- The Ephraim Utah Temple open house will run from Sept. 2 to Sept. 19.
- The temple will be dedicated on Oct. 11; Elder Ronald A. Rasband will preside.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also announced the groundbreaking for a temple in Missouri.
EPHRAIM — Sanpete County's second Latter-day Saint temple is almost completed. The Ephraim Utah Temple will be dedicated in six months.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday that the dedication will be on Oct. 11, with an open house from Sept. 2 to Sept. 19, Monday through Saturday. Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will dedicate the temple.
The Ephraim Utah Temple was announced at a news conference inside the Manti Tabernacle on May 1, 2021, in a prerecorded message from then-church President Russell M. Nelson.
"I express my love for you and my testimony that we are engaged in the work of Almighty God. Jesus is the Christ. This is his church. We are his servants," he said then.
He also made a surprise appearance at the temple's groundbreaking, and said his family has a history in the area as his mother was born in Ephraim and his father in Manti.
"We pray that the construction of this temple may be accomplished to accommodate thy divine purposes," President Nelson said in the dedicatory prayer. "We are deeply grateful for our ancestors. They have laid a foundation of faith that undergirds our spiritual strength. May we learn who they are, find their qualifying information, and bless their lives with sacred rites offered vicariously in this holy house."
The church previously said the new temple will accommodate over 31,000 members in the Ephraim area. It is less than 10 miles from the historic Manti Utah Temple, which was rededicated two years ago after renovations.
There are over 2.2 million Latter-day Saints in Utah, and 32 temples in the state — 22 of which are in operation — the Lindon temple will make that 23 after its dedication on May 3. Five temples are under construction or renovation, including the Ephraim temple, and four are announced.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also announced a groundbreaking for the Springfield Missouri Temple will be held June 6. It said over 84,000 Latter-day Saints live in the state, and it will be Missouri's third temple.
On Sunday, the church announced that a new temple will be built in Marysville, Washington. The initial announcement was made at a local devotional.
