Dedication of the Taylorsville Utah Temple
The Taylorsville Utah Temple was dedicated in two sessions by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 2, 2024. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Susan Gong; Elder Hugo E. Martínez, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Utah Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Nuria Martinez; and Elder Erich W. Kopischke, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Christiane Kopischke.
The temple has special ties to the Gongs because of Sister Gong’s father, the late general authority Elder Richard P. Lindsay, who as a bishop led the Taylorsville 2nd Ward in constructing a chapel that stood on the site of what is now the Taylorsville temple.
When the Taylorsville temple was dedicated, its district comprised 38 stakes in the central Salt Lake Valley, an area with a blend of both pioneer-descended multigenerational members and newer residents from around the world — particularly large populations of Latinos and Pacific Islanders, many of whom attend the multiple Spanish-speaking wards and Tongan-speaking stakes in the area.
Though the building stands in a predominantly Latter-day Saint community, people of various faiths visited the temple during its open house. On April 15, 2024, a group of Utah’s Jewish leaders and Latter-day Saints — including Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, a General Authority Seventy — sang the words of Psalm 133 in Hebrew in a sealing room of the temple at the end of their tour. The impromptu a capella song “was a powerful experience where Heavenly Father’s covenant people bridged a divide and came together in harmony, facilitated by the house of the Lord,” Elder Corbitt said.
“Another thing I take away is how significant the house of the Lord was in unifying someone with a Muslim name and his Jewish brothers and sisters,” Elder Corbitt added. “As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I see clearly how Jews, Muslims and Christians all partake in the covenant God made with Abraham.”
While at the time of the dedication the Salt Lake Valley was on track to have five other temples, the Taylorsville Utah Temple brings the blessings of temple ordinances and covenants even closer to Latter-day Saints — and allows more members to serve as ordinance workers and youth to attend more regularly.
“We’re blessed — in the Salt Lake Valley, very blessed,” said Robert Golightly of the open house and dedication committee.
Elder Gong said that sometimes, when a temple is closer, members end up attending less frequently because the convenience makes them feel like they can procrastinate.
He hopes people will find their circumstances include “a desire to come more frequently to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
Through temple ordinances and service, said Elder Gong, people can be sanctified, gain a deeper understanding of doctrine and prepare to dwell with the Lord.
“We come and understand more about who He is,” he said. “We draw closer to God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and we and our loved ones can receive Their mercy, protection, strength and power.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We pledge to be guided even more by the spiritual influence we feel come from this magnificent house of the Lord, now in our midst, as it were, our shadow by day and our pillar by night.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Taylorsville Utah Temple here.
Timeline of the Taylorsville Utah Temple
The Taylorsville temple was announced Oct. 5, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Oct. 31, 2020, and presided over by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
After a public open house from April 13 to May 18, 2024, the Taylorsville Utah Temple was dedicated June 2, 2024, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Taylorsville Utah Temple
The Taylorsville Utah Temple, built of structural steel and stone cladding, features a pioneer-era Gothic architectural style, with the arches and motifs inspired by local pioneer-era tabernacles in communities along Utah’s Wasatch Front.
The temple’s exterior art glass and design underscore that pioneer heritage and the west Salt Lake Valley’s natural colors with stylized versions of local Utah wildflowers — bird’s foot trefoil, “Red Beauty” Bergenia cordifolia and broad-leaved gilia — as well as the colors of deep burgundy, lavender and gold.
The house of the Lord is a three-story, 73,492-square-foot building with a center spire, on a 7.5-acre site next to the intersection of 4700 South and Interstate 215. Previously on the site sat a Church meetinghouse and a recreational field.
Interior Photos of the Taylorsville Utah Temple
