1981 Dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple
Thirty-three percent of endowments performed between the Church’s organization in 1830 and the year 1977 were performed in the final six years. With such rapid growth in temple attendance along the Wasatch Front, it became necessary to build a seventh house of the Lord in Utah. A temple was announced for South Jordan, Utah, on Feb. 3, 1978, a temple whose total cost of $14,594,000 would be raised entirely by Church members.
The Jordan River Utah Temple was dedicated from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20, 1981. The dedicatory prayer was written by President Spencer W. Kimball — President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — and read by President Marion G. Romney, second counselor in the First Presidency. Three sessions happened each day, for a total of 15, and a mix of three general authorities from the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at each session.
President Kimball was in a wheelchair and unable to speak at the ceremonies, but he attended one session each of the five days of dedication. His wife, Camilla, attended the event with him, with that day of Nov. 16 being their 64th wedding anniversary.
An estimated 163,000 individuals attended the 15 sessions total in various rooms of the temple. Thousands more watched the event via closed-circuit television in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square. Music was provided by a different stake choir for each session, with stakes from nearby Utah cities like Draper, Sandy, Murray, Taylorsville and Salt Lake City.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May all who enter have clean hands and pure hearts, and may they participate with faith in the ordinances to be given herein, and depart with a feeling of peace, praising Thy holy name.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Jordan River Utah Temple here.
2018 Rededication of the Jordan River Utah Temple
After extensive renovations that started February 2016, the Jordan River Utah Temple was rededicated by President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, on May 20, 2018. The event had family ties because President Eyring’s uncle was President Kimball, who wrote the 1981 dedicatory prayer. President Romney, who read that prayer at the 1981 dedication, was also President Eyring’s father’s first cousin.
Several other general authorities and general officers were in attendance, such as Bishop Dean M. Davies, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric; Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president; and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. No public cornerstone ceremony was held, since one was held near the temple’s 1981 dedication.
Three dedicatory sessions were held, each accommodating 2,750 members from the 66-stake temple district. Since rededication sessions were broadcast to nearby meetinghouses, regular Sunday meetings were canceled on the 20th for those in the Jordan River, Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temple districts.
In his dedicatory prayer, President Eyring extensively referenced excerpts of President Kimball’s 1981 dedicatory prayer on this house of the Lord. He said that the 1981 prayer “is surely for our day and the years ahead.”
Referring to the dedication ceremony, 9-year-old Elsie Baker of Sandy, Utah, said, “I felt like I was being baptized again. And when President Eyring said the prayer, it felt like the Holy Ghost was there — I thought the room was getting brighter.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We rededicate this sacred house of the Lord, now made even more beautiful and functional, to Thee, our Father, and to Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that Thou wilt accept our offering, which we offer in humility, reverence and love.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Jordan River Utah Temple here.
Timeline of the Jordan River Utah Temple
The Jordan River Utah Temple was announced on Feb. 3, 1978, by Church President Spencer W. Kimball. After construction was finished, the temple was dedicated during 15 sessions, from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20, 1981, with the dedicatory prayer being written by President Kimball and read by President Marion G. Romney, second counselor in the First Presidency.
Renovations started in February 2016 for seismic, mechanical and electrical upgrades. Two years later, the house of the Lord was rededicated on May 20, 2018, by President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency.
Architecture and Design of the Jordan River Utah Temple
The Jordan River temple has an area of over 148,000 square feet, making it the fourth-largest Latter-day Saint temple at the time of its rededication. The exterior is made of cast stone with white marble chips. The towers, although similar in appearance to the rest of the edifice, contain fiberglass and cemlite to reduce weight.
Inside the temple are a baptistry and celestial room, along with six instruction rooms that each seat 125 people. The building has 17 sealing rooms, making it the temple with the most sealing rooms as of 2013.
The interior includes materials like imported marble from Italy and Turkey, mahogany wood from Africa, and fabric from Thailand and China. Wooden millwork was styled by specialists from northern and southern Utah.
Interior Photos of the Jordan River Utah Temple
