ST. GEORGE, Utah — Atop a knoll at the center of the city of St. George sits the oldest temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the St. George Utah Temple. Its bright white exterior and three-tiered tower stand in stark contrast to the coral-colored bluffs beyond.
Dedicated in 1877, the pioneer-era temple stands as a testament to the faith and consecration of the early Latter-day Saints who sacrificed to build a monument to the Lord in their desert wilderness.
Now, just 3.5 miles to the southeast, nestled among the hills, stands the newest temple of the Church — the Red Cliffs Utah Temple. Amid blue skies and sunshine, President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the area’s second temple on Sunday, March 24.
The 90,000-square-foot edifice is nearly surrounded by views of the bluffs for which it is named. From certain vantage points throughout St. George, viewers can see both sacred houses of the Lord at the same time — a reminder of the area’s faith-filled past as well as an expression of confidence in the area’s future.
Acknowledging the rich history of the Church there, President Eyring commented, “My faith is strengthened whenever I come to this area. This ground was made sacred to my family and to me by the faith of ancestors now in the spirit world.”
President Eying’s great-grandfather was one of the original settlers of the region. “I can only imagine his joy to know that there is now a second temple in St. George,” he said.
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who accompanied President Eyring to St. George, expressed his love and excitement for members of the Church there.
“I rejoice in the myriad ways [Latter-day Saints] will be changed, refined and endowed with power from on high as they make regular appointments to come and worship in this glorious house of the Lord,” Elder Kearon said.
Also participating in Sunday’s dedication were Elder Kearon’s wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon; Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and Utah Area president, and his wife, Sister June L. Pearson; and Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Alexis Schmitt.
The second house of the Lord in St. George, the Red Cliffs temple becomes the 17th operating temple in Utah (besides the Salt Lake and Manti temples, which are undergoing renovation) and the Church’s 189th dedicated house of the Lord worldwide.
‘Come to the temple’
President Eyring shared his hope that the southern Utah Saints will express their appreciation for the blessing of a second temple through their attendance. “With all my heart, I urge [Latter-day Saints] to come to the temple often,” he said.
As individuals make and keep covenants and as they offer them to others in the temple, they will feel joy and their faith strengthened. “Such faith cheers us in the hard times of separation from loved ones. It has for me,” said President Eyring, whose wife, Sister Kathleen Eyring, passed away last October.
Elder Kearon added his invitation to the Saints to “Come to the temple, to this temple.” The house of the Lord is where individuals can be found by the Good Shepherd and renewed and restored in His green pastures. “Because in the house of the Lord you will find Jesus Christ,” he assured.
It was the early pioneers’ faith in and dedication to God, temples and prophets that carried them through their difficult times, President Eyring said.
History of the Church in St. George
Soon after President Brigham Young settled the Salt Lake Valley and Wasatch corridor, he began sending settlers down through the current state of Utah’s Washington County.
But those who heeded the Prophet’s call were greeted by red sand and alkaline soil, hills of black lava rock and the muddy, sediment-filled Virgin River, which often flooded, bringing with it mosquitoes, biting insects and disease. Plant life consisted of cactus, spiny mesquite shrubs and sagebrush, and the only animals were rattlesnakes, lizards and coyotes.
“It was about as difficult as it could be,” Emily Utt, the Church’s historic sites curator, said of the settling of southern Utah. “People had a lot of reasons to leave and almost no reasons to stay.”
After 10 years of toil trying to gain a foothold, only about half of the original settlers remained. Yet, even while they were still striving to carve out a community, President Young announced in January 1871 a temple was to be built there.
With so many going and leaving, “the temple gives them a motivation to stay,” Utt said. At the same time, President Young was also eager for a temple to be completed so he could canonize and write down the temple ceremonies and ordinances.
“I think he also picked St. George because he knows that these are people that will work hard to build Zion. They’re not going to give up when things get difficult,” Utt said.
With the exception of some metalwork, the stalwart southern Utah Saints utilized what was available to them locally and miraculously completed the temple in just six years. It was dedicated in April 1877, the first temple in Utah.
Temporally, the construction of the temple helped establish necessary infrastructure, industries and businesses — such as roads, mills and craft shops — that continued to operate once the temple and nearby tabernacle were completed, ensuring the community was established and would not be abandoned.
At the time the St. George temple was dedicated, the population was roughly 1,500. But President Young foretold, “There would be between the volcanic ridges, a city with spires, towers and steeples and with homes containing many inhabitants,” according to the Washington County historical society.
And many of the characteristics forged by the desert — hard-working, industrious, obedient and faithful — would cascade through the generations.
Denise Wilstead, one of the Red Cliffs temple dedication committee coordinators, noted that the early Saints had to rely on and serve one another in order to survive. That deep sense of community and service can still be felt today, she said, and is part of what has attracted so many to the area in recent years.
The need for a second temple
Up until the last few years, the 15-acre site of the temple has consisted of farm fields, known colloquially as Washington Fields.
