Temples

First Presidency announces open house, rededication dates for renovated St. George Utah Temple

The Church’s longest-operating temple will be rededicated on Dec. 10, with its open house running Sept. 15 through Nov. 11

By Scott Taylor May 8, 2023 4:04 p.m. EDT

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

Temples

First Presidency announces open house, rededication dates for renovated St. George Utah Temple

The Church’s longest-operating temple will be rededicated on Dec. 10, with its open house running Sept. 15 through Nov. 11

By Scott Taylor May 8, 2023 4:04 p.m. EDT

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced rededication and open house dates for the historic St. George Utah Temple, the Church’s longest-operating house of the Lord.

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

A media day is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 11, with special-guest tours to follow through Thursday, Sept. 14. The public open house will run nearly two months, from Friday, Sept. 15, through Saturday, Nov. 11, excluding Sundays and Saturday, Sept. 30 for October 2023 general conference.

The dates were published Monday, May 8, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Renovation of pioneer-era temples

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 the same year.

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 yet been announced.

A historical look back

In 1861, Brigham Young sent 300 families to settle St. George, hoping to establish a base for warm-weather crops, such as cotton. He announced a temple for the community in 1871, with workers transitioning from the nearly completed and nearby St. George Tabernacle to start work at the temple site.

The finished temple was dedicated on April 6, 1877, as the Church held its general conference that spring at the temple to coincide with the dedication. The St. George Utah Temple was the first temple dedicated in Utah, the first in the 30-plus years after the Nauvoo Temple, and has been the longest-operating temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, going strong for nearly a century and a half.

The temple has undergone significant renovations previously. The cupola was replaced in 1883 following a lightning strike, and the first temple annex was added the same year. Other renovations followed in 1917, 1938 and 1975, with the temple rededicated after the latter by President Spencer W. Kimball.

Renovation highlights

Highlights of the St. George Utah Temple renovation project include:

A new-look temple block, featuring new walkways, landscaping, water features, additional shade trees and improved landscaping.
New entrances and exits, with a new bride’s exit and plaza added to the east side of the temple entrance and a new baptistry entrance and exit on the temple’s south side. For the latter, doors have replaced a pair of large, ground-level windows.
Seismic upgrades, including the adding of steel reinforcements to the building’s original wood trusses.
New upgraded mechanical, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems.
Architectural elements, with lighting and decorating reflecting the era of the early Utah pioneers. Furnishings in the renovated celestial room have been inspired by mid-19th-century designs, while many light fixtures throughout the temple reflect an older, period-appropriate appearance.

Workers stand on a widened and upgraded sidewalk at the St. George Utah Temple grounds

Returning full-wall murals to the endowment rooms. Murals were removed from the temple in the 1970s; the modern replicas are inspired by the originals.
A rebuilt stair tower, which was added to the rear of the temple in the 1970s. The tower features feature a grand staircase and a pair of elevators.
A two-level north entrance addition, replacing the demolished annex that was built in the 1970s. Sealing rooms previously located in the annex have been moved into the temple proper, while mechanical equipment previously located in the temple was moved into the northern entrance. The addition also includes administrative offices and lower-level laundry room.
New additional plazas — one as an entrance for patrons and temple workers, the other for guests and visitors. Located on the north side of the northern entrance, the new entrance plaza is graced by an anchoring water feature and flanking gardens and seating areas. Meanwhile, the east-side visitors’ plaza — including palm trees, gardens and a tiered water feature — offers a full view of the temple’s front facade.
Preservation of the 1870s cast-iron font and the accompanying oxen at its base.
Expansion and renovation of key temple areas. Some sealing rooms have been expanded for larger capacity, while the fourth-floor priesthood assembly room was renovated for a return to use. Weak wooden flooring and other limitations had precluded use of the latter for some time.

Temples in Utah

Utah is home to nearly 2.2 million Latter-day Saints, and the St. George Utah Temple is one of the Church’s 28 houses of the Lord in the state that are dedicated or under construction.

Besides the three other aforementioned pioneer-era temples, the other 13 dedicated and operating are the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Payson, Provo, Provo City Center and Vernal temples.

The Saratoga Springs Utah Temple will be the state’s 18th dedicated house of the Lord later this summer, scheduled for an Aug. 13 dedication by President Henry B. Eyring.

Ten temples are under construction in Utah — the Deseret Peak, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Layton, Lindon, Orem, Red Cliffs, Smithfield, Syracuse and Taylorsville temples.

The St. George Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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