Announcement of the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple
President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple on April 2, 2023, during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2023 general conference. A house of the Lord for this city, located east of the Susquehanna River, was one of 15 announced worldwide by the Church — and the third for Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is nicknamed the Keystone State because of its geographic location as the middle colony of the original 13 British colonies — and, thus, one of the original 13 U.S. states. Pennsylvania is historically considered to have held a key position in the economic, social and political development of the United States. It was also a key area after the Church was restored, and in the first decade of the restored Church of Jesus Christ in the 1830s, a dozen congregations were organized in Pennsylvania prior to the Saints’ gathering in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.
Many significant events in the beginning stages of the Restoration occurred in this eastern state in the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The town of Harmony was the site where much of the Book of Mormon was translated, and the first members of the Church were baptized in the Susquehanna River in May 1829.
Timeline of the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple
The Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 2, 2023. A site location for a house of the Lord in Pennsylvania’s capital was announced Oct. 30, 2023. Details about the temple’s groundbreaking have not yet been released.
Architecture and Design of the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Oct. 30, 2023, the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 20,000 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 5.36-acre site in Dauphin County, in south-central Pennsylvania.
Architectural renderings of the house of the Lord show an off-white exterior surrounded by rectangular windows, with arched entryways at the front. A domed cupola with arched windows stands above the center of the building. Flower gardens, grass fields and trees will adorn the grounds.