Lookback: Construction of the Las Vegas Mormon Temple — PHOTOS
October 13, 2022 - 6:30 am
The Las Vegas Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple opened in December 1989 after four years of construction.
The temple was first announced on April 7, 1984, and broke ground in November 1985 at the base of Frenchman Mountain. The temple was announced at the same time as four other temples worldwide located in San Diego, California; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Bogota, Colombia; and Portland, Oregon.
The temple is 80,350 square feet, and includes a baptistry, celestial room, six sealing rooms and four ordinance rooms. The golden Angel Moroni on top of the temple is 137 feet high surrounded by six gold-capped spires.
While the open house for the temple was not held until Nov. 13, 1989, when church members were allowed to tour the building a day earlier than the public, over 8,000 people showed up in a four-hour touring period. The temple was officially dedicated on Dec. 16, 1989.
The temple is visited primarily by church members in Southern Nevada, Arizona and California, according to the church’s news outlet.
A second temple in the Las Vegas Valley near Lone Mountain was announced during the church’s biannual General Conference this month, although groundbreaking and opening dates for the new temple have not yet been announced.
The temple will become the fourth LDS temple in Nevada.
The Review-Journal’s Rochelle Richards contributed to this story.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tmflane on Twitter.