New Latter-day Saint temple dedicated in Layton on Sunday
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- Latter-day Saints make their way into the Layton Utah Temple prior to its dedication by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
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- Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, greet members after the dedication of the Layton Utah Temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
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- Latter-day Saints make their way into the Layton Utah Temple prior to its dedication Sunday, June 16, 2024.
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- From left, Elder Brian K. Taylor, General Authority seventy and second counselor in the Utah Area Presidency, and his wife, Jill; Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Susan; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, General Authority seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Nancy, pose in front of the Layton Utah Temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
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- Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Susan, walk on the grounds of the Layton Utah Temple on the day of its dedication Sunday, June 16, 2024.
LAYTON — The 22nd of what is currently slated to be 30 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state of Utah was dedicated Sunday.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was on hand to perform the dedication of the temple, located at 1400 Oak Hills Drive in Layton.
According to a news release from the church, Bednar encouraged members to refer to the new temple as a “house of the Lord” in order to better focus the activities that will occur there.
“We do not come to the house of the Lord simply to enjoy the beauty of the structure. We come here to learn about the Father’s plan, the savior’s atonement and to establish and strengthen a covenant connection with the Father and the Son,” he said.
Bednar was joined at the dedication by his wife, Susan. Also attending were Elder Brian K. Taylor, General Authority seventy and second counselor in the Utah Area Presidency, and his wife, Jill; as well as Elder Kevin R. Duncan, General Authority seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Nancy.
The three-story, 93,539-square-foot temple was first announced in 2018 during the church’s 188th annual general conference by President Russell M. Nelson. In April, Duncan told the Standard-Examiner that construction was delayed due to the pandemic.
“Just as we were getting started, COVID came, so it caused a little bit of a slowdown in construction because of supply chain issues. But we continued to work all the way through that and we’re so pleased that it’s finally ready to go,” he said.
The Layton temple will provide area church members who previously had to travel great distances a better opportunity to do their temple work, according to Duncan.
“All of these members were going to Bountiful, which was very crowded all the time,” he said in April. “This temple will relieve a lot of that crowdedness, and also puts a temple closer to the youth who will serve in the temple as well.”
Said Nelson when the temple was announced more than six years ago: “We want to bring temples closer to the expanding membership of the church.” Aside from Bountiful, and now Layton, the only other operating temple in Weber or Davis counties is in Ogden. Another temple currently is under construction in Syracuse at 1025 S. 2500 West. Per the church’s temple construction status website, the building is expected to be completed in early to mid-2025.
Layton’s temple was one of two that were dedicated Sunday. Three hours earlier, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the church’s Salta Argentina Temple.