Dedication of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple
When President Russell M. Nelson was a child, there were only six Latter-day Saint temples operating in the world. On Nov. 10, 2024, the Church President dedicated the 200th operating house of the Lord, the Deseret Peak Utah Temple.
As he contemplated that growth of temples within his lifetime, President Nelson said, “I am filled with awe at all the Lord is doing for His people.” He continued: “The Lord is truly hastening His work. I am filled with gratitude for the Lord’s mercy in guiding us to bring temples closer to members of the Church throughout the world.”
The Prophet was accompanied at the dedication by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who called attention to the unprecedented growth of temples. “We think of moments when we can say, ‘Hallelujah!’ and for us this is one of those moments,” Elder Stevenson said. “This is a moment — the 200th in this dispensation now — that allows us to look heavenward and recognize the Lord’s love for each one of us.”
Also participating in Sunday’s dedication were Sister Wendy Nelson and Sister Lesa Stevenson as well as Elder Brian K. Taylor, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Utah Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Jill Taylor; Elder Brook P. Hales, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Denise Hales; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan.
This temple was dedicated in a single session that was broadcast throughout the 12 stakes in western Utah that make up the temple district. This came the month after the building’s four-week open house, which brought in more than 130,000 people.
The history of the Church in Tooele Valley started in July of 1847. A few days after President Brigham Young and the vanguard company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, he and other Church leaders rode out to explore the area near the Great Salt Lake. The area soon began attracting settlers for a variety of reasons, including availability of water, fertile land and mining opportunities.
Traits exhibited by those early pioneer settlers — hard work, thrift, faith, grit, service, concern for one’s neighbor — have percolated through the generations. “The people here are the salt of the earth,” said Erda Utah Stake President Shawn Johnson. “They are kind to one another. They’re hard working and faithful people that love the Lord, and they care about each other. It’s in the DNA of the community, this hard work and the desire to help each other out.”
President Johnson said he heard many members describe the feeling of being in the temple like coming home. “What better thing could you say about the house of the Lord than it feels like home?”
Having a temple in their valley will be a blessing to many people who have sacrificed to serve in other temples. “It’s such a gift,” said Becky Droubay, who served with her husband, Richard Droubay, as temple open house and dedication coordinators. “We live in a grateful valley.”
Richard Droubay added that the purpose of the temple is to bring individuals closer to the Savior. “And that doesn’t happen all at once or in six months or a year,” he said. “It’s a process, and we have to grow in that process. And we hope that our people will continue to engage in the process of coming to the Savior through the temple.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this sacred structure bring beauty and peace to the Tooele Valley. May Thy holy house become a beacon of hope to all who see it.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple here.
Timeline of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple was announced April 7, 2019, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were presided over by Elder Brook P. Hales, a General Authority Seventy, on May 15, 2021.
After a public open house from Sept. 26 to Oct. 19, 2024, the Deseret Peak Utah Temple was dedicated Nov. 10, 2024, by President Nelson.
Architecture and Design of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple is a three-story building of 71,998 square feet and features a central tower, cast-stone exterior and copper shingles. The exterior of this house of the Lord is gypsum-fiber reinforced concrete, with dolomite aggregate from the Tooele Valley added to the admixture. The temple stands on a 15.5-acre site, with an adjacent 20,000-square-foot meetinghouse.
Many of the decorative details found throughout the temple — including the plum-colored and mauve lupine flower towers and cliff roses and the gold or sage green desert grasses — reflect the local landscape, including a painting of the nearby Deseret Peak, for which the temple is named. Interior stone are Burdur Beige, Emperador Light, White Cliffs and Aquarella Macuba Thassos White. Khaya, an African mahogany, is used for millwork and door veneers, while the carpeting includes broadloom carpets and international nylon rugs.
Interior Photos of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple
