Temples

See inside the newly renovated St. George Utah Temple as media, special-guest tours begin

The house of the Lord is the first of the pioneer-era temples to be completed after President Nelson called for restoration efforts that began in 2019

By Scott Taylor Sept 6, 2023 12:31 p.m. EDT

The renovated St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in southern Utah.

Temples

See inside the newly renovated St. George Utah Temple as media, special-guest tours begin

The house of the Lord is the first of the pioneer-era temples to be completed after President Nelson called for restoration efforts that began in 2019

By Scott Taylor Sept 6, 2023 12:31 p.m. EDT

Exterior and interior photos of the newly renovated St. George Utah Temple have been released in conjunction with the opening of house of the Lord to media representatives and special guests on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The southern Utah pioneer-era temple — the oldest and longest-operating of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — has been under renovation since November 2019.

The celestial room of the St. George Utah Temple.

The exterior and interior images and details of the renovations were first published Wednesday, Sept. 6, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Following Wednesday’s media day briefing and tours, the St. George house of the Lord will be open as special guests — including local civic, business, education and faith leaders — tour inside the temple. Those tours run through Sept. 14.

A sealing room inside the St. George Utah Temple.

The public open house will run nearly two months, from Friday, Sept. 15, through Saturday, Nov. 11, excluding Sundays and excluding Saturday, Sept. 30, for October 2023 general conference.

The St. George Utah Temple will be rededicated Sunday, Dec. 10, in two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with the dedicatory sessions broadcast to all congregations in the St. George Utah Temple district.

Why the St. George temple holds ‘a special place in the hearts of Latter-day Saints’

The bride room in the St. George Utah Temple.

The temple is one of 28 houses of the Lord in the state of Utah that are either dedicated and operating or under construction or renovation.

The latest renovations to the St. George temple include the much-needed replacement of all mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems; structural and stabilizing upgrades; a return to interior finishes throughout that follow and reflect design patterns of the late 19th century; extensive landscaping work and new temple-grounds features; improved traffic flow inside the temple; new annexes; and additional access with the addition of a bride’s exit and baptistry entrance.

An instruction room inside the St. George Utah Temple with murals on the walls.

The latest project corrects inconsistencies in architectural and design styles in the temple from previous renovations.

Also, the section of 400 South on the temple’s north side has been changed from a two-way street to a pedestrian plaza.

An instruction room inside the St. George Utah Temple.

A place in temple history

The St. George Utah Temple holds a place in Church history in helping increase temple blessings available to Latter-day Saints and their ancestors.

The house of the Lord in St. George was where Brigham Young — the Prophet and second Church President — directed that the temple ordinances be written down and recorded for the first time, ensuring their consistency and long-term availability. Previously, the temple ordinances had been passed on by memory and word of mouth since being revealed to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s.

The front desk of the St. George Utah Temple.

Wilford Woodruff, a latter-day Apostle who was the first president of the St. George temple and later the Church’s fourth President, oversaw the recording of the temple ordinances.

It was also in the St. George temple where more ordinances were first added for deceased individuals, including the first endowment ordinances done by proxy. Previously in Nauvoo, ordinances done on behalf of deceased relatives were proxy baptisms and some sealings of living individuals to deceased spouses.

An exterior view of the St. George Utah Temple in southern Utah.

And the St. George Utah Temple served as the Church’s first where the house of the Lord was reserved exclusively for temple worship, ordinance work and related meetings. The Kirtland Temple had been used for general worship meetings and even some civic meetings.

A brief timeline of the St. George temple

In January 1871, a temple for St. George was announced by Brigham Young, the Church’s first since the exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. In November of that year, the St. George site was dedicated, with the cornerstone not laid until March 1873.

The chapel waiting area inside the St. George Utah Temple with a mural of the Savior.

On Jan. 1, 1877, sections of the temple — including the baptistry, a second-floor assembly room and an upper-level sealing room — were dedicated by Church leaders, with temple ordinances beginning within the next 10 days. The temple ordinances — old and new — were recorded, reviewed and approved over the next several months. Wilford Woodruff recorded that during the St. George temple’s first year of operation, almost 25,000 baptisms for the dead, 12,000 endowments and 3,800 sealings were performed.

On April 6, 1877, the St. George temple was formally dedicated, with Daniel H. Wells, second counselor to Brigham Young, offering the dedicatory prayer in the opening session of general conference, which was held in the temple. Despite being in failing health, Brigham Young offered a few remarks.

The assembly hall inside the St. George Utah Temple.

In 1917, the north annex was enlarged, the first of more than 10 renovation or improvement projects on the St. George temple. Other major renovations prior to the latest included the 1938 modifications to the floor plan and the 1975 major renovation effort, which included another enlargement to the annex and the addition of the west-side staircase. President Spencer W. Kimball rededicated the St. George temple on Nov. 11, 1975, following the previous renovation.

Pioneer-era temples and renovations

In October 2018 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced the Church’s intention to renovate its pioneer temples, with the St. George Utah Temple the first since to be completed. Renovation plans and exterior renderings were released in May 2019, with the temple closing in early November of that year.

The baptistry of the St. George Utah Temple.

The plans for the temple were announced a month after those of the extensive Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovation project, detailed in April 2019; but the Salt Lake Temple closed a month after the St. George temple did.

The Manti Utah Temple began its renovation in October 2021. No renovation for the state’s fourth pioneer-era temple, the Logan Utah Temple, have been announced.

The spire of the St. George Utah Temple.

Exterior features of the St. George temple

The new north addition matches the color and texture of the historic building, with renovation attention to the temple from top to bottom — from work on the three-tiered tower to ensuring a proper foundation below.

Windows have been replaced, matching the historical profiles and details but upgraded to insulated triple panes. The bride’s room now features a skylight with decorative glass.

The front courtyard of the St. George Utah Temple.

A new quatrefoil-shaped fountain replaces its predecessor, with a second fountain added to the east plaza. Both new fountains include multitiered water features.

Some 250 trees have been added to the temple grounds, with previously existing planting and shrubbery either replaced or added to in enhancing the landscaping. The steel fencing has been painted a dark bronze to complement the temple’s exterior features.

Interior features of the St. George temple

The flooring is new wood, carpet and tile, with the wood similar to the historic flooring used in some areas of the north addition. The baptistry flooring is of red metaquartzite quarried near Las Vegas, Nevada.

All lighting fixtures are consistent to the designs of the late 1800s, with glass shades based on a grapevine or gothic motif.

A room inside the St. George Utah Temple.

The millwork throughout the temple — including altars, recommend desk and cabinets — reflect the design and detail from the 1870s. Doors are white-painted wood, with replacement bronze hardware based on historic precedents.

The motif of alternating gold, five-point star and quatrefoil has been preserved on the fourth floor, reconstructed in second-floor instruction rooms and used in subtle ways throughout the temple. It also appears on door hardware and altars.

A window casting a beam of light inside the St. George Utah Temple.

The temple’s previous murals — suggesting a sequence of creation, garden and world — were removed in the 1980s and partially restored in the 1990s. With the recent renovations, three artists were commissioned — one each for the three instruction rooms — to create scenes of southwest Utah’s rugged natural beauty.