Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced plans to build the Fort Collins Colorado Temple on 2 April 2011 during the 181st Annual General Conference of the Church. Fort Collins, Colorado is located 57 miles north of Denver, Colorado.
The first Latter-day Saint congregation in Colorado was organized in January 1897, one year after a mission was established in the area. Several Church immigrants settled communities in Conejos County, Manassa, Richfield, and Sanford. Today there are approximately 140,000 members residing in the state. In 1911, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, based in Utah, toured Colorado. When the temple is complete, it will be the second Mormon temple in Colorado, following the Denver Colorado Temple, dedicated in 1986.
Contents
Temple Site
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple, located on the southeast corner of the intersection at Trilby Road and Timberline Road, across the street from a Latter-day Saint chapel in Fort Collins, is 30,389 square feet, situated on 15.69 acres, and is similar in design to the Newport Beach California Temple. The temple will serve approximately 44,000 members of the Church in northern Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska who currently travel to the Denver Colorado Temple and Billings Montana Temple to enjoy temple worship. President Russell McClure of the Fort Collins Colorado Stake said, "We appreciate the many people from Fort Collins who have worked with us during the site selection process. We feel this new temple will be a great asset not only to members of the Church in Colorado and the region, but also to the people of Fort Collins, who will benefit from the peace and beauty a temple brings."
Groundbreaking Ceremony
Ground for the Fort Collins Colorado Temple was broken on Saturday, 24 August 2013, in a ceremony that was presided over by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy. Civic and community leaders were also present at the ceremony. In his remarks, Elder Rasband discussed the history of temples in antiquity, drawing parallels to temples constructed in modern times. He stated, "In the dedication of Solomon's temple, King Solomon asked 'Will God dwell on the earth?' The Lord answered 'My name shall be there.' That sounds familiar to what we're starting here in Fort Collins, Colorado. When the temple is completed, it will be a house of prayer, of revelation, of learning and instruction."
The groundbreaking ceremony was broadcast to Latter-day Saint meetinghouses in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. A choir of 45 Church members from Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley, Colorado sang for the event.
Fort Collins Colorado Temple Open House
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced an open house for the Fort Collins Colorado Temple held on Friday, 19 August 2016, through Saturday, 10 September 2016, except for the Sundays of 21 August, 28 August, and 4 September 2016.
More than 105,000 guests toured the new Fort Collins Colorado Temple during the three-week public open house of the Church’s 153rd temple including local government, business, academic, religious and judicial leaders from Colorado and Wyoming. Governor Matt Mead, the governor of Wyoming, and first lady Carol Mead attended, as well as Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Donna Lynn. Fort Collins Mayor Wayne Troxell, members of the city council and local ecclesiastical leaders toured the temple as well.
Open house tours began with a short video presentation providing an overview of temples and why they are significant to members of the Church. Following the video, a tour host escorted visitors through the temple, explaining the purpose of each room and answering questions as time allowed. At the conclusion of the tour, visitors were invited to a reception area to have any further questions answered.
The local coordinating committee for the Fort Collins Colorado Temple, George F. Rhodes commented, "We had a variety of state and local officials, as well as a number of leaders of other churches in the area who visited the temple. The English language does not adequately describe what it feels like to have a temple here. People reported that they enjoyed peaceful feelings as they visited the temple. Day after day people felt peaceful, they felt calm, they noted all of the art that depicts the life and ministry of Christ."
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple is the second temple for the state of Colorado and will serve the approximately 44,000 Church members from 13 stakes living in the temple district — that includes northern Colorado, southern Wyoming and a small portion of Nebraska.
A Picturesque Tour of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
The following pictures from Mormon Newsroom of the inside of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple were officially released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 14 August 2016.
Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Baptistry in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Brides room in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Chairs in the brides room of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Temple door detail in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Hallway in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Instruction room in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Instruction room in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Sealing room in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
The celestial room in the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
Steeple atop the Fort Collins Colorado Temple
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple at night
Cultural Celebration
On Saturday, 15 October 2016, the day before the temple dedication, Church leaders enjoyed a performance by young Latter-day Saints who presented through song and dance the history of the Church in Colorado and Wyoming. The cultural celebration was held at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University.
President Uchtdorf reminded the youth that they are an ensign to the nation and a light to the world. He exhorted, “Therefore, make the values of the temple the focus of your life. Take on the shine of the life of Christ, and harmony will be among you. Unity will be among you and you will be a majestic example of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple is Dedicated
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Fort Collins Colorado Temple on Sunday, 16 October 2016, in three sessions - 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The dedication was broadcast to members of the Church in Colorado and in the Fort Collins Temple district. The three-hour block of meetings was canceled for that Sunday.
President Uchtdorf directed the completion of the temple with the traditional cornerstone ceremony. He placed mortar around the cornerstone and invited others to do the same. During the ceremony, he remarked, "“We seal this [cornerstone] and remind each other that it really is the Savior, it is Jesus Christ, who is the cornerstone in our lives and in His Church, and that’s why it is called the Church of Jesus Christ." Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elders Ulisses Soares, C. Scott Grow and Wilford W. Andersen of the Seventy; and Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of the Church, also participated with President Uchtdorf in the dedication.
Now that the temple has been dedicated, only those who hold a temple recommend and follow certain standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be allowed to enter the temple. Approximately 44,000 members of the Church in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming will be served by the new temple.
External Links
- Official Fort Collins Colorado Temple page
- Fort Collins Colorado Temple page
- Fort Collins Colorado Temple dedicatory prayer
- Mormon Temples: A Coversation with a Church Leader video presentation
