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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Reservations are now available for the open house of the Saratoga Springs temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which runs from April 15 to July 8.
Tours can be booked from the church's website, and everyone is invited to attend. The church said this is a special opportunity because once the temple is dedicated, only church members can enter the temple, although the grounds are available to anyone.
"For members of the church, temples are the most sacred places on earth. It is in temples where we feel closest to God and where families can be sealed together for eternity," church officials said in a news release.
Reservations to see the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple are recommended but not required. Those who attend will watch a short video and then participate in a short walking tour through the temple. The experience lasts about one hour.
The temple was announced in April 2017 by President Thomas S. Monson, then-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be dedicated on Aug. 13; the dedication will be broadcasted to congregations within the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple district.
It has been over five years since an open house was held for a temple in Utah. The last one was the Cedar City Utah Temple dedication in 2017.
There are about 2.2 million members of the church in Utah, about two-thirds of the state's population, according to a statement about the open house.
The temple in Saratoga Springs is the first of many Utah temples currently under construction to open. That list includes temples in Layton, Orem, Taylorsville, Lindon, St. George, Tooele, Syracuse, Smithfield, Ephraim and Heber Valley. Renovations are currently underway on temples in Salt Lake City, St. George and Manti. After each of these temples is completed, the church will have 27 temples in Utah.
