Oakland California Temple

Temple #78

Oakland, California Temple

July 29, 2017

     San Francisco was an interesting and fun town that was treating us well. We drove up and down the steep roads, including the famous Lombard street with all its wiggle. It was entertaining just to drive around for a while, including in Chinatown. We parked in a weird parking garage and went and found somewhere to eat. It was fun to be reminded of China and the Chinese culture as we walked into all the shops and through Chinatown. 

     We also drove by the Full House house, and went to a park near the Golden Gate Bridge. We also went to a beach in the bay and where we swam and looked for crabs. Brad loves all sea critters and creatures and loved looking for animals but we found none there. It was a fun day but we hadn’t gone to the temple yet.

     It was hard to find the temple but we’re lucky to be living in a time of the gps and phones. We drove up to the glorious temple and admired the view first off. From the temple we could see nearly the entire San Francisco Bay Area. It was foggy but still a good view. 

     The temple was beautiful and calming. The temple grounds were full of plants, flowers and trees. In front of the temple stretched a man made river that flowed from a fountain in front of the temple. It was a bright and sunny day and we hurried and took our pictures in the front. We then went inside to go do a session. 

     The temple president welcomed us as we went in and he showed us the way. The temple was amazing, yet we could tell it was an older temple, and it was the 13th temple built. It was dedicated in 1962 by David O. McKay and so the style was from the 60’s still. It was pretty nonetheless. The wood was all golden oak like the 60’s, where nowadays most temples are made with a dark cherry or a mahogany wood. The Celestial room also had lots of gold and yellow colors which were beautiful. It was fun to do another temple with our friends Brad and Erin Johnson. 

     Part of the reason we had gone to San Francisco was because of the Oakland temple. It was a temple we had never done and it was scheduled to be renovated the next spring. We wanted to see it before it got renovated and so we planned a trip. Brad also had time off which worked out for us, and Erin was pregnant so we knew it would be our last trip together with just four of us for a while. 

     After the wonderful session we went outside and walked onto the roof terrace. This is very unique to where we could walk onto the roof of the temple and around the steeple. There were flowers and plants up there and a great view of the Bay Area. We could also see up close the flat sculptings that were carved on the North and South sides of the steeple. They were of Christ teaching his apostles, the twelve from Jerusalem and the twelve from when he visited the Nephites. 

     We checked out the visitor center quickly and than left. It was such an amazing temple with the outside of it being extremely unique. It stands out amongst all the buildings in Oakland and the Bay Area. It can be seen lit up at night from all around and is like a beacon in the Bay. 

      We then drove south to Monterey Bay the next day where we finally found some crabs for Brad and also some star fish and other sea creatures. We played at some sand dunes as well then spent the rest of the day driving towards home. 

     It was a fantastic trip which included three new temples for us. We were so blessed and lucky to have Brad and Erin come with us, two friends who also enjoy going to the temples as they travel. We had gone to other California temples and Texas temples with them, and now three more. 

     At this point we had been to 78 temples which was really exciting because it meant we were halfway to how many were built and dedicated at the time, which was 156! We knew that somehow and someday we would reach our goal and go to all the temples in the world and continue to go to them as the constantly are being built across the globe. 

     We love the Temples of our Lord!