POCATELLO, Idaho, Nov. 7. 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Pocatello Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated in a weekend ceremony ending Sunday.
The 71,000-square-foot temple sits on the eastern foothills of Pocatello.
President M. Russell Ballard, acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided over the three sessions on Sunday.
“A temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place where sacred covenants and ordinances can be performed,” President Ballard said, according to an LDS Church account of events. “We’re building temples at a faster rate than ever before in the history of the Church.”
On a chilly Sunday morning, President Ballard conducted the cornerstone ceremony, which symbolizes the completion of the temple. He was joined by several Church officials and their wives.
More than 250,000 people of many faiths attended the public open house for the temple in September and October.
Elder Andersen has ties to the Pocatello area. He spent much of his youth in the nearby town of Tyhee and attended schools in Pocatello.
“I had a beautiful childhood here from the time I was just about 4 or 5 until the time I left on my mission and came back, so it has great memories for me,” said Elder Andersen, who brought family members with him to see some of the places where he grew up. “I’m so happy to see it is a magnificent temple on the hill. It’s no small temple. And you can see it from almost everywhere in the valley.”
On Saturday, about 6,000 young men and young women and local Church leaders attended a devotional at a meetinghouse in Pocatello. It was also broadcast to four other chapels in the Pocatello Idaho Temple District.
Ballard expressed his confidence in the youth who attended the devotional.
“I have such a great sense of confidence and peace as I look at your faces and know that the Church will be in good hands.”
The Pocatello Idaho Temple is the sixth temple in Idaho and the 170th operating temple in the Church. The Gem State’s other temples are in Boise, Idaho Falls, Meridian, Rexburg and Twin Falls. Two other temples have been announced in Burley and Rexburg North. More than 460,000 Latter-day Saints reside in Idaho.
The groundbreaking for the Pocatello Idaho Temple was held in the spring of 2019. The temple was announced in April 2017 by Church President Thomas S. Monson.
