Knoxville Tennessee Temple
President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Knoxville Tennessee Temple at the April 2022 General Conference. It will be the third temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built in Tennessee. The Memphis Tennessee Temple was dedicated in April 2000 and the Nashville Tennessee Temple was dedicated in May 2000, both by James E. Faust.
Knoxville is situated on the Tennessee River in the eastern part of the state. Missionary work first began in Tennessee in 1834. Today, there are around 55,000 Latter-day Saints in over 100 congregations in Tennessee.
Location
The Knoxville Tennessee Temple is currently in the planning stages. The location was announced by the Church on October 31, 2022. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet on a 4.99-acre site at 13001 Kingston Pike in Farragut, Tennessee.
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking services were held for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Elder Shayne M. Bowen, First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area Presidency, presided at the event. In his prayer dedicating the site and the ensuing construction process, Elder Bowen expressed gratitude for Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation. “We are eternally grateful that through Thy plan of salvation and exaltation, with Jesus Christ at the center of Thy plan, each one of us has a clear path through Thy temples to come back home, back into Thy presence.”[1]
