1945 Dedication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Just five weeks after the end of World War II, the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was dedicated on Sept. 23, 1945, by Church President George Albert Smith. Thus, the sacred edifice historically known as the “temple by the river” was aptly described by its lead architect as symbolic of “the aspiration and strength of the human spirit.”
And, indeed, the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple — the eighth worldwide — was constructed in the wake of a world depression and as war raged around the globe. After the temple was announced on March 3, 1937, the Church broke ground for the temple on Dec. 19, 1939. The 18-foot excavation revealed “a bed of lava rock, which provided a solid foundation” for a house of the Lord in southeastern Idaho.
A “solid foundation” also well described Latter-day Saints attending the dedication of this sacred edifice built on the banks of the Snake River in Idaho Falls — named for iconic whitewater falls. In a Sept. 29, 1945, article of the Church News, Church President George Albert Smith expressed his joy that 23,487 members from the temple district attended the dedicatory services — eight dedicatory sessions from Sept. 23-25, 1945. According to the article, President Smith emphasized to those attending the first session that “this is not any ordinary circumstance. It is one of the most unusual and important occasions to us. What a lovely thing it is to be here in love and peace.”
Attending the 1945 dedication were Rex and Fern Furness. Sister Furness recalled, “I thought the temple was absolutely beautiful.” In the ensuing 10 or so years, the couple served in the temple baptistry, arriving each Saturday at 5 a.m. Sister Furness continued as an ordinance worker for another eight years after her husband’s death.
“I loved being helpful and doing something good for someone else,” she said. “There was such a pleasant feeling in the temple, and being there was the highlight of my week.”
Speaking to those gathered for the first dedicatory session, President Smith noted that membership in the temple district was approaching 100,000. The Church President, reported the Church News, admonished that there was no excuse now for the people of this great district to delay their temple work.
One Idaho Falls family certainly heeded the Prophet’s admonition. Helping the Church acquire the land for what would be the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was Delbert V. Groberg. At a special cornerstone ceremony and site dedication on Oct. 19, 1940, President David O. McKay — second counselor in the First Presidency, who presided — removed his hat and handed it to 6-year-old John Groberg, the son of Delbert and Jennie Groberg. That boy grew up to be Elder John H. Groberg, a General Authority Seventy from 1976-2005 and member of the Presidency of the Seventy. And ironically, Elder Groberg’s parents served as temple president and matron of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple from 1975-1980, followed later by Elder Groberg and his wife, Jean, from 2005-2008.
A temple in Idaho Falls, Idaho, would initially serve more than 90,000 members in 21 stakes in Idaho and Wyoming, including parts of Yellowstone National Park, as recorded in a Sept. 22, 1945, Church News article.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We are grateful, Heavenly Father, that we have been permitted to rear this temple on this beautiful spot upon the bank of one of Thy majestic rivers, the waters of which have made it possible for Thy faithful Saints residing here to subdue the land and establish delightful homes. We thank Thee for the means that Thou hast placed in our hands that has been utilized in constructing this edifice and preparing it for holy purposes.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple here.
2017 Rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Seven decades after the initial dedication of this iconic sacred building — with its proximity to the eponymous “Idaho Falls” — the newly renovated house of the Lord was rededicated on June 4, 2017, by President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency. The anticipated event on a warm, late-spring Sabbath morning had been two years in the making after a March 2015 closing for extensive renovations.
The timing of the rededication was tender for President Eyring, who had served as president of Ricks College in nearby Rexburg, Idaho, from 1971-1977. At the 2017 rededication, he recalled how on June 5, 1976, he and his wife, Sister Kathleen Eyring, were attending a wedding at the Idaho Falls temple. Their children were at home in Rexburg.
“The temple matron whispered to my wife, ‘The Teton Dam has broken, and a wall of water is heading toward Rexburg,’” President Eyring said. Raging flood waters were so devastating that they were unable to make it home that day, but that night, the future Apostle slept peacefully. “I knew it was going to be OK,” he said. “Those feelings that we had in the temple were real. We knew those children were ours. That night, we had a feeling of peace.”
Such accounts of finding peace in temple worship were common at the 2017 rededication. Among the thousands attending the rededication were Jerrold and Ruth Stallings — who, ironically, had attended the original dedication 72 years previous. “It was so exciting to see the temple finished following World War II,” Sister Stallings recalled. Among her keepsakes was her blue ticket to the 1945 dedication.
