Burley Idaho Temple
On 4 April 2021, at the 191st annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Burley Idaho Temple. The Burley Idaho Temple will be the seventh temple in Idaho. Other temples operating in the state include the nearby Twin Falls Idaho Temple (2008), Boise Idaho Temple (1984), Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (1945), Meridian Idaho Temple (2017), Pocatello Idaho Temple (2021), and the Rexburg Idaho Temple (2008). Two additional temples have been announced for Montpelier and a second temple in Rexburg.
President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for north Rexburg in the October 2021 general conference and a temple for Montpelier in the April 2022 general conference.
Idaho is home to more than 462,000 Church members in 1,181 congregations and 132 stakes. Seven stakes in the Mini-Cassia area are in the temple district. Burley is in the southern part of the state. Early Church pioneers settled in Idaho in 1855. Several Church presidents are natives of Idaho, including Presidents Harold B. Lee, Ezra Taft Benson, and Howard W. Hunter.
On 23 June 2021, the location of the Burley Idaho Temple was announced as a 10.1-acre piece of farmland, located just west of the Snake River and Highway 81 at 40 South and 150 East. Plans call for a two-story temple of approximately 38,600 square feet with a single attached end spire.
The temple site and size were announced on 23 June 2021. The official exterior rendering of the Burley Idaho Temple was released on 17 September 2021.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Burley Idaho Temple
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Burley Idaho temple on Saturday, 4 June 2022. Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy — who was born and raised in Burley — presided over the event.
He said, "Today, as we turn this soil, we will symbolically be planting the seeds, just as the Funk family has been planting the seeds throughout the years, with faith and hope that something beautiful would grow."
Barbara West (nee Funk), one of five daughters and four sons who grew up hoeing and thinning beans on this same property years ago, said, "This is a dream come true. My mother loved the temple." She pointed out her grandfather’s house to the north and the family house to the east. Her sister, Lisa Funk, added that their late mother always dreamed there would be a temple in this area.
Elder Nielson further commented, "As we symbolically turn the soil here, we all need to symbolically turn our hearts in preparation for having a temple here and symbolically prepare ourselves for the day when the temple will be dedicated." He continued, "Soon the temple will be your home, and I hope that as you feel that and understand that, this will become a wonderful place for you to find solace and peace and joy and happiness."
Elder Nielson also spoke about how his grandparents met and his parents met in Burley. He was born and raised just a few miles from the temple site. He told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking how he was baptized, learned the gospel, and gained a testimony in Burley.
Derlin Taylor, the patriarch in the Burley Idaho Stake, said, "We will rally around this temple. Blessings will flow from this temple to all who live in this valley."
It is estimated that the Burley Idaho Temple will be completed in mid-2025.
