Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple
President Thomas S. Monson, the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced during the Saturday morning session of the 179th Semiannual General Conference on 3 October 2009 that a temple would be built in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Located at the northeast corner of Interstate 75 and Griffin Road on SW 154th Avenue in Davie, Florida, the Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple serves members living in South Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas. In the past, members in this region were required to travel to the Orlando Florida Temple (dedicated in 1994) to participate in sacred temple ordinances. The gorgeous 30,500-square-foot building as described in the permit application materials is an "interpretation of Neoclassicism with arches, columns and a steeple," sits on a 16.82-acre triangular lot.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday, 18 June 2011, at 10:00 a.m. Due to parking restrictions, attendance at the groundbreaking was by invitation only. However, the groundbreaking was televised via closed-circuit transmission to various Latter-day Saint meetinghouses.
Open House and Temple Dedication
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced open house and dedication dates for the Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple and invited the public to visit the temple during an open house held from Saturday, 29 March, through 19 April 2014, excluding Sundays.
A cultural celebration was held on Saturday, 3 May 2014, at Nova Southeastern University.
The temple was dedicated on 4 May 2014 by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in three dedicatory sessions. Members could obtain conditional worthiness recommends from their bishops to attend the dedication sessions, which were broadcast to local stake centers. Full worthiness recommends are always required for entering a temple dedication inside the temple and thereafter, when the temple is closed to the public and dedicated for sacred ordinances.
The Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple is the 143rd operating temple of the Church worldwide and the second in the state following the Orlando Florida Temple. President Russell M. Nelson has announced the construction of three more temples in Florida, one in Tallahassee ( to be completed in 2024), one in Tampa, and one in Jacksonville.
