TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has opened the doors to the Tallahassee Florida Temple, which will be the 16th and final house of the Lord dedicated in 2024.
As has been the pattern for a number of years, the Church began the Tallahassee temple’s public open house phase with a media day Monday morning, Oct. 28, with an introductory news conference followed by Church leaders taking the media representatives on tours of the new sacred structure, explaining the purpose of temples, covenants and ordinances and answering any questions.
Welcoming the media were Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen. Prior to his call as a Church general authority, Elder Andersen had lived and worked in Florida with Sister Andersen and their young family.
Joining Elder Andersen and Sister Andersen for the morning’s events were three General Authority Seventies — Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department; Elder Steven R. Bangerter, an assistant executive director of the same department; and Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, first counselor in the North America Southeast Area.
In conjunction with the start of Monday’s news conference and media tours, the Church released interior and exterior images of the new temple on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Following Monday’s media event, invited guests — including local civic, community, educational and faith leaders — will tour the temple prior to the Monday, Nov. 4, start of the public open house, which will run through Saturday, Nov. 23, excluding Sundays.
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple at 9 a.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 8. The single dedicatory session will be broadcast to all units throughout the temple district. The 9 a.m. dedication time is an update to what had been previously announced.
The temple will be the 202nd dedicated and operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including eight temples in various stages of renovation or reconstruction. It will be the 16th temple dedicated this year, joining houses of the Lord dedicated across North, Central and South America and into the Philippines.
The single-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet has been built on a 4.97-acre site located at 2440 Papillion Way in northeastern Tallahassee, the largest city in the Florida Panhandle and the state’s capital. Adjacent to an existing Church meetinghouse, the temple site also includes a distribution center.
Announced on April 5, 2020, by President Russell M. Nelson, the Tallahassee Florida Temple was among eight new temples identified in the closing session of the April 2020 general conference. The site location and exterior rendering were released on Jan. 12, 2021.
Construction on the Tallahassee temple followed the June 5, 2021, groundbreaking ceremony, with Elder James B. Martino, a General Authority Seventy and then president of the North America Southeast Area, presiding at the event and offering a prayer on the site and the construction process.
The Tallahassee temple’s design and details
The new temple’s design, elements and details — from the patterns in the tile and carved carpets to the styles of light fixtures — feature historic geometric tile patterns from the mid-1800s, such as leaf lattice, palm fronds, magnolia flowers and interlocking key patterns.
In addition to Latte marble from Turkey and Gray Cloud stone and Silver Screen vein-cut marble from China, flooring also includes broadloom carpets, carved Axminster carpets, carpet tile and hand-tufted rugs, with gold and cream the prominent colors.
A highlight of the art-glass design is the arched glass transom above the main celestial room doors, with the radial pattern featuring a central magnolia flower. The magnolia rosette is among the carving and decorative patterns along the walls, as well as patterns such as guilloché, bead and reel, egg and dart and dentil.
The temple grounds include native or historically significant plants, such as oak, magnolia, crape myrtle, bald cypress and pines. The azalea is the signature shrub, with muhly and fakahatchee among the native grasses planted.
The Church and its temples in Florida
The Tallahassee temple will be the Church’s third dedicated house of the Lord in the state, with the Orlando Florida Temple dedicated in 1994 and the Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple dedicated in 2014.
After 30 years of operations, the Orlando temple closed earlier this year for extensive renovations.
Two other temples for Florida — in Tampa and in Jacksonville — have been announced and in planning since 2022, with sites released for both.
Missionaries first arrived in Florida in 1845, with the Church’s first congregation in the state created in 1847 in the Big Bend area of northern Florida. Today, the state is home to more than 172,000 Latter-day Saints comprising nearly 275 congregations.
Tallahassee Florida Temple
Address: 2440 Papillion Way, Tallahassee, Florida, 32309
Announced: April 5, 2020, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: June 5, 2021, presided over by Elder James B. Martino, a General Authority Seventy and then president of the North America Southeast Area
Public open house: Nov. 4-23, 2024, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, by Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 4.97 acres
Building size: 29,355 square feet
Building height: 125 feet, including the spire
More photos of the Tallahassee temple
