MONTPELIER, Idaho — In a town of fewer than 3,000 residents, what does it look like to think about and appreciate the pioneers who settled there more than 160 years ago? For many in Montpelier, Idaho, it looks like both a celebration and reverence as a temple nears its dedication.
“This region is rich in its pioneer heritage, and we pay homage to that heritage today and remember those who have gone before as we celebrate the opening of this, the house of the Lord, in Montpelier,” said Elder Mark D. Eddy, General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Church’s Temple Department.
Elder Eddy said the temple will serve 15,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it is dedicated on Oct. 18, 2026.
When ground was broken for the Montpelier Idaho Temple in June 2023, Elder Ryan K. Olsen, General Authority Seventy, said, “We are mindful of those who have gone before.”
A story from Elder Karl D. Hirst, General Authority Seventy, reflects that mindfulness.
For him, being in Montpelier when the city was founded might have sounded more familiar than it does today. Most of the city’s first immigrants came from his native England. One of them — Ann Elizabeth Walmsley Palmer — was baptized just miles from where Elder Hirst was baptized in England.
“Ann is significant to me because she is celebrated as being the first female convert to the Church in Europe, and she was baptized almost 190 years ago,” he said.
Walmsley didn’t live long enough to see the construction of the Montpelier Stake Tabernacle more than 25 years after her death. It was in that tabernacle that Elder Hirst shared her story. With the opening of a new temple in the city, her descendants will have the opportunity to do work in the temple for additional family members and continue to honor her legacy of faith.
“For me, and for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in general, this is a symbol of one of the many ways in which Heavenly Father lovingly and carefully offers connection and unity to His children across geography and across generations,” Elder Hirst said.
Standing outside the new temple, Elder Eddy also spoke of that increase in a feeling of connection.
“There’s a great sense of family, of gathering, of connection, of belonging that happens,” he said. “That’s what I hope every individual feels — seen, loved, a sense of that belonging, a sense of that connection.”
Familiar feelings in the temple
Jean Thomas was born in and currently lives an hour away in Malad, Idaho. After graduating from high school in Malad, Thomas left the city for three decades and enjoyed a career as a college professor.
She recalled that a local company used to distribute calendars each year with photos of the Church’s 12 temples, one on each month. More than 40 years later, she says she is happy that everywhere she has lived has been blessed by having a temple built there.
“Every place I’ve been now has a temple. They didn’t when I was there. But they all — every place I’ve been now has a temple,” she said.
For Thomas, the meaning of having more than 200 temples across the globe is rooted in the Church’s veracity and in its future.
“The Church is true and it is growing, and there will be temples dotting the land,” she said.
Thomas toured the temple in Montpelier alongside Martine and Monroe Rigby, who live in northern Utah. Monroe Rigby, 17, splits time between living in Utah and Paris, France. Her father, Micah, grew up 30 miles north of Montpelier in Soda Springs, Idaho.
When traveling, Monroe and her family make time to visit and serve in temples.
“Whether it’s going to Brigham City, going to the Brigham City [Utah] Temple, going to this temple, to the temple in Paris or in Rome, there’s a very similar feeling to where, when you enter the temple, you feel like you’re at home. The feeling is the same,” she said.
Monroe said she sees other teenagers embracing faith in God and looking to Him for answers to life’s questions. She said she receives peace and answers to her own questions when she is in the temple.
“I think it’s beautiful that we have temples like these to remind us, to inspire us, to nurture us,” she said. “And in return, we love it and we love the gospel.”
Elder Eddy concluded by saying that the blessings of the temple shouldn’t be kept to oneself. They are to be shared.
“If you are anywhere close, you really need to see this temple. And not only for its beauties, but of course for another opportunity to feel connection. And please bring someone with you,” he said. “Come, come for what it does for you, but just make sure that you have the opportunity to share that with somebody else.”
