Pocatello Idaho Temple
The Pocatello Idaho Temple was first announced during the Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 2 April 2017 by then Church President Thomas S. Monson. This will be the Gem State’s sixth temple, a state with nearly half a million members of the Church. Other temples are located in Boise, Rexburg, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and Meridian.
The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was dedicated in 1945 and rededicated on 4 June 2017. Decades later came the Boise temple in 1984. That was followed by the Twin Falls and the Rexburg Temples, both dedicated in 2008. The Meridian Idaho Temple was dedicated on 19 November 2017.
An artist rendering of the Pocatello Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was released on Thursday, 6 September 2018. The rendering features a three-story temple with a center spire. The temple will be located east of Satterfield Drive and Butte Street in Pocatello, adjacent to an existing LDS stake center, in a new subdivision known as Crestview Estates – Division 2. The new sacred edifice will be located on a 13-acre lot high up the East Bench, in the vicinity of Highland High School. Construction on the temple is expected to begin in 2019 and will take between two and three years to complete.
Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said there were four locations he thought the Church would consider. In addition to the site the church ultimately chose, he saw promise in a site in northwest Pocatello, one within the planned Northgate development just north of the selected location, and at the church’s farm to the south, along Bannock Highway. He commented, "They owned the land already, and it seems like the temples typically are on top of a hill, where you can see them and they are visible from all over. Where this location is you can see it north and south, and you can see it west as you come in on Interstate 86." He added that the city will have to keep a close eye on the temple’s effect on traffic patterns, but the announcement is good news for both residents and the economy. "Anywhere they have built a temple historically, you see an uptick in the economy," he said.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Announced for Pocatello Idaho Temple
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that the groundbreaking date for the Pocatello Idaho Temple is 16 March 2019. Attendance at the ceremony will be by invitation only, with the general public invited to view the proceedings live from local meetinghouses.
