LINDON, Utah — In a city named for a tree with heart-shaped leaves, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will soon be able to “turn their hearts” as spoken of in Malachi 4:6 as they do the work of the Lord in a new temple.
Rain threatened, but the skies held while Church and civic leaders broke ground at the site of the Lindon Utah Temple at 800 E. Center St. on Saturday, April 23.
Site for Lindon Utah Temple announced
Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Utah Area, presided at the event and spoke to those gathered in a nearby chapel before dedicating the site of the future edifice.
“With the dedication of the temple site … may each of us rededicate our own lives and recommit ourselves to placing the Lord Jesus Christ and our sacred covenants at the very center of our lives,” said Elder Pearson.
President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Lindon, Utah, in October 2020 general conference — one of six temple locations identified at that time.
The Lindon temple is one of 28 for the state of Utah that are dedicated, under construction or announced. Temples dot the area around Lindon, with the Mount Timpanogos, Provo, Provo City Center and Payson temples in operation, and the Orem and Saratoga Springs temples under construction.
Elder Pearson spoke of the statement from previous Church President Joseph F. Smith that temples would “dot the earth.”
“Why do we need to dot the earth with temples? The answer seems to be clear: The Lord has been hastening His work for some time now,” he said. “It has always been the greatest work on the earth.”
As this area of Utah County became settled after the 1850s, homes and farms were strung along the road connecting Pleasant Grove and Orem, earning the nickname “String Town.” Some of the descendants of the first settlers were at the groundbreaking.
Lindon Utah Central Stake Patriarch Edward L. Platt explained that a Latter-day Saint from England brought linden seeds and planted a linden tree along State Street. That tree became a landmark, and when the town was incorporated in 1901, a typo changed linden to Lindon.
Plans for the new temple show a three-story temple of approximately 81,000 square feet, with two spires. The linden tree with heart-shaped leaves will become a motif in the new temple.
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Elder Pearson spoke about how the temple is more than a beautiful building, it’s a place where sacred covenants are made for people on both sides of the veil.
“As we break ground today for the Lindon Utah Temple, we need a groundbreaking effort to prepare for the dedication of this temple by searching out and preparing our family names to submit to and nourish this new temple as it’s constructed,” said Elder Pearson.
After the program inside the chapel, the guests walked up the hill to the site of the future temple and turned the soil to officially break ground. Kelly Washburn, a 17-year-old high school senior and a young woman in the Lindon Utah Stake, helped turn a shovel of dirt.
She said having a temple so close will help the youth of the area — a junior high is within walking distance. “It’s so amazing that it will be even more accessible to us. We are learning every single day how to become better and how to be more like Jesus Christ,” said Washburn.
“All of us are looking forward to coming together and working together in the Lord’s work,” she said, adding how when she makes an appointment in the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple right now, she feels as if she is making a doctor’s appointment, and the Lord is the Master Physician.
Eduardo Silva, an elders quorum president in the Lindon Utah Central Stake, grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and spoke about how he and other Church members saved and sacrificed to make the 14-hour trip to the São Paulo Brazil Temple.
When he moved with his family to Utah 21 years ago, he was amazed to have more temples nearby. Now he is thrilled to have a temple even closer to his home.
“We expect to be here as often as we can,” he said, and urged others to make the temple a part of their lives and never take it for granted: “I know temples are sacred.”
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Although it was cold and windy, and a light drizzle threatened to fall, Elder Pearson noted the enthusiasm and even deep emotions from people who had come to watch the groundbreaking, including those who stopped alongside a nearby trail. He highlighted the faithfulness of the people in the Lindon, Orem and Pleasant Grove stakes who live in the temple district.
“We are living in the time when temples would dot the earth,” said Elder Pearson. “It’s evidence of both the faith of the people and the Lord’s love for us, and the desire that all of His children would have the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant. To get those blessings, you have to have a temple.”
