Temple breaks ground: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ temple to open in 3 years

Verne May, former president of the Vancouver Washington East Stake, addresses the crowd at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ temple groundbreaking ceremony in Camas. (James Rexroad for The Columbian)

Latter-day Saints scoop shovels of ceremonial dirt during a Saturday groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple.

Elder Mark A. Bragg looks for the cue to turn a shovel of ceremonial dirt at Saturday’s groundbreaking ceremony for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Vancouver Washington Temple. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

Sharon Clark, 15, of Vancouver, texts on her phone in front of a huge pile of soil after Saturday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple.

About 350 people celebrate at Saturday’s groundbreaking of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Vancouver Washington Temple. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple, the sixth temple in Washington. The temple will be built on a 15.11-acre plot right on the Vancouver-Camas border. It will be 43,000 square feet, and several stories tall. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

Abigail Grant, soon to be on a mission to Peru, poses for a photo in front of the planned temple. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple, the sixth temple in Washington. The temple will be built on a 15.11-acre plot on the Vancouver-Camas border. It will be 43,000 square feet, and several stories tall. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

Olivia Stzateichuk, 4, of Vancouver, plays with a memorial shovel during the ceremony. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple, the sixth temple in Washington. The temple will be built on a 15.11-acre plot on the Vancouver-Camas border. It will be 43,000 square feet, and several stories tall. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

A painting of Jesus Christ breaking bread is seen as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple, the sixth temple in Washington. The temple will be built on a 15.11-acre plot on the Vancouver-Camas border. It will be 43,000 square feet, and several stories tall. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

A rendering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Vancouver Washington Temple, currently being built in Camas. (James Rexroad/for The Columbian)

Elder Mark A. Bragg speaks to the crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple. It will be built on a 15.11-acre plot on the Vancouver/Camas border, and will be 43,000 square feet and several stories tall. (Photos by James Rexroad for The Columbian)

DETAIL The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple, the sixth temple in Washington State. The temple will be built on a 15.11 acre plot right on the Vancouver/Camas border, will be 43,000 square feet, and several stories tall. A photo of the proposed temple.

Before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Portland Oregon Temple opened in Lake Oswego, Ore., in 1989, Clark County church members traveled 600 miles to receive spiritual guidance and participate in sacred ceremonies.

“The youth here in Vancouver would get on a bus and travel to Oakland, Calif.,” Dean Barrus, a member of the Ridgefield Washington Stake, said during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple on Saturday. “That was the closest temple to us. We would worship for a couple of hours, get back on that bus and start back home.”

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