Ground broken in Tooele for the Deseret Peak Temple

TOOELE, Utah — A notably larger group of people attended the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday for the Deseret Peak Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as the ground has been broken for other temples in Utah and across the globe, only a handful of people were able to attend.

But on Saturday a few hundred Latter-day Saint leaders and invited guests attended the groundbreaking, according to a statement from church officials.

Elder Brook P. Hales of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the ceremony and offered the dedicatory prayer.

“Please bless all that will live in this temple district that they will feel the godly power of this sacred edifice,” he said in the prayer.

Deseret Peak Temple location

The Deseret Peak Temple will be located southwest of Salt Lake City. It is the first temple in Tooele County, which includes the cities of Tooele, Stansbury Park, Grantsville, and Erda.

The Deseret Peak Temple will be a three-story structure that encompasses approximately 70,000 square feet.

Along with the temple, a 20,000 square-foot meetinghouse will also be built on the site at 2400 North 400 West.

Tooele resident and elementary school teacher Jenine Gillie served on the groundbreaking committee and attended the event with her husband. “We came [through] the back roads. It took us less than seven minutes to get here. I was just so excited. I can come anytime I want to and do the work, and it’s just going to be wonderful.”

The Deseret Peak Utah Temple was announced in April 2019 by Church President Russell M. Nelson.

Utah has 27 temples announced, under construction, under renovation, or in operation. In addition to the temple in Tooele, temples have been announced or are under construction in Ephraim, Layton, Lindon, Orem, St. George (Red Cliffs), Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, Syracuse, and Taylorsville.

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