Description

History

Missionary work first commenced there in the 1840s, and the first congregation was established in 1843, in Darmstadt. However, these converts were not baptized until a mission was created in the early 1850s, around the time that Elder John Taylor of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the gospel in Hamburg and oversaw the translation of the Book of Mormon into German. Missionaries taught the gospel and baptized about 120 people before the Church closed the German mission in 1854 because of local opposition. Since the members themselves suffered persecution, many fled to Utah.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Germany endured many challenges, including two world wars and the aftermath of each. Nonetheless, the Church grew in Germany. By 1930, there were more Church members in Germany than in any other nation besides the United States. During World War II, several hundred Germans were baptized into the Church.

After the war, Germans suffered greatly because of a lack of transportation, food and fuel and because of widespread disease. Latter-day Saint American military personnel sacrificed some of their rations to help the German Saints. When President Benson became the president of the European Mission in 1946, he strengthened the Latter-day Saints spiritually and arranged for shipments of supplies to be sent from the Church’s main headquarters in Utah to Germany. Even Mormons in other suffering nations assisted the German Saints. Members in Holland sent most of the potatoes they had to Germany. These supplies helped even those who weren’t members of the Mormon Church and in some cases saved their lives.

Announcement

The Frankfurt Germany Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was announced on April 1, 1981, during a difficult time in Germany’s history.

Construction of the Frankfurt Germany Temple met significant opposition during its early planning phases.

Latter-day Saint leaders tried to clear up the misconceptions by providing information about the Church. Church representative, Immo Luschin, asked councilmen to watch a film about the Latter-day Saints. They agreed, and all the misconceptions were clarified and public support for the temple increased.

President Gordon B. Hinckley told local officials that they would not regret their decision to permit construction of the temple. It “will be a thing of beauty in this lovely area,” he said. “It will be a source of pride to local residents, who will come to speak of it as ‘our temple.'”

Conditions of receiving a building permit including preserving and restoring the 1890s villa, refraining from erecting a fence around the property, and giving some of the land to the city for public parking.

Groundbreaking

Church leaders broke ground on 1 July 1985. President Gordon B. Hinckley broke ground for the Frankfurt Germany Temple the day after he concluded the dedicatory services for the Freiberg Germany Temple. The next day, he dedicated the Stockholm Sweden Temple.

Open House

Two years after the miraculous Freiburg Germany Temple was dedicated, the Frankfurt Germany Temple was completed. Before it was dedicated, about 70,000 people toured the temple during the open house, which was held from July 29 to August 8, 1987.

Dedication

When Church President Ezra Taft Benson dedicated the temple in 11 sessions from August 28 to 30, 1987, he emphasized the blessings of the temple in the dedicatory prayer. He asked that Latter-day Saints “may gather to this Thy holy house and be sealed as families for all eternity.” He also prayed, “The presence of this house, on the soil of this nation, is an answer to the prayers of Thy people, and a fulfillment of the words of Thy prophets.”^[1]Frankfurt Germany Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Aug. 30, 1987

In the dedicatory prayer, President Benson asked, “Open the windows of heaven and shower down upon the local members every needful gift. Prosper them in their labors and magnify them for good before their associates. May the example of their lives lead others to seek thine everlasting truth.”

As an apostle, Elder Ezra Taft Benson was called to minister in Europe in 1945, following the devastation of World War II, and again in 1963 to serve as president of the European Mission, headquartered in Frankfurt. In August 1987, it was his special treat to return to Frankfurt—now as president of the Church—to dedicate the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

Over 12,570 members from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France attended the dedicatory services. As a result of the Frankfurt Temple’s completion, Germany became the first country besides the United States to contain two temples (though at the time one temple was in East Germany and one was in West Germany). Today, there are over 38,000 Church members in Germany who are blessed by these two temples.

