Deseret Peak Utah Temple open house begins, marking Church of Jesus Christ’s 200th temple

TOOELE — The stained glass of the new Deseret Peak Utah Temple, decorated with the local grasses, lupine and desert rose, brings color to both the inside and outside of the newly constructed building.

Elder Steven R. Bangerter of the Seventy, who works with the temple department, said these details, also found throughout the building’s woodwork, paint, and carpeting, are designed to point upwards to the Savior and to God, the creator.

He said the symbolism is everywhere in the temple.

On Monday, the first day of the open house for the temple in Tooele, members of the media and other community leaders were brought through the temple. Beginning on Thursday, members of the community will have also the opportunity to walk through.

When it is dedicated on Nov. 10, the temple will be the 200th operating temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The new Deseret Peak Utah Temple in Tooele is pictured on Monday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Sarah Pankratz, a young single adult who has lived in Tooele her whole life, said the new temple is “immensely beautiful. ” She loves the colors throughout the temple and how the local mountains and flowers are depicted in the artwork.

Pankratz has been volunteering as a temple worker at the Jordan River Temple to prepare to be a temple worker in the new temple. She fits it into her schedule while working full time and said many others in her situation are making the same choice to volunteer weekly at the temple, despite busy schedules with school and work.

“When you’re in the temple, there’s this peace you feel, this nice spirit; and when you leave, it lingers with you,” Pankratz said.

Read the full story at KSL.com

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