Dorothy Galloway couldn’t stop smiling after she was asked about the new artwork in the Washington D.C. Temple.
“As soon as I walked in I saw, to my left, a Black person, which I hadn’t seen before,” said Galloway, a Black member of the Washington D.C. 3rd Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Then as I walked down the hall, to my left, there’s a father and son, a Black father and son.”
She also saw an Asian, a Filipino, a Mexican, Latin Americans, and more.
“To make a long story short,” she said brightly, “It’s reflecting the flock. It’s reflecting our membership.”
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At a time when President Russell M. Nelson has increased the total number of the church’s temples by 55%, leaders want to reflect the global church membership in artwork in new and renovated temples, church historian Emily Utt said.
Church members in and around Washington who got early looks inside noticed it immediately when they walked into the newly renovated Washington D.C. Temple over the past couple of weeks.
It was the first thing Nowah Afangbedji told his pregnant wife, Stephanie, when he got home from a tour he took to train as a volunteer for the upcoming, six-week temple open house.
You can read the full story on Deseret News. You can also see more photos of the artwork found inside the Washington D.C. Temple on Church Newsroom.