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Southern Utah's Festival City soon will gain another attraction: a Mormon temple.

An Aug. 8 groundbreaking has been set for the Cedar City Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday in a news release.

The invitation-only event will take place at 300 S. Cove Drive. It also will be transmitted via Internet to select LDS meetinghouses in the area.

The temple — announced at the faith's April 2013 General Conference — will be one of 17 either in operation or planned in Utah.

The Payson Temple currently is holding an open house, with a dedication set for June 7. Crews also are restoring the historic Provo Tabernacle and transforming it into the Provo City Center Temple.

Additional information about the temple in Cedar City — home to the Utah Shakespeare Festival — will be provided later, the news release said.

Temples are where devout Mormons take part in their religion's most sacred rites, including eternal marriage.

David Noyce