EPHRAIM, Utah — Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Ephraim Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, Oct. 11.
“This is sacred ground,” he said. “The community of Ephraim and those in this temple district will never be the same because of this holy house of God.”
This is the Church’s 223rd dedicated temple, with the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple — also dedicated Sunday — becoming the 224th.
The first Latter-day Saints entered the greater Sanpete Valley, where Ephraim is located, in the fall of 1849. That same year, missionaries in Denmark taught and baptized Elder Rasband’s great-great grandparents, who faithfully left their prosperous family farm in 1850 for “the promise of temple ordinances” and settled in Ephraim. His great-grandfather worked on the building of the Manti Utah Temple, just seven miles south of Ephraim.
“Because of their faith in the Savior and His words, ‘I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, there ye may be also,’ their lives were forever blessed,” Elder Rasband said, referencing Jesus Christ’s words to His apostles in John 14:2–3. “He was speaking of the eternities that day, but that promise also has meaning right now, for He has prepared this place, this temple, for us today.”
Sister Rasband said she also marveled at the faith and dedication of early Latter-day Saint pioneers who laid the groundwork of temple building, including the Salt Lake, Manti and St. George temples.
“What a gift of love that we now get to enjoy,” she said.
Elder Rasband was accompanied at Sunday’s dedication by his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband; Elder K. Brett Nattress, General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Shawna Nattress, Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Nathalie Mutombo; Elder Thabo Lebethoa, General Authority Seventy and member of the Utah Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Andronica Lebethoa; and Bishop L. Todd Budge, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and his wife, Sister Lori Budge.
Elder Rasband said temple work is all about the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. Even the name of the city Ephraim harks back to Ephraim, the son of Joseph in the Old Testament, and the tribe of Ephraim. Those of this lineage have the primary responsibility and privilege of gathering scattered Israel in the latter days.
“This divine reunion requires temple ordinances and covenants worthy of the Ephraim ancestry,” Elder Rasband said.
He also said the many students at nearby Snow College will have the opportunity to be a part of the gathering of Israel as they serve missions and serve in the temple.
“I do not know how it could be any more important,” he said in an interview in advance of the dedication. “We gather Israel on both sides of the veil. We gather them on the other side through the work we do in the temple. And we gather them on this side of the veil by missionary work. And that’s what role they are going to have, let alone getting married, having children, having families.”
Blessings will pour down from heaven from the making and keeping of sanctifying ordinances and covenants in the temple, Elder Rasband said.
“In the temple we become more Christlike, more kind, forgiving, repentant, patient and holy,” he said. “In the temple we come to understand and draw upon the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we participate in the gathering of God’s children and we, most importantly, center our worship on our Father in Heaven and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.”
A valley filled with pioneer heritage
The late Church President Russell M. Nelson announced the Ephraim temple May 1, 2021, in a prerecorded video that was played at a press conference inside the Manti Tabernacle. This was the only house of the Lord that President Nelson announced outside of general conference.
He later recounted that shortly after the April 2021 general conference, he “received very clear instruction” from the Lord that a new temple should be built in Ephraim.
President Nelson also had a family connection to Ephraim — his mother was born just a street away from where the temple now stands and all his grandparents lived here. Sister Wendy Nelson, President Nelson’s wife, attended Sunday’s dedication.
Ephraim is about 120 miles (193 km) south of Salt Lake City.
Still, for many who live in the Sanpete Valley, the announcement of the Ephraim temple came as a surprise, given the close proximity of the temple in Manti.
Don Olson, from the Ephraim 4th Ward in the Ephraim Utah Stake, had great-grandparents who settled in the valley after joining the Church in Denmark. Now, he said it’s unbelievable to him to have two temples so close.
“We’ve lived in the shadows of the Manti temple all our lives and have been so blessed to have it there,” he said. “Our valley is very blessed to have two temples so close together.”
Mount Pleasant Utah Stake President Benjamin Robinson said he thinks the Lord has blessed them with these two temples because of the desire members have to be in the temple.
“And I hope that our desire to be in the temple will increase exponentially having both temples here, and a real desire to fill both of the temples to capacity and keep them busy,” he said.
Kaylin Robinson, Benjamin Robinson’s wife, said she helped with the open house and witnessed people come through the temple and experience the peace of the Lord’s house.
