16 Minutes of Glorious Light, Part Three
A Photographic Essay of the San Antonio Temple

Photography by Scot Facer Proctor
Story by Maurine Jensen Proctor

The pictures of the San Antonio Texas Temple in this essay were shot in 16 minutes, just as the sun rose on dedication day.

click photos to enlarge

So as Scot ran during the 16 minutes these pictures were taken, he was trying to adjust himself to the subtleties of a borrowed camera and a different lens.  Yet, what most suffused his soul was a sense of gratitude: to Ben for allowing him to bear his testimony of temples in the photographic image and mostly to God who gave us the eternal promise that temples represent.

"I will say it with my camera.  I will rejoice in the Lord, my God, through sharing what I see through a lens."

San Antonio is noted for the Alamo, that symbol of freedom, where 200 men gave their last breath for liberty, rather than succumb to the whims of a dictator.  Now, San Antonio has another landmark—a shining temple on a hill.

When President Hinckley was in the process of selecting the site for the temple, he was shown many sites in San Antonio, but he saw the current site of the temple last.  "Why didn't you show me this lot first?" he asked.

That's because the spot is a natural, sitting on a rocky rise above a sea of homes and trees.  From the temple, one has a sweeping view of the city, a 30 mile expanse.  In reverse, the temple can also be seen for miles and has already become a reference point as people talk.  "It's by the Mormon temple," they say.  Pilots use the temple as a landmark for landing.

Gary Gomm, regional director of public affairs for the Church, said, "Since the building of the temple, the community has positive feelings for the Church we could have never imagined or hoped for."  The open house attracted 68,000 people, the largest crowd that has ever attended for a small temple."

One woman came back seven times because she felt such peace and power in the temple.

A reporter from the Austin American Statesman said to Gary, "Do you have any objection if I interview some people here?  I'll just pick somebody if that's OK."  "Sir, he said, turning to a man, randomly, what did you think of the temple?"

The man answered, "It was perfect.  I went to the temple trying to find flaws.  I couldn't find any."

"And how long have you been a member of the Church," the reporter asked.

"I'm not a member of the Church. I'm a Catholic."

A handful of protestors were sometimes near the stake center where the crowds at the open house parked their cars and boarded a shuttle bus.  A San Antonio newspaper championed the Church, saying in essence.  "How can you say you are a Christian and protest something so sacred to the Latter-day Saints?"  The occasional little band of protesters only served to increase the connection open house visitors felt for the Church and its members.

Barbara McDonald, a member from Kerrville, said, "During the open house, one of my assignments was to work in the celestial room.  I got to watch people's faces as they came in.  They were just awed and extremely respectful."

The people in the San Antonio temple district have claimed the temple as their own.  They have invested their time and their hearts in the temple.  "The members are on a high like I've never seen," said Gary Gomm.  "We've lived here for 35 years and there's never been anything close to what's happening now.  People know that we are a Church that believes in families.  As people went through the temple at the open house, you could see that something special was happening.  You could see that they were touched."

For the open house, the Church printed 57,000 circulars.  Rather than place them in the newspaper which has been done before, members passed these out to their friends and neighbors.  The Allbee family had each of their twelve children make a list of people to whom they would like to give the circulars.  They came up with 725.

A series of Family Home Evenings was created for temple district members so that they could teach their families about the importance and meaning of the temple.

Click here to go to Part 4 of 16 Minutes of Glorious Light.