TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Taylorsville Utah Temple on Sunday, June 2. He invited members to enjoy the blessings of making sacred covenants as they “come to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
Elder Gong told the Church News the way he describes for himself temple worship and service is changing. “I used to describe what I was doing as going to the temple. Now I think less in terms of going to a place and more in terms of coming to the Lord through sacred covenants with Him in the house of the Lord,” Elder Gong said.
In temples, Church members are invited to participate in ordinances and make covenants, both for themselves and also as proxies on behalf of ancestors. “We come to the Lord and invite those we love to come to the Lord through the covenants they can now make,” he said.
Elder Gong was accompanied at the dedication by his wife, Sister Susan Gong, who is a Taylorsville native; Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Utah Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Nuria Martínez; 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 was dedicated in two sessions on Sunday, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and was broadcast through the 38-stake temple district in the central Salt Lake Valley, which includes two young single adult stakes and two Tongan-language stakes. The temple district comprises 257 wards and branches, more than 100,000 Church members, nearly 7,300 youth, more than 39,200 adults who are single and more than 56,000 families.
Two weeks ago, Elder Gong dedicated the Puebla Mexico Temple.
Blessings of temple attendance
The Taylorsville Utah Temple is the 192nd dedicated house of the Lord of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of what will be 30 temples in Utah.
“The Taylorsville Utah Temple is close to many faithful members. Many faithful members will be blessed by the opportunity to serve as temple patrons and as temple ordinance workers,” Elder Gong said. “Serving as a temple ordinance worker is a special service and blessing. It blesses, refines, sanctifies. It allows others to give and others to receive something they choose and need but cannot do for themselves.”
There can be an “interesting paradox” with temple attendance. Sometimes when a temple is farther away, members carefully plan and prepare and come on a regular basis, as their circumstances permit. In contrast, sometimes when a temple is closer, members may think, “I can go next week, I’ll go next month” — and end up going less frequently even though the temple is now closer and more convenient to attend.
With temples coming closer to many members in many places, including now in Taylorsville, Elder Gong said he hopes people will find their circumstances include “a desire to come more frequently to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
There are many blessings when people come to the Lord through His ordinances and covenants in His holy house. “We come and understand more about who He is. 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.”
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are inscribed with “holiness to the Lord” and “house of the Lord.”
“Temples help prepare us to enter the presence of the Lord,” Elder Gong said. He added: “This invitation and opportunity is for all of us. Youth can attend regularly, with the opportunity to grow up with the house of the Lord.” With changes in the youth programs and age progression in the past few years, youth can receive a temple recommend in January of the year they turn 12.
Temple attendance and worship offer sanctifying blessings of service, deepened understanding of the doctrine, and opportunity to prepare to be with the Lord, Elder Gong said.
All Church members — youth, new and returning members, long-time members — are welcome to come to the temple.
“Wherever we are on life’s path, we can come step by step with a desire to come to the Lord in the house of the Lord,” Elder Gong said.
Ties to Taylorsville
The Taylorsville temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson during the women’s session of the October 2019 general conference. Less than 10 weeks later, the First Presidency identified the site location, which is centrally located within the Salt Lake Valley, just west of Interstate 215 and southwest of the belt route’s 4700 South interchange.
The house of the Lord is a three-story, 73,492-square-foot building with a center spire, on a 7.5-acre site at 2603 W. 4700 South. Previously on the site sat a Church meetinghouse and a recreational field.
Elder Gong presided at the temple’s groundbreaking services on Oct. 31, 2020, when pandemic precautions necessitated a smaller event. Groundbreakings and dedications are reminders of the breadth and depth of gospel sacrifices and dedication in this area — families and individuals with pioneer ties and newer arrivals who hail from many countries and circumstances.
“Many have deep roots, many are new, all are pioneers,” Elder Gong said. “These are faithful, honored stakes and communities which have grown up, including in Bennion, Kearns, Magna, Midvale, Murray, Granger, Hunter and Taylorsville. This heart of the valley represents being ‘one in the household of faith and fellowship of the Saints.’”
Elder Gong first came to Taylorsville 45 years ago when he was meeting for the first time his fiancee’s family, including Susan Lindsay’s parents, the late Elder Richard P. and Sister Marian Bangerter Lindsay. Like many other families in the area, the Lindsay family includes multiple generations who call the area served by the Taylorsville temple home.
“The Taylorsville Utah Temple has special meaning for our Lindsay family,” Elder Gong said. “When he was a young bishop, our father — together with the members of the Taylorsville 2nd Ward — built the chapel on the same site, which became the stake center and is today the site for the Taylorsville Utah Temple.
“This place is home, a place of roots and wings, for many faithful and wonderful families and individuals,” Elder Gong concluded.
Todd and Melissa Jones, who have served as the Taylorsville Utah Temple open house and dedication coordinators, have roots in the Taylorsville area. They met in ninth grade seminary class and began dating their senior year. After Todd Jones served a mission in Philadelphia, he went to Brigham Young University. Melissa Jones went to then-Ricks College and then BYU, where they reconnected after his mission.
The Joneses have lived in Taylorsville for more than 25 years. They’ve seen many families with pioneer-era ties to the area who are multigenerational residents that are proud of their heritage and cherish that connection. They’ve also seen the area of the temple district become increasingly diverse.
“There are people here from all over,” he said. “The combination of deep heritage and all rich diversity makes this place special and unique.”
Robert and Megan Golightly served as open house and dedication committee executive secretaries. Robert Golightly spoke of the thoughts of longtime and multigenerational area residents on the temple location. “There are many memories of where members’ children were baptized, church meetings attended and softball games played.”
