Description

The Brigham City Utah Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Brigham City, Utah. The temple district includes some 40,000 Latter-day Saints living in 13 stakes of the church in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho. The Brigham City Utah Temple District covers the same region as the original Box Elder Stake.

History

Announcement

The temple was announced by church president Thomas S. Monson on October 3, 2009, during the Saturday morning session of the 179th General Conference.^[1]Thoas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” General Conference, 3 October 2009^[2]Taylor, Scott (October 3, 2009). “Brigham City among five new locales for LDS temples”. Deseret News. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

The temple was announced concurrently with those to be constructed in Concepción, Chile, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fortaleza, Brazil and Sapporo, Japan; at the time, the announcement brought the total number of temples worldwide to 151 (including those under construction and announced).
The temple is located on the property where the Central Elementary School once stood at 250 South Main Street in Brigham City, across from the historic tabernacle.^[3]“And the location is…” Box Elder News Journal. October 27, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

Planning and Approval

On October 26, 2009, Church officials announced that the Brigham City Utah Temple would be constructed on a downtown block on Main Street known as Central Square, located directly west of the Brigham City Tabernacle.^[4] “And the location is?,” Box Elder News Journal 27 Oct. 2009, 27 Oct. 2009 . Speculation of this location began shortly after the announcement of the temple when a sign was posted on the site indicating that sale of all seven commercial lots on the block were pending. Central Elementary School once stood on the site, but it was razed several years previous in a downtown redevelopment effort.

On November 5, 2009, sale of the Brigham City Utah Temple site formally closed, advancing the temple to the construction approval phase.

On December 3, 2009, the City Council of Brigham City held a public hearing to receive input on a request by the Church to vacate both the plat that subdivides the temple site into lots and the associated easements. The resolution was unanimously approved, reverting the block back to a single lot and giving the Church control over the utilities on site.^[5] “Regular Meeting of the Brigham City Council,” BrighamCity.utah.gov 3 Dec. 2009, 19 Feb. 2010 .

On June 15, 2010, the Planning Commission of Brigham City approved plans for the Brigham City Utah Temple in conjunction with a Permitted Use Permit application submitted by project manager Kerry Nielsen. Building and landscape designs were created to reflect both the history of Brigham City and the classical designs found at the Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake temples. The warm white temple, faced with precast concrete limestone, will point east toward the historic Brigham City Tabernacle with the top of the angel Moroni reaching several feet above the highest point of the tabernacle. The west façade will be detailed similarly to the east including a second spire. The temple has a 9,000-square-foot footprint with three above-ground levels. Parking will consist of 123 surface stalls, 130 underground stalls, and 29 street stalls. Fencing will be installed around the temple grounds themselves but not around the surrounding parking lot. The grounds will include a water feature and fruit trees, paying homage to the area’s roots in fruit growing.^[6] “Brigham City Temple draws on city’s history,” Standard-Examiner 15 Jun. 2010, 16 Jun. 2010 .

On July 15, 2010, the City Council discussed planning activities for the temple groundbreaking, which included the closure of numerous streets and intersections.

Groundbreaking

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 31, 2010, and was conducted by Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a native of Brigham City.[5] In his remarks at the groundbreaking, he declared, “I am home.”^[7] “President Packer Presides at Groundbreaking of Brigham City Utah Temple,” Mormon Newsroom, July 31, 2010, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-packer-presides-at-groundbreaking-of-brigham-city-utah-temple. President Packer had attended elementary school 80 years before on the very site where he stood. He continued, “I can see in my mind’s eye a temple sitting here in about two years time. It will be gorgeous, it will be white. You will see in the design of it reflections of previous temples that have been built, particularly the Salt Lake Temple. It will be a beacon from all over the valley.”^[8] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, “President Packer Presides at Groundbreaking of Brigham City Utah Temple,” 31 Jul. 2010. The event was broadcast to stake centers in the temple district.

Open House

A public open house was held from August 18 through September 15, 2012, excluding Sundays and Saturdays. Nearly 404,500 visitors toured the building during the one-month public open house. The largest number of visitors to tour the temple was 25,000 on Labor Day.

