GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — When the late President Russell M. Nelson announced the Grand Junction Colorado Temple during April 2021 general conference, people in the western Colorado city “shouted for joy,” said Donetta Leany.
Leany belongs to the Salt Wash Ward, Fruita Colorado Stake, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she’s also a longtime resident of Grand Junction, having lived 50 years among the region’s semiarid deserts and striking mountain vistas.
And after spending much of her life driving hours to reach the nearest temples — four hours to the Denver Colorado Temple, three and a half hours to the Provo City Center Temple, or two and a half hours to the Monticello Utah Temple or the Vernal Utah Temple — Leany is thrilled to now have a temple mere minutes away.
“We’re just so thankful,” she said. “The Church means everything to us here, [and] those covenants we make with our Father in Heaven.”
Leany isn’t alone in her sentiments; in the days leading up to the Grand Junction temple’s dedication, multiple Latter-day Saints in the area spoke with Church News about the new house of the Lord, sharing feelings of joy, excitement and gratitude.
President Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will dedicate the Grand Junction Colorado Temple on Sunday, Oct. 19, during a single session. Its open house was held Sept. 11-27.
The temple’s groundbreaking ceremony occurred April 16, 2022, the day before Easter Sunday. Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong — a General Authority Seventy and then first counselor in the North America Central Area presidency — presided over the ceremony and offered the dedicatory prayer on the site.
Colorado is currently home to two operating temples: the Denver Colorado Temple, dedicated in 1986, and the Fort Collins Colorado Temple, dedicated in 2016. The Colorado Springs Colorado Temple was announced in 2023 and is now in its planning and design phase.
‘A light to the whole area’
Dale and Janalee Bowen, local Latter-day Saints and chairs of the Grand Junction temple’s open house committee, reflected on the many ways that the new house of the Lord will bless their part of Colorado.
Dale Bowen noted the greater accessibility it will provide, especially during winter months when driving is harder; while Janalee Bowen said the temple brings light to the entire community.
“We’ve had [people] not of our faith feel like it’s their temple, too, for the valley,” she said. “It’s not just for us. It’s a light to the whole area.”
Monte Atkinson, a member of the Horizon Ward, Grand Junction Colorado West Stake, who serves on the temple’s open house committee as a music co-chair with his wife, said that everything related to the temple is “clearly in Heavenly Father’s hands.”
Grand Junction is somewhat isolated, he said, and Latter-day Saints are a minority. But that’s given his family many opportunities to strengthen their testimonies, exercise faith, make meaningful sacrifices and serve in multiple callings.
Now, local Latter-day Saints feel deeply connected to the house of the Lord that will be “their” temple, Atkinson said. “Heavenly Father has guided our every step. … We’re just so grateful to have [a temple] here in western Colorado.”
Deep roots, deep faith
For Frank Frigetto, a member of the Liberty Cap Ward, Grand Junction West stake, the Grand Junction temple is especially meaningful because it’s blessing the place where he joined the Church.
Frigetto said he was born and raised in Grand Junction and introduced to the Church as an adult. The city is where his roots are, and joining the Church “just added to that joy. I just feel the Spirit everywhere.”
As the only Church member on his side of the family, Frigetto said he’s particularly looking forward to performing more ordinances for his deceased ancestors. He and his wife have also been called to be temple workers.
Another thing Frigetto said he’s grateful for is how the community’s understanding of Latter-day Saints has grown in the years since President Nelson announced the Grand Junction temple.
“Our members are great, and they’re really people who are well respected,” he said. “It’s been a really strong element in bringing people in our community to become familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Stephanie Sherman, a member of the Bookcliff Ward, Grand Junction West stake, is also a convert to the Church. Born in Grand Junction to a nonreligious family, Sherman said she attended church as a child with a Latter-day Saint friend until she was baptized at age 12 with her parents’ permission.
Now, Sherman gets to participate in temple worship in the place her faith began. “I’m really excited to be five minutes away from the temple, to … do a lot of temple work for family that just took us so much longer before.”
‘The jewel in the crown of our lives’
For some Latter-day Saints in Grand Junction, the new temple is indicative of positive change and growth.
Bobbi Hardy, a member of the Broadway Ward, Grand Junction West stake, remembers meeting for church as a child in an old armory building, where her father and brother would sweep out cigarette butts and beer cans before services.
Now, the Grand Junction area has multiple ward buildings and its very own house of the Lord. “It just brings tears to my eyes to think of it,” Hardy said, adding that it’s a “thrill” to have a temple so close to her.
And San Juan Branch President Nicolas Taylor said his Spanish-speaking branch has seen significant growth since the temple was announced. He took several new Church members to the temple open house, he said, and they’re now eagerly awaiting both the dedication and the opportunity to perform baptisms for the dead.
“There’s a feeling that comes with the growth of Zion,” President Taylor said, continuing that “the effect of the temple on the Hispanic community in western Colorado has been palpable.”
The Grand Junction Colorado Temple, he added, is “the jewel in the crown of our lives here in western Colorado.”
