Grand Junction Colorado 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 Grand Junction Colorado Temple.
Colorado, in the Intermountain West of the United States, is home to approximately 150,000 Latter-day Saints in 310 congregations and 35 stakes. The first mission of the Church in Colorado was established in 1896. The first official congregation was formed only a year later, in January 1897.
The Grand Junction Colorado Temple will be the third temple constructed in the state. The temples that are currently in operation in Colorado are the Denver Colorado Temple (1986) and the Fort Collins Colorado Temple (2016). A fourth is underway in Colorado Springs.
On 23 June 2021, the location of the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was announced as a beautiful 6.94-acre site, which will be located at the intersection of Horizon Drive and North 12th Street, just a mile from an Interstate 70 interchange. The single-story temple will be approximately 25,000 square feet with two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, and a baptistry.
On 17 September 2021, the official exterior rendering was released for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was held on Saturday, 16 April 2022.
Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, a General Authority Seventy and counselor in the Church’s North America Central Area presidency, presided at the event and offered the dedicatory prayer.
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Wong said, "This is a day of dedication — not only of this temple site, but for each of us in our individual lives. He continued, "Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We are grateful for the Atonement of Thy Son Jesus Christ and the blessing of the promised Resurrection. As we dedicate this holy ground, we pray that we can maintain this positive spiritual momentum in our lives."
Attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony was by invitation only; however, the event was live-streamed to Church meetinghouses throughout the temple district.
The Temples in Colorado
External Links
- Official Grand Junction Colorado Temple page
- Grand Junction Colorado Temple page
- Temples—The Church News Almanac
- What is the Purpose of the Temple
- What Are Temples?
- Church News, “Inside Church Headquarters: The location, design and construction of Latter-day Saint temples
