Description

The Ogden Utah Temple (formerly the Ogden Temple) is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple. Located in Ogden, Utah, it was originally built with a modern, single-spire design very similar to the Provo Utah Temple. During a renovation completed in 2014, the exterior and interior were extensively changed. The temple in Ogden was the first built in Utah since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893 and since Utah gained statehood in 1896.

The Ogden Temple serves more than 135,000 members. The intention to construct a temple in Ogden was announced by the LDS Church on August 24, 1967.

History

1920

Talk of temple for Ogden can be documented as early as 13 December 1920, when a headline on the front page of the ‘Ogden Standard-Examiner’ proclaimed “Ogden to get temple, Mormons are told”^[1]“Front Page,” Ogden Standard-Examiner,(via Library of Congress) 13 December 1920. Accessed 13 August 2017. At that time, both the Logan and Salt Lake Temples were already operating well beyond their capacity.

1921

In May of 1921 President Heber J. Grant inspected a site being offered at 30th Street and Taylor on condition it be used to build a temple. President Grant was greatful for the offer, but as he did not feel a temple could be built at that time due to funds being tied up in other projects int he Church, he ultimately declined.^[2]“First Presidency Inspects Temple Site” Deseret News, 16 May 1921. Accessed 13 August 2017 He did however mention that he was partial to the property of Lester Park.

1924

On 7 May 1924, an offer was made for a trade of some other property the Church owned in Ogden at that time, such as the property known as Tabernacle Square in downtown Ogden (Where the Temple now stands,) for Lester Park. This trade was also declined.[ref name=”arave1″]”The Detailed Story of the Old and New Ogden Temples,” Nighuntokolob.blogspot.com, 17 December 2015. Accessed 2 October 2016. [/ref]

1925

On 12 February of 1956 a tabernacle was dedicated on the lot that would eventually hold the temple. It was the last tabernacle the church would build before moving solely to a meetinghouse/stake center program.

1966

A 1966 study found that 52 percent of temple work was being done in either the Salt Lake, Logan, or Manti temples, even though there were 13 operating temples throughout the world.[ref name=”green”]Green, Doyle L., “Two Temples to Be Dedicated”, Ensign, January 1972[/ref]

1967

In the 1967 the recently formed Church Building Committee was asked to take a look into the overcrowding issues at Manti and Logan and see what could be done to expand the two temples there. They found that, since the temples had been constructed before building codes were put into place, that there was not much that could be done without building codes requiring large portions of the original temple be brought up to code as well. Their suggestion, was that rather than try to make either temple larger, which would include the cost of essentially renovating much of either existing temple, two new temples could be built for less cost. One temple was proposed in Ogden on the tabernacle block, which the Church already owned. The second location the committee proposed was in Provo on a seventeen acre block of property at the base of Rock Canyon being offered to the Church in Provo.[backref name=”arave1″]

Announcement

President McKay was highly in favor of the idea (being from Ogden himself,) and concurrent meetings were held with Stake Presidents in Ogden and Provo on 14 August 1967 to propose the building of the temples.[backref name=”green”]

he intention to construct a temple in Provo was announced by the LDS Church on August 14, 1967, to help ease the overcrowding of the Salt Lake, Manti and Logan temples already in the area. Concurrent meetings were held with 28 stake presidents in Ogden and 25 Stake presidents in Provo to propose the idea of building the new temples. It was explained in both meetings that, while other areas of the Church were also in need of temples, it was felt these two new temples would serve the largest number of people. This was at a time when the local stakes were asked to raise a portion of the funds for the new temples and Churches, and needed to agree with the plan. The vote at both meetings was unanimous in the affirmative.[backref name=”green”]

Design

The project was then turned over to church Architect Emil B. Fetzer and his staff. President McKay was concerned that the church as a whole would think him a spendthrift for approving not one, but two new temples. The Church had just gone through a major change in emphasis in regards to budgets, and he had already overseen construction of the Los Angeles, Bern, Hamilton, London and Oakland Temples (to that date, no other prophet had overseen more than 4.) He gave the architects very specific orders for austerity and economy in these two new temples.[backref name=”arave1″] The design guidelines included:

Reasonable cost[backref name=”green”]
Full size Temples (Not smaller like the recent international temples)[backref name=”green”]
More compact and efficient, not large like the recent Los Angeles California and Oakland California Temples.
No Assembly Room[backref name=”arave1″]
No Multiple spires, one only[backref name=”arave1″]
No Excess square footage[backref name=”arave1″]
No excess cubage (Vaulted or raised ceilings)[backref name=”arave1″]
One Architectural plan for both temples (absolutely no paying for two plans, though minor changes could be made to the exterior for different looks)[backref name=”arave1″]
No Angel Moroni (though the planning committee purportedly decided to strengthen the spires to hold the weight of a statue, just in case one could be added later.)[backref name=”arave1″] And indeed, the artists render actually included a Moroni Statue on the spire.

