FULL OF TEMPLES A County

The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple is the latest temple to be completed in Utah County, but it is far from the last. Utah County is the home of — or the future home of — a total of seven temples, and the renovation of an existing temple is planned.

In fact, considering all the work being done on temples here, there is currently more construction activity centered on temples in Utah Valley than anywhere else in the state. Upon completion of all this work, Utah County will be home to more temples than any other county in Utah. (When the Taylorsville Utah Temple is completed, Salt Lake County will have a total of five temples.)

Overall, Utah is home to 28 temples either completed or under construction. These temples serve the 2.2 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that live in Utah — more than 60% of the state’s population. Here is an overview of Utah County’s six other temples as well as the temple about to undergo renovation.

Provo Utah Temple

2200 Temple Hill Drive, Provo

Total floor area: 128,325 square feet

Site: 17 acres

Ordinance rooms: Six instruction rooms, 12 sealing rooms, one baptistry

Dedicated: Feb. 9, 1972

6th dedicated temple in Utah

15th dedicated temple worldwide

Ground was broken for the Provo Utah Temple — originally named the Provo Temple — just one week after the Ogden Utah Temple. It was the first time in church history two temple groundbreakings were held in the same month. The Provo temple is one of the church’s larger temples and one of only four temples with six instruction rooms (the others are the Jordan River Utah Temple, the Ogden Utah Temple and the Washington D.C. Temple). It was also the first temple to be built in Utah County.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced during the October 2021 General Conference that the Provo Utah Temple will be reconstructed upon completion of the Orem Utah Temple, which is anticipated for late 2023. A rendering later released by the church shows the Provo temple’s exterior will take on a completely new look as part of its reconstruction in a way similar to the Ogden Utah Temple when it was redone.

Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple

742 N. 900 East, American Fork

Total floor area: 107,240 square feet

Site: 16.7 acres

Ordinance rooms: Four instruction rooms, eight sealing rooms, one baptistry

Dedicated: Oct. 13-19, 1996

9th dedicated temple in Utah

49th dedicated temple worldwide

Utah County waited nearly 23 years before its second temple, the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, opened in American Fork.

Gordon B. Hinckley, serving as first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church at the time, announced during the October 1993 General Conference that “another temple in Utah County” would be built “to relieve the pressure on the Provo Temple, which is operating far beyond its designed capacity.”

The architecture of the Mount Timpanogos Temple is similar to that of the Bountiful Utah Temple, which was dedicat-

Payson Utah Temple

1494 S. 930 West, Payson

Total floor area: 96,630 square feet

Site: 10.63 acres

Ordinance rooms: Three instruction rooms, seven sealing rooms, one baptistry

Dedicated: June 7, 2015

15th dedicated temple in Utah

146th dedicated temple worldwide ed in January of 1995. The temple’s exterior is fabricated of Sierra white granite, and the windows feature stunning art glass.

Known as the “Apple Blossom” Temple, this building’s design motif is centered on apple blossoms and wheat, reflecting the local area’s agricultural heritage. On the temple’s lower floors, the blossoms are depicted as buds; as one moves to higher floors, the buds open up and are ultimately depicted as fully bloomed.

Unusual to the temple are its two major entrances, each with a temple recommend desk. When first constructed, the grand edifice was surrounded by fruit orchards and agricultural fields, despite being just a mile away from the I-15 freeway. Since then, home developments have begun to grow up around the temple.

Provo City Center Temple

50 S. University Ave., Provo

Total floor area: 85,084 square feet

Site: 5.6 acres

Ordinance rooms: Three instruction rooms (twostage progressive), five sealing rooms, one baptistry

Dedicated: March 20, 2016

16th dedicated temple in Utah

150th dedicated temple worldwide

Just nine months separated the dedication of Utah County’s third temple and its fourth temple, the Provo City Center Temple. Constructed utilizing the brick exterior walls of the former Provo Tabernacle, which was almost completely destroyed in a devastating fire in December 2010, this temple was created through painstaking efforts to honor and restore the beauty and style created by the pioneers in the former tabernacle.

Crews dug out 40 feet of ground below the former tabernacle to accommodate two new underground stories, expanding what was a 35,000-square-foot tabernacle to an 85,000-square foot temple. The brick walls of the tabernacle were balanced on a system of steel and concrete piles while this work went on underneath them.

The style is Victorian and reflects the era of the 1890s when the original tabernacle was finished. Interior features

Orem Utah Temple

1471 S. Geneva Road, Orem

Total floor area: 70,000 square feet

Site: 15.39 acres

Ordinance rooms: Four instruction rooms, four sealing rooms, one baptistry

Estimated completion: Late 2023

Anticipated to be Utah’s 20th dedicated temple such as wood moldings, newel posts and balustrades that survived the fire were used to reproduce the beautiful woodwork found in the pioneer tabernacle.

The Orem temple was one of eight new temples announced during the Church’s October 2019 General Conference. The Taylorsville, Utah, temple was announced at the same time. Ground was broken for the Orem temple on the same day as the groundbreaking ceremony for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple. A 20,000-square-foot meetinghouse will be built on the site as part of the Orem temple project.

The Orem temple will be the first temple in Utah County to not be topped with an Angel Moroni statue. It will also be Utah County’s most easily accessible temple with its location just south of the I-15 and University Parkway interchange in Orem.

Lindon Utah Temple

850 E. Center Street, Lindon

Total floor area: 81,000 square feet

Site: 12.7 acres

Ordinance rooms: Four instruction rooms, four sealing rooms, two baptistries

Estimated completion: Early to mid-2025

Anticipated to be Utah’s 25th dedicated temple

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced that Lindon, Utah, would be welcoming a temple on Oct. 4, 2020, during General Conference. The exact location of the Lindon temple was announced about two and a half months later. The temple is anticipated to feature elements honoring the agricultural heritage of the area, including the linden tree flower.

When the Lindon temple is completed, Utah County will have more temples than any other county in Utah.