Des Moines Iowa Temple
During his general conference closing message on April 7, 2023, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct a temple in Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines Iowa Temple is one of fifteen newly announced temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1]
The Des Moines Iowa Temple will be the first in the state. Des Moines is currently in the district of the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple (135 miles to the west). The next closest temples are Kansas City Missouri (180 miles south) and Nauvoo Illinois (195 miles southeast).[2]
Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the state of Iowa, with more than 200,000 residents. This Midwest U.S. state is home to more than 29,000 Latter-day Saints in about 70 congregations.
In the 1840s, nearly 200 Latter-day Saint pioneers established a small community named Garden Grove, where they planted crops and built cabins for the pioneer companies who migrated westward toward Utah in the ensuing years. Other communities were built at Mount Pisgah and Council Bluffs.
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Location
The Des Moines Iowa Temple is currently in the planning stages. This temple will be built on a 19.576-acre site located at 9050 NW 62nd Avenue, Johnston, IA 50131. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 18,850 square feet.
Detailed design plans for the temple are still being developed. Further information, including an exterior rendering and a groundbreaking date, will be released in the future. Project leaders will soon start working with city officials on preliminary plans for the temple, and they will begin filing public documents in the coming months.
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