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Renderings of Provo Utah Temple redesign released by LDS Church

By Genelle Pugmire - | Nov 24, 2021

Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

A rendering of the new design of the Provo Utah Temple.

On Wednesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a rendering of the new design for the Provo Utah Temple.

At the October 2021 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced the church would reconstruct the temple when the Orem Utah Temple, which is currently under construction, is completed.

The rendering shows the planned design of the redesigned Provo temple exterior. The temple location will stay the same. Closure dates will be announced at a later time, according to church information.

The new design is similar to the Orem Utah Temple design featuring arched windows and a golden topped spire. Like most new temples, Provo’s spire will no longer feature a statue of the Angel Moroni, according to the renderings.

“The Provo temple has been a place of light and joy to so many. I will always have fond memories of the original but am excited about the rebuild. The new temple will be bigger and even more beautiful,” said Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi. “I have met with representatives of the church and am eager to help them any way I can. As a city, we’re grateful to the institutions and buildings that call Provo home. This new temple will become one of Provo’s finest gems, set against one of the most stunning backdrops in the world, the peaks of Rock Canyon.”

The church announced the intention to construct a temple in Provo on Aug. 14, 1967. A groundbreaking ceremony, to signify the beginning of construction, was held on Sept. 15, 1969. The temple was dedicated on Feb. 9, 1972, by church president Joseph Fielding Smith. The architect for the project was Emil B. Fetzer.

Since the October announcement, there had been some speculation as to whether the Provo Temple would look like the reconstructed Ogden Temple since both were originally designed by the same architect and looked the same.

Utah currently has 27 temples announced, under construction, under renovation or in operation, according to the church. Seven of those temples are in Utah County.

Temples are not regular places of Sunday worship for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are different from the thousands of regular chapels or meetinghouses all over the world that are used for Sunday services, according to church information.

Anyone, regardless of religion, may enter a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse and attend services. However, because of the sacredness of temples as “houses of the Lord,” only members of the Church who are in good standing are allowed to enter the temples.

A member must be observing the basic principles of the faith and attest to that fact to his or her local leaders once every two years in order to enter a temple.

The sacredness of the temple anciently can be seen in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Moses had the children of Israel carry with them the Tabernacle, or large, portable temple, as they wandered in the wilderness. King Solomon built and dedicated the great temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. It was rebuilt and later substantially expanded, but again destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.

The great Western Wall can still be seen in Jerusalem today, and even after millennia, remains a sacred site for Jews. The New Testament gives an account of Jesus Christ clearing the temples when its sacredness was violated by people using its courts as a common market, according to LDS Church topics.

Latter-day Saint temples are considered houses of God, a place of holiness and peace separate from the preoccupations of the world. They provide a place where Church members make formal promises and commitments to God. They are also the place where the highest sacraments of the faith occur — the marriage of couples and the “sealing” of families for eternity.

Temples serve as the only place where ceremonies such as baptism and eternal marriage can be performed in behalf of those who have died — a practice that Latter-day Saints believe was followed in New Testament times but that later was lost.

Temples point Latter-day Saints to Jesus Christ and their eventual life with Him, their Heavenly Father and their family members on the condition of faithfulness to Christ’s teachings.

There are more than 200 temples throughout the world either in operation, under construction or announced.

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