Gathering Israel: Elder Ronald A. Rasband dedicates Ephraim Utah Temple

EPHRAIM — Utah's newest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated on Sunday in central Utah.

"The community of Ephraim and those in this temple district will never be the same because of this holy house of God," said Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Before dedicating the temple, he said if members make and keep temple covenants, blessings will "pour down from heaven."

His great-great-grandparents settled Ephraim in 1850, and he called the temple site "sacred ground."

Elder Rasband's ancestors came to Utah from Denmark to receive temple ordinances, and his great-grandfather helped build the Manti Utah Temple, which is 7 miles away.

"As we worship in the house of the Lord, we come to understand and draw upon the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, participate in the gathering of God's children, and center our lives on our Father in Heaven and his son, Jesus Christ," he said in a social media post following the dedication.

According to Elder Rasband, having a temple near Snow College will give students opportunities to gather Israel through temple service, along with missionary work. He noted that the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph of Egypt and the city's namesake, has the primary responsibility for gathering Israel in the latter days.

"This divine reunion requires temple ordinances and covenants worthy of the Ephraim ancestry," Elder Rasband said.

The Ephraim Utah Temple was announced in May 2021 by the late President Russell M. Nelson, and he presided over the groundbreaking the following year.

Elder Rasband dedicated the temple in a ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sunday, which was rebroadcast to local chapels at 2 p.m.

Ahead of the temple open house, Elder John A. McCune, first counselor in the church's Utah Area presidency, said the temple, built so close to the Manti Utah Temple, is a tribute to the many church members willing to help run the temple. Together, the two temples require about 2,500 temple workers.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now has 224 dedicated temples worldwide. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated another temple in Guatemala on Sunday.

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