“Even though the temple wasn’t dedicated at that time, they could still feel the spirit of the temple, and they could still feel that peace that comes,” she said. “My hope is that those who were able to go through the open house can somehow seek and gain that desire of their hearts to feel that peacefulness more in their lives.”
From the ground up
Val and Linda Hill served as chairs of the temple open house committee, and before the temple doors ever opened they watched over the temple site as special project missionaries.
Their mission involved overseeing the construction site and workers, keeping a written history of the process and operating a welcome center for visitors to learn about the temple. Val Hill described their role as “treating the construction site as an actual temple.”
“To share and testify of Jesus Christ on a daily basis was a great opportunity for me,” he said.
Each week during the safety meeting for construction workers on site, the Hills would share a spiritual thought and prayer. Val Hill said as construction on the temple wrapped up, one worker approached him and told him how he would miss hearing the Hills’ testimonies and prayers. The man is a member of the Church who hadn’t been participating in it, but he told Val Hill he thought he should probably return.
“Being able to build faith in Jesus Christ in someone who perhaps set that aside as a priority in their life has become a very heartwarming thing to me,” Val Hill said. “To know that Jesus Christ is for all of us, that He even notices the ones that have chosen to step aside, and He can touch their hearts through the beautiful temple.”
Linda Hill said experiencing the temple’s construction helped solidify her understanding of how temples are an essential part of the gathering of Israel.
“I know that God is aware of me,” she said. “He has answered my prayers here. He has helped me to know that what we do in temples matters.”
An opportunity for students
During media day tours at the start of the temple’s public open house in September, Elder Nattress said students receiving their higher education at Snow College will receive an even higher education in “a higher and holier place” in the temple.
“They’ll learn about the Savior,” he said. “They’ll learn about the great plan of happiness, that they’re sons and daughters of God, and it will establish a foundation for their lives.”
Katelyn Perry, who attends Snow College, said she is looking forward to the opportunity to step away from school to feel peace within the temple.
“It is my favorite place to be,” she said. “To be calm and to just get away from the world and know that God is there.”
Fellow student, Beau Jacobson, said he’s excited to serve the Lord in the temple.
“We get to connect with those on the other side of the veil, we get to help them with their work as well,” he said. “I just can’t imagine the joy that they have knowing that they can accept those ordinances and be closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”
Jacobson said he’s hopeful the temple being nearby will also open a lot of doors for many students to learn about the gospel.
“I had the opportunity to take a couple of my friends to the open house,” he said. “And it was just cool to see that because of the temple being here, there’s been a lot of questions or excitement or things from other people in learning more because of the temple.”
The Church’s Ephraim Institute of Religion sits on the other side of campus. Larren LaFevre, the Ephraim Institute director, said a lot of the students are living away from home for the first time in their lives and experiencing homesickness.
“And having a temple so close will help alleviate that,” he said. “Now they have someplace where they can go and they can feel that heavenly connection to help bridge some of that homesickness they experience.”
The best attended class at the institute the past two years is called “Connecting with Christ through the temple.” LaFevre said he knows that’s because students want to understand and be prepared for the covenants and ordinances of the temple. And he said he hopes they will take advantage of having a temple within walking distance.
“We have a place where we can get away from the stresses of life,” he said. “A place where we can go and feel Heavenly Father’s love and the Savior’s grace and be uplifted and strengthened.”
The Church in Utah
The Beehive State currently has 32 temples operating, under construction, announced or undergoing renovation.
Twenty-five temples have been dedicated in Utah: Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Jordan River, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo Rock Canyon, Red Cliffs, Salt Lake, Saratoga Springs, St. George, Syracuse, Taylorsville and Vernal.
Two of those temples are undergoing extensive renovations and reconstruction: the Salt Lake Temple, closed Dec. 29, 2019, and the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple, closed Feb. 24, 2024.
Two temples are still in their construction phase in Utah: the Smithfield temple, since June 2022, and the Heber Valley temple, since October 2022.
Four temples are in the planning and design stages — in West Jordan (announced 2024), Lehi (2024), Price (2024) and Spanish Fork (2025).
Ephraim Utah Temple
Address: 200 N. 400 E., Ephraim, Utah 84627
Announced: May 1, 2021, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Aug. 27, 2022, presided over by President Nelson, Church President
Public open house: Sept. 2-19, 2026, excluding Sundays
Dedicated: Oct. 11, 2026, by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 9.2 acres
Building size: 41,680 square feet
Building height: 156.67 feet (including the spire)
