Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple Wiki

Details

Timpanogos Utah Temple serves Church members living in northern Utah County and Wasatch County.

History

Announcement

The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was announced Oct. 3, 1992, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency. When the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was announced, President Gordon B. Hinckley explained that it would relieve demands placed on the Provo Utah Temple, which “is operating far beyond its designed capacity.” No location was specified when the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was announced in General Conference as a temple for “Utah County.”^[1]Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Sustaining of Church Officers,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 21.

Location Announcement

The location was revealed as American Fork, Utah, six months later, 4 April 1993. President Hinckley made the announcement during his General Conference Address. On April 7, three days later, a First Presidency announcement placed the site as a former Church welfare farm, across the street from the State Development center, at approximately 900 North and 700 East.^[2]Archives, Church News. “American Fork Site Selected for New Utah County Temple.” Church News, 10 Apr. 1993, www.thechurchnews.com/1993/4/10/23258500/american-fork-site-selected-for-new-utah-county-temple.

Name Announcement

The name for the Temple was officially announced as the “Mt. Timpanogos Utah Temple” on 12 June 1993.^[3]Archives, Church News. “Temple’s name announced.” Church News, 18 May 1996, https://www.ldschurchnews.com/archive/1993-06-12/temple-s-name-announced-6281.

Groundbreaking Announcement

Groundbreaking services for the temple were announced 18 September 1993 in a press release from the First Presidency.^[4]

Groundbreaking

Ground was broken for the temple on Oct. 9, 1993, a year after its announcement. Approximately 12,000 people gathered on the temple site for the ceremony. During the services, the location of the Madrid Spain Temple was announced.

President Gordon B. Hinckley — then the first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — considered the groundbreaking of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple in October 1993 an important step within “the greatest era in the history of the world in the building of temples.”

The late Church President continued, “There has never been another season like this season in the construction of houses of the Lord. Of the 45 operating temples we now have, more than half have been constructed in the past 12 years. We are moving across the world to extend the blessings and privileges of temple service to the faithful Saints of this Church, wherever they may be found, and this groundbreaking is a part of that great process.”

Moroni Statue Placed

On July 17, 1995, about 1.5 years after the groundbreaking, a 13-foot-3-inch gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni was set atop the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. Word of the placement had spread quickly, and an audience of an estimated 20,000 clogged the surrounding streets. The crowd size was nearly double what had turned up for the groundbreaking. Once the statue was in place, the throngs of visitors broke into applause and then spontaneously began to sing The Spirit of God.^[4]Archives, Church News. “20,000 See Statue Lifted atop Mount Timpanogos Temple.” Church News, 22 July 1995, www.thechurchnews.com/1995/7/22/23255239/20-000-see-statue-lifted-atop-mount-timpanogos-temple.

Open House Announcement

The open house and dedication for the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was announced on 18 May 1996 via a press release.^[5]Archives, Church News. “Mount Timpanogos Temple to Open Doors to Public.” Church News, 18 May 1996, www.thechurchnews.com/1996/5/18/23253970/mount-timpanogos-temple-to-open-doors-to-public.

Much work went into beautifying the area surrounding the temple. To prepare for the six-week public open house, held from August 6 to September 21, 1996, officials of the city of American Fork and Utah County worked with the Church to improve existing roads by paving them and adding directional signs. Local sod farm owner Howard Ault, along with his family, donated seven acres of sod and coordinated volunteer efforts to install it on the temple grounds. A group of over 4,000 volunteers answered a last-minute call to improve the adjacent Utah State Developmental Center’s 160-acre site. When Stephen M. Studdert of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple Committee issued the call, local Church members quickly responded. On August 3, 1996, just three days before the open house began, each spent four hours at the temple site and the developmental center doing yard work such as weeding, pruning and picking up debris.

Open House

A public open house ran from Aug. 6 to Sept. 21, 1996. A total of 679,217 people toured the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple during the six week run. More than 800 children’s choirs – made up from nearly every ward and branch in the temple district – performed near the front entrance to the temple at least once during the open house.^[6]”Mount Timpanogos Temple to Open Doors to Public”. deseret.com. Deseret News. May 18, 1996. Retrieved January 7, 2023. https://www.deseret.com/1996/5/18/20770123/mount-timpanogos-temple-to-open-doors-to-public

During the open house, over 56,000 volunteers acted as guides and supervisors, pushing wheelchairs and answering questions for the 679,217 visitors who toured the temple over the six-week period.

Dedication

On Oct. 13, 1996 the Mount Timpanogos temple was officially dedicated. It was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley to “be a beacon of peace and refuge.”

