Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
	Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple in May 2009.
Number	130
Dedication	August 21, 2009, by Thomas S. Monson
Site	11 acres (4.5 ha)
Floor area	60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2)
Height	183 ft (56 m)
	Official website • News & images
Church chronology
Additional information
Announced	October 1, 2005, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Groundbreaking	December 16, 2006, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Open house	June 1, 2009 to August 1, 2009
Current president	Dallan Layne Sohm
Designed by	Naylor Wentworth
Location	South Jordan, Utah, United States
Geographic coordinates	40°33′4.121999″N 111°59′15.03600″W / 40.55114499972°N 111.9875100000°W
Exterior finish	light beige granite
Baptistries	1
Ordinance rooms	4 (two-stage progressive)
Sealing rooms	6
Notes	13th temple in Utah and 130th LDS temple.
	(edit)

The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple /ˈoʊkər/ is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in South Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. South Jordan was the first city in the world to have two temples (it also has the Jordan River Temple). The temple was the fourth in the Salt Lake Valley and the 13th in the state of Utah.

The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple serves approximately 83,000 Latter-day Saints living in the western Salt Lake Valley. The building is faced with light beige granite quarried and milled in China.

Oquirrh Temple — Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

History

The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple was built on a bluff on the edge of the Daybreak Community;^[1]^[2] the property was donated to the church by Kennecott Land, a portion of a company that mines copper and precious minerals from the Oquirrh Mountains, just a few miles west of the temple. The edifice features a single stone spire 193 feet (59 m) high, topped by a 9-foot (2.7 m) statue of the angel Moroni. Ground was broken for construction on December 16, 2006.^[3] At the groundbreaking it was announced the structure would be named the "Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple"; it had previously been known as the "South Jordan Utah Temple".^[4]

On June 13, 2009, the spire was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. The statue of the Angel Moroni was tarnished, and was replaced on August 11, 2009.^[5]^[6]

Prior to dedicatory services that took place on August 21 to 23, 2009, the public was invited to tour the new temple during an open house from June 1, 2009, to August 1, 2009.^[7]

In 2020, like all the church's other temples, the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.^[8]

References

^ Hinckley, Gordon B. (November 2005). "Opening Remarks". Ensign. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
^ "New Salt Lake Valley Temple Announced". Newsroom. LDS Church. October 1, 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ Moore, Carrie A. (December 17, 2006). "Ground broken for LDS temple". Deseret News. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
^ "Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple information". Church News. August 29, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
^ Taylor, Scott (August 11, 2009). "Moroni statue replaced at Oquirrh Mountain Temple". Deseret News. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ "New Moroni statue placed atop Oquirrh Mountain Temple". KSL.com. August 11, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
^ "Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple". Newsroom. LDS Church. January 31, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "All Latter-day Saint temples to close due to coronavirus", The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 March 2020. Retrieved on 28 March 2020.

Additional reading

"Groundbreaking Held for Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple". Newsroom. LDS Church. December 16, 2006. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
Page, Jared; Moore, Carrie (December 1, 2006). "S. Jordan planners OK temple". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved August 18, 2019.