About 20 miles southwest of the historic Kirtland Temple, public tours are now underway for the Cleveland Ohio Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
From June 18 through July 3, excluding Sundays, anyone is invited to tour what will become Ohio’s second house of the Lord still in operation. A media day is also on Monday, June 15, and invited guests will tour the building June 16-17.
Two General Authority Seventies — Elder Mathias Held, first counselor in the United States Northeast Area, and Elder B. Corey Cuvelier — are guiding news representatives on tours as today’s media day begins.
In conjunction with Monday’s media day, the Church published interior and exterior photos of the Cleveland temple on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate this house of the Lord on Aug. 16. The 10 a.m. ceremony, which will be broadcast to all units in the temple district, will be rebroadcast later that day at 2 p.m.
That same day, Aug. 16, the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple will also be dedicated.
Design and features
A single-story building of approximately 9,950 square feet, the Cleveland temple stands on an 11.04-acre site at 5997 Brecksville Road, Independence, Ohio. Cleveland’s rich architectural heritage inspired design motifs, incorporating elements from the city’s historic buildings. Also featured is the design of Ohio’s state wildflower, the white trillium, which has three-petaled white blossoms.
Hues of blue, green, red, coral and gold reflect the hillside of Lake Erie at sunrise and the buildings along East 4th Street. Art-glass windows incorporate diamond patterns and botanical motifs that reflect Cleveland’s architectural heritage. Decorative light fixtures are composed of acrylic, bronze and crystal elements. Crystal chandeliers and sconces illuminate various spaces in the temple.
Throughout general areas and instruction rooms, blue-toned floral patterns adorn the broadloom carpet. Two-toned cream broadloom carpet was used in the veil corridors, and wool area rugs decorate the entry and the patron waiting, sealing and celestial rooms. The primary stone in this house of the Lord is Burdur Beige marble quarried in Spain and fabricated in China, with accents of Azul Macaubas marble quarried in Brazil and fabricated in China.
About the Cleveland temple
The Cleveland temple was announced April 3, 2022, by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson. It was one of 17 temple locations he identified at the conference, totaling 100 temples announced by the Church President through that time. It’s currently planned to be the Church’s 221st operating house of the Lord.
On June 1, 2024, ground was broken for the Cleveland temple. Elder Vaiangina Sikahema — a General Authority Seventy and then first counselor in the Church’s North America Northeast Area presidency — presided over the ceremony.
“So many of you are pioneers in this area and have made this day possible, and we thank you,” said Elder Sikahema to community leaders and Church members at the groundbreaking.
Ohio has one operating temple, the Columbus Ohio Temple, dedicated in 1999 by then-Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. It was later rededicated in 2023 by President M. Russell Ballard, then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In addition to the soon-to-be-dedicated Cleveland temple, a third house of the Lord was announced for Cincinnati in 2024 by President Nelson.
The Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation, is no longer in operation as an active temple where ordinances are performed and covenants made. That historic house of the Lord is located about 21 miles northeast of the Cleveland temple.
The Church in Ohio
The Midwestern U.S. state holds a robust place in the pioneer history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Missionary work began in Ohio in October 1830, just six months after the restored Church was established.
In December 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation guiding the Church to gather in Ohio (see Doctrine and Covenants 37), which the section heading describes as “the first commandment concerning a gathering in this dispensation.”
Kirtland, Ohio, served as Church headquarters from 1831 to 1838. The first stake of the Church was created there in 1834. Sixty-five of the revelations published in the Doctrine and Covenants were received in the state.
Ohio saw great strides in structuring the Church. The First Presidency was organized in Kirtland in March 1832, followed by the Kirtland High Council in February 1834, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in February 1835, and the First Council of the Seventy also in February 1835.
Construction began on the Kirtland Temple on June 5, 1833, and the completed structure was dedicated by the Prophet Joseph Smith on March 27, 1836. The dedicatory prayer is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 109.
After tensions rose in the community, Church members left Kirtland in 1838 to gather with other Saints in Missouri. Community of Christ preserved the Kirtland Temple, then stewardship was transferred to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in March 2024.
Today, Ohio is home to around 66,000 Latter-day Saints across more than 130 wards and branches.
Cleveland Ohio Temple
Address: 5997 Brecksville Road, Independence, Ohio 44131
Announced: April 3, 2022, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: June 1, 2024, presided over by Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, a General Authority Seventy
Public open house: June 18 through July 3, 2026, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: Aug. 16, 2026, by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 11.04 acres
Building size: 9,950 square feet
Building height: 100 feet (including the spire)
