Brigham City Utah Temple
That a new Latter-day Saint temple would be built in Brigham City, Utah, was announced by President and Prophet Thomas S. Monson at the Saturday morning session of the 179th General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held on October 3, 2009.
The Brigham City Utah Temple was constructed on the property at 250 S. Main St., directly west of and across the street from the church’s Box Elder Tabernacle at 251 S. Main. It is the 14th temple in Utah.
The city block — known to locals as Central Square — once was home to Brigham City’s Central Elementary School. After the school was razed, a professional plaza-type development was projected for the property. A sign on Central Square announced the property had been sold.
The block is bordered in both directions along Main Street by retail businesses and to the west by private residences. The Box Elder Tabernacle, completed in 1890, was gutted by fire in February 1896 and rebuilt and rededicated a year later. It was closed in 1986 for major restoration and reopened and rededicated in April 1987.
With its steeple being one of the community’s most visible landmarks for miles, the tabernacle is still used for Latter-day Saint conferences, concerts and other community meetings. It was included on the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 — one of the state’s first such designated sites.
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Groundbreaking and Site Dedication
A groundbreaking ceremony was announced for July 31, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. The public was invited to attend. The event was broadcast to stake centers in the temple district.
Patterned after classic designs found at the Logan, Manti and Salt Lake temples, the Brigham City Utah Temple has a limestone exterior and faces east toward the tabernacle. The temple has two spires. The angel Moroni statue atop one of the spires reaches several feet higher than the highest point of the tabernacle. The temple has four floors and occupies approximately 36,000 square feet.
Parking consists of 123 surface stalls and 130 underground stalls. The two-tiered parking structure enables the temple and parking to fit on 3 acres of ground. Fencing surrounds the temple grounds, which includes a water fountain and fruit trees. [1]
Open House and Dedication
Leading up to the dedication of the temple, an open house was held during which the public and dignitaries could tour the temple as guides explained the purpose of the various rooms. Nearly 404,500 visitors toured the building during the one-month public open house from 18 August to 15 September. The largest number of visitors to tour the temple was 25,000 on Labor Day.
Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, and a native of this northern Utah Mormon pioneer—settled city, dedicated the 139th temple in the Church on Sunday, 23 September 2012. The temple was dedicated in three sessions, and the dedication was broadcast by closed-circuit television to stake centers in Utah and Idaho. Those Church members who attended inside the temple and in Latter-day Saint meetinghouses were required to be worthy for the event. Those without temple recommends and children were given special purpose recommends for the occasion.
Prior to the dedication a cornerstone laying ceremony was held, attended by President Packer, his wife, Donna Packer; Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Elder William R. Walker and Elder Allan F. Packer of the Seventy. Each of the Church leaders’ wives participated in placing mortar around the temple cornerstone. Members of the Brigham City Temple presidency also attended.
Two choirs composed of Latter-day Saints from within the temple district of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho sang Church hymns for the dedication and cornerstone ceremony. The day before the dedication, as is traditional when a new temple opens, a cultural celebration was held featuring nearly 5,000 youth from Utah and Idaho portraying the history and traditions of the region.
After the Brigham City Utah Temple was dedicated it was closed to the public. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ who have been recommended by their ecclesiastical leaders for their worthiness are able to attend.
Temples in Utah
- Bountiful Utah Temple
- Brigham City Utah Temple
- Cedar City Utah Temple
- Deseret Peak Utah Temple
- Draper Utah Temple
- Ephraim Utah Temple
- Heber Valley Utah Temple
- Jordan River Utah Temple
- Layton Utah Temple
- Lehi Utah Temple
- Lindon Utah Temple
- Logan Utah Temple
- Manti Utah Temple
- Monticello Utah Temple
- Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
- Ogden Utah Temple
- Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
- Orem Utah Temple
- Payson Utah Temple
- Price Utah Temple
- Provo City Center Temple
- Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple
- Red Cliffs Utah Temple
- Salt Lake Temple
- Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
- Smithfield Utah Temple
- St. George Utah Temple
- Syracuse Utah Temple
- Taylorsville Utah Temple
- Vernal Utah Temple
- West Jordan Utah Temple