Cultural Celebration

A cultural celebration was held featuring nearly 5,000 youth from Utah and Idaho portraying the history and traditions of the region.

Dedication

The temple was formally dedicated in three sessions on September 23, 2012. The dedication was broadcast by closed-circuit television to stake centers in Utah and Idaho. In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there was a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on September 22.[7]
Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and a native of this northern Utah Mormon pioneer-settled city, dedicated the temple. Prior to the dedication a cornerstone laying ceremony was held, attended by President Packer, his wife, Donna Packer; Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Elder William R. Walker and Elder Allan F. Packer of the Seventy. Each of the Church leaders’ wives participated in placing mortar around the temple cornerstone. Members of the Brigham City Temple presidency also attended.

In the dedicatory prayer, President Packer recalled Church members who had come before:

“We honor the memory of those who came to this valley as pioneers and have raised their families to honor the order of the principles and ordinances of the gospel. When they first came, this was an untamed wilderness. Now we see the homes and the gardens and the communities which they have built.”

He prayed for the Lord’s blessings to be upon all those who enter the temple: “May Thy Spirit rest upon all who enter Thy house that they may feel of Thy power and acceptance of their offerings. Bless any who seek peace and understanding to find them in this place of holiness.”^[9] Brigham City Utah Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Sept. 29, 2012, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/62790/Brigham-City-Utah-Temple-Celebrated-and-enjoyed.html.

Dedicatory Prayer

Dedication Order

It was the 139th operational temple in the world, the 68th in the United States, and the 14th in Utah.

At the time of its dedication there were 14 temples under construction, 12 temples awaiting groundbreaking, and 2 temples undergoing remodel.

Under Construction	Awaiting Groundbreaking	Under Renovation
Tegucigalpa Honduras	Concepcion Chile	Boise Idaho
Gilbert Arizona	Lisbon Portugal	Ogden Utah
Phoenix Arizona	Hartford Connecticut
Calgary Alberta	Fort Collins Colorado
Cordoba Argentina	Urdanetta Philippines
Philadelphia Pennsylvania	Meridian Idaho
Rome Italy	Winnipeg Manitoba
Trujillo Peru	Paris France
Fortaleza Brazil	Barranquilla Colombia
Fort Lauderdale Florida	Durban South Africa
Sapporo Japan	Star Valley Wyoming
Payson Utah	Kinshasa D. R. C.
Indianapolis Indiana
Tijuana Mexico

Presidents

Temple President	Years Served
Steven O. Laing	2018-
Jay C. Stuart	2015–2018
Preston J. Checketts	2012–2015

Details

Location

Against the backdrop of the gorgeous Wasatch Mountains, the Brigham City Utah Temple’s twin white spires are visible from Interstate 15, two miles away. The temple’s precast concrete facing glows warmly in the sun. In Brigham City, Utah, a town of 18,000,

The temple was built on the property at 250 S. Main St., directly west of and across the street from the church’s Brigham City Tabernacle at 251 S. Main. The city block — known to locals as Central Square — once was home to Brigham City’s Central Elementary School. After the school was razed, a professional plaza-type development was projected for the property. he block is bordered in both directions along Main Street by retail businesses and to the west by private residences. The Box Elder Tabernacle, completed in 1890, was gutted by fire in February 1896 and rebuilt and rededicated a year later. It was closed in 1986 for major restoration and reopened and rededicated in April 1987. With its steeple being one of the community’s most visible landmarks for miles, the tabernacle is still used for LDS conferences, concerts and other community meetings. It was included on the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 — one of the state’s first such designated sites

Exterior

Patterned after classic designs found at the Logan, Manti and Salt Lake Mormon temples, the Brigham City temple has a precast limestone exterior and faces east toward the tabernacle.Square corner towers and two central spires, one facing east and one facing west, are highlights of the temple’s architecture. The angel Moroni statue atop one of the spires reaches several feet higher than the highest point of the tabernacle across the street. Although the temple is not fully crenellated, detailed notched carvings on the top of the walls and towers subtly hint at the battlement style used in the Logan and Manti Temple designs. The temple has four floors and occupies approximately 36,000 square feet.

