Announcement of the Winchester Virginia Temple
President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Winchester Virginia Temple on April 2, 2023, during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2023 general conference — one of 15 announced worldwide by the Church that day. A house of the Lord for this city in the north end of the Shenandoah Valley will be the second for Virginia.
Posting her joy on social media over the announcement of a sacred edifice for Winchester was Virginian Martha Sparkman. “Winchester, Virginia, will get a temple,” she wrote on Twitter directly after the conference.
“Come and see it,” Sparkman continued. “I will watch the groundbreaking, the construction and be at the dedication. Ask me anything about the gospel, and I’ll share it. God bless us all!”
Ground will be broken for the Winchester Virginia Temple on Aug. 9, 2025, with Elder Robert M. Daines — a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency — presiding.
Timeline of the Winchester Virginia Temple
The Winchester Virginia Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 2, 2023. Ground will be broken for the temple on Aug. 9, 2025, with Elder Robert M. Daines presiding.
Architecture and Design of the Winchester Virginia Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Oct. 30, 2023, the Winchester Virginia Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 30,000 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 11.27-acre site in Frederick County in the Shenandoah Valley.
Architectural renderings of the house of the Lord show an off-white exterior surrounded by rectangular windows, with pillars surrounding the entrance. A tall, octagonal tower with arched windows stands above the center of the building. Grass fields, sidewalks and flower gardens will adorn the grounds.