The San Diego Temple, the luminous landmark in the sunny Southern California city that drew more than 250,000 visitors during four weeks of recent public tours, is now off-limits to all but card-carrying members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Apostle D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the global faith’s governing First Presidency, rededicated the renovated building Sunday, a news release from the church reported.

“The San Diego California Temple is a testament to the faith of many generations, with the promise of more faithful, covenant-keeping generations to come,” Christofferson said in his dedicatory remarks. “It is a testament that the Lord has been doing his work here for many years, and that he is now hastening his work.”

The San Diego Temple, originally dedicated in 1993, remains one of the most popular among Latter-day Saints. The four-story, 58,000-square-foot edifice, known for its gleaming presence near Interstate 5, features two prominent steeples (one sporting a golden Angel Moroni statue) surrounded by eight smaller spires.

Inside, a two-level Celestial Room and an atrium rest at the heart of the building.

Latter-day Saints share a storied spot in San Diego’s history. Members of the Mormon Battalion — a ragtag band of hundreds of reluctant riflemen, along with dozens of women and children, most of whom trekked nearly 2,000 miles from Iowa to Southern California during the Mexican-American War — settled in San Diego in 1847 and helped develop the city.

“The church still provides a strong positive force in this community,” Christofferson said before the dedication. “The faith of those who participated in the Mormon Battalion and what they accomplished, I believe, carries through. It’s still here. It’s a legacy that blesses the area and is, to a degree, memorialized with this temple.”

Renovations were aimed mostly at replacing aging glass windows, which had suffered from heat damage and cracking, the release noted. Windows were redesigned with modern insulated glass units and repositioned to prevent future heat buildup.

Crews also installed a new mechanical system with updated heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units.

“Most of us, of course, have not participated directly in the work of restoration, refurbishing and upgrading, but we have taken part through our tithes and offerings,” Christofferson said. “I am confident that our gracious God will accept this temple as a worthy offering because it is our best, our very best, and it is offered in the humility and sincerity of our hearts.”

Presiding Bishop W. Christopher Waddell — who oversees the church’s far-reaching real estate, financial, investment and humanitarian operations — attended Sunday’s rededication, along with his wife, Carol. The Waddells had lived in the San Diego area for many years and went to the temple’s original dedication more than 30 years ago.

“It was not infrequent that I would attend the temple and walk through those entry doors and see my father sitting behind the recommend desk or see him in some other location in the temple,” Waddell said in the release. “Coming back and walking through those doors brought back some great memories.”

His wife recalled their children being sealed in eternal marriages to their spouses in the building.

“They know that they have this bond,” she said. “It’s a special reminder to come back here frequently to remind ourselves of this beautiful covenant relationship that we’re in.”

California is home to nine existing Latter-day Saint temples, along with announced plans for three more.

Members view temples as “Houses of the Lord.” Devout Latter-day Saints, who carry what is known as a temple recommend, enter temples, unlike the church’s more common meetinghouses, to participate in their faith’s highest religious rites, such as eternal marriage.

“As we enter the temple, we temporarily leave the world. We leave our problems and challenges at the door and focus our minds on the things of God, on the ordinances and covenants of salvation and exaltation,” Christofferson wrote Sunday on social media. “As we leave the temple, we realize that the problems and challenges we left at the entrance are still there. We are required to take them up again. They haven’t changed, but thankfully, our time in the temple has changed us. Our perspective is more confident and accurate. Now we see that what seemed overwhelming and impossible can, with the Lord’s help, find a solution.”