The grounds, which are accessible to foot traffic, are planted with 26 fruit trees; a round water feature stands in front of the entrance. Parking consists of 123 surface stalls and 130 underground stalls. The two-tiered parking structure enables the temple and parking to fit on 3 acres of ground.

Cladding

The exterior of the temple is clad in 44, 463 square feet of Limestone based Architectural Precast Concrete from Clarke Pacific.

The Brigham City Utah Temple won the PCI Design Award for Best Religious Structure in 2014. PCI stands for the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.

Windows

The windows on the Brigham City Utah Temple are art glass windows. wondows on the upper story feature the peach blossom used thematically through out the temple.

Symbolism

Inscriptions

There are two inscriptions on the Brigham City Utah Temple. The first is on the East end above the Celestial Room windows. The text is engraved into the precast concrete and gilded.

HOLINESS TO THE LORD
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

The second is above the baptistry entrance on the west side of the temple. This entrance is below ground in the underground parking area. The text is engraved into the precast concrete and gilded.

HOLINESS TO THE LORD
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Cornerstone

The cornerstone of the Brigham City temple is on the south east corner, facing east. Like the inscriptions, The text is engraved into the precast concrete and gilded.

ERECTED
2012

Spires and Moroni

Spire

There are two spires on the Brigham City Utah Temple. There is one center spire on the east end, and one center spire, installed June 28, 2011, on the west end of the temple.

Moroni

The gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni was hoisted and secured into place atop the Brigham City Utah Temple on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, from about 1:40 to 2:30 p.m. Weather conditions delayed the planned 12:00 noon raising. All four streets surrounding the temple block were closed to allow the approximately 5,000 spectators to view the proceedings.^[10]Stettler, Jeremiah (July 15, 2011), “Thousands see Moroni go up on Mormon temple”, The Salt Lake Tribune

The statue is a fiberglass casting of a statue carved in 1985 by Karl Quilter. It was placed on teh east most spire facing east

Interior

Brigham City is located near the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake, and the interior of the Brigham City Utah Temple reflects the natural wonders that surround it. One of the temple’s instruction rooms is painted with a detailed mural featuring Utah’s mountainous geography and migratory wetlands. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, one of more than 550 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, is only 10 miles southwest of the temple, and millions of birds representing 250 different species travel through the 80,000-acre refuge each year.

Brigham City’s native peach blossoms were used as the inspiration for decorative accents throughout the building, carved into the carpets and outlined in the art-glass windows. One of the most stirring instances of this decoration appears in the temple’s sealing, or marriage, rooms. Surrounding a gold-leafed circle on the ceiling, a ring of pink blossoms form a delicate backdrop for magnificent chandeliers.

As in some other temples, the interior color scheme grows lighter as patrons ascend from the bottom levels to the upper levels. Rich blue accents below give way to soft browns, golds and whites above. Artworks depicting stories from the Bible and local historical events hang on the walls throughout the building. Four original paintings hang in the baptistry — John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, a Box Elder County pioneer baptism, the Jordan River and an American Indian being confirmed a member of the Church through the laying on of hands.

Hand carved rock maple wood trim is used throughout the temple. Stone for the interior floors was imported from Turkey.

In the baptistry, the cast bronze oxen under  the font are 12 unique models. In many temples the oxen will be cast in 4 identical sets of 3 unique oxen, rather than 12 unique pieces.

Individuals and Contractors

Architect	FFKR Architects
Project Manager
Contractor	Big D Construction
Copper Roofing	All Metals Fabrication
Structural Steel Supply and Install	Sure Steel Inc
Electrical Engineer	GSL Electric
Precast Concrete	Clark Pacific
Structural Engineering	Morrison Hershfield
Exterior/Interior Lighting	Envision Engineering
Water Feature	Water Design Inc

Sources and Links

External links

• LDS.org(official)
• MormonTemples.org (official)
• MormonNewsroom.org (official)
• LDSChurchTemples.com
• LDSChurchNewsArchive.com
• Wikipedia
• MormonWiki

Additional Articles

Sources/Citation