Ogden Utah Temple
The Ogden Utah Temple is the 14th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Ogden Utah Temple is much like its twin, the Provo Utah Temple. In the mid-sixties it became apparent that more temples were needed to reduce the crowding in the Salt Lake, Logan, and Manti temples. Fifty-two percent of all endowments in the Church were being done in these three temples. The First Presidency decided to build two new temples, one at each end of the Wasatch Front, in Ogden and Provo. The Ogden Temple serves more than 135,000 members. On September 7, 1970 a cornerstone laying ceremony was held for the Ogden Temple.
The site for the Ogden Temple was a ten-acre lot called Tabernacle Square that the Church had owned since the area had been settled. In 1921, President Heber J. Grant had inspected the site as a possible place for a temple but had decided that the time was not right for a temple in the area. When the time was right, the Ogden Temple was dedicated on January 18, 1972, by President Joseph Fielding Smith.
The Ogden Temple is different from the previous temples built by the Church in many ways. The design is extremely contemporary. The lot chosen for the Ogden Temple is in downtown Ogden, surrounded by businesses and offices. For many this temple helps remind them that while they may walk everyday in the world of man, their goals, dreams, and actions should be higher, and focused on the temple. The Ogden temple is also significant because it was the first temple built in Utah since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893. The Ogden temple is 115,000 square feet; it has four floors, one below ground, and 283 rooms. The design was made to be extremely efficient and six ordinance rooms surround the celestial room in a circle. This design allows endowment sessions to start every fifteen to twenty minutes. There are also eleven sealing rooms. The stone on the Ogden Temple is fluted, and between the stone decorative metal grillwork has been added. Gold windows with directional glass also add to the beauty of the temple. About thirty years after its construction, a statue of the angel Moroni was added to the spire.
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Temples in Utah
- Bountiful Utah Temple
- Brigham City Utah Temple
- Cedar City Utah Temple
- Deseret Peak Utah Temple
- Draper Utah Temple
- Ephraim Utah Temple
- Heber Valley Utah Temple
- Jordan River Utah Temple
- Layton Utah Temple
- Lehi Utah Temple
- Lindon Utah Temple
- Logan Utah Temple
- Manti Utah Temple
- Monticello Utah Temple
- Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
- Ogden Utah Temple
- Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
- Orem Utah Temple
- Payson Utah Temple
- Price Utah Temple
- Provo City Center Temple
- Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple
- Red Cliffs Utah Temple
- Salt Lake Temple
- Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
- Smithfield Utah Temple
- St. George Utah Temple
- Syracuse Utah Temple
- Taylorsville Utah Temple
- Vernal Utah Temple
- West Jordan Utah Temple