The dedication took place over a week and consisted of 27 sessions. President Hinckley presided over and spoke in 11 of those sessions, while his counselors — President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust — presided over and read the dedicatory prayer in 11 of the other 15 sessions. A total of 52 general authorities addressed the sessions, as well as the temple presidency and matron.^[7]van Orden, Dell (October 19, 1996), “Mount Timpanogos Temple dedicated”, Church News, https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/1996-10-19/mount-timpanogos-temple-dedicated-10884

A total of 11,617 people participated in the first dedicatory session, and around 38,000 attended the first three sessions on the temple’s first dedication day. Only 2,900 were able to meet inside the house of the Lord for the dedication, so the rest met in meetinghouses around American Fork, Utah. Three sessions occurred the first Sunday, and four on each of the following days for a total of 27 dedicatory sessions. 157,917 people attended all the dedicatory session.^[8]Weaver, Sarah Jane, “157,917 attend dedication,” Deseret News, 26 October 1996. https://www.thechurchnews.com/1996/10/26/23253131/157-917-attend-dedication

In the Dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley said, “May its beauty never be marred by evil hands. May it stand strong against the winds and storms that will beat upon it. May it be a beacon of peace and a refuge to the troubled. May it be an holy sanctuary to those whose burdens are heavy and who seek Thy consoling comfort.”^[9]”May it be a Beacon of Peace, Refuge”, Church News, October 19, 1996, 4

The dedication of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple lasted an entire week with three sessions on

Cornerstone Ceremony

On October 13, 1996, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley officiated in a brief cornerstone ceremony. President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, counselors in the First Presidency of the Church, joined him. Local Church leaders and about 5,000 spectators were in attendance, and an 880-member choir performed. The cornerstone was placed at the temple’s southeast corner along with a 20- by 30-inch metal box, which was sealed behind the cornerstone. The box contains items related to the Church and to the city of American Fork — scriptures, books written by President Hinckley, photos of Church leaders and temples, a history of American Fork and local newspapers.

Dedication Order

The temple is the 49th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the ninth built in Utah, and the second built in Utah County, following the Provo Utah Temple, which was dedicated in 1972.

Presidents and Matrons

Temple President	Temple Matron	Years Served
Blaine Louis Butler	Lynn Marie Geddes Butler	2023–
Kenneth Mark Frost	Mary Ruth McEuen Frost	2020–2023
Ronald Burton Funk	Wanda Lynne Walker Funk	2017–2020
Ralph Warren Smith Jr.	Elizabeth Ann Rothey Smith	2014–2017
Noel Beldon Reynolds	Sydney Sharon Smith Reynolds	2011–2014
Lowell Edward Brown	Carol Ewer Brown	2008–2011
Lawrence Sabey Clarke	Carole Westover Clarke	2005–2008
Rex Dee Pinegar	Bonnie Lee Crabb Pinegar	2002–2005
Dee Floyd Andersen	Frances Nicholas Andersen	1999–2002
Robert James Matthews	Shirley Neves Matthews	1996–1999

Description

Location

Built on a bench in the valley below the base of Mount Timpanogos in American Fork, Utah, the temple stands on almost 17 acres overlooking the valley. The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple overlooks the cities of American Fork, Cedar Hills, Highland and Alpine as well as nearby Utah Lake. Mount Timpanogos, the peak from which the temple gets its name, and the Wasatch Mountains serve as a backdrop.

Exterior

The exterior finish of the structure was made with sierra white granite. The exterior windows are art glass featuring both small prisms embedded in the glass that refract many colors of light, and dichroic glass elements. The dichroic glass is a glass filter, tuned to reflect a specific wavelength. As a result, the glass appears as the reflected color in bright daylight, and the opposite color when the specific wavelength is filtered out at night.

Bronze is used for the primary doors. Upon walking up to the temple, visitors can find similar stone archways to those seen at the Bountiful Utah Temple.

The grounds offer a spacious area where attendees can sit on benches or in the grass.

The spire holding a statue of the angel Moroni, is 190 feet tall, and comprised of tin..

Interior

The house of the Lord is 104,000 square feet and features a Single basement floor below grade, and 2 floors above.

The interior furnishings feature varying shades of mauve and gray accented with white and gold. Other interior highlights include architectural woodwork with a glossy white finish, marble floors and a white celestial room with plush furniture and a massive chandelier. A repeating motif of circles and waving lines is sculpted into the carpet, carved into the woodwork and gold-leafed onto the interior walls

Inside there are four stationary ordinance rooms, eight sealing rooms and a single baptistry.

The floor plan of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple is an adaption of the floor plan created for the Bountiful Utah Temple.

References