Ward Members Enjoy Oakland Temple Open House

   Many of the ward members attended the open house for the Oakland Temple restoration. There were so many positive comments, we decided to post them on the ward history.  Enjoy!

We'll start with some pictures of the new reflecting pool at the temple.  The temple grounds are so different from before and are very beautiful.

    Skip and Julie McGhie family.  Julie writes, "Skip and I were married n the Oakland Temple 17 years ago.  It was a blessing and a unique joy to be there with all our children to tour during the open house.  Our testimonies of eternal families were strengthened as we felt the Spirit together as an eternal family in the place that it began all those years ago."

Ben and Liz Carlston:  We so enjoyed the opportunity for our whole family to see the inside of the Oakland Temple at the open house.  As with many others in the ward, this is a special temple to us because we were married there almost 15 years ago! We went on a Saturday afternoon and it was extremely crowded.  For the majority of the walk through, there was a lot of noise and talking, but it was astonishing to us that as soon as we entered the celestial room, it was silent.  Given how many non-members were there touring, it was really special to experience the reverence of everyone in that room and how strongly the spirit could be felt as a result.  Truly a remarkable experience!

Joseph and AnneMarie Stringer:  Our experience on Holy ground at the Oakland Temple was fantastic.  We loved the new artwork inside and the sweet spirit that resides within those walls.

Travis and Cathy Leonard:  We made two trips to the temple open house. One was with Julie Evans (left picture) who thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  She had never seen the inside of a temple before other than the baptistery.   On another day we took two non-member friends who were excited to go.  As for us, the temple was the place of one of our first dates, and we were sealed there 27 years ago. 

The Meyers Family:  l to r: Jacob, Nolan, Nolan's wife Cali holding her granddaughter, Cali's daughter, and Mary Ellen Meyers, Nolan's mother.

.  Cliff and Ann Kerr, with Karen Sorensen and Priscilla Quanstrom:  Ann says "We enjoyed the tour very much. Although we weren't married there, it was our temple for the four years we lived in San Francisco, then for many of our Lodi years. Karen had never been in a temple before and was very enlightened by what she learned.  She was really excited by what the family history center in the basement of the visitor's center offered. She learned more about her husband's ancestors in Denmark where he was raised."

The James and Margarette Radulovich family.  Family members were touring in the area and everyone agreed to meet at the temple for the open house tour.

Clay and Sara Farlee enjoyed the open house with their children.

Julie Cooper:  My nephew Mike who lives in Los Angeles came to visit a childhood friend who lives in Ukiah. The friend and his family were taking the missionary lessons. (Andrew and Natalie.)  We enjoyed the tour and went to Fenton's for lunch.  Before they left to return to Ukiah, Natalie said to me,  "It feels like we're family doesn't it?"  And she was so right,  That was exactly what it felt like.

Left picture: Andrew, Natalie, Chase (4-year old son,) and the Elders.  Right picture:  Julie and nephew Mike Moore.

Arnel and Lisa Clegg and their 2 children and other family members

Two Sroufe families:  Teresa and Dan on outside edges with Adam and Hilary with their four children in the center.

Kathy Crutchfield from Vineyard Ward also came to enjoy the temple with Teresa and Dan.

David and Shawna Banks visit the Oakland Temple with their children Rebekah and Andrew.

 Accompanied by their grandmother Margaret Weeks, Nathan and Jorydan Merrill, children of Ranae Merrill, explored the temple grounds with two friends.

Glenna Sedgeman visited the Oakland Temple.

   The John & Karen Robison family enjoyed a tour at the temple open house on Wednesday May 29th. Karen's mom (Carol Price) from Nephi Utah, as well as her Grandma, her mom’s mom (Kay Harmon) from Salinas California joined them for the tour. "The weather was beautiful and it wasn’t crowded at all that day." 

Karen writes: John and I were sealed in Oakland, and we wanted our kids to have a frame of reference for the changes, so as a family (minus JT who was too young) we did baptisms there in December of 2017, just before the temple closed. The girls mentioned many times how glad they were able to see the temple inside before it was renovated.  We all agreed that the improvements were inspired and beautiful.  

Karen Robi Top:   Benjamn Lloyd and Viola Langston.  Bottom:  They are also part of the Stringer family. 1:47 PM (34 minutes ago) son

T