Becky Hafen, whose family farmed the area for generations, said her father farmed the lots just across the street from the site, growing alfalfa, sugar beets and grain for cattle.
Growing up, there was one stake in Washington. Now there are five. “The population has just exploded in the last 15 to 20 years,” said Kim Hafen, Becky’s husband.
Longtime resident James McArthur, a descendant of Daniel D. McArthur, who was one of the area’s early stake presidents, said the population was roughly 3,000 when he was born in the 1940s. “My dad always used to say the elevation and population are the same.”
Today, the population of St. George is approaching 100,000. Washington County is approaching 200,000, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Why the boom? Denise Wilstead said people feel drawn to the welcoming, religion-based community, nine months of beautiful weather and ease of access to a lot of recreation: hiking, biking, national parks and lakes.
“It’s been a great place to raise kids,” said Becky Hafen.
Plus, the Church there is strong. Two temples in the city is an amazing thing, Elder Schmitt commented during the temple’s media day, “but it’s a testament of the faith of thousands of people in this area in southern Utah. The faith that they have, the strength that they have, building upon the faith of generations gone by.”
How the Red Cliffs temple became ‘their temple’
The Red Cliffs temple is decorated in the floral motifs and colors of the desert — bear claw poppies, succulents, Indian paintbrush and pomegranates in coral, sage, gold, beige and purple.
Paintings throughout the temple depict the Savior at many points of His life, and locals can recognize various landscapes of familiar desert scenes.
“The beauty of this temple is astounding,” said Mike Wilstead, Denise Wilstead’s husband and fellow temple dedication committee coordinator. During the open house, “we knew people would come and see, but we also hoped they would come and feel.”
With the historic St. George temple being such an important and beloved monument to the community and to Church members, the Wilsteads said they knew a few who were grieving at the thought of no longer being in the St. George Utah Temple district.
That is until they came to the open house. “There were just so many tears of gratitude and a change of heart while they were there, and they realized that this is their temple,” Denise Wilstead said.
Longtime resident Lonette Staheli said, “I love both temples. I think there’s room for everything — the history of the St. George temple and then the future of the Red Cliffs temple. They work really well together.”
Her husband, Burke Staheli, who serves in a stake presidency, added that he is so excited for the increased opportunities for young adults to serve as temple workers and for the youth to perform ordinances.
The Stahelis were heavily involved in serving during the open house and said their favorite moments were when youth groups would come through on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. “They brought so much energy and enthusiasm,” Burke Staheli said of Latter-day Saint youth. “I just kept saying, ‘This is why we needed to build this.’ We were not able to keep up with the growth of the youth and their opportunities to serve in the temple with just one temple.”
The joy individuals had on their faces as they toured the temple was contagious, Lonette Staheli added.
“Everybody’s cheering that there’s two temples now,” said Mike Wilstead.
Kim Hafen noted that a person almost can’t go anywhere in the Washington/St. George area without seeing one of the temples. Being in the shadow of the temple, he said, is a reminder of the need to attend. “But it also gives me an idea that the Lord is confident in this part of the world and what’s going to happen here.”
James McArthur said he thinks if the early Saints could come back, “they would weep with joy at what’s taking place.” They would say, “If we would have given up, look what would have been lost. But we hung in there. We stayed the course. And look at the blessings that have come to our posterity.”
President Eyring said he hopes all who participated in the dedication “feel the welcome of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. ... You will find a joy in your service here that is available in no other way.”
Background of the Red Cliffs temple
President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for what was initially called the Washington County Utah Temple during the October 2018 general conference. The First Presidency later approved the new name, the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, in June 2020.
President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was born and raised in St. George, presided at the groundbreaking on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
President Holland recounted how he and his wife, Sister Patricia Holland, were driving in the proposed area of the new temple, knowing the need for a name since St. George has had its namesake temple for nearly a century and a half. He recalled his wife looking north toward Pine Valley and mentioned Red Cliffs as a possibility because of the dominating geological feature.
They later suggested Red Cliffs as a name option to the First Presidency, the Apostle said, adding that the name not only represents the immediate area but also honors much of the entire temple district that encompasses the Virgin River region.
During the five-week open house — which ran from Feb. 1 through March 2 — the temple received a little more than 200,000 visitors.
For another brief, five-week period, St. George will be home to both the Church’s oldest operating temple — the St. George Utah Temple — and the newest — the Red Cliffs Utah Temple — until the dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, on April 28.
About the Red Cliffs temple
Address: 1555 South Red Cliffs Temple Lane, St. George, UT 84790
Announced: Oct. 7, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Nov. 7, 2020, presided by then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Construction start: Nov. 9, 2020
Dedication: March 24, 2024, by President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency
Public open house: Thursday, Feb. 1, through Saturday, March 2, with no tours held on Sundays
Property size: 15.31 acres
Building size: 96,277 square feet
Temple structure: Concrete, steel and precast concrete
Spire: Height to the top of the single spire is 217 feet, and 230 feet to the top of Angel Moroni
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly spelled Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt’s first name as Jonathon.
