Ground has been broken for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple, which will be the second temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state.
Elder Randall K. Bennett, a General Authority Seventy and president of the North America Northeast Area, presided at the Saturday, Aug. 21, groundbreaking for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple. He shared remarks and offered a dedicatory prayer for the site and the construction process.
“Brothers and sisters, I know you will make this temple, and more importantly Jesus Christ, the center of your lives,” Elder Bennett said. “Thank you for your examples of faith and diligence, hope [and] love.”
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Bennett offered thanks to the Lord for “[His] love and for the atoning sacrifice of [His] Beloved Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
“Please let today’s groundbreaking also be a day of emotional and spiritual building in our own lives and families,” he prayed. “Please bless us and our families with a refreshed commitment and enthusiasm for fully living Thy gospel.”
President Russell M. Nelson announced the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple during the April 2020 general conference, one of eight locations he identified on April 5, 2020.
The Pittsburgh temple — a single-story structure of about 32,000 square feet — will be built on a 5.8-acre site located at 2093 Powell Road in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. The temple’s site and exterior rendering were released earlier this year, on Jan. 19.
Attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony was by invitation only, while those who reside in the temple district were able to watch via livestreamed broadcast. The full broadcast will be available later on Newsroom.
Elder T. Michael Price, an Area Seventy, was one of several Latter-day Saints who shared testimonies during the groundbreaking ceremony. “In temples and elsewhere,” Elder Price said, “we receive ordinances and make covenants with God that change our very nature and bless our lives.”
Said Brenda Miller of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake: “Having this temple here in Pittsburgh reminds me of His love for all of us. I know this temple will be a great blessing to many people, and I am excited for the opportunity that it will give others to hopefully gain the same peace and reassurance that I’ve been able to have.”
The Pittsburgh temple will be the state’s second, following the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple, which was dedicated Sept. 18, 2016.
Pennsylvania is home to more than 52,000 Latter-day Saints in 108 congregations as well as 12 stakes and two missions.
