LDS to build temple in Yuba City
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to build its eighth California temple in Yuba City.
Steve Hammarstrom, president of the Yuba City California stake, said the announcement was exciting and significant for Yuba City, especially for the families of those who helped build the local chapels.
“My first thought was just a profound appreciation for the people that have been here for so long,” Hammarstrom said Monday. “If you think about that history - families here are multi-generational -- this means a lot to them.”
The last time a temple was built in the state was in 2006 with the dedication of the Sacramento Temple in Rancho Cordova. There are just 159 temples worldwide. The church announced Sunday that it will be building 12 new temples -- only two of them in the U.S., including the one in Yuba City.
Yuba-Sutter has five Mormon churches, or meetinghouses: on Butte House Road and Clark Avenue in Yuba City; North Beale Road in Marysville; Wheatland Road in Wheatland; and Hill Road in Loma Rica.
The other California temples are in Fresno, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Oakland, Redlands, San Diego and Sacramento.
Yuba City certainly has a long tie to the church: in 1849, it was founded by California’s first millionaire and troublesome businessman Sam Brannan, who boosted the Gold Rush boom to attract visitors and was eventually excommunicated from the Mormon Church (with help from Brigham Young himself, the second president of the church -- for more backstory on Brannan, read here: https://tinyurl.com/yaznd7n t).
Meetinghouses, as they’re called by the church itself, host regular Sunday worship services and are open to all who want to attend, including non-Mormons. But temples are considered the most sacred places on earth reserved for Latter-day Saints who observe the basic principles of the faith, according to the church’s website. Weddings, funerals and other special services are usually performed at temples. Once a temple is officially dedicated, only church members may enter.
A spokesman for the church said he had no details on the location or timeline of the Yuba City temple, but pointed to its website for details on how construction goes.
First, the church sets aside funds in advance, provided by offerings from church members, so that it can build temples without mortgages or other financing, according to the church website. Church leaders seek guidance through prayer to identify areas where temples are most needed and seek inspiration to locate a site where a temple would complement the surrounding environment and the local community.
Architects design each temple to be both energy-efficient and uniquely tailored to the local setting with designs that can range from the modern look of the Washington, D.C., temple to the Gothic look of the Salt Lake City temple (though steep pitched roofs are usually a design staple). During construction, which typically lasts two to four years, only the finest materials and craftsmanship are used, as a temple is meant to be a long-lasting tribute to God, according to the church.
After construction is completed, a temple holds an open house for several weeks, offering free public tours. Then it is dedicated as a holy place of worship, where church members “living the highest standards of the faith may enter,” according to the church -though visitors are welcome to tour the temple grounds.
Hammarstrom said this announcement is a testament to how culturally and religiously diverse Yuba-Sutter is. Though the opening of the temple is at least a few years away, Hammarstrom said it will be an important addition to the community.
“For us, it’s a place of service, it’s a place of worship more than anything else,” he said. “(We can) be close to God and receive answers to life’s questions."