14 Crazy Facts About LDS Temples You Probably Didn’t Know
(Feature photo can be found here: Bountiful Temple – Autumn Sunset by Phill Monson)
As of this writing there are nearly 16 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world. There are 156 operating temples throughout the world and many more and under construction or have been announced. The temple are a significant part of the Church’s teachings, and they are quite the amazing buildings! So we thought we’d share some interesting facts about many of the 80 temples in the United States:
1. In the United States, there are currently three temples under construction (Cedar City Temple, Tucson Temple, and Meridian Temple), one undergoing renovations (Jordan River Temple), and two have been announced to be built.
2. It took 40 years to finish the Salt Lake Temple. It was dedicated 46 years after its announcement, which is the same length of time it took to complete the ancient Jerusalem Temple (John 2:20).
3. Portland, Oregon is known as the “City of Roses.” The Portland Temple was awarded first place by the Royal Rosarians of Portland in the category of commercial rose plantings.
4. There are only nine temples in the world that aren’t topped by an angel Moroni: Logan, Utah; St. George Utah; Manti Utah; Logan Utah; Laie Hawaii; Oakland California; Cardston Alberta Canada; Mesa Arizona; Hamilton New Zealand; and Paris France.
Nauvoo Temple – From On High – Angel Moroni
5. The original Nauvoo Temple had a very differently designed angel Moroni on top, which also served as a weather vane. The angel Moroni is a completely different design now and, whenever possible, is placed on the temple facing east.
6. After the St. George Temple was completed, Brigham Young decided that he disliked its “squatty” tower. Shortly after his death, the temple was struck by lightning and burned to its base. So keeping in mind the thoughts of Brigham Young, the tower was rebuilt taller and with a more elegant shape.
7. There have been four occasions when two temples were dedicated on the same day – once in 1999 and three times in 2000.
8. The Bountiful Temple had over 870,000 visitors tour the temple during its 6-week public open house. It also had 28 dedicatory sessions and over 201,000 members in attendance at the dedications!
Los Angeles Temple Sunset by Taylor Yardley
9. As one could easily guess, the largest LDS temple in the world is the Salt Lake Temple. However, this wasn’t always the case. Before the Salt Lake Temple underwent an expansion and reclaimed the title, the Los Angeles Temple was the largest for a short time.
10. And which one has the largest temple grounds? That title goes to the Washington D.C. Temple, with the grounds coming in at 52 acres.
11. The St. George Temple has the most sealing rooms, with 18. The Jordan River Temple comes in a close 2nd, with 16 sealing rooms.
12. The Draper Temple is home to the largest sealing room in the world, which can accommodate over 100 people.
13. Nearly 20 years ago President Gordon B. Hinkley was inspired to introduce the idea of smaller temples. The first smaller temple to be completed was the Monticello Temple in 1998, and it originally had the first and only white angel Moroni. But it was too hard to see, so it was replaced with a gold Moroni. The original white angel Moroni was glazed with gold and now resides atop the Columbus Ohio Temple.
14. President Hinkley is known for building many, many temples across the world. In 2000, there were 34 temple dedications! That’s the most there’s ever been in a single year.
