Pioneer-era St. George Temple readies for open house and dedication
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the rededication and open house dates for the St. George Utah Temple.
The temple is the oldest working temple in the church and was first dedicated in 1877. Contractors from various companies have been working together for three years to upgrade the pioneer-era temple, the first in Utah.
In a press release last year, the church reported that, “A new addition on the west side of the temple is well underway, the exterior of the north addition is ready for painting and improvements to the grounds are on schedule.”
“This job demands perfection,” said Lorenzo Brieno, framing foreman from Pete King Commercial.
“There are some walls that feel like glass they’re so smooth. They have a special skill, and you can tell that they care about their work,” Andy Kirby, director of historic temple renovations for the Church, said about the renovation work.
The St. George Utah Temple will be rededicated Dec. 10 in two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A public open house will start Sept. 15 and continue until Nov. 11, excluding Sundays and Sept. 30, which is general conference. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the St. George Utah Temple district. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced as the date approaches.
After an extensive renovation, the St. George Temple was rededicated in 1975 by President Spencer W. Kimball. The temple has been closed since November 2019, following an announcement by Church President Russell M. Nelson in October 2018 to renovate pioneer-era temples. Both the Manti Utah Temple and the Salt Lake Utah Temple are currently under renovation.
The St. George Utah Temple is one of 28 found in Utah, the global headquarters for the Latter-day Saint faith. In addition to the two temples under renovation, there are temples currently in operation in American Fork (Mount Timpanogos), Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Logan, Monticello, Ogden, Payson, Provo (Provo and Provo City Center), South Jordan (Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain) and Vernal.
Temples under construction in Utah are in Ephraim, Heber Valley, Layton, Lindon, Orem, Smithfield, Syracuse, Taylorsville, Tooele (Deseret Peak) and Washington County (Red Cliffs), the latter of which will be the second temple in the St. George area.
The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple will be dedicated in August. Church membership in Utah is at nearly 2.2 million members.
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- Renovations at the St. George Utah Temple are nearly done. An open house and rededication have been scheduled for later in 2023.
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- This 2022 photo shows ongoing construction being performed on the St. George Utah Temple.
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- The St. George Utah Temple is pictured in May 2023.
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- The St. George Utah Temple is pictured in May 2023.
