TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — As Sister Tracy Y. Browning drives to downtown Salt Lake City daily, she passes by the Taylorsville Utah Temple, off Interstate 215 near its 4700 South interchange, and “sees its magnificent construction.”
“It would welcome me in my day, and it would bring me home every evening,” she said Tuesday, April 9, of the multistory structure with a central spire during the Taylorsville Utah Temple media day.
Sister Browning, second counselor in the Primary general presidency; Elder Kevin W. Pearson, General Authority Seventy and the Church’s Utah Area president; and Elder James R. Rasband, General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, spoke to news media representatives during media tours of the newly constructed temple. They testified of temples and temple covenants bringing people closer to the Savior. Elder Pearson was accompanied by his wife, Sister June Pearson; Sister Browning was accompanied by her husband, Brother Brady Browning.
The temple’s public open house is Saturday, April 13, to Saturday, May 18, excluding Sundays. Tours during the open house are free, and online reservations are recommended.
The Taylorsville Utah Temple will be dedicated by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, June 2, in two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. MDT. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the temple district.
Elder Gong also presided at the groundbreaking on Oct. 31, 2020. Previously on the site was a Church meetinghouse and recreational field.
The new house of the Lord is about 8 miles from the Jordan River Utah Temple and 10 miles from the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, both in South Jordan, Utah, and about 13 miles from the Salt Lake Temple. When dedicated, the Taylorsville temple will be the 21st temple of 30 planned in Utah. Twenty-one temples in Utah is more than the Church had worldwide in 1982.
“I hope the members of the Church don’t come to think of [temples] as commonplace,” Elder Pearson said.
When he was born, there were 10 temples in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With Church President Russell M. Nelson’s announcement of 15 new temple locations on Sunday, April 7, there are 350 houses of the Lord throughout the world, dedicated, under construction, or announced and in planning.
“We have unprecedented access to the blessings and covenants of the holy temple,” Elder Pearson said. “Our hope is that, because of that, the temple will become increasingly a greater and greater part of our personal worship, part of how we live our lives, the things that we plan our lives around and that we get to the temple often.”
While there are many temples in Utah — and around the world — “there is nothing commonplace about the house of the Lord,” Elder Pearson said.
He added: “It’s what happens inside of the temple that makes all the difference. We don’t come for the furnishings. We come for the blessings and the spiritual power. The hope, the reassurance, the confidence and the increase in our faith that comes as we come to the house of the Lord and worship our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Elder Rasband noted several of the architectural and design elements of the temple, including the pioneer-era Gothic architecture and the wildflower motifs. During the tour, as he shared about the sacred purpose of the temple and the function of each room, he also noted several original paintings and other design elements.
“Those beautiful expressions are just ways of saying how much we want to honor the Lord. Because for us, more than physical beauty, the temple bears witness for us of Jesus Christ and that through Him and through His Resurrection, each of us will overcome death and live again,” Elder Rasband said.
In temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church members learn about the purpose of life and make several covenants through the endowment instruction. Couples and families are also married, or sealed, for eternity. Youth participate in proxy baptisms for the dead in the temple.
All are invited to attend the open house. After the dedication, Church members with temple recommends can enter to perform sacred ordinances.
Elder Rasband said: “Our hope is that this Taylorsville Utah Temple will stand as a beacon of light and hope in this wonderful part of the Salt Lake Valley.”
Sister Browning shared how when she and Brother Browning adopted their second child, they were able to be sealed together.
“I love the ordinances found in the temple. They have brought peace and joy and hope personally to me and my family,” Sister Browning said. The temple ordinances and covenants have helped her consider her relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ and to feel closer to Him.
“It’s just a powerful place to be for us as members of God’s church and to really be grateful for the invitation that He offers for us to be in His house.”
During the open house, children can visit the temple with their families.
“What a wonderful opportunity for families to come, especially with young children, and talk about those sacred promises that we make to God,” she said. Those covenants include those children make at baptism. Discussions could include how they can go to the temple starting the year they turn 12 to do baptisms for the dead.
Maria Luisa Torres, a Taylorsville resident of 50 years, spoke of raising her five children and attending the meetinghouse that occupied the ground where the new temple stands. Her children were baptized in what was the Taylorsville Utah West Stake Center, they spoke there in sacrament meetings as they left for and returned from full-time missions, and the family had a wedding reception and a quinceañera — a girl’s 15th-birthday party — there.
Emotions were high upon learning the building would be torn down, “but we knew what we would be getting is better,” said Sister Torres, who now serves with her husband, President David J. Torres, second counselor in the Utah Salt Lake City West Mission presidency.
Taylorsville Utah Temple
Address: 2603 W. 4700 South, Taylorsville, Utah.
Temple announced: Oct. 5, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson.
Groundbreaking: Oct. 31, 2020, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
To be dedicated: June 2, 2024, by Elder Gong.
Public open house: Saturday, April 13, through Saturday, May 18, excluding Sundays.
Property size: 7.5 acres.
Building size: 73,492 square feet.
Building height: 216 feet, 9 1/4 inches.
