Moses Lake Washington Temple
On 7 April 2019, at the 189th Annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced Washington's fourth temple will be constructed in the scenic community of Moses Lake. There are nearly 290,000 Latter-day Saints in Washington and members in the region currently attend temple services at the Columbia River Washington Temple, located in the rapidly growing Tri-Cities area.
The Moses Lake Washington Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 20,000 square feet with a central spire. A meetinghouse of approximately 17,000 square feet will be constructed next to the temple.
Following the announcement, Mitchell J. Heaps, first counselor in the Moses Lake Washington Stake presidency, told the Church News that the rural farming community has hoped for the temple for a long time. He said, "We have a legacy of Saints in the area. They came in the 1950s to settle the area with the Grand Coulee Dam nearby. … (The temple announcement) shows that our Father in Heaven trusts us to carry the work forward here in Eastern Washington."
On 29 October 2019, the location for the Moses Lake Washington Temple was officially announced. The temple will be built on a 17-acre site located on Yonezawa Blvd between Division Street and Rd K NE across from Yonezawa Park and near Moses Lake High School. The deed that transferred ownership of the two contiguous lots, dated 19 June 2019, noted that the land was being sold for a future church. The location, just a mile and a half west of the junction of I-90 and Highway 17 will provide convenient access to patrons traveling from the surrounding region. Standing on the north side of I-90, south of Yonezawa Boulevard, the temple will be a beautiful landmark to travelers along these major routes.
On 7 April 2020, an official exterior rendering of the Moses Lake Washington Temple was released. Additional exterior and interior renderings will be made public later.
The Moses Lake Washington Temple will be the fourth temple built in Washington, following the Seattle Washington Temple (1980), the Spokane Washington Temple (1999), and the Columbia River Washington Temple (2001).
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Groundbreaking Date Announced for Moses Lake Washington Temple
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a groundbreaking date for the Moses Lake Washington Temple,.
Elder David L. Stapleton, an Area Seventy, will preside at the groundbreaking, set for October 2020. Similar to other groundbreakings announced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the invitation-only event is without a specific date and will adhere to local government’s social-distancing guidelines.
