Star Valley Wyoming Temple Wiki

The announcement of the construction of the Star Valley Wyoming Temple was made at the 181st Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 1 October 2011.[backref name=”walker”] The announcement drew an audible reaction from the Conference Center congregation.^[2]The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, “New Temples Announced for France, Africa, Colombia, Utah and Wyoming,” 1 Oct. 2011.

The temple was announced concurrently with the Barranquilla Colombia, Durban South Africa, Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Provo City Center temples.[backref name=”walker”] President Thomas S. Monson made the announcement. In his remarks, he joked, “I think I’ll dedicate that one. There’s good fishing up there!”

The groundbreaking services for the Star valley Wyoming Temple took place on Saturday, 25 April 2015. Thousands of Church members and friends gathered to the site to witness the event. Many more joined by satellite and Internet transmissions. Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy presided.^[5]“Ground Broken for Star Valley Wyoming Temple”, Newsroom, LDS Church, April 25, 2015

He was accompanied by Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy and Executive Director of the Temple Department. Several community and civic leaders also attended.

Elder Christensen remarked, “There couldn’t be a more appropriate place for a house of God. The temple is a gift of God. It is to the great heritage that is here… It links generations together. The temple will become a landmark, a sacred place for this valley for years to come.”

A public open house was held from September 23 to October 8, 2016, excluding Sundays.^[6]“Public Invited to Tour Star Valley Wyoming Temple”, Newsroom, LDS Church, September 20, 2016

The open house was held every day except Sundays and the evenings of September 24 and 25 and October 1 and 2, 2016. 79,000 people visited the temple during the 12 days of the open house, an average of 6,583 people per day.

The temple was dedicated on October 30, 2016.^[7] “First Mormon Temple in Wyoming Is Dedicated: Star Valley Temple is 154th in the world”, Newsroom, LDS Church, October 30, 2016

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the dedication and traditional cornerstone ceremony on Sunday, 30 October 2016.

Members of the church from throughout the temple district in western Wyoming and parts of Idaho participated in three dedicatory sessions held at the 18,000-square-foot new edifice, which sits on the east bench of Afton. Latter-day Saints also watched dedicatory proceedings broadcast live to meetinghouses in many parts of Wyoming and into southeastern Idaho. The temple was formally dedicated in 3 sessions – at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

With the dedication of the new temple, President Mark Taylor, chair of the local temple committee, declared, “Now it’s time to get down to the business of temple work.”

Star Valley is in Lincoln County, which has the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints in Wyoming.

The Star Valley Wyoming Temple is located east of U.S. highway 89 In a beautiful mountain valley south of Afton, Wyoming.^[8]Satterfield, Rick. “Star Valley Wyoming Temple”. Retrieved August 13, 2012.

It was built on land formerly used for farming.

Site

The outer edge of the property is surrounded by blue and Baker’s spruce, maple, crabapple and linden trees. Dogwood, juniper and mugo pine are found closer to the building. Oregon grape, barberry, roses, spirea, yew and cranberries provide colorful accents between the shrubberies. The planters include tulips, crocus, daffodils, daylilies and daisies.

The fence is of bronze enamel steel with buff-colored sandstone accent columns. Walkways around the temple are of concrete. The stone coursing pattern harmonizes with that found in the monument sign of the Afton Tabernacle.

The temple design is based on principles of classical architecture with historical references to buildings found throughout the area, including the Wyoming State Capital, the Afton Tabernacle and pioneer-built LDS structures.

Cladding

The exterior of the temple is precast concrete panels installed on poured in place concrete walls over a structural skeleton.

Water Course

Windows

Pink, green, blue, brown and yellow glass was used in the fireweed flower design. Fireweed, a tall wildflower, grows abundantly in the Wyoming mountains. The glass design gives the appearance of a wood lattice upon which the flowers are growing. Metal spandrel panels, seen between the upper and lower level windows, mimic the lattice pattern of the glass. Paint color on the metal panels, front door and window frames is Moca Chino.

