First Presidency announces dedication, open house dates for Red Cliffs Utah Temple
To be dedicated by President Henry B. Eyring, the temple will be the Church’s second house of the Lord in St. George, Utah
A rendering of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
First Presidency announces dedication, open house dates for Red Cliffs Utah Temple
To be dedicated by President Henry B. Eyring, the temple will be the Church’s second house of the Lord in St. George, Utah
A rendering of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced dedication and open house dates for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple.
On Sunday, March 24, President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, will dedicate the Red Cliffs Temple — the second house of the Lord in St. George, in Utah’s southwest corner. The two sessions — scheduled for 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. MDT — will be broadcast to all units in the Red Cliffs Utah Temple district.
A public open house is planned to run from Thursday, Feb. 1, through Saturday, March 2, excluding Sundays. A media day will be held Monday, Jan. 29, with invited guests also touring the temple Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 30-31.
The dedication and open house dates were first published Monday, Oct. 16, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The new Red Cliffs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shown Friday, March 24, 2023, in St. George, Utah, sits surrounded by a growing city.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Background of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple
The house of the Lord originally was referred to as the Washington County Utah Temple when President Russell M. Nelson announced plans in October 2018 general conference for a second temple in southwestern Utah. The Washington County name was still in use when the site location — a 14-acre parcel northeast of 3000 East and 1580 South in southeastern St. George — and preliminary building size of three stories and approximately 88,000 square feet were published a year later, in November 2019.
The First Presidency later approved the new name, the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, in June 2020.
Site location map for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George, Utah.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a native of St. George, Utah and presided at the Nov. 7, 2020, groundbreaking. Joined there by his wife, the late Sister Patricia T. Holland, their three children and extended family members, Elder Holland said his thoughts of the future temple turned to “coming home” to the house of the Lord.
“As we talk about home, safety, peace and people who love you, that is a description of the temple — it is the safest, the most welcoming and reassuring place in the world,” he said.
Sister Patricia T. Holland and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dig their shovels into the dirt at the groundbreaking service for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Temples are filled with love and people who will “help and encourage you,” he added.
“The symbolism of our coming home is for me a nice metaphor of coming home to the house of the Lord and being surrounded by people on both sides of the veil — angels, living and deceased — who love you and watch out for you. That is really home. That is the safest, happiest, most family-oriented place in the world.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Patricia T. Holland speak to the media following the groundbreaking service for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
The latest in a wave of Utah temples
The Red Cliffs temple joins the St. George Utah Temple as the city’s second house of the Lord. Following its recent extensive renovation effort, the St. George temple is currently in its public open-house phase prior to its Dec. 10 rededication.
The St. George Utah Temple is the Church’s oldest still-in-operation house of the Lord, first dedicated on April 6, 1877. It will be the first pioneer-era temple to be renovated and rededicated following President Nelson’s announcement in October 2018 general conference of plans to begin renovating and updating the Church’s pioneer-era temples.
First settlers arrived in the area in 1855, when Church missionaries established a mission in the nearby community of Santa Clara.
The St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is shown Friday, March 24, 2023, in St. George, Utah. Renovation work that began in 2020 is nearing completion. The spire of the new Red Cliffs Utah Temple can be seen rising over the roof of a house on the hill beyond.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Also, the Red Cliffs and St. George temples are two of a dozen temples in the state of Utah that will be dedicated or rededicated in the next several years. Utah is home of the Church’s world headquarters and nearly 2.2 million Latter-day Saints.
Utah’s currently operating temples are the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River, Logan, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Payson, Provo, Provo City Center, Saratoga Springs and Vernal temples.
Like the St. George temple was, the Salt Lake and Manti temples are under renovation, with the reconstruction of the Provo Utah Temple to begin in late February 2024.
The new Orem Utah Temple is scheduled for its dedication on Jan. 21, 2024. Eight other Utah temples are under construction — Deseret Peak, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Layton, Lindon, Smithfield, Syracuse, and Taylorsville.
More photos during groundbreaking and construction
A covered wagon and a rendering of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seen prior to the groundbreaking service for the temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Socially distanced guests listen as Elder Craig C. Christensen, Utah Area president, begins the groundbreaking service for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Shovels are lined up at the site of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to the groundbreaking service for the temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sister Patricia Holland speak to the media following the groundbreaking service for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George, Utah, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Construction on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Red Cliffs Utah Temple in southeast St. George, Utah, continues on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Construction on the Red Cliffs Utah Temple continues in St. George on Friday, June 10, 2022.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Construction work continues on the new Red Cliffs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shown Friday, March 24, 2023 in St. George, Utah.
Nick Adams, for the Deseret News
Note: An earlier version had an incorrect starting date for the public open house.
