Deseret Peak Utah Temple
On 7 April 2019, during the Sunday afternoon session of the 189th annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple will be built in Toole Valley Utah. The temple will be located northwest of the intersection of Erda Way and Highway 36 in Erda, Utah.
Erda offers a central location to residents in the Tooele Valley. There are eleven stakes organized in the valley with stake centers located in the communities of Tooele, Stansbury Park, Grantsville, and Erda. Church membership has grown steadily in the county with members driving over 30 miles to participate in temple worship at the Salt Lake Temple.
An exterior rendering of the three-story, 70,000 square foot temple was released on 7 April 2020. Brent Roberts, managing director of the Church’s Special Projects Department, commented, "These beautiful renderings depict the care and attention to detail that will go into the construction of this House of the Lord. The temple is our holiest place of worship. We believe this will be a place where Latter-day Saints in the Tooele Valley and beyond can go to obtain peace and divine direction in their lives."
Speaking about the design of the temple, Bill Williams, Director of Temple Design for the Church said that the design of this temple features a cast stone exterior with copper shingles done in a pioneer-style. In planning the Toole Valley Utah Temple, Williams and other architects drew details from nearby historic tabernacles. Additionally, several flowers native to the Tooele Valley—including cliffrose and silvery lupine—are featured throughout the temple in various rooms as well as on art glass and the building’s exterior. The temple will have four ordinance rooms (stationary) and four sealing rooms. Plans also call for the construction of an adjacent 20,000-square-foot meetinghouse. The exterior of the temple will be clad in cast stone with copper shingles.
A groundbreaking date for the temple has not yet been set.
Utah currently has 17 operating temples. In addition to Tooele Valley, temples have also been announced in Layton, Orem, Syracuse, Taylorsville, and Washington County. A temple in Saratoga Springs is currently under construction.
The Tooele Valley Utah Temple will be the twenty-first temple built in Utah and the first temple built in Tooele County.
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A First Look Inside the Toole Valley Utah Temple
All photos in this gallery are found at LDS Living and are ©2020 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Celestial room in the Toole Valley Utah Temple.
Ordinance room in the Toole Valley Utah Temple.
Baptistry in the Toole Valley Utah Temple.
Lobby in the Toole Valley Utah Temple.
Sealing room in the Toole Valley Utah Temple.
