The groundbreaking for the new Layton Utah Temple, which was scheduled originally for May 30, was held a week early on Saturday, May 23, as a result of COVID-19 precautions.
“Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need to limit public gatherings, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints determined a traditional groundbreaking for the Layton Utah Temple, with invited guests, was not prudent,” said Church spokesperson Irene Caso. “The First Presidency assigned the Utah Area Presidency to conduct a small-scale groundbreaking, held Saturday, May 23, so that construction could proceed.”
Latter-day Saints and friends in the community are invited to view an online-streamed recording of the proceedings that will be available next week at Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, she added in the late-evening statement on May 23.
Additional details on the groundbreaking ceremony will be made available when the online recording is made available.
The Layton temple’s groundbreaking — originally planned for May 30 — was announced on Jan. 23, along with the groundbreakings for two other temples in Richmond, Virginia, and Alabang, Philippines. Since the announcement of the scheduled groundbreaking, the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in governmental restrictions on public gatherings and accompanying Church adjustments to meetings and activities.
The Layton Utah Temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson on April 1, 2018. The temple site — identified publicly on July 15, 2019 — is an 11.87-arce parcel in southeast Layton at the intersection of Oak Hills Drive and North Rosewood Lane. The street address is 1400 E. Oak Hills Dr.
On Oct. 8, 2019, an exterior rendering of the Layton Utah Temple was released, showing the projected three-story building of 87,000 square feet with two attached end spires and an angel Moroni statue.
