Two temple dedication dates — in Wyoming and Kansas — have been announced by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this afternoon.
The Cody Wyoming Temple will be dedicated Sunday, Oct. 25, with a presiding authority not yet announced.
A week later, Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Wichita Kansas Temple on Sunday, Nov. 1.
The Cody temple’s Oct. 25 dedication will follow an open house from Thursday, Aug. 27, through Saturday, Sept. 12, excluding Sundays. A media day is also planned for Monday, Aug. 24, and invited guests will tour the sacred edifice Aug. 25 and 26.
Preceding the Wichita temple’s Nov. 1 dedication will be an open house from Thursday, Sept. 24, through Saturday, Oct. 10 — excluding Sundays and the Saturday, Oct. 3, of general conference. Members of the press will visit the temple on its Sept. 21 media day, with subsequent invited-guest tours planned for Sept. 22 and 23.
Announced Monday, May 18, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, these temple dedications will both happen at 10 a.m. local time and be broadcast to congregations throughout the temple district. Each will be rebroadcast at 2 p.m. the same day as well.
About the Cody and Wichita temples
Both houses of the Lord were announced by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson — the Cody temple on Oct. 3, 2021, and the Wichita temple on April 3, 2022.
In September 2024, ground was broken for both: the Cody temple on Sept. 27 and the Wichita temple on Sept. 7. Elder Steven R. Bangerter — a General Authority Seventy and then the first counselor in the North America Central Area presidency — presided at both ceremonies.
At the Cody temple’s groundbreaking, Elder Bangerter prayed for blessings upon the temple and all those who enter its walls. “We ask that they may feel a spirit of peace wash over them, granting them comfort and assurance that the presence of the temple will bring added joy, prosperity, beauty and unity to their lives and their community.”
A single-story building of approximately 9,950 square feet, the edifice is being constructed on the northwest side of Skyline Drive and north of the Cody Canal.
At the Wichita temple’s groundbreaking, Elder Bangerter pleaded in his dedicatory prayer on the site that “we may feel Thy Holy Spirit within our hearts as a manifestation of the divine mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may each feel a new beginning with renewed commitment to live our lives according to His teachings and filled with His love.”
It’s planned as a single-story building of approximately 9,950 square feet, built on a 6.42-acre site at Lot 1 Block 1 of The Moorings Plaza Fourth Addition in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The Church in Wyoming
This new house of the Lord in Cody will be the third in Wyoming. It follows the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2016, and the Casper Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2024.
Latter-day Saints entered the state as early as 1846 in their pioneer travels. The Oregon, California and Mormon trails crossed through the middle of Wyoming, so most Latter-day Saint companies traveled through the state in their westward migration.
By the end of 1847, more than 2,000 pioneer members had crossed Wyoming into Utah. Wyoming’s first stake was organized in Star Valley in August 1892.
Now home to nearly 67,000 Latter-day Saints, Wyoming has more than 170 wards and branches.
The Church in Kansas
Wichita’s house of the Lord will be the first dedicated in Kansas.
In 1882, the Meridian Branch was established on the border between the Dickinson and Saline counties. The first stake in Kansas was organized 80 years later, in June 1962, in Wichita.
The closest house of the Lord to Wichita is currently the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple, a drive of about 180 miles to the south.
Kansas has almost 40,000 Latter-day Saints, who meet in 75 wards and branches.
