On Saturday, we visited the San Diego Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the last day of the public open house. After a 3 year renovation that started in 2023, the temple will now be closed to non-Mormons and rededicated on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. Tori and I remember the bare steel framework looking like a rocket ship rising alongside the I-5 freeway and wanting to visit during the first open house when the Gothic-inspired temple was completed in 1993, but we never made it. Thirty years later, we made reservations to tour the four-story structure (58,000 square feet) that features two main 169 foot spires and four smaller spires at the base of each tower, the eastern spire topped by a gold-leaf statue of the angel Moroni. The sunlight was almost blinding at times, reflecting off the white plaster surface embedded with crushed marble chips.
Except for the picture of our booty-clad shoes to protect the carpet, the rest of these interior photos are from the official website since everyone was asked not to take photos inside the temple. After passing through the Foyer, the first location on the tour was the Baptistry, with a baptismal font supported by twelve oxen sculptures, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Climbing the spiral Grand Staircase, we wound our way through four stories of dressing rooms for changing into pure white clothing, a chapel, waiting rooms, marriage sealing rooms, and instruction rooms before reaching the two-story Celestial Room. Our last stop before descending was the star-shaped Atrium on the top level connecting the two towers, the glass-walled garden illuminated by the skylight above. Unlike a Mormon meetinghouse, the San Diego Temple is not used for weekly congregational services, but reserved for baptisms, weddings and endowment ceremonies for eligible members. The Celestial Room in the temple is the closest equivalent to the grand sanctuary of a Catholic Cathedral, but is used for silent prayer and quiet meditation instead of holding a large congregation listening to a sermon.
After our tour, we went to UTC for dinner at Menya Ultra, a popular ramen shop from Japan who's Master Chef Takashi Endo won the national ramen competition in Tokyo. We shared the delicious Okonomi French Fries, a Japanese version of poutine drizzled with okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo and topped with bonito flakes and a side of pickled ginger. Tori had the Veggie Miso Ramen and she loved the Seasoned Egg. I tried the Nanban Ramen seasonal special and I will never order ramen again without adding the shredded Green Onion seasoned in Sesame Oil featured in this amazing ramen.
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