Groundbreaking of the Austin Texas Temple
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Austin Texas Temple, presided over by Elder Michael A. Dunn, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Southwest Area presidency, commenced Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. The Austin temple was one of three sites beginning construction on the same day, including Londrina, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile.
In his dedicatory prayer on the site, Elder Dunn said, “Help us, as a people, to continue to stand firmly on holy ground, to reach for heaven even as heaven reaches us in the form of this magnificent Austin Texas Temple.”
Timeline of the Austin Texas Temple
The Austin Texas Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 3, 2022. Ground was broken for the Austin Texas Temple on Aug. 17, 2024, with Elder Michael A. Dunn, first counselor in the North America Southwest Area presidency, presiding.
Architecture and Design of the Austin Texas Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Dec. 19, 2022, the Austin Texas Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 30,000 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 10.6-acre site in Cedar Park, Texas. There is currently a meetinghouse on the site, serving multiple wards.
Architectural renderings of a house of the Lord in Austin, Texas, show an off-white exterior surrounded by vertical rectangular windows. A green, domed cupola atop a three-tiered tower with eight arched, stained-glass windows stands above the center of the building. Tall trees, shrubs and flower gardens adorn the grounds.