President McKay said, “I would like these two Temples to be functional and economical with temple quality. In the coming years, many Temples will be built. Of necessity, these Temples must be functional in design and cost so that they may accomplish their sacred purposes.”^[3]David O. McKay, quoted in Emil Baer Fetzer, Completed Writings of Emil Baer Fetzer, 2003, 3, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

Brother Fetzer would remark that “I think this [Ogden/Provo] is the only building that I have designed in words before I started to put marks on paper.”[backref name=”green”] The desing was wholly from the inside out, with the interior layout and efficiency being the paramount concern, knowing the exterior would come later.[backref name=”green”]

After a few months of work and preliminary design, Brother Fetzer and his team were informed that film had been approved for wider domestic use to present the endowment, and that management of the sessions and tracking of ordinances would be turned completely over to the Church’s new computer systems. This meant the number of people needed to run a session and a temple as a whole was reduced significantly. This also meant drastic changes could be made in the design and layout. Three Months of work was thrown completely out and on a late flight from New York to England Brother Fetzer and Brother Fred Baker of the Building Committee discussed the changes, and ways to layout the design of the temple without the restrictions that had just been removed. By the time they landed in England, the had a preliminary design that featured 6 endowment rooms arrayed around a central celestial room, and estimates that this new design could perform more endowment sessions than any other temple in the Church.[backref name=”arave1″]

Groundbreaking

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Ogden Temple were held on 8 September 1969, President McKay’s birthday. The site was dedicated by Joseph Fielding Smith of the First Presidency, and the first shovel full of dirt was turned over by Elder Hugh B. Brown.[ref name=”arave2″]”Why were the first Ogden/Provo LDS temples designed the way they were?”Nighuntokolob.blogspot.com, 8 February 2016. Accessed 2 October 2016.[/ref]

Cornerstone

On 7 September 1970, a cornerstone laying ceremony was held with President Joseph Fielding Smith presiding and President N. Eldon Tanner of the First Presidency dedicating the cornerstone. Around 6,000 people were in attendance.[backref name=”arave2″]

Open House

A public open house for the Ogden Temple was held daily from 16 -30 December 1971 (except Sundays and Christmas Day). During the 12 days of the open house it was estimated that more than 150,000 people attended, an average of 12,500 per day.[backref name=”arave2″]

Dedication

Ogden Utah Temple original design and landscaping

The Ogden Temple was dedicated on 18 January 1972, by church president Joseph Fielding Smith, a few weeks before the Provo Temple was dedicated.

Dedicatory Prayer

Dedication Order

The Ogden Utah Temple was the 14th Temple in the Church, the 10th in the United States, and the 5th in Utah. At the time of its dedication, there were 2 other temples under construction and no temples undergoing remodel, The Provo Utah Temple and the Washington D.C. Temple.

Operation

After 1 week in operation, the statistical numbers from the Ogden Temple showed that it had out performed all other temples in the number of endowments performed. The Brethren leading the church were sure this could not be the case. Ogden did not have a high enough percentage of members to utilize the temple that well, and there was a certainty that nothing would ever be able to out perform the Salt Lake Temple, the Church’s flagship temple. The building department was given instruction to recheck the numbers and give a full report after the first month. The new numbers at the end of the first month confirmed the earlier numbers. Not only had the temple performed more endowments in a single month than any other temple, it had performed more endowments in one month than Logan Utah, Manti Utah, St. George Utah, and the Salt Lake Temple Combined.[backref name=”arave1″][backref name=”arave2″]

2002

Ogden Utah Temple updated Design and landscaping

Beginning in 2001 and lasting through much of 2002, both the exterior of the temple and the surrounding grounds underwent significant changes. Weather damage to the exterior of the temple was repaired and the spire, which was originally a yellowish-gold, was painted bright white. A fiberglass statue of the Angel Moroni covered in gold leaf was added to the temple’s spire, almost 30 years after the temple was dedicated.^[4]“Ogden Utah Temple to receive improvements, Moroni statue”, Church News, September 14, 2002 The temple grounds received redesigned walkways and paths allowing visitors to walk around the temple as well as to access the structure from the main adjacent street.

