Announcement that Temples are being Shut Down Permanently

[bluebell]

8 minutes ago, sheilauk said:

Sorry, bluebell, I edited my post as you posted!  Temple workers in the UK stay for a week at a time, not just one day.  For many it's too far to go for one day.  There is an accommodation block where they have kitchens and can get their own food.  I am guessing most already take food and do their own meals and don't rely on the cafeteria.  I don't remember seeing many in the cafeteria.

It used to be like that in our temple district here.  It was a five hour trip to the temple when I was growing up (until I was in my 20s), longer in the winter when Yellowstone was closed, so people would go for extended periods and stay in housing close by.  In some ways, I liked it better back then.  Our youth temple trips were overnight affairs and were a very big deal.  We would go twice a year and make the most amazing memories together.

Now that I live in Utah and have two temples within 15 minutes of me, the youth before covid were lucky to get to go as a group twice a year.  Too many kids trying to get in.

[mfbukowski]

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Do some temples actually have workers doing shifts so long that they need a meal break of some kind? When I was actively serving as a temple worker pre-Covid, my shift was five hours long. And I was usually lucky if at some point I had five minutes to run to the toilet and stop by the bubbler.

Well it's kind of vague how long you will be there, regardless of supposed shift length, especially if you are a coordinator, or on night shifts, AND there is usually a meal break built into the shift, at least here.

I was a coordinator on the last shift of the day, and got to wait for every person to finish hanging out in the celestial room, saunter down to the locker room, conversing, get changed, hit the bathroom etc, and leave.  Then I had to check with whomever checked every room in the building, that everyone was out, turn off the lights, and say goodnight to the president, to "return and report" at the front desk.

You have your prayer meeting, does that count? You have the time it takes to change when you arrive, etc.

It easily went 6.5 hours, and many guys got off work early on temple day, so they would have had nothing to eat from noon to 10 pm, without some kind of meal break.

And then, here, you have boundless traffic coming and going, easily avg. 1 hour in each direction.

If I was not a worker, without that meal I would just have not gone if that was my personal situation.

That meal break is essential.

[strappinglad]

Will there not still be a need for a specified lunch room? Otherwise there will be bread crumbs in various corners all over the temple. 

[Stormin' Mormon]

Nearly two decades back (when I was still living in Utah), my wife and I did dinner and a temple session at the Manti Temple.  (We drove down from our student apartment in Provo).  One of the cafeteria workers told us that it was not uncommon for the church to call retired chefs to work in the cafeteria of a nearby temple.  It was a win-win for everyone: the retiree got to use their skills in a church calling, and the rest of us got to enjoy some seriously good food at seriously low prices.  I don't know how accurate this worker's comment was or how common such a practice may have been. 

I understand that with temples now in nearly every major metro area, there's less of a need for cafeterias.  Fewer and fewer people are driving 3 or 4 hours to do a temple session.  More often than not, temples are now close enough to a member's home that they don't need to worry about the additional cost of eating out during a trip to the temple. 

I have many fond memories of temple cafeteria food.  I'm going to miss it. 

[Raingirl]

When going with friends to the temple, we always had a meal in the cafeteria before we headed home. The food was good and reasonably priced, and it was a tradition we very much enjoyed.

I also know plenty of temple workers who ate their meals there. 
 

A lot of people will be saddened by this change. 

[Peacefully]

2 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Will there not still be a need for a specified lunch room? Otherwise there will be bread crumbs in various corners all over the temple. 

When I worked in the Dallas Temple, we had refrigerators in the lunch room where we could keep our personal food, if I’m remembering correctly. We would also bring cookies and other snacks to share with the shift and leave them on a table where the temple workers usually got together. At least on The Saturday morning shift. Hopefully, they will keep an area for a fridge, microwave and a couple of tables for workers.

[bluebell]

When the Billings MT temple was dedicated it had a cafeteria but it was shut down fairly quickly (within a year or two I think).  After that the cafeteria space could be used by anyone, and youth groups would have use it to have cookies or something after their baptisms for the dead appointments, before heading home.

Hopefully most temples have something similar that allows easy eating and drinking of their own food.

[rongo]

It says "all temples," but what about the ones that had/have extensive hostel facilities? Maybe with the growth of temples even in areas that historically wouldn't have one because of non-sustainable/supportable numbers, there are far fewer people travelling for days or weeks to attend the temple, but it seems that if there are still temple lodging facilities in existence, there would have to be some sort of cafeteria that wasn't a "BYOF" (bring your own food) facility.

