When visitors will be able to step foot inside the Layton LDS Temple

The new Layton Temple will open to free tours in April and be dedicated in June, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday.

After a media day on April 15 and tours for invited guests April 16-18, the temple will welcome the general public April 19 through June 1.

The church also announced that apostle David A. Bednar will preside at the temple’s dedication June 16. Two sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

In April 2018, church President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple would be built in Layton. In May 2020, ground was broken on the twin-spired, three-story, 87,000-square-foot temple on an 11.8-acre site at the corner of Oak Hills Drive and Rosewood Lane.

With Sunday’s rededication of the historic St. George Temple, Utah is home to 16 operating Latter-day Saint temples — 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), St. George, Saratoga Springs (dedicated in August) and Vernal.

Also in St. George, the newly built Red Cliffs Temple will welcome public tours from Feb. 1 through March 2 before a scheduled March 24 dedication.

The iconic Salt Lake and Manti (the latter is set for dedication April 21) temples are undergoing renovation, and nine more temples are either under construction or have been announced in Utah: Deseret Peak (Tooele), Ephraim, Heber Valley, Layton, Lindon, Orem (scheduled to be dedicated in January), Smithfield, Syracuse and Taylorsville.

In all, the church has 28 existing or planned temples in the Beehive State.

Latter-day Saints view temples as Houses of the Lord, places where faithful members participate in their religion’s highest rites.