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An
Unprecedented Event:
The Dedication of the Palmyra New York Temple
by
Scot Facer Proctor
Never before
in this dispensation have so many been able to gather for the dedication
of a temple. In an unprecedented move, the First Presidency has
invited the worthy membership of the Church (approximately 15,000
Church units within the satellite network of North America) to gather
in their individual stakes, each center being considered "an extension
of the temple," and join on this most significant date, April 6,
2000, to dedicate this special house to the Lord.
At the groundbreaking
of this temple last year, President Hinckley said, "I regard this
temple as perhaps the most significant in one respect in the entire
church. This is where it all began. I marvel at what has happened
here. From this place this work has spread over the Earth to more
than 160 nations...Who could ever have imagined it?"
The Palmyra
Temple is built within the boundaries of the original 100 acres
purchased by the Smith family in 1818. In those days, many of the
trees on the farm were three and four hundred years old, enormous
in size and age.
Today
"the sacred Grove [the northwestern part of the original property]
is one of the last surviving tracts of primeval forest in western
New York state. When first purchased by Joseph Smith, Sr., and Alvin,
the Smith farm, like much of the land in the area, was covered with
a magnificent stand of hardwood forest...Maples, beech, hophornbeam,
and wild cherry dominated, interspersed with ash, oak, hickory,
and elm. This forest supported as many as 120 trees per acre...
Trees of the Sacred Grove stand and witnesses
and sentinels of what took place here.
"Numerous
trees in this ancient forest grew to tremendous size. More than
half were from 2 to 4 feet across their trunks. A considerable number
reached diameters of 7 feet or more. Two, three, or even four trees
on the Smith's hundred acres likely reached massive proportions
of 9 to 10 feet in diameter." (1)
The
site for the building of the Palmyra Temple was hand selected by
President Hinckley on the hill at the east end of the original property
in a thick stand of forest. In an interview with Meridian, the superintendent
of the project, Ron Wilkins of Okland Construction, said "We were
very careful about which trees we kept and which we took down to
place the Temple. It sits in a magnificent location on a small hill
overlooking the Sacred Grove off to the west and the whole Smith
farm."
Palmyra New York Temple on the hill above the Smith farm.
(Copyright Intellectual Reserve 2000)
Ron
was called into his boss's office last year and was given an unusual
assignment, "I'd like to give you the opportunity of a lifetime,"
said Randy Okland, "I want you to go and build the Palmyra Temple,
with one stipulation...that you take your wife with you."
Kathy was a
first grade school teacher who had been teaching for twenty-four
years. This assignment would require a year's leave. "My principal
happens to be a member of the Church," Sister Wilkins said, "and
he said to me, 'Kathy, you can teach first grade for twenty-five
years and when someone asks you what you did in your lifetime you
could say, "I've taught first grade for twenty five years," or you
could say, "I've taught first grade for twenty-four years and I
took a year off to build the hundredth temple [announced] of the
Church in Palmyra, New York.'" Ron and Kathy left Utah May 3, 1999
to begin the project.
Were
there any miracles in the building of the temple? "There are miracles
every day," Kathy quickly answered. "You know, there is that saying
that when doors close, the Lord will open a window. Well, we have
had 987 doors closed and 988 windows opened."
Special
windows in Palmyra Temple where visitors may gaze from inside the
temple to the Sacred Grove.
(Copyright
Intellectual Reserve 2000)
"When
we were well along in the construction," Ron Wilkins said, "President
Hinckley came here and he said that he wanted a place where the
people could look out from the temple and see the Sacred Grove.
We have that place now...So people can gaze out from the temple
in the day and see the Grove and you can see right into the temple
at night."
"The
stained glass windows in this temple are unlike any other," Brother
Wilkins said. "They are just fabulous and are such an impressive
part of the experience." The windows were handmade by Brother Tom
Holdman in American Fork, Utah. The windows are full of the "Sacred
Grove motif" and lead one to quiet contemplation of what happened
near this very spot 180 years ago.
Beautiful Celestial Room and stained glass
windows inside the Palmyra New York Temple.
(Copyright Intellectual Reserve 2000)
"After
I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go,"
recorded the Prophet Joseph, "having looked around me, and finding
myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of
my heart to God...I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head,
above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until
it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above
me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and
said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
(2)
Joseph
suffered greatly for saying that he had seen a vision. "However,
it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision...I had actually
seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages,
and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and
persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true...I
knew it, and I knew God knew it, and I could not deny it..."
(3)
Have
you experienced much of the anti-Mormon sentiment or any persecution
while you've been building the temple, we asked Ron Wilkins. "No,
in fact, the people have been wonderful. I ran into someone at the
Wegman's grocery store early on when we first got here, a non-member,
who asked what we were doing here. I told them that we were here
to build a temple in Palmyra for the Mormon Church. They said, 'Oh,
yes, you're going to be building our temple.' From that point on
it seemed that all we heard from the non-members was that we were
building their temple."
Over time
even the workers on the temple seemed to sense something different
about the project. However, Bishop Ron Every of the Canandaigua
Ward had been setting the mill work in place and said there was
profanity that had been going on among the workers and he just could
not stand it any longer. "We called an early-morning meeting," Brother
Wilkins said, "and I told them that if I were to go into the Catholic
Church in Rochester and take the name of the Lord in vain, that
would be inappropriate. This place is sacred to us and that kind
of language is not appropriate. There was a hush that came over
all the workers and that solved the problem for that time."
Were
there any interesting spiritual experiences building this temple,
we asked Ron. "The day we set the angel Moroni in place was interesting.
