Bountiful Utah Temple

The Bountiful Utah Temple is the 47th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Bountiful Utah Temple
Number 47
Dedicated January 8, 1995 (January 8, 1995) by
Howard W. Hunter
Site 11 acres (4.5 hectares)
Floor area 104,000 sq ft (9,700 m2)
Height 176 ft (54 m)
Preceded by Orlando Florida Temple
Followed by Hong Kong China Temple
Official website • News & images

The Bountiful Temple is the eighth temple constructed in the state of Utah.

History

The history of the temple site began back in 1897, when John Haven Barlow Sr. purchased 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land from the United States government. Because of lack of water and the steep terrain, little could be done with the land. In 1947 some of the land was cleared and four hundred apricot trees were planted. In the spring of 1983, flash flooding caused a great deal of damage in Bountiful, resulting in the decision to build a dam across the canyon to limit the flow of water during heavy rainstorms. The city requested the use of the soil from the future temple site, so construction crews removed over two hundred thousand cubic yards of soil, leaving the area an ideal spot on which the LDS temple would later be built.[1]

Bountiful Temple at night

After considering numerous sites for the temple, the final decision was made on April 3, 1988 by the LDS Church First Presidency. Four years later, on May 2, 1992, the groundbreaking took place and on January 8, 1995 LDS Church president Howard W. Hunter dedicated the Bountiful Utah Temple. Two hundred thousand Latter-day Saints attended the dedicatory sessions, more than had ever previously attended a temple dedication.

On May 22, 2016, lightning struck the top of the Bountiful Utah temple. The strike damaged the angel Moroni statue atop the temple, causing it to lose part of its head and back. The statue, made of fiberglass and covered in gold leaf, was replaced two weeks after it was hit.[2][3][4]

The Bountiful Utah Temple has a total of 104,000 square feet (9,700 m2), four ordinance rooms, and eight sealing rooms.

In 2020, the Bountiful Utah Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

Presidents

Notable presidents of the Bountiful Utah Temple include James O. Mason (2000–03) and Robert H. Garff (2012–15). The current president is Don H. Staheli (2018–).

See also

References
  1. "Bountiful Utah Temple Site History", by Barlow
  2. "Lightning damages angel Moroni statute atop Bountiful temple". The Spectrum. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. Romboy, Dennis (May 22, 2016). "Lightning damages Angel Moroni statue atop Bountiful Temple". Deseret News. Deseret News.
  4. "Bountiful Temple gets a new Angel Moroni". Deseret News. Deseret News. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  5. 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.
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