Kim Stewart, a BYU graduate who has lived and worked in New York for the past 12 years, used to take long trips in crowded vans early in the morning to attend temples in Boston and Washington D.C.

Now, after the announcement last week of the construction of a temple in Manhattan, Stewart reflects on what it will mean to have a temple closer to home.

"Since Sept. 11 you realize that New York City is such a target," Stewart said. "And the thought of having a temple here and to know that the Lord is aware of us here - it's just a feeling of protection."

Scott Trotter, public affairs manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New York, said the temple should be completed in February 2004.

As New Yorkers prepare to rebuild a damaged skyline nearly one year after the nation awoke to the fear of war and terrorism, the new building will serve a smaller group, and function with a different purpose.

Like the temple in Hong Kong, the Manhattan temple will have the background of an urban metropolis.

Instead of memorial grounds and sky-high steel-girded towers riveting the nation's attention, some Latter-day Saints feel the temple will alter the atmosphere of the traditionally extravagant, decadent and high-profile city.

"It's going to bless New York. In practical terms, in terms of travel, it will make it a different sort of a place for the members," said Wayne Collier, a church member who lives in Harlem. "But even in broader terms, it's going to make it a different sort of a place. It's going to change the city."

Collier said before the temple was announced there was some speculation as to the possibility. Two weeks before the official announcement, renovation was started on the fifth and sixth floors of the already-existent church building on 65th Street and Columbus Avenue.

Before renovations began, "President Hinckley came out unexpectedly," Collier said. "We held a stake-wide meeting to all the neighboring areas ... and he came and looked at our building. He gave us a talk about mostly tithing."

President Hinckley promised the Saints a temple both within the next two years and within his lifetime, Collier said.

The temple, which was officially announced last week in a news release from The Church of Jesus Christ, will be the third temple in New York state and the second temple within a 30-mile radius.

Ground has not yet been broken on the neighboring Harrison New York temple, announced on Sept. 30, 1995, because of unresolved zoning issues with local residents. However, settlements were recently reached, considerably narrowing the scope and size of the temple.

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Aug 2002