Reconstruction

Announcement

On 17 February 2010, the LDS Church announced that the Ogden Temple would undergo major exterior and interior renovations that would significantly modify the look of the building. The upgrades included replacing old electrical, heating, and plumbing systems with more modern, energy-saving equipment. Additional improvements included construction of a new underground parking structure, complete relandscaping of the temple block, and renovation of the adjacent Ogden Tabernacle, including removal of its spire.^[5]Stack, Peggy Fletcher (February 17, 2010), “‘Somewhat dated’ LDS temple to get new look”, The Salt Lake Tribune^[6] “News Story: Ogden Temple to Get Architectural Facelift”, Newsroom, LDS Church, February 17, 2010^[7]Askar, Jamshid (February 18, 2010), “Ogden temple renovation to include significant architectural face-lift”, Church News The interior was reduced from 131,000 to 115,000 sq ft, but through an improved design, there is more usable space following the reconstruction.^[8]Saxton, Bryon (October 21, 2012), “Ogden Temple renovation update elicits ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs'”, Standard-Examiner, retrieved 2012-10-26

There has been much speculation as to whether or not the Provo Temple will follow suit someday, but there were 4 reasons for the remodel (According to a temple engineer) and Provo Temple is not affected by any of them. 1. It was built over an underground river which was resulting in a perpetual mold problem they could not overcome. The Provo Temple is on a slope in the foothills with plenty of rock under the foundation, and now water table issues. 2. It was built on a fault line. The Provo Temple sits about a1/4 mile to the west of the Wasatch fault system. While very near, it is not directly on it, as is the case with Ogden Temple. 3. The temple was doing only 35 marriages a year (the SLC Temple does about 50-70 a week). Unlike the Ogden Utah Temple, The Provo Utah Temple is fed by the MTC and the BYU Students and never had issues with attendance. While the number of weddings there is relatively low, there is no need to attract extra patronage. 4. The stated reason for the remodel was that the church wanted to support the revitalization efforts in downtown Ogden. The Provo Temple is not in a neighborhood that is as run down as downtown Ogden was in the years prior to the dedication.

Construction

As part of the overhaul, the spire was removed, and the upper two stores demolished down to a central structural core. Seismic improvements were made to the core of the structure, and a new temple built around the reinforced framework. The lower story was gutted, the shell remaining largely in place, and a new entryway was carved into the east side.

Open House

On April 25, 2014, the church announced that with renovations nearing completion, a public open house would be held from 1 August 1 to 6 September 2014.

Cultural Celebration

On September 20, 2014, the day before the temple rededication, approximately 8,000 youth participated in a cultural celebration titled “Shine the Light,”which included a telling of the area’s history through song and dance.

Dedication

The temple was rededicated in three sessions on September 21, 2014 by church president Thomas S. Monson.^[9] “News Release: Ogden Utah Temple Will Be Rededicated in September 2014”, Newsroom [MormonNewsroom.org], LDS Church, 25 April 2014^[10]“News Release: Ogden Utah Temple Rededicated by President Thomas S. Monson”, Newsroom [MormonNewsroom.org], LDS Church, 21 September 2014

Rededicatory Prayer

Rededication Order

At the time of the Temple’s rededication there were (including Ogden,) 144 temples in operation, 71 temples in the United States, and 15 Temples in Utah. Additionally there were 14 Temples under construction, 12 Temples awaiting groundbreaking, and 3 temples undergoing renovation.

