The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has publicly opened its doors to the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple. Standing in Springfield, Oregon, it will be the third house of the Lord in the state.
An open house starts this week, running from Thursday, April 23, through Saturday, May 9, excluding Sundays. A media day is also being held Monday, April 20, and invited guests will tour the building April 21 to 22.
As media day begins, two General Authority Seventies — Elder Brian J. Holmes and Elder K. Brett Nattress — are guiding news representatives on tours.
To accompany media day, the Church published interior and exterior photographs of the Willamette Valley temple on April 20 at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
After the open house, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf — acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — will dedicate the temple Sunday, June 7. The single 10 a.m. dedicatory session will be broadcast to all units throughout the temple district, and a 2 p.m. rebroadcast is also planned.
With future temple dedications currently scheduled, the Willamette Valley temple is planned to be the Church’s 218th or 219th operating worldwide. It’s scheduled to be dedicated on the same day and at the same time as the Yorba Linda California Temple’s dedication.
Design and features
Standing on a 10.29-acre site at 300 International Way, Springfield, Oregon, the Willamette Valley temple is a 30,635-square-foot structure made of insulated concrete forms and structural steel.
Design motifs draw inspiration from the lush Pacific Northwest landscape and features the mountain laurel and repeating prism patterns. Art-glass windows highlight the green vegetation and blue water of the nearby McKenzie and Willamette rivers, as well as hues of gold, purple, pink, green and a blue-yellow gradient.
Throughout the temple, soft gold- and green-patterned carpets are used in various areas, with white sculpted broadloom carpet in the sealing and celestial rooms and solid-green pile in the administration area. Stone flooring includes marble from Italy, accented with gold, and green and blue stones from Italy and Brazil. The celestial and sealing rooms also feature White V marble from Vietnam and Italy.
Temple walls feature white and beige tones, celestial and sealing rooms feature vinyl wallcoverings with a fine organic raised pattern, and the baptistry and instruction rooms display horizontal-striated patterns. Crystal chandeliers illuminate the bride’s room, celestial room and sealing rooms, while frosted-glass fixtures with bronze accents appear in all other areas.
Millwork throughout this temple is made of stained cherry wood, with paint-grade maple and poplar in select areas. Interior doors are also stained cherry, with art-glass panels and brass hardware. Ceilings feature gypsum board and acoustic ceiling tiles.
About the Willamette Valley temple
The late Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a house of the Lord for Eugene, Oregon, on April 4, 2021. The “Willamette Valley” name was announced five months later, a nod to the valley that extends north of Eugene to Portland, Oregon.
Ground was broken for the temple Oct. 29, 2022, with Elder Valeri V. Cordón presiding. Elder Cordón — a General Authority Seventy and then the first counselor in the Church’s North America West Area — pleaded in his site dedicatory prayer that “the temple will be a beacon of hope and peace that inspires this community to come unto Christ, even in its construction phase.”
The Church in Oregon
Once it’s dedicated, the Willamette Valley temple will join the state’s two operating houses of the Lord: the Portland temple, dedicated in 1989, and the Medford temple, dedicated in 2000.
A significant Latter-day Saint presence didn’t occur in Oregon until 1887, when Utah businessmen built a lumber mill on the North Powder River near Baker, Oregon. They persuaded several hundred Latter-day Saint families to migrate there.
Oregon’s first stake was created in 1901. By 1930, about 3,230 members of the Church lived in the state.
On Aug. 4, 1929, 76 members of the Church gathered at the organization of the Eugene Branch. The Portland Stake was created June 26, 1938, and the Eugene Branch was made into a ward on the same day.
Today, nearly 150,000 Latter-day Saints in almost 300 wards and branches call Oregon home.
Willamette Valley Oregon Temple
Address: 300 International Way, Springfield, Oregon 97477
Announced: April 4, 2021, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Oct. 29, 2022, presided over by Elder Valeri V. Cordón, a General Authority Seventy
Public open house: April 23 through May 9, 2026, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: June 7, 2026, by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 10.29 acres
Building size: 30,635 square feet
Building height: 119 feet (including the spire)
