Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Temple

History

Over a week’s time, the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history, including the highest wind speeds ever recorded on Earth, peaked on May 3, 1999 in Oklahoma City.* The Mormon Helping Hands turned out to assist in recovery and clean-up efforts, over 8,000 Members donated over 100,000 volunteer labor hours to homes, businesses, schools and churches. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Oklahoma City temple, Elder Rex D. Pinegar of the Seventy said, “As we drove through the area of [the tornado’s] swath, we saw signs on top of the rubble… ‘We’ve been crushed but we’re not out’, ‘Temporarily out of service’… as we scanned the area we saw nothing standing but the people. A sign on a demolished home read: ‘In God we trust.’” He went on to say these signs displayed the character of the community that would become home to the Oklahoma City temple.** Many agreed that though the tornado was devastating, it helped prepare the way for the temple. The cleanup efforts of the Church and the service of its members had a polarizing effect on the community’s perception of the Church. The temple was able to be built with little opposition. Stake President Gary J. Newman shares an experience from the open house. “To me, the greatest blessing of the open house was when a lady shared with me that she had only heard bad about the Mormons and that all she saw in the temple was good. Her perception of the Church and temples has changed forever; it will never be the same.”** In the 1840’s thousands of Native Americans were forced from their homes in the dead of winter to march what became known as the “Trail of Tears.” They found refuge in Oklahoma. Many members in the temple district are descended from those brave men, women and children. At the dedication on July 30, 2000, Anne Pemberton, a Latter-day Saint and member of the Delaware tribe said, “It’s home… [The temple] is sacred and on sacred ground. Our ancestors have waited. They rejoice in this day.”*** May this temple give you the peace needed to get through all the trials and storms of life and trust in God.

How Temple Coins are Made

Dave started creating jewelry using metals in 1992, ten years later he had worked with nearly every metal in the jewelry industry! Moving to Thailand, he spent the next nine years perfecting his skills with various metals, 3D models and 3D printers. He dreamed of producing something that would bring delight to purchasers and carry with it positive feelings that would touch the souls of those who owned them. In 2014 he was able to realize his dream. Returning to the US, he uses Lost-wax casting to create a metal master from brass alloy for each temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, depicting, in the highest degree of definition possible, a coin with a 3D image of a temple. The reverse of each coin is cast with the words “Stand ye in holy places.”

Purchase one or two of the temples that hold special meaning to you. Commemorate your visit to a temple by picking up the corresponding coin. Celebrate a milestone in a loved one’s life by gifting them a temple coin to inspire them. Collect them all or just a few. Some are cast in precious metals, making each coin an investment that will be a treasure in every sense of the word.

Additional Information

• Free Shipping on orders over $35.
• All coins are 1 1/4 in.
• Pewter Coins are cast from lead free alloys.
• Brass Coins cast from a silicone, brass alloy.  Giving our brass coins a rich yellow gold color for a fraction of the cost of gold coins.
• Silver Coins are cast from an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper.
• Gold Coins cast in 14K Gold are 58.5% pure gold.  The remaining alloy consists of a copper and silver mix.
• All of our coins are developed, cast, and finished locally in our facility in Logan, UT, U.S.A.

*Source note: Wikipedia.
**Newman, Interview.
***Dockstader, “Sacred Building on Sacred Ground”, 3.