Sean P. MeansPlans to begin building two Utah temples have been set, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday.
A limited groundbreaking for the Taylorsville Temple will happen sometime in October, church officials announced in a news release. The Red Cliffs Temple, in St. George, will have its groundbreaking in November.
The church also released, for the first time, an artist’s rendering of the exterior of the Taylorsville edifice. It will sit on a 7.5-acre site at 2603 W. 4700 South. The temple will be three stories, covering about 70,000 square feet, with slate-gray pitched roofs, a white-painted center spire and no gold-leaf Angel Moroni on top.
Apostle Gerrit W. Gong will preside over the Taylorsville groundbreaking.
The Red Cliffs Temple — the name was released by church leaders in June — will be built on a 14-acre site, northeast of 3000 East 1580 South. This three-story building, St. George’s second Latter-day Saint temple, will cover about 90,000 square feet and have a Moroni statue.
(Image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering, released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, which will have its groundbreaking in November 2020.
Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, a St. George native, will preside over the groundbreaking.
Admission to both ceremonies will be by invitation only, because of social distancing guidelines due to the coronavirus.
Temples also have been announced or are under construction in Layton, Saratoga Springs, Orem, Syracuse and Tooele Valley. Utah will be home to 24 Latter-day Saint temples. The historic Salt Lake and St. George temples are undergoing renovation, and all the temples have been limited by the pandemic.
Groundbreaking on a temple in Salta, Argentina, has been postponed to Oct. 9, the church said Wednesday.
Sean P. Means has been reporting and editing for The Salt Lake Tribune since 1991 — including 25 years as movie critic. Since 2018, he has reported on arts and culture reporter, and breaking news — and was part of The Tribune’s COVID-19 reporting team. He reviews movies for MovieCricket.net and X96’s “Radio From Hell” program.