A rendering of the Ephraim Utah Temple.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The location of the Ephraim Utah Temple site.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The future site of the Ephraim Utah Temple is pictured after its groundbreaking ceremony in Ephraim on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple
The groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple was presided over by President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Aug. 27, 2022. President Nelson had ties to the Utah site because his mother was born in Ephraim, his father was born in Manti, three of four grandparents were born in Ephraim, and all eight of his great-grandparents lived in Ephraim.
In his dedicatory prayer on the site, President Nelson said, “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 Ephraim temple was announced May 1, 2021, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication for this house of the Lord were held on Aug. 27, 2022, and presided over President Nelson.
Architecture and Design of the Ephraim Utah Temple
According to exterior renderings, the Ephraim Utah Temple will be a three-story building of approximately 39,000 square feet. Around the building are large, arched windows, with arches adorning the entryway around the entrance as well.
Atop the structure and toward the front is a multilevel octagonal tower with four arched windows on the base, eight arched windows on the tower, and a domed cupola on top. The temple will be built on a 9.16-acre site, with flower gardens and tall trees decorating the grounds.
Groundbreaking Photos of the Ephraim Utah Temple
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President Russell M. Nelson turns the first soil at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. With President Nelson are his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, third from left; Gov. Spencer Cox, left; and his wife, Abby Cox, second from left. Second from right are Elder Walter F. González, General Authority Seventy; and his wife, Zulma González, right. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Invited guests attend the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Shovels for the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, arrive for the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, offers remarks at the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Young adults from the Sanpete Valley sing at the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Russell M. Nelson speaks at the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Russell M. Nelson and other Church leaders and dignitaries turn the soil at the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, arrive at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Many of the invited guests did not know the prophet was coming to the historic event. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Invited guests at the groundbreaking of the Ephraim Utah Temple run for cover as a rainstorm moves in at the conclusion of the event in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Rain falls at the conclusion of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ephraim Utah Temple in Ephraim, Utah, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Additional Facts
Fact #1
This will be the second Latter-day Saint temple in Sanpete County, Utah.
A President of the Church of Jesus Christ had not broken ground since President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the site of the Hartford Connecticut Temple on Aug. 17, 2013. This made a difference of just over nine years without a prophet breaking ground for a house of the Lord.
Fact #4
Besides the Ephraim temple, President Nelson has participated in only three other temple groundbreaking ceremonies: the Accra Ghana, Curitiba Brazil and Brigham City Utah temples. The Ephraim temple was his first groundbreaking as President of the Church.
Fact #5
After President Nelson finished his dedicatory prayer on the temple site, rain began to fall. As the prophet was leaving the ceremony, a woman in the crowd called out to him, “These are the tears of joy of our ancestors.”
A President of the Church of Jesus Christ had not broken ground since President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the site of the Hartford Connecticut Temple on Aug. 17, 2013. This made a difference of just over nine years without a prophet breaking ground for a house of the Lord.
Fact #4
Besides the Ephraim temple, President Nelson has participated in only three other temple groundbreaking ceremonies: the Accra Ghana, Curitiba Brazil and Brigham City Utah temples. The Ephraim temple was his first groundbreaking as President of the Church.
Fact #5
After President Nelson finished his dedicatory prayer on the temple site, rain began to fall. As the prophet was leaving the ceremony, a woman in the crowd called out to him, “These are the tears of joy of our ancestors.”
