The Latter-day Saint Church took root in Preston, when the first Mormon missionaries arrived in 1837. The Preston Ward is the longest continuously functioning unit in the LDS Church anywhere in the world. In June 1990, Jeffrey R. Holland was appointed as areapresident, and Gordon B. Hinckley, then serving as a counselor in the First Presidency, specifically assigned him to seek a possible temple site in northern England. A site on the north edge of Chorley in Lancashire, a few miles from the city of Preston, was selected, in part, because it "overlooked rolling hills to the east and a greenbelt area to the north and had easy access to the regional highway system". Because of its place in Church history and the growth of membership in Preston, Hinckley announced the area would be the site for Britain's second temple. The groundbreaking ceremony of the temple was on 12 June 1994, with Hinckley presiding. When construction was completed, a two week public open house in May 1998 attracted 123,000 visitors, and members from 24 stakes volunteered. The new temple was dedicated in 15 sessions during June 7–10, 1998, and more than 18,00 Latter-day Saints participated. The dedicatory prayer offered by Hinckley, who was then serving as the church's president, included these words, "Bless the Saints of the United Kingdom, these wonderful people of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as those of the Irish Republic. As they pay their tithes and offerings, wilt Thou open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them." In 2014, the House of Lords ruled that the temple was not qualified as a "place of public religious worship" since access was restricted to this select group and this determined the LDS Church tax status.
Site and architecture
It is the centrepiece of a 15 acre complex that includes a stake centre, a missionary training centre, a family history facility, a distribution centre, temple patron housing, temple missionary accommodations, and a grounds building. The temple itself has a modern, single spire design and an exterior finish of Olympia whitegranite from Sardinia. The white granite exterior and zinc roof have caused it to be described as reminiscent of England's old churches. The angel Moroni statue atop the spire is known as, "one of the landmarks of the M61". The temple has four ordinance rooms and four sealing rooms, and is the largest Latter-day Saint temple in Europe, at 69,630 square feet. The older London England Temple is smaller, at 46,174 square feet.
Pageant
In the summer of 2013, the Church staged a pageant on the grounds of the temple, similar to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and others done in the United States, but with a very British theme. Titled "Truth Will Prevail," it was the first official church pageant performed outside of North America. The pageant script was written by Alex Mackenzie-Johns, a British Latter-day Saint, and was under the guidance of Stephen C. Kerr, a British area seventy. The event had ticketed attendance, with seating of 1,500 per night at the "Pageant Theatre marquee". Approximately 15,000 tickets were distributed, free of charge, for the 10 day run. The pageant included 33 core cast members, 300 families cast, and a 150 voice choir.
