DC Temple To Host Open House, A Rare Look Inside For Public

MCLEAN, VA — For the second time in nearly 50 years, an iconic temple in the DC region will be open to the public.

It was 1974 when the DC Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened, serving congregations in Northern Virginia and other parts of the region. That was also the last time non-church members got to look inside the temple.

While the DC Temple can be seen on the Capital Beltway in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, it has been restricted to church members since it was dedicated in 1974.

Later this year, the temple will be rededicated after undergoing renovations. Before then, an open house will be held to offer the public tours.

For church members who weren't around in 1974, this upcoming open house may be the first time they can share the temple with their neighbors.

"It's very exciting for us to be able to share the inside of the temple," said Jim Stansel, president of the McLean stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The DC Temple in Kensington, Maryland, was the first Latter-day Saints temple on the East Coast and is the 16th overall. At the time it was built, it served members east of the Mississippi River in the U.S. and even some in Canada and South America. Today, the church has built over 200 temples throughout the world, so members come from DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and New Jersey.

In Northern Virginia, there are nine "stakes" of Latter-day Saints made up of multiple congregations. For example, the McLean stake is made up of congregations in McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church and Arlington, some of whom share worship houses. Congregations use worship houses for regular Sunday worship but would use the DC Temple for the highest sacraments, including marriage and the uniting of families. Stansel says the temple serves an estimated 75,000 members in the DC-Baltimore metro area.

The temple's exterior is a familiar sight to Capital Beltway drivers. Outside, the temple has six spires, or three each on the east and west sides. The spires represent the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, which are the two branches of the Latter-day Saints leadership. The tallest spire is a 228-foot central tower with a sculpture of the angel Moroni. The spire's height makes the temple the tallest of all Latter-day Saint temples.

What's Inside The DC Temple?

Inside, the temple has rooms where sacred ceremonies, also known as ordinances, occur. The instruction room is where church members learn about the purpose of life and the mission of Jesus Christ, and make sacred promises, known as covenants, to love and serve God and other people and to live honorable and moral lives. After the instruction room, members can enter the celestial room, where they can pray and reflect.

The temple also has a baptismal room used for baptisms on behalf of relatives who have died without hearing about Jesus or receiving the ordinance of baptism. Irene Bortolussi, one of the communications directors for the church's McLean stake, said temples are used in connection with members’ efforts to do genealogy on their family ancestry. That gives them an opportunity to help ancestors who died without knowledge of the gospel and to unite families through the generations.

"Most members do genealogy on their ancestors, and that's very important to us, because we give them the chance to accept the gospel," said Bortolussi.

Lastly, the sealing room is used for the ordinance of marriage as well as uniting, or “sealing” children to their families. Stansel and his wife, for example, went to the temple for the sealing of their two adopted children.

"We were fortunate that when they were both very young, we got to take them to the temple, and they were united to us so that they would be a part of our family eternally," said Stansel.

The temple's renovations focused on updates to major systems such as heating and air conditioning, and additional upkeep may follow the open house before the rededication.

While the DC temple was undergoing renovations, members would travel hours to the next closest temple in Philadelphia. When the temple is rededicated, Northern Virginia members only need to make a short journey into Maryland for their most sacred ceremonies.

While non-members can visit the grounds of the DC Temple and its visitor center as well as local worship houses, the upcoming open house will allow visitors to see the inside the DC Temple as well.

Open House To Be Held In Spring 2022

When the DC temple held its public open house in 1974, over 700,000 people attended.

This year's open house is expected to draw over a million people, according to Stansel. The DC Temple is also expected to bring back its Festival of Lights on the grounds in the 2022 Christmas season.

The current open house dates are April 28 through June 4. Due to high demand, organizers may add more times. Check back for extended open house dates as they are announced.

Local congregations will also get the chance to visit the DC Temple ahead of the dedication. Not all members will be able to attend the DC Temple dedication in person though, so local church buildings will provide a closed-circuit broadcast of the dedication to members.

The rededication has been rescheduled for Aug. 14 to account for more open house times after June 4.

The open house is free to attend, but free tickets must be reserved to access the DC Temple parking lot or use the shuttle from the Forest Glen Metro Station. Tickets are not required for those who arrive by foot, public transit, taxi, bike or ridesharing.

To reserve tickets and learn more about the DC Temple, visit dctemple.org.