ST. GEORGE, UTAH — Nearly 670,000 guests visited the renovated  St. George Utah Temple during its nine-week public open house, which began Sept. 15 and concluded Saturday, Nov. 11.

Saturday, Nov. 4, was the busiest day for visitors, with 35,000 touring the temple that day, reported Russ and Dana Moody, co-chairs of the temple’s open house and dedication committee. The last two days of the open house — Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10 and 11 — saw more than 45,000 total at the temple, which was first dedicated in 1877.

President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will rededicate the Church’s longest-operating house of the Lord in two sessions on Sunday, Dec. 10.

Visitors move toward the entrance of the St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the last day of public tours Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 in St. George, Utah.

Nick Adams, for the Deseret News

Visitors came from all over Utah and Nevada. Others stopped while passing through St. George via Interstate 15. And some came from across the country and the globe while spending time in Utah’s southwestern corner, including the Huntsman World Senior Games that were held Oct. 9-21 in St. George, the running of the St. George Marathon on Oct. 6, and the fall tourist season for the Greater Zion area.

Some 30,000 volunteers staffed the open house. Each volunteer shift was 3.5 hours long, with four shifts of volunteers each day. Altogether, volunteers provided approximately 105,000 hours of service.

Russ Moody said all the open house volunteers were “absolutely amazing.”

“We have people who came almost as much as we did, who were not here by assignment or calling or commitment other than what they agreed to, and they felt the Spirit when they came. … It was such a beautiful thing to witness the life-changing experiences of our volunteers.”

Valery Calle Bustos, Aaron Calle Bustos, Katerin Bustos, William Calle and Jared Calle Bustos stand for a family portrait outside the St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the last day of public tours Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in St. George, Utah. The family left their native Colombia and were given asylum in the United States, now living in Kaysville, Utah.

Nick Adams, for the Deseret News

Volunteers inside the temple often spoke of how while helping usher during the tours, they met someone they hadn’t seen for years, making for an unexpected, joyful reunion in the house of the Lord, Dana Moody said.

“It is literally a gathering of Israel,” she said. “And the temple grounds at night felt celestial, because people were laughing and lingering and joyful. It felt like a cocoon from all what is going on in our world. People didn’t want to leave — they came, they lingered and they stayed.”

George Neville, 4, and Hazel Neville, 2, of Medford, Oregon, look at the fountain outside the St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the last day of public tours Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in St. George, Utah.

Nick Adams, for the Deseret News