News Releases Official news releases from the Church Public to Tour New Temple in Birmingham, Alabama 14 August 2000 Open House Scheduled August 19-26, 2000; Dedicatory Services Sunday, September 3, 2000 EXTRA Birmingham Alabama Temple Fact Sheet Birmingham, Alabama History Representative Photos of Temple Interior Official Temple List Frequently Asked Questions Families Can Be Forever The Family: A Proclamation to the World Public tours of the newly completed Birmingham Alabama Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been announced. The First Presidency of the Church says tours begin Saturday, August 19, 2000, and will continue through Saturday, August 26, 2000. No tours will be held Sunday, August 20, 2000. On Monday, tours will be offered from 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., with the last tour beginning at 5:00 p.m., so Church members can participate in Family Home Evening, a Church program encouraging family togetherness. A public cornerstone ceremony will be at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 3, 2000 prior to the first dedicatory session. Latter-day Saint temples are considered "Houses of the Lord" where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism, and other sacred ordinances focusing on the eternal potential of family relationships. Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated Sunday, September 3, 2000 making it the 98th Church temple worldwide. Four separate sessions will be held to accommodate as many as possible of the Latter-day Saints in the temple district. The temple district includes the Alabama Birmingham and Florida Tallahassee Missions; and the Bessemer Alabama, Birmingham Alabama, Huntsville Alabama, Mobile Alabama, Montgomery Alabama, Fort Walton Beach Florida, and Pensacola Florida stakes of the Church. Previously, Church members from this area traveled to the Atlanta Georgia Temple. The temple will serve approximately 21,000 Latter-day Saints. President Gordon B. Hinckley, world leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced his desire to make the blessings of the temple more accessible to Latter-day Saints, many of whom must now travel long distances. By year’s end, 100 temples will be operating. Nearly 11 million people belong to the worldwide Church in 162 countries and territories. Church members first arrived in Alabama in the 1840s.