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Tours of southern Utah’s newest LDS temple are set

Red Cliffs will open its doors in February; Orem Temple will welcome the public next week.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Red Cliffs Temple in St. George will open to tours in February.

  | Oct. 17, 2023, 2:53 p.m.
| Updated: 2:54 p.m.

The Red Cliffs Temple in St. George will open to free tours in February and be dedicated in March, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Tuesday.

After a media day Jan. 29 and tours for invited guests Jan. 30-31, the temple will welcome the general public Feb. 1 and continue, Monday-Saturdays, through March 2. The church also announced that President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the governing First Presidency, will dedicate the temple in two sessions March 24 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Eyring’s wife, Kathleen Johnson Eyring, died Sunday.

At that point, St. George will be home to the newest and oldest temples in operation. The historic St. George Temple, completed in 1877, is holding an open house through Nov. 11 after a massive renovation, and is scheduled to be rededicated Dec. 10.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Orem Temple will open to tours Oct. 27.

In addition, the new Orem Temple will open to tours Oct. 27 and continue through Dec. 16, excluding Sundays and Thanksgiving Day. Admission is free, and reservations are recommended. The tours will last about 40 minutes.

The Red Cliffs Temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2018, and ground was broken in November 2020. The three-story, approximately 90,000-square-foot structure was constructed on a 14-acre site, northeast of 3000 East 1580 South. Unlike many new temples, it has a statue of Angel Moroni — of Book of Mormon fame — atop its steeple. The Orem Temple, for instance, does not.

There are 15 temples currently operating in Utah — Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River (South Jordan), Logan, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos (American Fork), Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain (South Jordan), Payson, Provo (set to close in February 2024 to undergo a massive makeover), Provo City Center (converted from the former Provo Tabernacle), Saratoga Springs (dedicated in August) and Vernal.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) This map shows the location of the Red Cliffs Temple.

The rededication of the St. George Temple and the dedications of the Orem and Red Cliffs temples will bring that number to 18.

The iconic Salt Lake and Manti temples are undergoing renovations. And eight more temples are either under construction or have been announced in Utah: Deseret Peak (Tooele), Ephraim, Heber Valley, Layton, Lindon, Smithfield, Syracuse and Taylorsville.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The renovated St. George Temple shown in September 2023.

The global faith of 17 million members now has 335 existing or planned temples. Nelson has announced 153, or nearly 46%, of them — the most of any church president.

Latter-day Saints view a temple as a House of the Lord, a place where the faithful participate in their religion’s highest ordinances, including eternal marriage.