The groundbreaking ceremony for the Ephraim Utah Temple was held on a beautiful summer morning that eventually turned to rain yesterday, Saturday, August 27, 2022. President Nelson presided at the event and offered the dedicatory prayer. Announced in May 2021, the Ephraim Temple will be one of 28 temples in Utah, once all others are completed.

“We pray that the construction of this temple may be accomplished to accommodate Thy divine purposes,” said President Russell M. Nelson in the dedicatory prayer during the service in the central Utah community of Ephraim.

President Nelson continued, “We are deeply grateful for our ancestors. They have laid a foundation of faith that undergirds our spiritual strength. May we learn who they are, find their qualifying information, and bless their lives with sacred rites offered vicariously in this holy house.”

The first Latter-day Saints entered the Sanpete Valley in 1849. President Nelson’s family helped settle the valley.

“The history of this area includes my own family,” President Nelson said at the event, which was attended by invited guests. “My dear mother was born in Ephraim, not far from this very temple site.  My father was born in Manti.  Three of my four grandparents were born here in Ephraim. All eight of my great-grandparents lived in Ephraim.”

The temple will be built on a 9.16-acre site located at the intersection of 200 North and 400 East. Plans call for a three-story temple of approximately 39,000 square feet.

Below is a video of the ceremony, as well as a few pictures from the event and the official rendering of the future temple.