Dedication Order

It was the fifth temple to be constructed in Europe and the second to be built in Germany. The Frankfurt Germany Temple and Freiberg Germany Temple originally belonged to separate nations: Frankfurt to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and Freiberg to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), a socialist state created by the Soviet Union. The two nations reunited in 1990, three years after the dedication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

Germany became the second country outside of the United States to have more than one templeg. The first foreign country with more than one temple had been Canada where, less than six weeks earlier on August 25, 1990, the dedication of the Toronto Ontario Temple had taken place, joining the Cardston Alberta Temple, which was first dedicated in August 1923.

The Frankfurt Germany Temple is the 41st operating temple.

Renovation

Announcement

On 20 August 2015 the First presidency announced a renovation for the Frankfurt Germany temple, to begin on 7 September 2015 and expected to last until July of 2017.

Closing

The Frankfurt Germany Temple closed on Monday, 7 September 2015.

A few months later, a new stake center was dedicated that had been under construction next to the temple, and the former meetinghouse was demolished to make room for a missionary housing facility.

The discovery of foundation issues during the renovation of the Temple doubled the anticipated construction time from two years to four years.

During the Renovation The baptistry was relocated to an underground extension, and a visitors’ center was created in the annex building.

Open House

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that the public was invited to tour the newly remodeled Frankfurt Germany Temple. The free open house was from Friday, 13 September 2019, to Saturday, 28 September 2019, excluding Sundays. Among the guests at the two-week open house were reporters from reputable German news media, including Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Zeit and Deutschlandfunk. Catholic and Protestant news outlets also reported on the temple at great length. A Muslim blogger wrote about his experience praying inside the temple, invoking a blessing upon his hosts.

Approximately 29,000 guests toured the temple during its public open house.

Youth Devotional

A youth devotional was held on Saturday, 19 October 2019, in a nearby meetinghouse. During the devotional, Elder Uchtdorf told the youth, “When you come to the temple, always think of Jesus Christ because he is the center of our doctrine. We are the Church of Jesus Christ and you are the Latter-day Saints. You are a blessing to this part of the world. God loves you, he trusts you. Please, have trust in him, too.”

Elder Uchtdorf’s wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdoef, said, “Follow Jesus Christ and I promise you a path of joy, confidence, and hope.” Elder Erich W. Kopischke of the Seventy, second counselor in the Europe Area Presidency, explained: “The Lord has always – at all times – given his children symbols to which they could turn. […] The temple is a symbol for eternity and a symbol for the love our Heavenly Father has for you.”

Rededication

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a German native, was invited by Church President Russell M. Nelson to rededicate the Frankfurt Germany Temple, which is located several miles north of Frankfurt in the historic city of Friedrichsdorf. Accompanying Elder Uchtdorf in that assignment were Elder Patrick Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy and the three members of the area presidency. The Temple was rededicated on 20 October 2019.

Details

Location

Situated about 10 miles north of Frankfurt in the historic old Huguenot city of Friedrichsdorf, the Frankfurt Germany Temple stands on slightly elevated land near a major highway where drivers can glimpse its graceful detached spire.

Ancillary buildings are on site including an entrance annex, a residence for the temple president (known as the “villa”), a temple missionary housing facility, a patron housing facility (known as the “hostel”), and a stake center. The immaculate park-like grounds—open to the public—are beautified with colorful shrubs and flowers.

A path winds through the 5.2-acre lot, which has been landscaped with vibrant green foliage and flowers.

Exterior

The exterior of the temple is made of white granite, and the roof is made of copper. The temple’s single spire rises from the ground in front of the main entrance.

Interior

he temple has a total of 24,170 square feet, four ordinance rooms, and five sealing rooms.

While the Frankfurt Germany Temple looks like it was built with the same general architecture as the six-spire design used in the Boise, Chicago, and Dallas temples, it in fact has always had significant differences. Besides the obvious single spire, as opposed to six, the temple also uses two floors within the peaked temple top provide space for ordinance work, with, for example, the back of the temple featuring sealing rooms placed behind the large stained glass panel on both the upper and lower floors.

Other of the Six spire temple design are layed out on a single floor.

With the addition of an underground extension beneath the temple grounds for a new baptistry, the differences from other similar looking temples is more pronounced.