Dedication of the Pocatello Idaho Temple
On Nov. 7, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard — acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — said at the dedication of the Pocatello Idaho Temple, “The temple in our Church is a center where eternity and the world connect because of the blessings that people receive when they come to the house of the Lord.”
He continued, “Temples have always been a part of God’s work — even from the earliest of times. Temples are very, very sacred places for us.” Temples draw people to them, said President Ballard, because of the connection they feel to those on the other side of the veil. “I think that’s one of the things a lot of people resonate with — wanting to know what happens when people die,” he said. “If you find the gospel and embrace it and live it, it’s going to be OK. Everything will be fine.”
President Ballard was accompanied at the dedication by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Andersen’s wife, Sister Kathy Andersen. Elder Andersen had spent much of his youth in Tyhee, Idaho, a town near Pocatello.
“I’m honored that I could be here to help dedicate the Pocatello Idaho Temple,” President Ballard said the day before the dedication. “... It’s His house. It’s His Church. And it will be a very wonderful experience for the members of the Church to have here in Pocatello their own temple, their own house of the Lord, where they can come have these eternal, sacred blessings.”
Elder Andersen spoke of the special meaning temples have to more than just Latter-day Saints: “Even if [others] don’t see the doctrine or the doctrine of Christ or the doctrine of God exactly the way we see it, they have hopes and aspirations. ... I think [the temple] can bring hope and belief to many, many people.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We are so very grateful for this temple. For many years, even decades, Thou hast warmly welcomed us in Thy temple in Idaho Falls as we have sought Thy eternal blessings. How grateful we are to be here today to dedicate this holy temple in Pocatello, Idaho, allowing Thy power and presence to be in ever greater abundance in southeastern Idaho.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Pocatello Idaho Temple here.
Timeline of the Pocatello Idaho Temple
The Pocatello Idaho Temple was announced on April 2, 2017, by Church President Thomas S. Monson. After careful deliberation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the temple’s open house tours were given both online and in person. The temple was dedicated during three sessions on Nov. 7, 2021, by President M. Russell Ballard.
Architecture and Design of the Pocatello Idaho Temple
The Pocatello Idaho Temple was built with light-gray granite and is topped with a gold-colored statue of the angel Moroni. The art glass windows depict wildflowers, including Idaho’s state flower — the syringa. The prominent color used in the art glass is sage, to represent the sagebrush found throughout the area.
The most common trees on the temple grounds include Norwegian sunset maple, sawleaf zelkova and Dolgo crabapple. The different shrubs on the grounds are English lavender, snowberry and snow queen hydrangea.
Inside the temple, the colors green, gold and coral were used to represent the natural colors of the local landscape. The main stone used within the building — luna beige — was quarried out of Bethlehem. The countertops and baptismal font use Sahara gold stone, which was quarried out of Pakistan. Other stone found throughout the temple was quarried from Iran, Spain, Turkey and Namibia. The celestial room and sealing rooms were made with a marble called crema ella, quarried out of Turkey.
The temple’s chapel holds a historic art glass tri-part depiction of the Savior. It had been salvaged and restored from a church in the eastern United States. Also found within the temple is a painting called “Not Alone,” by Minerva Teichert, which portrays Mary Fielding Smith, widow of Hyrum Smith, with her son, Joseph F. Smith, as they cross the plains.
“One of the things that struck me was to see this Minerva Teichert painting that we all grew up with down in Pocatello,” Elder Neil L. Andersen said of the painting. “Minerva Teichert was quite a well-known artist and member of the Church, and to see that now in the temple ... to see it in its place ... it makes a major statement.”
Interior Photos of the Pocatello Idaho Temple
