Jordan River Utah Temple

Jordan River Utah Temple
Number	20
Dedication	16 November 1981 (16 November 1981) by Marion G. Romney
Site	15 acres (6.1 hectares)
Floor area	148,236 sq ft (13,772 m2)
Height	219 ft (67 m)
Preceded by	Seattle Washington Temple
Followed by	Atlanta Georgia Temple
Official website • News & images
Additional information Announcement 3 February 1978 Groundbreaking 9 June 1979 by Spencer W. Kimball Open House 29 September – 31 October 1981 Designed by Emil B. Fetzer Location 10200 S 1300 W South Jordan, UT 84095-8814 United States Exterior finish Cast stone with white marble chips, tower is cemlite Ordinance rooms 6 with Movie, stationary sessions Sealing rooms 17 Clothing rental Yes Cafeteria Full services Visitors' center No

The Jordan River Utah Temple (formerly the Jordan River Temple) is the 20th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in South Jordan, Utah, it was built with a modern single-spire design.

A site dedication and groundbreaking ceremony were held on June 9, 1979. The ceremony and dedication were presided over by church president Spencer W. Kimball. Instead of the usual small ceremonial shovel-full of dirt at the groundbreaking, Kimball used a large power scoop shovel to begin the building process. The temple was open to the public for tours September 29 through October 31, 1981. Over half a million people toured the temple during its open house.

On August 7, 2015 the LDS Church announced that beginning February 15, 2016, the temple will close for renovations that are anticipated to be completed during the latter part of 2017.

Dedication

File:Jordan River Temple.jpg

Jordan River Temple at night.

Marion G. Romney, a member of the church's First Presidency, dedicated the Jordan River Temple in fifteen sessions held during November 16–20, 1981. More than 160,000 members attended the dedicatory services. Thirty of those in attendance at the dedication were elderly men and women who had been at the historic dedication of the first temple in the Salt Lake Valley, the Salt Lake Temple. Most had been very young at the time but still remembered the event. The temple serves Latter-day Saints in Southern Salt Lake County, Utah. Geographically, it is the smallest LDS temple district in the world, but the temple is one of the church's busiest.

Features

The temple is the fourth largest LDS temple (but second-largest in Utah) and has a total of 148,236 square feet (13,771.6 m²), six ordinance rooms, and seventeen sealing rooms. The temple also has the largest capacity, with each ordinance room able to accommodate 125 people. The temple site is 15 acres (61,000 m²). The exterior of the temple is finished with cast stone with white marble chips. Unlike many of the temples, which are built mostly with tithing funds, the Jordan River Temple site was given to the church and all of its construction was paid for by members in the 134 stakes within the temple district. At the time, payment from local building funds was the established practice in the church, but was later abandoned in order to respond to the church's need for temples and church buildings in developing areas of the world.

Presidents

Notable presidents of the temple include H. Burke Peterson (1985–87); William Grant Bangerter (1990–93); LeGrand R. Curtis (1996–99); Ben B. Banks (2002–05); and Robert L. Backman (2005–08).

See also

• Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
• Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Jordan River Utah Temple page
• Jordan River Utah Temple page