During an upcoming renovation, the 52-year-old Provo Utah Temple will not only be redesigned and reconstructed, but will also be renamed.
Four days before the temple’s closure for reconstruction, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on Tuesday, Feb. 20, that the Provo Utah Temple will be renamed the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple.
The name stems from its retained location at the mouth of Rock Canyon on Provo’s eastern bench, overlooking the city, Utah Lake and the expansive Utah Valley. And the name helps differentiate even more between two houses of the Lord located in Provo just 2.4 miles apart.
With its planned reconstruction including a major redesign and extensive exterior overhaul, the long-time Provo temple will close at the end of the day on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The name-change announcement was first published on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Provo temple from dedication to planned reconstruction
Dedicated on Feb. 9, 1972, the Provo Utah Temple proved to be one of the Church’s busiest locations — not just as Utah County’s first and longest-operating temple but also with its proximity to both Brigham Young University and the Provo Missionary Training Center, with missionaries at the latter attending the temple weekly.
On March 20, 2016, the Church dedicated its Provo City Center Temple, built from the fire-gutted frame of the old Provo Tabernacle and named for its central site in the namesake city.
After identifying 13 locations for new temples in his concluding remarks at the October 2021 general conference, Church President Russell M. Nelson also announced the “reconstruction of the Provo Utah Temple after the Orem Utah Temple is dedicated.”
In November 2021, the Church released an exterior rendering of the redesigned Provo temple.
On June 20, 2023, the Church announced early 2024 dates for both temples — the Jan. 21 dedication of the Orem temple and the Feb. 24 closure date for the Provo temple.
Provo temple makeover similar to Ogden temple
The extreme makeover will be similar to that of its sister sacred edifice, the Ogden Utah Temple, which a decade ago underwent a major renovation and architectural change.
The Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple will be built to current seismic codes and have reconfigured rooms and energy-efficient electrical, heating and plumbing systems.
Temples in Utah
The two Provo temples are among the 28 total in Utah, which is home to the Church’s worldwide headquarters and nearly 2.2 million Latter-day Saints.
Utah’s dedicated and currently operating temples are the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo, Provo City Center, Saratoga Springs, St. George and Vernal temples.
The Red Cliffs Utah Temple in St. George is scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, March 24; the Taylorsville Utah Temple on Sunday, June 2; and the Layton Utah Temple on Sunday, June 16.
Six other Utah temples are under construction — Deseret Peak, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Lindon, Smithfield and Syracuse.
