“The work of temples is centered on our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. All that is learned and done here relates to Him,” Oaks said, according to a news release from the church, in remarks prior to the dedicatory prayer. “Here in His house, we make sacred covenants with and in the name of Jesus Christ, which among other meanings signify His authority and His work. All who worship here receive the blessings of His power and participate in His saving work. These blessings and this saving work, which we call ‘temple work,’ are supremely important for all of God’s children, those still living in mortality and those in the spirit world.”

The Burley temple was the first temple dedicated by Oaks, 93, since he became president of the church following the death of Russell M. Nelson on Sept. 27, 2025.

According to the release, Oaks decided to dedicate the Burley temple because “it [is] close to my heart.” Oaks lived in Twin Falls, about 38 miles from Burley, for about five years as a child.

The Burley temple is the seventh Latter-day Saint temple to be dedicated in Idaho and the church’s 212th dedicated temple overall. There are currently 171 temples that have been announced but not yet dedicated.

The Burley Idaho Temple was announced by Nelson on April 4, 2021, and is 45,300 square feet, the release stated.

According to the release, Idaho is home to nearly 500,000 Latter-day Saints in around 1,300 congregations.”

Other Idaho locations with a dedicated temple include: Idaho Falls, Boise, Rexburg, Twin Falls, Meridian and Pocatello.

Two more temples in Idaho – in Montpelier and Rexburg – have had groundbreaking ceremonies and two additional temples are planned for the state in Coeur d’Alene and Caldwell.

The second Rexburg temple will be known as the Teton River Idaho Temple.

There are currently seven temples scheduled for dedication, including the Lindon temple on May 3.

The Willamette Valley Temple in Springfield, Oregon, and the Yorba Linda Temple in Yorba Linda, California, are scheduled to be dedicated on June 7.

Three temples are set to be dedicated in the Philippines (Alabang on Sunday, Davao on May 3 and Bacolod on May 31) and one is set for Harare, Zimbabwe, on March 1.

The church also recently announced a location for the Spanish Fork Utah Temple, which was announced on April 6, 2025.

According to a news release, the edifice “will be built on an 8.7-acre site at the corner of 100 South and 2550 East in Spanish Fork, Utah.”

Additionally, the release stated, it will be “a multistory temple of approximately 80,000 square feet and an accompanying ancillary building.”

The Willamette Valley Oregon Temple dedication will be given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who on Jan. 8 was set apart as the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the church.

An acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, which according to a news release from the church is “the second-highest presiding body in the government of the Church,” was needed following the death of Jeffrey R. Holland on Dec. 27, 2025.

Holland was the president of the Quorum of the Twelve, but after his death, Henry B. Eyring became the second most senior apostle — determined by tenure in the Quorum of the Twelve rather than by age — and therefore the president of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Eyring, however, is currently the first counselor in the First Presidency of the church, which means the third most senior apostle, which is currently Uchtdorf, becomes the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.