We bunked with a man from Germany and a man from Holland at the Frankfurt temple when I came home from my mission. 

[Canadiandude]

23 minutes ago, bluebell said:

When the Billings MT temple was dedicated it had a cafeteria but it was shut down fairly quickly (within a year or two I think).  After that the cafeteria space could be used by anyone, and youth groups would have use it to have cookies or something after their baptisms for the dead appointments, before heading home.

Hopefully most temples have something similar that allows easy eating and drinking of their own food.

I mean, I guess this’ll just further incentivize member and nonmember restaurant owners to build in the surrounding area.

This is better for everyone in fact. The Church’s temple dept can dedicate more of its budget towards its actual purpose, while leaving the food industry to what it does best.

Also as a side note, I architecturally quite love the Billings temple, it sits at a stunning location and deploys a great use of contrast with its environs.

Close to Canada too!

[bluebell]

52 minutes ago, Canadiandude said:

I mean, I guess this’ll just further incentivize member and nonmember restaurant owners to build in the surrounding area.

This is better for everyone in fact. The Church’s temple dept can dedicate more of its budget towards its actual purpose, while leaving the food industry to what it does best.

Also as a side note, I architecturally quite love the Billings temple, it sits at a stunning location and deploys a great use of contrast with its environs.

Close to Canada too!

Zoning wise, I don't think you can get restaurants much closer to that temple than they are right now.  But maybe that will change.  Even if it doesn't, it's not that big of a deal.  

I love the Billings Temple.  I grew up 90 miles from Billings (in Wyoming) and also lived in Billings as an adult for many years.  My husband is from there.  The Rims (the geological feature that the temple sits in front of) are beautiful and a great recreation area as well.  

[mfbukowski]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

It says "all temples," but what about the ones that had/have extensive hostel facilities? Maybe with the growth of temples even in areas that historically wouldn't have one because of non-sustainable/supportable numbers, there are far fewer people travelling for days or weeks to attend the temple, but it seems that if there are still temple lodging facilities in existence, there would have to be some sort of cafeteria that wasn't a "BYOF" (bring your own food) facility.

We bunked with a man from Germany and a man from Holland at the Frankfurt temple when I came home from my mission. 

I am pretty sure the temples that had cafeterias will continue having food/snack vending machines- but at least in LA there are "Temple Patron Apartments" where temple workers- and visitors-  can live and receive discounted rent.  Some workers come from hundreds of miles away and work one week a month, but they have kitchens and can cook on their own. 

So come to LA for a vaycay, do some sessions and stay in the temple patron apartments!

[Duncan]

5 hours ago, bluebell said:

Zoning wise, I don't think you can get restaurants much closer to that temple than they are right now.  But maybe that will change.  Even if it doesn't, it's not that big of a deal.  

I love the Billings Temple.  I grew up 90 miles from Billings (in Wyoming) and also lived in Billings as an adult for many years.  My husband is from there.  The Rims (the geological feature that the temple sits in front of) are beautiful and a great recreation area as well.  

There's a Liquor Mart across the street from our temple hahhaha! to some people it's a liquid lunch🍺🍺🍺

[JustAnAustralian]

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

There's a Liquor Mart across the street from our temple hahhaha! to some people it's a liquid lunch🍺🍺🍺

The shopping complex opposite the Sydney temple has a couple of alcohol outlets too.

[webbles]

I used https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org and went through all of the temples there and searched for the ones that said "Cafeteria food served".  I found 34 temples:

Quote

Bogotá Colombia Temple
Bountiful Utah Temple
Campinas Brazil Temple
Cardston Alberta Temple
Cochabamba Bolivia Temple
Dallas Texas Temple
Guayaquil Ecuador Temple
Hamilton New Zealand Temple
Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Jordan River Utah Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple
Las Vegas Nevada Temple
Lima Peru Temple
Logan Utah Temple
London England Temple
Los Angeles California Temple
Madrid Spain Temple
Manti Utah Temple
Mesa Arizona Temple
Mexico City Mexico Temple
Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
Oakland California Temple
Ogden Utah Temple
Portland Oregon Temple
Preston England Temple
Provo Utah Temple
Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple
Recife Brazil Temple
San Diego California Temple
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
São Paulo Brazil Temple
Seattle Washington Temple
St. George Utah Temple
Trujillo Peru Temple

The church article says 24 so it isn't quite accurate.  But the church's temple site already appears to be removing the cafeteria notice.