He said that even though other temples in the Salt Lake Valley are not too distant, having a temple even closer will be helpful to Church members in portions of the temple district with an aging population. “Many of our local ward and stake members can be able to serve closer to home. It’s going to be a blessing to them.”
He said, “We’re blessed — in the Salt Lake Valley, very blessed.” Some who will serve in the temple “are looking forward to walking.”
Taylorsville Utah Temple open house: ‘The doors are open’
More than 265,000 visitors came through the seven-week open house, with some 11,000 volunteers assisting them.
The Joneses spent every day of the open house at the temple.
Todd Jones’ pattern during the open house was to do a morning walk through the temple and then be in place to greet the first groups of people through the front doors. When ushers and other volunteers were in the place with messages to their committee members to double check that everyone was ready, he would send a message, “The doors are open.”
“It was really fun to greet people as they walked through those doors and saw the inside of the temple for the first time,” Todd Jones said.
Melissa Jones added that as people walked through the front doors, they noticed a large painting of Jesus Christ behind the recommend desk. “Their expressions were priceless,” she said.
Through the open house, they had the opportunity to host people from all over the world, Todd Jones said, including government and interfaith leaders.
One of the VIP tours was for a group from India, and they were in the bride’s room when the host suggested they sing “I Am a Child of God,” Melissa Jones said. “It was a really simple, neat thing to sing and say we are all children of God.”
Robert Golightly spoke of groups of people of different faiths — other Christian denominations, Jewish, a Muslim group of Scouts. “That was fun to be a part of.”
He said that among visitors during the open house, it’s not known how many are of different faiths, but there were many. It was a joy “to have them comment on the pictures of Christ in the temple and of the beauty of the grounds.”
During the open house period, Golightly saw many Young Men and Young Women groups that walked from their ward or stake areas to the temple. Some then went through the temple on an open house tour; others held devotionals or testimony meetings on the grounds.
The Joneses and Golightlys are grateful for the committee members they felt led to asking to serve and also for the many volunteers who helped during the open house.
“One of the things that has been really gratifying is the willingness of people to come and volunteer their time,” Todd Jones said, adding that there were some people who came nearly daily to help. “The people have just been remarkable.”
And being in the temple that often has helped the Joneses feel more enthusiasm for worshipping in the temple when it opens.
Taylorsville Utah Temple: ‘It’s a miracle’
Cooper and Amanda Best of the Salt Lake Hunter Center Stake attended the morning dedication session with their children: Taylor, with his wife, Kennedy, both 21; Jackson, 17; and Lydia, 11.
“We’re excited to have a temple so close to us,” Cooper Best said.
Amanda Best added that during the dedication “the Spirit was just so strong and beautiful.”
“It was super cool when we sang,” Jackson said of singing “The Spirit of God.”
Lydia recently turned 11. “It’s neat to have the opportunity to go inside the temple.”
Taylor Best said, “It’s always so neat to be all together in the temple like this and to see everyone that it’s impacting.”
Eighty-year-old Mervin Evans has lived in Taylorsville his whole life. He and his wife, Pauline Evans, of the Taylorsville Utah North Stake, live 10 minutes from the temple.
Of a temple in Taylorsville, Mervin Evans said, “I think it’s a representation of the sacrifice the pioneers made when they settled this area.”
Pauline Evans added, “I think it’s a miracle that they could build this building here.”
For their friend Betty Jenkins, also of the Taylorsville Utah North Stake, it’s “absolutely fabulous.”
Ema Fonua and her daughter Pauline Fonua, 17, of the recently created Salt Lake Central Stake (Tongan) volunteered several times during the temple open house and were helping with shoe coverings for the dedication. It’s the first temple dedication Pauline Fonua has attended, and she enjoyed participating in the Hosanna Shout.
“I was already excited coming every Saturday” to help during the open house, Pauline Fonua said.
Ema Fonua added, “We’re excited to have a dedicated temple in our city.”
Aubre Bawden lives next door to the temple, and she and her family have watched the construction from when the stake center was taken down to excavating for the underground parking and foundation and as the temple was built.
“It was so fun to watch it from the ground up,” she said.
She was able to attend the dedication with her husband, two teenage sons and their daughter was baptized on Saturday, June 1.
Ricardo and Julieta Sarmiento, of the Salt Lake Hunter Copperhill Stake, have been serving on the facilities committee.
“It’s been a very emotional moment for everybody. We’ve worked to prepare ourselves, our hearts, our minds and our spirit to be here,” Ricardo Sarmiento said. He was also grateful for all of the volunteers who came and helped. “It was a joy to be here.
“The Spirit was so sweet and testified to me that I could do better,” he said about what he learned during the dedication.
Julieta Sarmiento added, “We are being prepared to be better beings.”
Molokai Tali, of the Salt Lake West Stake (Tongan), was an ordinance worker in the Jordan River Utah Temple and will be in the Taylorsville temple. She came to the dedication with her daughter and grandchildren. “I just love the Spirit there. It was so strong.”
Taylorsville Utah Temple
192nd temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Location: 2603 W. 4700 South, Taylorsville, Utah
Announced: Oct. 5, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Oct. 10, 2020, presided over by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Public open house: April 13 to May 18, 2024
Dedicated: June 2, 2024, by Elder Gong
Property size: 7.5 acres
Building size: 73,492 square feet
Building height: 216 feet, 9 inches
Temple district: 38 stakes in west-central and central Salt Lake County, including West Valley City, Taylorsville, Murray, Kearns and Magna
