Feather River California Temple media by LDS Temple News
The Feather River California Temple is the 184th dedicated temple in operation and the eighth temple built in California. Located at 1470 Butte House Road, Yuba City, California 95993, it is the first temple built in Sutter County.
Originally announced as a temple planned for Yuba City, the Feather River California Temple was announced publicly by President Russell M. Nelson at General Conference on October 7, 2018. At the time, it was to become California’s eighth temple, joining the Los Angeles California Temple (1956), Oakland California Temple (1964), San Diego California Temple (1993), Fresno California Temple (2000), Redlands California Temple (2003), Newport Beach California Temple (2005), and Sacramento California Temple (2006). California was then home to more than 760,000 Church members organized into nearly 1,300 congregations.
The temple rendering was released on September 26, 2019.
Groundbreaking and dedication
The groundbreaking and dedication of the temple grounds are listed as taking place on July 18, 2020. The account of the small groundbreaking event says that Paul H. Watkins, an Area Seventy, presided on Saturday, June 18, 2020. Attendance was limited by COVID-19 social-distancing guidelines.
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Watkins said: “As the temple foundation is poured, and the walls are placed, and the roof is formed, let us all revitalize our foundational faith in apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ being our chief cornerstone.”
The public open house was held from August 19 through September 9, 2023. Apostle Ulisses Soares dedicated the Feather River California Temple on October 8, 2023. In his message, he described the temple as “the house of the Lord” and encouraged members to make it a priority in their lives.
Feather River California Temple Size and exterior design
The temple stands on 9.24 acres and measures 41,665 square feet. It is a two-story temple, 135 feet tall, at an elevation of 60 feet. Its exterior finish is cream precast concrete panels. The architectural design features a single attached end spire topped with a gold-leafed Angel Moroni statue.
Grounds and landscape
The landscape plan draws inspiration from the Sacramento Valley’s Mediterranean climate, as well as the area’s history and biodiversity. Mature native oak, redwood, and hackberry trees already on the grounds were incorporated into the plan. A notable feature is a collection of 100-year-old olive trees transplanted from a local orchard and arranged in groves in front of and behind the temple.
A six-foot-tall steel picket fence, powder-coated bronze to match the other metal fixtures, encloses the temple grounds. Precast concrete pillars mark the gated entrances.
Art glass and interior details
Art glass appears in every window. The arched second-level windows and the windows in the ordinance spaces depict almond blossoms, reflecting the area’s agricultural industry. The design celebrates beauty and the rewards of hard work, with the almond blossom’s natural colors set against a background that fades from yellow to blue.
The general carpet pattern takes inspiration from early Christian architecture. Its green color represents the area’s rice fields and farming heritage. The carved carpet design incorporates almond flowers to coordinate with the art glass. Other rug designs evoke an open field of local wildflowers and the California poppy, the state flower.
The stone flooring includes Crema Beige marble from Iran, Emperador Light from Turkey, Inca Gold from Pakistan, Verde Lichen from Iran, Rojo Alicante from Spain, and Vanilla from Turkey. The colors were selected to complement the fabrics and reflect local flora. The stone pattern throughout the House of the Lord references other buildings in the area, while the pattern around the baptistry draws from the art glass designs.
Decorative details and materials
Decorative paint is used simply along the patron path. In the ordinance areas, the painted designs abstract local flora and its underlying geometry. They accent the architecture at key points and connections, highlighting the natural beauty of the area and the principles that contribute to it.
The interior lights are brass, with crystal added in the ordinance spaces. Each fixture has a shallow bowl. In the ordinance rooms, the bowl’s shallow curve contrasts with the vaulted ceiling, bringing together two complementary elements that complete a circle.
Decorative millwork appears on the altars, recommend desk, baptismal font, and doors leading into ordinance spaces. Its modified quatrefoil pattern draws on early Christian architecture and offers an abstraction of the four-leaf clover. The font railing takes its form from tall reeds that grow along bodies of water and from the shape of the rice plant grown extensively in the area.
The doors are made of cherry wood, reflecting cherries’ importance as an agricultural product in the area. Brass hardware features arches, a reed-and-ribbon motif, and abstract forms of flora. Simple textured wall coverings are used throughout the House of the Lord. In the bride’s room, a leaf pattern echoes the art glass and rug designs and draws from early Christian representations of the olive branch.
Vaulted ceilings
The ceilings in the temple’s ordinance spaces are vaulted, referencing early Christian architecture and local historical architecture.
Feather River California Temple media by LDS Temple News