Casper Wyoming Temple
On 4 April 2021, at the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Casper Wyoming Temple.
Wyoming, known as the Equality State for being the first to give voting rights to women, is the least populated and least densely populated state in the contiguous United States. Casper is in east-central Wyoming. The state has a significant place in the history of the Church, as pioneers traveled across the state in their westward migration to Utah, primarily from the 1840s to the 1860s.
There are over 170 Church congregations in Wyoming, with more than 65,000 Latter-day Saints — or about one in every nine residents — in the state. The Casper Wyoming Temple will be the second temple constructed in the state. The Star Valley Wyoming Temple located in Afton, Wyoming, was dedicated in 2016. A temple in Cody was announced in October 2021.
On 10 June 2021, the location of the Casper Wyoming Temple was announced as a 9.5-acre property at the intersection of Wyoming Boulevard Southwest (Highway 258) and Eagle Drive in a developing area of southwest Casper near the highway to Martin's Cove, just west of Roosevelt High School. The design for the temple is a single-story building of approximately 10,000 square feet. The official exterior rendering for the Casper Wyoming Temple was released to the public on 3 September 2021.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for the Casper Wyoming Temple
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Casper Wyoming Temple was held on Saturday, 9 October 2021. Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s North America Central Area, presided at the event and offered a dedicatory prayer.
During his remarks, Elder Nielsen said, "Write down your feelings today. This is a journal entry for not only now, but also for those who will read and learn about this event in the future."
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Nielsen recounted the experience of early Latter-day Saints as they traveled to the Salt Lake Valley. He said, "May we never forget their unwavering effort and sacrifices. May this temple stand as a symbol of their commitment to Thee and of their desire to build Thy kingdom here on Earth."
He also shared the gratitude felt by many for whom the temple is an answer to prayer. He further commented, "We can only imagine the celebration on the other side of the veil among those whose sacrifices prepared the way for the blessings we enjoy today. Our hearts rejoice with them."
Attendance at the groundbreaking was by invitation only. Residents in the temple district were able to watch the ceremony via broadcast.
Open House and Dedication Announced
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the open house and dedication dates for the Casper Wyoming Temple.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in two sessions on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. MDT that will be broadcast to all units of the Casper Wyoming Temple District.
A public open house will take place from Thursday, August 29, through Saturday, September 14, 2024, excluding Sundays. Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Monday, August 26, 2024.
