CODY, Wyo. — The land sat empty for decades.
Glenn Nielson, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cody, Wyoming, received the land as a gift from his grandparents but never used it.
It was “a rocky thing” he watered despite the soil not growing much. Occasionally he kept cows and horses there, or was approached by potential buyers. He even thought he might build a house on it someday. But none of those plans ever solidified, and so the land sat empty, year after year.
Then, in 2021, Church representatives approached Nielson about the plot. They were exploring potential sites for the Cody Wyoming Temple, and would his land be available for consideration?
Nielson, who belongs to the Cody 2nd Ward of the Cody Wyoming Stake, recalled the “overwhelming” spiritual impression he instantly received. Not only was the land available, he told the representatives, but nothing would be a greater fulfillment of his faithful grandparents’ desire to support the Church. If the Church wanted the land, Nielson would donate it.
The decision wasn’t made immediately — Church representatives were evaluating multiple sites — but eventually, Nielson and his wife, Erica, received the happy news: the Cody Wyoming Temple would be built on their long-empty land.
The Nielsons became emotional as they recounted the circumstances that brought the land into their possession and subsequently kept it empty until the Lord needed it — circumstances that were sometimes difficult, but in hindsight feel miraculous.
For instance, Glenn Nielson said his grandparents did well in the gas and oil business. In addition to supporting the Church’s philanthropic pursuits, they enjoyed giving each of their grandchildren a small inheritance as they came of age.
But by the time Glenn Nielson was a young man, his grandparents’ financial situation had changed and they could no longer give monetary gifts. In lieu of their traditional inheritance, then, Nielson’s grandparents gave him land.
Through the successes and failures of generations, “we have a testimony that the Lord’s hand was in preserving that property,” Glenn Nielson said.
Now, on the weekend of the Cody Wyoming Temple’s dedication, the Nielsons can see the new house of the Lord through their kitchen window.
For Erica Nielson, “it’s a testimony that the Lord does hear our prayers and He answers in His time. … The Lord is ready and willing to offer those ordinances closer to where we are.”
Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Cody Wyoming Temple on Sunday, Oct. 25. The 10 a.m. dedication will be broadcast to congregations throughout the temple district and be rebroadcast at 2 p.m. the same day. This will be Elder Gilbert’s first temple dedication since becoming an Apostle in February 2026.
The Cody Wyoming Temple was announced by late Church President Russell M. Nelson on Oct. 3, 2021. It was one of 13 temples he announced during October 2021 general conference.
On Sept. 27, 2024, ground was broken for the temple at its 4.7-acre site. Elder Steven R. Bangerter — a General Authority Seventy and then the first counselor in the Church’s North America Central Area presidency — presided over the ceremony. The temple’s open house was Aug. 27 through Sept. 12, 2026.
The Cody Wyoming Temple will be the state’s third house of the Lord. It follows the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2016, and the Casper Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2024.
Previously, the closest house of the Lord was the Billings Montana Temple, an approximately two-hour drive from Cody.
Becoming peacemakers
The road to building a temple in Cody wasn’t always easy. Some local residents opposed the temple’s location with concerns about views, traffic, steeple height and lighting, Deseret News reported.
But throughout these challenges, the Lord refined His people. Glenn Nielson called it a “perfecting process,” one that taught him to calmly share his beliefs instead of getting defensive.
Latter-day Saints often have strong, sacred feelings about the temple, he continued, and naturally want to stand up for the Lord’s cause. Balancing that instinct with President Dallin H. Oaks’ charge to become peacemakers has, at times, created a dilemma for Church members in Cody — “How do you act like a peacemaker but still support what you know is a good thing?”
Navigating that question is an ongoing process for Nielson and other local Latter-day Saints. In the meantime, Nielson said he’s learned that the Lord will do His work. Over and over, he said, Church members in Cody have seen miracles, such as community members who once opposed the temple attending the open house multiple times, or elected officials with reservations ultimately voting in support of the temple.
The temple is more than a building to Cody, Nielson continued; it’s a symbol of religious freedom for all people.
“I think the whole process has taught and brought a community together in a way that they didn’t know they needed to be brought together,” he said.
Nielson isn’t the only Latter-day Saint in Cody who’s felt stretched and refined during this time. Luke Hopkin, a member of the Cody 3rd Ward in the Cody Wyoming Stake, said working with a community that didn’t always support the temple taught him that “the Lord makes things happen, even when they seem like a long shot.”
Some city meetings were long and difficult, Hopkin continued. People sometimes spread misunderstandings or misinformation. But with continued communication and connection, and particularly through the temple’s open house, minds began to change. Hopkin saw it firsthand as he accompanied several concerned community members to the open house; afterward, every one of them said they felt better about the temple, he said, and some even came back for more tours.
“The miracle that I’ve seen has been the change in perception and attitude,” Hopkin said.
Cody Wyoming Stake President Andrew Jacobsen added that “kindness is a pretty good remedy to a lot of things.” He knows of a senior missionary, for instance, who offered cookies and conversation to a neighbor who had previously opposed the temple’s construction. That neighbor subsequently expressed how much she had come to enjoy the view of the temple from her home.
President Jacobsen said he also knows of a woman who, though she isn’t a Latter-day Saint, visits the Billings Montana Temple grounds to feel peace about her son’s death. She’s now anticipating regular visits to the much-closer Cody temple grounds.
“I think a lot of our nonmember neighbors are looking for that type of experience as well,” President Jacobsen said.
