon this dedication and upon all that has been done and shall be done in holiness in this Thy holy house, which we now dedicate unto thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
