Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

On 5 September 2019, an official rendering of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was released with the announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony. The groundbreaking took place on Saturday, 19 October 2019. Attendance at the ceremony was by invitation only, with the public residing in the general area invited to view the proceedings live from local meetinghouses. Elder Craig C. Christensen, General Authority Seventy and president of the Utah Area of the Church, presided over the event.

The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple was announced by then-Church President Thomas S. Monson on 2 April 2017, during the Sunday morning session of general conference.

The new Utah temple is located in the new Beacon Pointe subdivision, west of Redwood Road and north of Meadow Side Drive. The three-story temple of approximately 87,000 square feet on a 22.7-acre site that sits near the western shores of Utah Lake. An adjacent 21,000-square-foot meetinghouse also sits on the property.

The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple is the eighteenth temple built in Utah and the fifth built in Utah County, following the Provo Utah Temple (1972), the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple (1996), the Payson Utah Temple (2015), and the Provo City Center Temple (2016).

Saratoga Springs is a recently established Utah community, incorporated in 1997, located on the west side of Utah Lake in northern Utah County. Church membership in Saratoga Springs and the bordering communities of Lehi and Eagle Mountain has grown rapidly over the past twenty years.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

Elder Craig C. Christensen, Utah area president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple in northern Utah County, about 40 minutes south of downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday, 19 October 2019. Members of the Area Presidency were also in attendance.

Latter-day Saint and community leaders, along with local clergy, attended the traditional ceremony. Guests were invited to turn over a spade of dirt using ceremonial shovels. The event marks the beginning of the construction of the three-story, approximately 87,000-square-foot temple. The public living in the general area was invited to watch the proceedings, which were broadcast to local meetinghouses.

Elder Christensen expressed the love of President Russell M. Nelson and the senior leaders of the Church when he said, "We are gathered here under their direction." He also said he walked the temple site about a month ago, and after he had "absorbed the prominence of this particular setting, [he] started to picture in [his] mind’s eye the construction of the temple over the coming months." Then something more important occurred. He said, "I started to think about what will take place within the walls of the temple once it is completed and dedicated, the sacred ordinances and covenants that will be administered here. I realized, in a more profound way, how this particular temple will bless many individuals and families, including your children, your marriages, your families, and, especially, many of your ancestors." He continued, "This is the place where your children and families will be protected from the evils that are ever present in the world today, and to make sacred covenants with the Lord."

Saratoga Springs resident Jennifer Raventos said her family is excited to have the temple literally in their backyard. She said, "We’ve been excited ever since President Monson announced the temple two and a half years ago. The temple, to me, is a place that represents everything that is important; it represents our testimony of Jesus Christ and the strength of the family. It represents all that we believe in."

Elder Walter F. González, a counselor in the Utah Area Presidency, commented that the temple is a reminder, especially for those living near the temple. He said, "Just by watching and seeing from their windows, the temple will remind them of the invitation that we just received from President Nelson on making an appointment with the Lord and being faithful."

An adjacent 21,000-square-foot meetinghouse will also be built.

Open House and Dedication Announced

On November 21, 2022, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the open house and dedication dates for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple.

After a media day held on April 10, 2023, and a private open house for invited guests (April 11–14, 2023), a public open house will begin Saturday, April 15. From then until Saturday, July 8, 2023 (Sundays excluded), anyone can walk through the temple.

The design cues and color palette of the temple are inspired by the blues, purples, golds and greens of surrounding flora and fauna, such as wildflowers, marsh grass, reeds and the snowy egrets.

The finest materials and workmanship have gone into the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, from imported mahogany and marble to custom art-glass windows and crystal chandeliers — finishes designed to enhance the experience for those who come to worship in this holy place.[1]

Dedication of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, shakes hands with Sister Olufunmilayo Ojediran, wife of Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran of the Seventy, as he arrives for the dedication of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple. Also pictured are Elder Hugo E. Martinez, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Utah Area Presidency; Sister Nunia Martinez; and Bishop L. Todd Budge of the Presiding Bishopric.

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency dedicated the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple on Sunday, August 13, 2023, in three sessions (9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. MDT). The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all units in the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple district.

The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple is the Church's 179th dedicated temple, and the first of six to be dedicated in a period of less than two months, with three scheduled for Sept. 17 and two on Oct. 8.

Church members “have been given this temple as a sign of the Lord’s trust ... and His confidence that [they] will respond with greater faith and energy,” President Eyring told the Church News. “This temple is where you can draw more often on the powers of temple covenants. He knows your hearts. He knows your desire to be lifted and to become a more righteous people — just as the world becomes more contentious and fallen.”

Picture Gallery of Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

Spire of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple featuring angel Moroni statue
Reception area of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Grand staircase of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Waiting area for patrons in the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Waiting area for patrons in the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Baptistry of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
The baptistry of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple rests on the backs of 12 oxen
Saratoga Springs Utah Temple doors, some made of Sapele African Mahogany
Detail of wetland grass and water on the doors of Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Exterior panels of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
An instruction room in the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
The celestial room of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
One of the four crystal chandeliers in the celestial room of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
One of the sealing rooms of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Bride's room of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
Saratoga Springs Utah Temple at night