Twin Falls Idaho Temple
The Twin Falls Idaho Temple is the 128th announced temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On October 2, 2004 the First Presidency of the Mormon Church announced plans to build a temple in Twin Falls, Idaho. The 9.1-acre site for the temple is at Eastland Dr. North. The area was formerly the Candleridge Golf Course, but the course had announced its intentions to close, and the Church purchased the land.
With its completion, the temple is now the fourth Mormon temple in Idaho and will serve more than 50,000 members in 14 stakes.
On November 8, 2005, the Twin Falls Planning and Zoning Commission approved the permits needed to go forward with the building of the temple. A special permit was given which allows the temple to exceed the city's 35-foot maximum height limit.
With the permits secured, the design for the temple was unveiled on October 6, 2005, at a press conference. The temple design is inspired by the nearby Shoshone Falls and the temple will comprise 27,850 square feet and be 159 feet tall. On the 9.1 acre site, the Mormon Church will also build a new stake center, gardens, and a parking lot able to hold 300 cars.
A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on April 15, 2006, and were presided over by Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Presidency of the Seventy. The event was by invitation only, because of limited space at the temple site, but the entire event was taped and played at meetinghouses throughout the area that same evening so that others could also participate.
Open house and dedication
The Twin Falls Temple was dedicated on Sunday, August 24, 2008, in four dedicatory sessions. A cultural celebration featuring music and dance was held at the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds in Filer and took place the evening before. The temple was open for open house tours starting Friday, July 11th and ending August 16th except for Sundays. Retired Burley Dairy Farmer and former member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy D. Rex Gerratt served as the temple's first president.
It is estimated that close to 160,000 people toured the temple. It opened for ordinance work immediatly following the dedication.
External links
- Official LDS Twin Falls Idaho Temple page
- Twin Falls Idaho Temple page
- LDS Newsroom announcement of the open house and dedication
