M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

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Amidst the honking of horns, the noise of crowds, and the rumble of subways is a place of complete quiet in downtown Manhattan.  The Manhattan Temple, which will be dedicated on 13 June 2004, is an island of calm, not only completely sound-proofed in the bustle of New York, but a respite from the world.

Located at 125 Columbus Avenue across from Lincoln Center, 80% of the 56,000 tickets for the month-long public open house beginning 8 May through 5 June, have already been nabbed and public interest is high.

USA Today said, “One of the hottest tickets in New York right now is just off Broadway: a tour of a new Mormon temple.”  The New York Times reported, “A legacy of misunderstanding and persecution has bred a keen instinct for public relations in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And so, in what has become something of a ritual itself, the Mormon church opens every newly built temple to the public.”

Brent Belnap, chairman of the temple committee said about 1,000 visitors have already toured the temple on VIP tours and “Almost all of them have described the temple as exceptionally beautiful, a real asset and jewel here in New York City.”  

What New Yorkers will see who take the tour is not just a rare glimpse inside a temple, but one of the most unique temples in the Church.  This temple is unusual because of its location in midtown Manhattan.  Most Latter-day Saint temples are free-standing structures surrounded by manicured gardens in suburban settings.

However, the Manhattan temple, similar to the Church’s temple in Hong Kong, was built in an existing building and rises six stories above ground in an urban setting one block west of Central Park.

Inside, the temple is bright and airy despite its lack of natural light.  The windows are lit from behind so that it seems as if the sun is shining upon it.

The temple comprises the first, second, fifth and sixth floors of the newly renovated building, and totals approximately 20,630 square feet. The third and fourth floors contain a meetinghouse and offices to accommodate Sunday worship services for members of the Church in Manhattan.

Bishop Joe Jensen, of the Manhattan 2^nd Ward, said that before the remodel 8 units were meeting in the building in two chapels and two cultural halls.  The Church had the upper floors and a restaurant was on street level. During the demolition of the fifth and sixth floors and the construction of the temple, the wards and branches still used the building as a meetinghouse.

To worship and use the building around the dirt and debris of construction called for special service from the members.  Before demolition began on the fifth and sixth floors, they went in to save light fixtures, sinks, blackboards, tables and chairs for use in other Church locations.  Then during construction, at first members cleaned every week and then every night to keep the construction dirt and debris to a minimum.

Elder David R. Stone of the Area Presidency said, “The outpouring of volunteer effort has swamped us.  We would go to a stake and ask for 10 or 12 people to help clean and 400 people would sign up.  It’s so exciting to see how much the members want the temple and what they are willing to do for a temple of the Lord.”

The eight wards and branches also functioned under cramped quarters until last October when another church was completed on 15^th street.  Since they had only one chapel to share, during the two years of construction, some units met together for their block meetings. Bishop Jensen said, “Every sacrament meeting looked like a stake conference.”

For the 42,000 Church members in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey who before had to journey to Boston or Washington D.C. to attend the temple, the service was worth it. 

For Church members who live in Manhattan, temple attendance will be convenient and easy.  A significant number of them don’t have cars.  The expense of insurance and parking makes vehicle ownership in the city inconvenient and prohibitive.  Now the temple will be on a subway stop. Those who live in the suburbs, but come into Manhattan each day, can readily attend the temple before or after work.

Church members in and around New York are diverse and delightfully international.  Wards or branches are conducted in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and American Sign Language. 

“The Church is emerging as a worldwide movement, creating a brotherhood and sisterhood among many cultures and economic circles that on the surface seem to have nothing in common,” said Kang Lee, a former Latter-day Saint mission president and South Korean native who lives in Queens. “However, it’s the message that glues these cultures together. It resonates among all people.”

New York City Church members are found in every cultural, social and economic level, from immigrants newly arrived from faraway countries, to captains of industry who run large corporations and airlines; from opera singers at the Met, to entertainers on Broadway.  “Our Church teaches that all men and women are the same before God,” said Brent Belnap, president of the New York New York Stake of the Church. “Your background and education don’t matter. We all attend church and worship together and watch out for each other.”  

Growing international diversity may have helped the Church’s message resonate more readily in some of the most unlikely places in New York City — Harlem, for example. Church leaders spent months trying to locate a meetinghouse for Harlem members back in 1997. It was during this time that Van Woods, a member of the Church and co-owner of the famous Sylvia’s “soul food” restaurant on Lenox Avenue, offered the family restaurant as a temporary meeting place. The Church soon located a building around the corner from Sylvia’s; however, the members have already outgrown that building. Groundbreaking on a new meetinghouse on 128^th and Lennox took place last fall, and construction is just beginning.

Joseph Appiah, an accountant and native of Ghana and member of the Harlem Branch, noted the Church’s growth in membership in the New York City area and its increasing diversity during the last few years. “Two years ago you didn’t have a problem finding a seat for Sunday services in our meetinghouse,” Appiah said. “Now it’s standing room only. Our branch has become a melting pot of people and cultures from around the world.”

Further north in the New York metropolitan region, the Yonkers Branch has also grown significantly during the past few years, attracting a growing membership among the Hispanic community in Westchester and New York City.  The members found a home when they rented the ground floor of an office building, which has since been converted to a chapel and community center. In addition to religious services, the Yonkers Branch provides a community meeting place and offers free English classes to Church members and nonmembers alike.

“It’s really one big family,” said Jose Sanchez, president of the Yonkers Branch. Sanchez joined the Church in 1999 after immigrating to the United States from Puerto Rico. “Joining the Church was the best decision I ever made,” he said. The branch, numbering more than 250 members, holds its services in Spanish and attracts Spanish-speaking area residents as well as immigrants from a number of countries in Central and South America.

Now that one big family has a temple nearby.  When it is dedicated on 13 June by President Hinckley, only one thing will be missing—the temple spire.  The question of whether the temple will eventually get its spire is still, according to Bishop Jensen “up in the air.”  Meanwhile, though that issue is pending, the members’ need for a temple is immediate and the dedication will be a day of celebration.

It will be one of 119 temples operating in 40 countries including one in Copenhagen to be dedicated this month and 56 in the USA.  Four temples are under construction including: Aba, Nigeria; Helsinki, Finland; Newport Beach, California; and San Antonio, Texas.  Five other temples have been announced.

Church members will also celebrate the temple dedication with a cultural event held on 12 June 2004 at Radio City Music Hall. Music and dancing by 1,200 youth performers will precede addresses by Church leaders. The event will be broadcast in 10 languages to other Church members gathered in 16 meetinghouses in the temple district.

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