Helena Montana Temple Wiki

Plans to construct the Helena Montana Temple were announced by President Russell M. Nelson on 4 April 2021, at the 191st Annual General Conference.^[1]The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, “At April 2021 Conference, Prophet Announces 20 More Temples to Be Constructed,” 4 Apr. 2021.

The Helena Montana Temple was the second temple built in Montana, following the Billings Montana Temple (1999).

On April 20, 2021, an official exterior rendering of the temple was released.^[3]”Location and Rendering Revealed for Helena Montana Temple,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 20 Apr. 2021.

Elder Vern P. Stanfill of the Seventy presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Helena Montana Temple held on Saturday, June 26, 2021. As the groundbreaking approached, he “pondered on the many who have lived in the shadow of these mountains who…sacrificed, served, and hoped for this day.” He concluded, “Theirs is a legacy of faith and discipleship of the Savior.” Elder Stanfill was accompanied by Helena Montana Stake president Bret Romney and invited guests. The 10,000-square-foot temple was announced 12 weeks ago in General Conference and is expected to be erected at an accelerated pace. It will stand next to a new stake center on a 4.8-acre site at 1260 Otter Road. Elder Stanfill declared, “As a house of the Lord, a holy temple, rises out of the ground in this place, we pray that all who look upon it will see it as a great blessing and come to learn of its significance.”^[5]”Montanans Break Ground for Helena Temple,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 21 Jun. 2021.

A media day kicked off the open house for the Helena Montana Temple on Monday, 15 May, followed by invited guests tours over the next two days. The general public toured the temple from Thursday, 18 May, through Saturday, 3 June 2023.

The temple was dedicated in two sessions at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, 18 June 2023.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles officiated at the dedication.. “This temple dedication,” he said at the event, “serves as a testament of the strength and devotion of the Saints who reside in this beautiful region of Montana.”

The Apostle was joined by his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan; Elder Randall K. Bennett, a General Authority Seventy and counselor in the North America Central Area presidency; and Michael Suhaka, managing director of the Temple Department.

“I felt love from God. I felt gratitude. And I felt like He cares about the Saints here in this region,” said Brad Hobson, a member in the Great Falls Montana Stake, about the dedication. Suzi Stanger, a co-chair for the open house and dedication committee, said, “Montana people are very sincere, and I think that was one thing that really captured them — the sincerity of the focus on the Savior.”

A 4.8-acre site at 1230 Otter Road where the stake center for the Helena Montana Stake was located was chosen as the location for the temple.

Plants were chosen by landscape architects Nathan Steiner and Eric Lycke to grow successfully in the area and provide attractive seasonal color, texture and variety.

The plaza in front of the temple is concrete, with steps leading up to the entrance. A walkway around the building lies inside the bronze decorative fence.

The design of the building complements other architectural designs in Montana’s capital city. The decorative patterns were derived from the buttercup plant found throughout the state, utilizing the flower and leaf designs to draw upon principles of Native American geometric patterns. The temple’s detailing includes buttressing and employs horizontal bands, like mountain cliff faces with geologic seams. The primary decorative detail band on the temple’s exterior marks the transition between the building and the sky.

The entry portico references the Richardsonian-Romanesque entry of the Power Building in Helena, with its low arch.

Cladding

The temple is clad in a light colored stone.

Windows

The art glass was designed by McNicholas Architects of Chicago, Illinois, and was fabricated by Glass Images & Creations in Orem, Utah.

Transom panel

Each of the exterior rectangle windows is topped with an ornamental transom plnel of the ssame bluish metal as the spire, and with the same decoereative pattern carved into the stone

The cornerstone of the temple is located on the osouth east corner of the temple, facing east.

Atop the temple is a multilevel tower with a square base, a blue top and four windows on each side. This denotes a deviation form the official render, which showed the spire to be gold in color.

Topping off the steeple is an 8 sided lantern, smooth sided, with a slopped top. above that is a tall thin lightning rod, ornamented with 2 spheres of progressively smaller size, evenly spaced ont he bottom half of the rod.

The temple is a single-story structure of 9,794 square feet.

Carpeted rooms feature a standard carpet tile from Milliken, headquartered in South Carolina. The blue, green, gold, cream and other neutral colors are used in an organic pattern to tie back to nature and other decorative elements. The area rugs used in the temple are produced in China by the company Rugs International of South Carolina. Porcelain tile used throughout the temple is from Florida Tile, manufactured in the United States.

The decorative paint was designed by McNicholas Architects. It mirrors the exterior motif, representing the buttercup plant form. Colors used in the patterns are soft greens, blues and neutrals with 22-karat gold leaf.

The interior art glass was designed by McNicholas Architects. It features the same structure, colors and textures as the exterior windows.

The railings around the baptismal font were designed by Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects in Salt Lake City, Utah. The materials used are painted aluminum with a stained cherry-wood cap. They are fabricated by Arnold Quality Metal Works in Logan, Utah.

The decorative light fixtures are made of acrylic, crystal and brass. They were fabricated by Preciosa in China.

Doors are constructed out of quarter-sawn cherry, some with glass paneling for added visibility. Cherry wood was selected for its stability and its resilience to changing environments and humidity. The doors were made by Masonite Architectural of Quebec, Canada, and Rayford & Associates Inc. in Alabama. Door hardware pieces are solid forged brass catalog pieces from Baldwin Hardware of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Paint was used for all wall surfaces in the temple. The warm beige tone ties to the inviting color scheme of the flooring and fabrics throughout the building.

The millwork was designed by McNicholas Architects in keeping with the art deco style. The traditional base, wainscot and crown in each room are enhanced by the use of a structural vertical element called a lesene, which traverses the wainscot to the base via a recessed panel. Remmert & Company of Alabama manufactured the millwork, which was installed by Architectural Woodworking Concepts of Rhode Island.

The temple’s original artwork includes “Oh, Ye Mountains High” by Utah artist Josh Clare, “His Sheep May Safely Graze” by Wyoming artist Grant Redden and “Sentinels of Hidden Lake” by Wyoming artist Jim Wilcox.