I personally went up on the crane in a special device with a basket
where I could maneuver it in place and unhook the angel Moroni statue
from the crane ball when it was in place. I kept trying to work
the basket to the right position but it kept shutting the machine
off, indicating that I was at a dangerous angle. I would have to
maneuver again and the machine would turn off again. I finally climbed
out on the outside of the basket, with a safety harness, over 100
feet above the temple to do the job. It was really scary but as
I looked out at the scene below I felt like this was for God and
His house and it all worked just right. That was quite an experience."
Upper
room of restored Smith cabin where Moroni first visited the young
Prophet Joseph.
"On
the evening of the 21st of September, 1823," Oliver Cowdery
wrote, "previous to retiring to rest, [Joseph's] mind was unusually
wrought up on the subject which had so long agitated his mind-his
heart was drawn out in fervent prayer, and his whole soul was so
lost to every thing of a temporal nature, that earth, to him, had
lost its charms...At length the family retired, and he, as usual,
bent his way, though in silence, where others might have rested
their weary frames 'locked fast in sleep's embrace;' but repose
had fled, and accustomed slumber had spread her refreshing hand
over others beside him-he continued still to pray-his heart, though
once hard and obdurate, was softened, and that mind which had often
flitted, like the 'wild bird of passage,' had settled upon a determined
basis not to be decoyed or driven from its purpose."
(4)
"While
I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light
appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room
was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared
at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the
floor...When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear
soon left me. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was
a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name
was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should
be had for good and evil among all nations."
(5)
In
the Smith cabin, not far from where the new temple now stands, the
Angel Moroni said to Joseph, "Behold, I will reveal unto you the
Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in
the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and
the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were
not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
(6)
This would
be the first of at least 22 visits from the angel Moroni to the
Prophet Joseph Smith. Mother Smith recorded of her family's experience
with Joseph at that time: "Every evening we gathered our children
together and gave our time up to the discussion of those things
which he instructed to us. I think that we presented the most peculiar
aspect of any family that ever lived upon the earth, all seated
in a circle, father, mother, sons, and daughters, listening in breathless
anxiety to the religious teachings of a boy eighteen years of age
who had never read the Bible through by course in his life. For
Joseph was less inclined to the study of books than any child we
had, but much more given to reflection and deep study." Within the
long morning shadow of the new temple, these first 'family home
evenings' of this dispensation took place.
How
did you involve members of the Church from the Palmyra temple district?
Both Ron and Kathy Wilkins told of one wonderful activity. "This
is the smallest temple district in the Church with only about 18,000
members. We wanted to get the children involved in the temple so
we talked to the primary presidents in the surrounding area. We
had them work with the children and each one painted their names
on small stones which we then took and put them into the concrete
of the temple. This places their names in the very walls of the
temple, a symbolic act, and something they will never forget."
Have you
had any interesting thoughts about the Smith family as you have
spent so much time on their property where so much significant history
of the Church took place? "It was exciting," Sister Kathy Wilkins
remembered, "as we read in the Doctrine and Covenants where it talked
about Joseph Smith Sr. sitting at the right hand of Abraham
(7) and I thought, 'Oh, you know, this temple was probably
not something he ever anticipated, but then, on the other hand,
he probably knew that this land would be sacred-that it would have
a special purpose. And fortunately it has been preserved."
Frame
home the Smiths were forced to leave after so much toil, pain, and
effort.
At one
point near the end of their time in New York, the Smith's were forced
by evil-designing men to leave their lovely frame home and move
back into their "snug little cabin" at the north end of the property.
Oliver Cowdery desired to live with them, though quarters would
be tight. Mother Smith recorded: "Now, Oliver, just look upon this
thing. See what a comfortable home we have had here and what pains
each child that we have has taken to provide for us everything necessary
to make our old age comfortable, and long life desirable...All these
tender recollections render our present trial doubly severe, for
these relics must now pass into the hands of wicked men who fear
not God, neither do they regard man...Well, now look around me upon
all these things that have been gathered together for my happiness,
which has cost the toil of years. You mark. I now give this up for
the sake of Christ and salvation, and I pray God to help me do so
without a murmur or a tear. In the strength of God I give these
up from this time, and I will not cast one longing look upon anything
which I leave behind me." (8)
Is
it humbling to build a house for God? There was silence on the phone.
Brother Wilkins cried and cried and finally was able to whisper:
"This is a hard day for me. We have been working 30 hours a day
to make this deadline. We are absolutely wasted. But it is so hard
to do all of this and now turn the keys over and walk away." He
cried some more. " It is different from any other building project.
It seems even to be different from any other temple project...This
place is special, it's hard to put in words. Just feelings."
Brother
and Sister Wilkins' hearts have been so wrapped up in this project
they can scarcely contemplate that their role has come to an end.
How will it be for you now that you have completed this project?
"It'll be hard for us to leave. It'll be hard for all of us because
we have become like a family working on this temple. Today was the
last day for most of the workers. They lingered a long time and
didn't want to leave. It's hard on all of us."
-----
The
Palmyra New York Temple will become
the
77th temple of the Church--
to
be dedicated Thursday, April 6, 2000.
-----
1.
Enders, Don. "The Sacred Grove." Ensign, April 1990, p. 16.
2.
Joseph Smith-History 1:15-17.
3.
Joseph Smith-History 1:24,25.
4.
The Papers of Joseph Smith. Edited by Dean C. Jessee. Deseret
Book Company, Salt Lake City, 1989, Volume 1, pp. 50-51.
5.
Joseph Smith-History 1: 30, 32, 33.
6.
Joseph Smith-History 1: 38, 39. See also D&C Section 2.
7.
See D&C 124:19.
8.
Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,
pp. 183-84.
--Copyright
2000 Meridian Magazine--
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