There is one inscription on the Star Valley Wyoming Temple. It is on the west end of the temple above the entryway doors. The text is engraved into the concrete and painted black.

The cornerstone at the Star Valley Wyoming temple is no the southeast corner facing east. This puts it on the rear of the temple, as the temple faces west. Like the Inscription, the text is engraved in the precast concrete panel and painted black.

The temple height is 39 feet without the spire, 111 feet with the spire and 123 feet with the Angel Moroni. The spire’s shingles are of zinc and are manufactured by Rheinzinc of Duisburg, Germany.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that the placement of the Angel Moroni on the Star Valley Temple will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, 25 April 2016, exactly one year after the temple groundbreaking. Although not required, this iconic symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands high atop most of the 150 operating temples worldwide. Contrary to previous statue installments, the event was announced beforehand, allowing hundreds of spectators to gather and witness the raising.^[9]Aleah Ingram, “Angel Moroni Placed on Star Valley Wyoming Temple,” LDS Daily

The statue is a fiberglass recast of a statue carved in 1985 by Karl Quilter and was placed on the spire facing west, in line with the front doors of the temple.

Flooring

Stone flooring throughout the temple is Sunny Limestone quarried in Palestine and fabricated in China. The wool entry rug was designed and manufactured by Tai Ping Carpets based in Hong Kong. Bentley Mills of North Carolina manufactured carpets for the main corridor and instruction room. The wool carpet in the brides’ room was manufactured in China by Rugs International. In its Chinese facility, Nourison produced the floral damask, machine loomed, wool carpet for the celestial and sealing rooms.

Decorative Painting

A low-contrast range of whites was chosen to reinforce the principle of simplicity. The stencil pattern in the celestial and sealing rooms is derived from Victorian era motifs. CRSA designed the decorative painting. Gold accent lines are featured in the celestial, sealing and instruction rooms and on the altars.

Interior Art Glass

Inside the temple is a historic window that was rescued from the Astoria Presbyterian Church in Queens, N.Y., when that building was razed in 2008. An art dealer preserved the windows. He sold them to an LDS art collector, who in turn donated at least 4 of them to the Church. All 4 have now been placed in Temples, 2 in the Cedar City Temple, one in the Provo City Center Temple, and one here in the Star Valley Temple. In each temple the panels are set in ornate wood partitions constructed behind the recommend desk, with lighting behind the panels to allow the glass to be displayed in it’s full beauty.^[10]Katherine Lyon and Alex Mortenson, “Why Cedar City and 2 Other LDS Temples Have Stained Glass Windows Rescued from a Presbyterian Church,” LDS Living, 23 October 2017

Holdman Studios of Lehi, Utah, performed their restoration.^[11]“Cedar City Utah Temple Fact Sheet,” Newsroom, LDS Church, 23 October 2017

Two other windows, like the sets found in the Provo City Center and Cedar City Temples, are also featured. In vibrant colors, they depict the Savior knocking on a handle-less door.

Some doors within the temple contain art glass which replicates the lattice pattern of the exterior windows.

Lighting

The baptistry, confirmation room and entry chandeliers were patterned after those in the Wyoming State Capital. They harmonize with the bronze door hardware and rails of the baptismal font. Fixtures throughout the temple are from Rejuvenation of Oregon, OCL Lighting of St. Louis, and Swarovski. The Greek key pattern is utilized in many fixtures. Lighting was installed by Nelson Electric of Rigby, Idaho.

Millwork

Woodwork is an elegant simplification of forms and patterns in the Wyoming State Capital and the Manti Temple, featuring door casings with false transom panels.

Font Railings

The newel posts are a derivation of those found in the U.S. Post Office in Evanston, Wyoming.

Doors and Hardware

The interior doors are manufactured from cherry wood with panels exhibiting the influence of doors found in the Wyoming State Capital and the Manti Utah Temple. Door hardware is of cast bronze.

Walls

Three colors of paint are used in the temple, two, for the walls and one, for the ceilings. Paint is in shades of white with stenciling in the celestial room.

Ceilings

The ceilings are intended to be simple, elegant and bright.

Entry

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