1972 Dedication of the Ogden Utah Temple
The Ogden Utah Temple was dedicated from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, 1972, by President Joseph Fielding Smith, during six sessions. He was President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from early 1970 to mid-1972, and this was the first temple he dedicated. He presided at all six sessions and offered the dedicatory prayer in the first, then his prayer was read in later sessions.
The Ogden temple cost around $4.5 million to build, a total of more than $32 million today. It was the first house of the Lord dedicated after the Oakland California Temple, which was dedicated in November 1964. This created a gap of over seven years without a temple dedication, but a gap this long has not happened since.
The dedicatory service in Ogden was held inside the temple’s celestial room, and around 50 television sets were placed in additional rooms of the temple and the Ogden Tabernacle to view the service. A different 50-person choir sang at each dedicatory session.
Before offering the dedicatory prayer, President Smith told those in attendance, “May I remind you that when we dedicate a house to the Lord, what we really do is dedicate ourselves to the Lord’s service, with a covenant that we shall use the house in the way He intends that it shall be used.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “It has been our privilege, as guided by the whisperings of Thy Spirit, to build unto Thee this temple, which we now present unto Thee as another of Thy holy houses.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Ogden Utah Temple here.
2014 Rededication of the Ogden Utah Temple
On Feb. 17, 2010, the Church announced that the Ogden temple would be closed on April 2, 2011, for an entire remodel of the exterior. The temple was not demolished; rather, the exterior was removed and replaced with new stone and more glass, keeping the interior structure largely the same. Other renovations included new landscaping, new underground parking, and new electrical, heating and plumbing systems.
The Ogden Utah Temple was then rededicated on Sept. 21, 2014, by President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ. He offered the dedicatory prayer in the first of three sessions, then President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, gave the prayer in the last two sessions. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other general authorities were also in attendance.
Hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saints attended the rededication ceremony for this house of the Lord, either in person or in a meetinghouse across Utah or Wyoming. Nine-year-old Conrad Gerber awoke at 5:30 a.m. so he could be first in line at the ceremony.
President Monson said during the ceremony that the Ogden temple “stands as a beacon of righteousness to all who will follow its light — the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The motif of light was also prevalent in the cultural celebration the night before, the theme being “Share the Light.” The performances even used a lantern prop traveling from scene to scene, emphasizing the youth’s role to shine the light of Christ on a dark world.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “This beautiful temple has been a haven of peace. It has served well. Showing the effects of such service, it became necessary to renovate and improve it. We are grateful for this long-awaited day of rededication, when the renovations have been completed.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Ogden Utah Temple here.
Timeline of the Ogden Utah Temple
A temple was announced for Ogden, Utah, on Aug. 14, 1967, by the First Presidency. After construction was finished, the Ogden Utah Temple was dedicated during six sessions from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, 1972, with Church President Joseph Fielding Smith offering the first dedicatory prayer.
After extensive remodeling, which started in April 2011, Church President Thomas S. Monson rededicated the temple on Sept. 21, 2014.
Original Architecture and Design of the Ogden Utah Temple
The Ogden Utah Temple was first built in a similar style as the Provo Utah Temple’s original style. It had a flat, round base with a spire in the center, and around the curved exterior were white, rectangular panels. In the center of the building was a white spire with a design that slightly branched outward.
On May 7, 2013, a gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni, made of fiberglass, was placed atop the spire.
It had a floor area of over 130,000 square feet. Inside the temple were a baptistry, a celestial room and 11 sealing rooms. The Ogden temple was the first built with six ordinance rooms, allowing an endowment session to begin every 20 minutes.
Remodeled Architecture and Design of the Ogden Utah Temple
The temple’s current structure was completed in 2014, almost 43 years after its first dedication. However, this remodel did not entirely demolish the existing edifice, so the temple kept a similar bone-like structure.
It currently has a floor area of 112,232 square feet and a height of around 189 feet, including the 13-foot-tall statue of the angel Moroni. The building has several blocky layers that get smaller with height. Tall, rectangular windows surround the temple, with larger windows above the entrance. A multilevel tower sits above the building, with a spire that leads up to a point.
Inside the temple is a consistent theme of white stone, dark brown wood and gold-leaf detail, like in the walls and furniture. The image of a rose is prevalent throughout the edifice, such as in the art glass windows, designs in the carpet, and carvings and fabric in the furniture. Around the baptistry are large murals depicting rivers and mountains, and above the celestial room is a dome in the ceiling.
The temple stands on a site of 9.96 acres, with grassy areas and sidewalks across the grounds. This plot of land has been owned by the Church of Jesus Christ since pioneer times.
Interior Photos of the Ogden Utah Temple
