CAMAS — Before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ’ Portland Oregon Temple opened in Lake Oswego, Ore., in 1989, Clark County church members traveled 600 miles to receive spiritual guidance and participate in sacred ceremonies.

“The youth here in Vancouver would get on a bus and travel to Oakland, Calif.,” Dean Barrus, a member of the Ridgefield Washington Stake, said during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vancouver Washington Temple on Saturday. “That was the closest temple to us. We would worship for a couple of hours, get back on that bus and start back home.”

In a few years, they’ll be able to visit a temple without having to leave Clark County.

Construction on the temple kicks off today. Although it has “Vancouver” in its name, the temple will rise on 15 acres at t

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