6/09/2015

Cornerstone Box Filled For the Payson Temple

I was called to serve on the Payson Utah Temple Open House, Dedication, and Cultural Celebration Committee as the historian. Part of my assignment was to write a history of the temple from the announcement to the dedication 2010-2015. I was also asked to assemble the items that went inside a cornerstone box that was placed directly behind the cornerstone. I followed a list of approved items given to me by the temple department.
Most people know that we place the mortar around a cornerstone in the ceremony that celebrates the completion of a temple right before it is dedicated. Many don't realize that behind the cornerstone is a metal box filled with items that celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ and the events leading up to the temple dedication day.
On June 6th at 3:00 I met in the Payson Temple with the temple committee and their spouses and the construction history missionaries to fill the cornerstone box. Elder Kent Richards who leads the temple department for the LDS church joined us for a few minutes and spoke to us. He mentioned that he helped in the location of the SLC temple cornerstone box with medical equipment from the hospital where he worked as a surgeon.

Then I described the items we would be placing in the box. Each person in the room took a turn to place one item in the box.

Some of the items we placed in the cornerstone box were:
Holy Bible
Book of Mormon
Doctrine And Covenants
Pearl Of Great Price
LDS Hymn book
Two books by President Thomas Monson: Teachings of Tomas MonsonTo the Rescue – The Biography of Thomas S. Monson
wheat grown on the temple lot
the newest translation of the Book of Mormon
The Payson Temple History 2010-2015
A binder that included:
pictures of the Savior
photographs of the Payson temple.
Groundbreaking program/tickets/invitations/prayer
open house tickets/invitations/new releases/gifts
cultural celebration tickets
dedication tickets/invitations/prayer 
invitation to the first endowment session
original copy of hymn High on the Mountain Top
line drawing of Payson temple
temple committee credential
copy of The Family – A Proclamation To The World
pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve
copy of Payson LDS Temple booklet
cloth handkerchief and metal medallion with Payson temple logo
copy of The Living Christ
missionary outreach printed materials
list of stakes and wards in the Payson temple district
sample of hand-made temple altar cloth and open house hosting tablecloth
Hard bound copies of city/stake histories in Payson temple district

After we placed the items into the box we brought it outside and slid it inside a cavity on the south east corner of the Payson temple. Then we placed the stone in front of it that read: Erected 2015.
The following Sunday, President Eyring and other General Authorities placed the first mortar to seal the stone. Then they went back inside the temple and finished the first of three dedicatory sessions.