The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a house of the Lord will be built in Marysville, Washington.
Elder Hugo E. Martínez, General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Church’s United States West Area presidency, read a letter from the First Presidency at a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake.
“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency wrote, according to an April 19 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
They continued: “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”
This is the second temple announced since President Dallin H. Oaks became President of the Church on Oct. 14, 2025. The first was the Portland Maine Temple, announced during a stake Christmas fireside Dec. 14, 2025.
Sunday’s announcement brings the number of temples in the Church — announced, under construction and operating — to 384.
Reactions from local leadership
After Arlington Washington Stake President W. Jay Schilaty heard the temple announcement, he was “astonished beyond measure,” he said, quoting Helaman 3:25.
“The prayers of many faithful Saints, over the course of decades, were answered tonight,” he wrote to stake members in an email. The Arlington stake is north and extends east of Marysville. “While a temple much closer to us is imminent, what remains in the balance is if we will be a people prepared to receive it.”
President Schilaty invited stake members to consider what they could change to help them come closer to the Savior. “The joy we feel tonight is real, but lasting peace and happiness only comes as we continuously forge our way on the Lord’s covenant path.”
Bishop Devon R. Kienzle has made the rising generation a high priority in the Arlington Ward, especially by bringing them to the house of the Lord often. He recalls monthly youth temple trips that inspired other adults in the ward — and even youth from neighboring wards and stakes — to serve.
“Our ward started a focused effort to pray for a temple,” he added. Arlington is just outside Marysville and to the north. “We prayed specifically for a temple in the Arlington area, and we promised the Lord to attend monthly and that we would change our hearts.”
Now the youth and other ward members are ecstatic, said Bishop Kienzle. “We know that the Lord has answered our prayers. He heard our pleas, and we believe He has accepted the efforts of our rising generation.”
About the Church in Washington
Marysville’s house of the Lord will be the seventh in Washington.
The state is home to four operating houses of the Lord: the Seattle (dedicated in 1980), Spokane (1999), Columbia River (2001) and Moses Lake (2023) temples. The Columbia River temple is in Richland, of the Tri-Cities area.
Another, the Vancouver Washington Temple, has been under construction since August 2025.
In addition to the Marysville temple, the Tacoma Washington Temple is currently in its planning and design phase, announced in 2022.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington dates back to 1854, when four missionaries serving in California were sent into the Washington and Oregon territories. Enough converts joined to create a congregation just north of present-day Vancouver along the Lewis River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
Many Latter-day Saints helped with the 1880s railroad construction of the Northern Pacific Oregon Short Line in Washington. In 1930, Church membership in the state totaled 1,900 in eight congregations, with chapels in Seattle, Spokane, Olympia and Everett.
The state is now home to around 278,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 470 wards and branches.