[Mike Drop]

On 11/7/2021 at 7:02 PM, The Nehor said:

Oops, overstated the situation. The temple cafeterias are all being shut down permanently. This misstatement was totally natural and not at all planned to increase the shock value of the title. And no, I couldn’t just go up to the title and fix it. Why can’t I? What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?

I guess if you are going to do it now is the time when the staff isn’t working anyways. This ruins my cheap “dinner and a movie” dates where I don’t have to pay for the movie.

Seriously! Seriously!! So now if I drive 3.5hrs to go to the temple, I can’t even enjoy eating a meal in the temple? My first temple trip we ate in the cafeteria, it was the best part of the trip. 
    This is a terrible decision. It’s the exact opposite of what the true church of Christ should be doing. We should be opening up the cafeteria to as many “customers” as possible. Even non temple recommend holders. The church should be hiring professional chefs and competing with local restaurants for hungry customers. Think about it!! Non members saying “hey sweetie, let’s go to the LDS Temple tonight and get the 🦞 ravioli !” Am I the only member that thinks we are regressing? 
      Last year my wife and I paid just over $28,000 in tithing. That means we pay $538 to attend church every week, or $269 an hour. Why do I keep getting less and less for my money? We are losing the best parts of the Mormon experience? Why are we cleaning toilets? Next we’ll be doing the landscaping. Anyone want to make a bet on what year we’ll be cutting the grass at the church? 

[Scott Lloyd]

On 11/7/2021 at 5:54 PM, Duncan said:

I read online, albeit not from an official source but you can still eat in the cafeteria area but the temple is getting out of the food/service business 

How would that work? Would you bring a sack lunch in your temple bag?

[bluebell]

Just now, Scott Lloyd said:

How would that work? Would you bring a sack lunch in your temple bag?

That's what they do in the temple where my parents serve.  Or they bring it in a separate lunch bag.

[Scott Lloyd]

On 11/8/2021 at 3:01 AM, Hamba Tuhan said:

Do some temples actually have workers doing shifts so long that they need a meal break of some kind? When I was actively serving as a temple worker pre-Covid, my shift was five hours long. And I was usually lucky if at some point I had five minutes to run to the toilet and stop by the bubbler.

Our shifts are six hours, and yes, there is a half-hour break programmed into our schedule so that we have the option of going to a break room and availing ourselves of vending machines, refrigerators, a microwave and a sink. Of course, our schedules are staggered so that the ordinance workers aren’t all taking their breaks at the same time. 
 

It occurs to me that if you are kept so busy you don’t have a few minutes to get a snack, the scheduling needs to be better organized and more efficient. 

[Scott Lloyd]

9 minutes ago, bluebell said:

That's what they do in the temple where my parents serve.  Or they bring it in a separate lunch bag.

We do that too, as ordinance workers. I was thinking about patrons, who ordinarily don’t have access to the break room with its refrigerators and microwave. 

[bluebell]

Just now, Scott Lloyd said:

We do that too, as ordinance workers. I was thinking about patrons, who ordinarily don’t have access to the break room with its refrigerators and microwave. 

In there temple, it's not a break room but a cafeteria common room that everyone in the temple has open access to.

[Scott Lloyd]

6 minutes ago, bluebell said:

In there temple, it's not a break room but a cafeteria common room that everyone in the temple has open access to.

OK. Our temple is small enough that I think it would require substantial remodeling or retrofitting to provide such a room. 

[bluebell]

3 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

OK. Our temple is small enough that I think it would require substantial remodeling or retrofitting to provide such a room. 

This temple started out with cafeteria but it only lasted a year or so before it was stopped (sometime around 2002 I think) so that's why the space is there.

[The Nehor]

23 hours ago, Canadiandude said:

I mean, I guess this’ll just further incentivize member and nonmember restaurant owners to build in the surrounding area.

This is better for everyone in fact. The Church’s temple dept can dedicate more of its budget towards its actual purpose, while leaving the food industry to what it does best.

Also as a side note, I architecturally quite love the Billings temple, it sits at a stunning location and deploys a great use of contrast with its environs.

Close to Canada too!

The food in the Dallas Temple was better than everything else close by. The food industry needs to step it up if that is their “best”.

I am kidding……partially.

[Canadiandude]

2 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

The food in the Dallas Temple was better than everything else close by. The food industry needs to step it up if that is their “best”.

I am kidding……partially.

I shall endeavour not to eat in its vicinity then haha!

[The Nehor]

Just now, Canadiandude said:

I shall endeavour not to eat in its vicinity then haha!

I went to a few places nearby that I cannot figure out how they stay open.

My theory is that they are money laundering operations.