At that original dedication, the Stallings were teenagers. They later married and reared a family of seven in the shadow of the temple, in nearby Ammon, Idaho. The house of the Lord became their guiding watchtower. “As we were raising our family, we tried to regularly attend the temple,” said Brother Stallings.
The 2015 closing of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple for renovations and subsequent rededication engendered tender memories. Anona Wadsworth spent a year in the 1970s preparing to be sealed to her husband and their two small sons. On a snowy November day in 1975, the family of four arrived at the sacred edifice and were sealed for time and all eternity. “I just cried,” Sister Wadsorthy recalled. “We felt the Spirit so strong in that room as everyone started to cry and rejoice. ... It’s been 40 years since that event. Every time I am in that area, I go visit that room for just a moment, and my eyes still tear up as I remember that sweet November day so long ago.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We are thankful for those who laid the foundations of this and other nearby communities. Now their posterity enjoys the sweet fruits of those efforts and the crowning blessings that come from faithful service in this magnificent and beautiful temple.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple here.
Timeline of the Idaho Fall Idaho Temple
Announced by the First Presidency in 1937 amid perilous economic times and constructed during wartime, the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was described by its lead architect as symbolic of “the aspiration and strength of the human spirit.” The house of the Lord built in the eponymous Idaho Falls was dedicated on Sept. 23, 1945, by Church President George Albert Smith. Three days of dedicatory services were attended by 23,487 members.
The “temple by the river,” as the sacred edifice is historically called, was closed for extensive renovations on March 16, 2015. More than two years later, on June 4, 2017, President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, rededicated the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple in three sessions on a warm late-spring Sabbath morning. A cultural celebration of thousands of youth from southeastern and central Idaho performed at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho, the evening before.
Architecture and Design of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
In a scenic and picturesque setting for a temple, the house of the Lord in Idaho Falls, Idaho, was designed by the board of temple architects for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The lead architect, John Fetzer, prayed for inspiration and saw “in vision an ancient Nephite temple, which he used as the basis for his design.”
Envisioned by Church President Heber J. Grant as “chaste, simple, symmetrical and well proportioned, without much ornamentation or decoration,” the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple with its brilliant white exterior is a combination of Art Deco and international styles. The sacred edifice is a “strong, modest and balanced design” with focuses on fins and stepping. A 50-foot spire adorns the top of this “temple by the river,” as it’s known. Originally, the house of the Lord in Idaho Falls had no statue of the angel Moroni, but a gold-leafed statue was added in 1983. The grounds also include a visitors’ center, completed in 1960 and later remodeled.
Construction on the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was delayed in part by supply shortages during World War II. In addition, workers were limited as able-bodied men and women were serving in the armed forces.
The newly renovated building preserved and restored original, hand-painted wall murals, including ones in the garden room, the creation room and the celestial room, among others. The building is 85,624 square feet on 7 acres. The adjacent visitors’ center is in operation today.
1995 Jubilee of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Hundreds of local Latter-day Saints gathered on Sept. 17, 1995, in the Idaho Falls Idaho North Stake Center for a jubilee commemoration of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple — just days short of the 50th anniversary. Proceedings were telecast live over local station KIFI Channel 8.
In a letter read over the pulpit from the First Presidency, the temple was referred to as a “spiritual beacon.” The letter continued: “We rejoice with you on the occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Idaho Falls temple and commend all temple workers and patrons for their faithful temple participation.
“Many who have visited Idaho Falls have viewed this beautiful house of the Lord ‘by the river’ which has served as a spiritual beacon for the past half-century. We are grateful for the faithful efforts of so many today who frequently enter the doors of this temple.”
A letter from the North America Northwest Area presidency related: “The Idaho Falls temple is a source of inspiration and is a beautiful symbol of purity, as it is reflected in the river by day and illuminates the darkened sky by night.”
Presiding over the commemorative services was Elder W. Eugene Hansen of the Presidency of the Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department. Along with the then-president and matron of the Idaho Falls temple — Preston B. Brimhall and Elizabeth P. Brimhall — were several former presidents and matrons.
Interior Photos of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