Temples Under Construction	Temples Awaiting Groundbreaking	Temples undergoing renovation
Indianapolis Indiana	Concepcion Chile	Mexico City Mexico
Tijuana Mexico	Lisbon Portugal	Montreal Quebec
Hartdord Connecticut	Urdaneta Phillipines	Suva Fiji
Meridian Idaho	Kinshasa DRC
Fort Collins Colorado	Barranquilla Columbia
Phoenix Arizona	Durban South Africa
Cordoba Argentina	Winnipeg Manitoba
Rome Italy	Star Valley Wyoming
Trujillo Peru	Aeriquipa Peru
Sapporo Japan	Tucson Arizona
Fortaleza Brazil	Cedar City Utah
Payson Utah	Rio De Janeiro Brazil
Provo City Center
Paris France

Myths and Stories

There has been a tradition that Emil Fetzer intended the Temple to represent a pillar of fire by night (in the gold spire) and the pillar of cloud by day (The third story above the windows,) as told in Exodus. 13:21, which states” “The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way and in a pillar of light by night …” Thus, the white facade of the Temples was the white cloud and the golden spire was lighted at night to represent a pillar of fire.

One source goes so far as to state that he was told this by Kieth Wilcox (Architect of the Washington D.C. Temple) who was told in turn by Emil Fetzer.

Another individual, (This page, 13th comment) however, who says she interviewed Emil Fetzer for a paper on Architecture Symbolism for a class at BYU says that “there was no intended symbolism; in fact, he sounded surprised that “everyone knows”… He may have had a vision, but he wouldn’t admit it to me;… had little patience for all the symbolism…”

There is no mention of symbolism or symbolic intent in articles covering the temple dedication, which went into great detail about the design process. A request for information from the Church History Library returned the answer that they could not find any source for the symbolism, and it was never mentioned by Emil fetzer in the documents and histories they have for him. They believe the story rose some time after the dedication.

The story is very familiar, and spread far and wide. It may be true, or it may just be a very obvious comparison. (I myself made the same connection in the design as a young man without any input from anyone else.) It may be that there is no definitive answer to whether or not this story is true, but it should be noted that none of the other temples designed by Emil B. Fetzer have any claimed overt spiritual symbolism to their design. If he did intend the symbolism, it would have been quite a break from his usual style.

Presidents

TEMPLE PRESIDENT	YEARS SERVED
President Michael L. Vellinga	2017–
President Fredrick Froerer III	2014–2017
President Robert R. Steuer	2008–2011
President Gordon T. Watts	2005–2008
President Dale L. Gardner	2002–2005
President J. Kirk Moyes	1999–2002
President Collins E. Jones	1996–1999
President Harvey M. Broadbent	1993–1996
President Dorman H. Baird	1990–1993
President E. LaMar Buckner	1987–1990
President Milton C. Mecham	1985–1987
President Keith W. Wilcox	1980–1985
President Leslie T. Norton	1976–1980
President A. Reed Halversen	1972–1976

Details

The site for the temple is a 10-acre (40,000 m²) lot called Tabernacle Square that the church had owned since the area was settled. At the time of construction, the Ogden Temple differed from temples built previously by the Church. The original design was very contemporary and the lot chosen is in downtown Ogden, surrounded by businesses and offices. Additionally, instead passing through multiple rooms for a single session, patrons would sit in a single room for the entire presentation. While this, in of itself was not a new idea for temples, the Ogden temple contained 6 such rooms, instead of 1 or 2.

The Ogden Utah Temple was originally constructed with 115,000 square feet (10,700 m²) and four floors, one below ground. The temple included six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms. The stone on the temple was fluted and decorative metal grillwork was added between the stone. Gold windows with directional glass also added to the beauty of the temple.

Other structures on the Temple Block

There are a number of other significant buildings located on the same block as the temple. The first building constructed was the Weber Stake Tabernacle (1855) on the southeast corner of the block. It was demolished in 1971 in conjunction with the construction of the temple.

The Weber Stake Relief Society Building, completed in 1902, was located on the western portion of the block. It was deeded to the Weber County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1926, who used it as a pioneer museum. In January 2012 it was moved approximately one block west to a lot donated by the City of Ogden. The move was to accommodate a new parking structure built as a part of the temple remodel.^[11]“Museum History”. Weber County DUP Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

The Miles Goodyear Cabin was located adjacent to the Weber Stake Relief Society Building as part of the pioneer museum from 1928 to late 2011, when it was moved to the new pioneer museum location.

The largest of the other structures to occupy the lot is the Ogden Tabernacle, constructed in 1956. The large tower on the north side of the building was removed in the 2010–14 renovation.

Exterior

Cladding

Original Temple

The exterior of the temple was precast stone panels. The panels were of the same material and similar in design to the Provo Temple, except the upper panels were straight up and down with a fluted appearance.