Syracuse Utah Temple

On 5 April 2020, during the 190th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple will be built in Syracuse, Utah. The Syracuse Utah Temple will be the 24th temple constructed in Utah and the third temple built in Davis County, following the Bountiful Utah Temple (1995) and the Layton Utah Temple (under construction).

There are 2.1 million Church members in Utah, comprising approximately two-thirds of the state's population. The Syracuse Utah Temple will ease the demands of the Ogden Utah Temple, which currently serves the members of 63 stakes.

The Beehive State currently has 15 operating Latter-day Saint temples. Three more, the historic Salt Lake Temple, the St. George Utah Temple, and the Manti Utah Temple are undergoing renovation. The Syracuse Utah Temple joins six other temples in the state under construction — in Layton, Orem, Saratoga Springs, St. George (the Red Cliffs temple), Taylorsville, and Tooele (the Deseret Peak temple). Other temples — in Lindon, Smithfield, Ephraim, and Heber Valley — have been announced and are in the early stages of construction.

The Syracuse Utah Temple will be constructed on a 12-acre field located at the intersection of 2500 West and 1025 South in Syracuse, Utah. Plans call for a three-story building of approximately 89,000 square feet. Plans include four instruction rooms, four sealing rooms, and two baptistries. An official exterior rendering of the Syracuse Utah Temple was released on 16 February 2021.

Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Syracuse Utah Temple

Emmett Thayne, 5, grandson to Mark S. Thayne, joins Elder Kevin R. Duncan, third from left, in turning over soil during groundbreaking for the Syracuse Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Syracuse, Utah, on Saturday, 12 June 2021. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

A groundbreaking and site dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, 12 June 2021, for the Syracuse Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, presided at the event. He offered an address and a dedicatory prayer on the property, the construction process, and the preparation of local Latter-day Saints to attend and work in the temple following its completion. In accordance with the COVID-19 regulations, only those who were invited were allowed to attend the ceremony. Attendees included civic and community leaders and representatives of nearby Hill Air Force Base. The event was live streamed to members of the future Syracuse temple district.

The event served as a homecoming for Elder Duncan. The Church News reports, "His great-grandfather was the first bishop of the Syracuse Ward, and Elder Duncan grew up less than a mile and half north of the temple site. He was able to see the family barn roof off in the distance Saturday, and he recalled thinning beets, harvesting onions, and hunting across the local fields." He was joined by his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan.

During his remarks, Elder Duncan said, "Your heart is full, because you know the soil — you probably still have some under your fingernails. . . . This isn’t just land — my heart is here, and I love this place more than I can possibly describe. . . . And then to understand why we build temples and then to have one right here is just indescribable."

The messages from ceremony speakers underscored the connections with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ through temple ordinances and covenants, which seal families today, link Latter-day Saints to their ancestors, and help them prepare for the coming of future generations.

Elder Dean M. Davies of the Seventy, one of several speakers at the ceremony, commented that the House of the Lord "is the virtual evidence of the Lord’s tangible love for His people. He reached out and provides these houses where we can learn of Him and His Son and be united as families. You really can’t describe it — it just fills your heart with gratitude."

Utah Governor Spencer Cox and his wife, first lady Abby Cox, also attended the groundbreaking ceremony. Her grandfather served as a stake president in Syracuse and her father grew up in the community. This was Governor Cox's first time attending a temple groundbreaking ceremony. He said, "It’s incredible to see the hastening that is happening and to be a part of it."

Elder Duncan further said:

No matter if you're a longtime resident or a "modern-day pioneer" this will be your temple. . . . God wants you to have this temple. He wants you to be strengthened, to withstand the challenges of life. He wants you to have exaltation and eternal life. He wants you to be saved with your family. He wants you to be happy. He wants all of us to return home to Him.

Isn't it amazing to watch how God is directing the growth of temples throughout the world? He desires that covenants and ordinances become more accessible to all of His children. The Lord has impressed upon the First Presidency in a powerful way that this work must go forward in a hastened way. How blessed we are to be upon the earth at this time when the work of salvation is flooding the earth.

Brothers and sisters, in the coming months when this temple is completed, and you are attending regularly, I know you will see unparalleled blessings in your lives and those of your family members. This entire community will be blessed and will thrive.