Richmond Virginia Temple

In April 2018, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Richmond, Virginia. The Richmond Virginia Temple is the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state of Virginia. The two-story edifice has a total floor space of 40,531 square feet and is constructed on a wooded site at 10915 Staples Mill Road in Henrico County near Glen Allen, Virginia, a suburban neighborhood just outside Richmond. The temple sits on 11.17 acres of land and has four ordinance rooms (stationary) and three sealing rooms. Latter-day Saints in Virginia, eastern West Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina will be served by the temple. An adjacent 16,000-square-foot meetinghouse was built and an existing two-story home at 4151 Mountain Road will remain as a residence for the temple president and matron.

Missionaries for the Church first arrived in Virginia in the early 1840s. By 1841, approximately 80 people had joined the Church in Virginia. The first branch in Richmond, Virginia, was organized in 1919 with a membership of less than 100. In 1945, that branch was transferred from mission administration to the Washington Stake, where it became a ward a year later. In 1957, the Richmond Ward became part of the newly created Virginia Stake, the 245th stake in the Church and only the sixth stake on the Atlantic coast. At that time, the Richmond Ward numbered 700 members.

Today there are 34,000 Latter-day Saints living in Richmond area and more than 98,000 in the state, comprising 22 stakes. Virginia had previously been the state with the most members without a temple. Eighty-nine-year-old Ruby Barley and her family were among the first baptized in Spotsylvania County near Fredericksburg, Virginia. She said, "It is a dream come true." Jenni McCall, a Relief Society president in Stafford County was "ecstatic" about the announcement. She said, "This will make such a difference to all of us." Church members currently travel to the Washington D.C. Temple to participate in temple services, often enduring heavy stop-and-go traffic.

Two additional temples are under construction in Virginia, in Winchester and Roanoke.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Richmond Virginia Temple Held

On Saturday, 11 April 2020, a very small but sacred service was held at 9:00 a.m. EST to dedicate the Richmond Virginia Temple site and to formally break ground on the project. Elder Randall K. Bennett, president of the North America Northeast Area, offered the site dedicatory prayer. He was accompanied by his wife, Shelley; newly called Area Seventy, Elder J. Matthew Scott; and Elder Scott's wife, Allyson. To comply with guidelines issued in response to COVID-19, the service was scaled down to a handful of leaders and was not broadcast to stake centers in the temple district as originally intended.

Open House

Invited guests toured the Richmond Virginia Temple from March 21 to March 24, 2023. The public open house ran from Saturday, March 25, to Saturday, April 15, 2023, except for Sundays and Saturday, April 1 (general conference). Before the open house, a media day was held on March 20, 2023.

During the open house attended by neighbors, Church members, and journalists held on Wednesday evening, 28 August 2019, in Richmond, Virginia, Church representatives unveiled eight interior and exterior renderings, showing what the new temple is expected to look like. The design plans and renderings draw heavily from historical American traditions. According to Bill Williams, director of temple design, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the University of Virginia, Williamsburg and other sites throughout the state have influenced the design of the temple. Williams told the Church Newsroom, "Temple patrons and visitors will notice simple yet beautiful ornamentation, hearkening back to the humble beginnings of the United States." He continued, "Interlocking diamond chains and accents of the flowering dogwood – Virginia’s state tree and flower – will be found on the inside and outside of the temple. The landscaping design is inspired by historic Williamsburg and will help contribute to a reverent, peaceful atmosphere for all who come here."

More than 46,500 visitors toured the Richmond Virginia Temple during the open house.

Just prior to the open house, Church representatives held a briefing for local leaders to showcase plans for the temple and answer questions.

Brent Roberts, managing director of the Church’s Special Projects Department, commented, "Many hours of work and planning have gone into the design for this beautiful temple. We are pleased to share these renderings with Church and community members so they can look forward to the completion of this sacred structure and anticipate the blessings it will bring to this area."

Mike Waters, the Church’s local director of public affairs in the Richmond area, said, "This temple will greatly bless both our members and the communities in which we live. It’s also historically significant to have this temple located only a few miles from where the Virginia General Assembly in 1786 enacted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The freedom to worship as we see fit started here and that freedom continues to manifest itself today through this inspiring edifice."

Dedication

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated Virginia’s first temple in two sessions on Sunday, May 7, 2023. The dedicatory sessions were broadcast to all units in the Richmond Virginia Temple district.

From left: Elder Michael John U Teh, General Authority Seventy; Sister Grace Teh; Sister Kristen M. Oaks; President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency; Sister Angela Bassett; Elder W. Mark Bassett of the North America Northeast Area Presidency and a General Authority Seventy; Sister Nancy Duncan; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department and a General Authority Seventy, at the dedication of the Richmond Virginia Temple. Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Located in Virginia’s capital city, the Richmond temple’s blue, gold, and red color palette complements a blend of Federal and Jeffersonian architecture and is accented by symbols of Virginia’s state tree and flower — the dogwood.

“Every temple is beautiful, but this is an especially impressive House of the Lord for this great Commonwealth of Virginia,” said President Oaks.

Still, the temple — as are all temples — is ultimately designed to lead souls to the Savior, he said. “The work of the temples is centered in Jesus Christ. All that is learned and done here relates to Him.”

President Oaks was joined by his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks; Elder W. Mark Bassett of the North America Northeast Area Presidency and a General Authority Seventy and his wife, Sister Angela Bassett; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department and a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan; and Elder Michael John U Teh, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Grace Teh.

Michael and Sandy Waters believe the impact of the new temple will be “tremendous,” eliminating the need to fight traffic to get to Washington D.C. or other temples in the region.

“All the ordinance work will just explode because people have better access here,” Michael Waters said. “I think members will really support this temple. Families will be blessed and there will be a legacy of temple worship.”[1]

Design and Architecture of the Richmond Virginia Temple

The Church News shared the following:

The design reflects a blend of local and historical Georgian, Federal, and Jeffersonian architecture.

The exterior of the Richmond Virginia Temple is clad with Moleanos stone articulated with a Jeffersonian version of a Doric order, found in Greek and Roman architecture. Added to this are interlocking diamond circles and the dogwood blossom, the Virginia state flower. These elements are found on buildings throughout the Richmond, Virginia, area.

Outside, the temple site features a backdrop of dense wooded growth, with the paths, lighting and landscaping inspired by the gardens and grounds of historic Williamsburg, Virginia. Trees, hedges and flowers are local varieties, including not only the dogwood but magnolia, white oak, boxwood and Virginia bluebells.

Overall, the temple’s art glass colors — blue, gold and red — hearken to an early American color palette. One featured piece inside, which comes from an old Protestant church on the United States’ East Coast, depicts Jesus Christ as “the Good Shepherd,” welcoming people to the temple.

For more information on the details of design and architecture, see Church News, "Take a look inside as the doors open to the Richmond Virginia Temple, Virginia’s first"