HARTFORD, CONN.
Construction work will begin on Connecticut's first Latter-day Saint temple following groundbreaking ceremonies in Hartford on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 11 a.m.
The Hartford Connecticut Temple is actually located in Farmington, a suburb just west of Hartford, on the corner of Farmington Avenue and Melrose Drive. Because parking is limited on the temple site, attendance at the groundbreaking is by invitation only.
However, Church officials say the proceedings will be broadcast via satellite to LDS meetinghouses in the area for those who are interested.
Plans to build a temple in the Hartford area were originally announced in 1992. When a suitable location for the temple could not be acquired, the Connecticut plans were scrapped in favor of new temples in Boston and White Plains, N.Y.
The Boston Massachusetts Temple, the church's 100th operating temple, was completed in 2000. The temple planned for White Plains became the Harrison New York Temple, plans for which were eventually set aside following the completion of the Manhattan New York Temple.
In 2010, President Thomas S. Monson announced that the Church was once again planning to build a temple in the Hartford area, much to the delight of Connecticut's 15,000-plus Latter-day Saints. The Hartford temple will be the second of its kind in New England and one of 170 LDS temples in use, under construction or in the planning stages around the world.
