After more than two years of extensive renovation, the Mormon temple in Idaho Falls will reopen starting this weekend for a public open house.
Church officials say more than 160,000 reservations had been made for the open house, which runs through Saturday, May 20, except for Sundays during that period.
Free reservations for tours of the temple, on the shores of the Snake River at 1000 Memorial Drive, can be made by visiting www.templeopenhouse.lds.org.
A cultural celebration of music and dance, featuring area youths, will be held Saturday, June 3. The temple will be formally rededicated Sunday, June 4, in three sessions.
"The Idaho Falls Temple is this grand architectural statement about where the church wanted [to] be in its next hundred years, as much as the Salt Lake Temple is a statement about where it had been for the last hundred years," Emily Utt, historic sites curator for the Church History Department, said in a news release. "We wanted this temple to still feel like it had been built in the 1940s. We didn't want this to feel like a brand-new building."
Still, all of the structure's mechanical and electrical systems have been upgraded, even as architectural and design teams painstakingly identified and used materials in construction when the original temple was originally dedicated in 1945.
Inside, special care was taken to protect the temple's original murals, which also underwent restoration by a team of art conservators tasked with repairs and removal of 70 years of accumulated grime.
The Upper Snake River Valley's first Mormon settlers arrived with the railroad in 1879.
The Idaho Falls Temple was the first one built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Gem State. At the time, it was the eighth operating temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which now has 156 temples worldwide.
The Idaho Falls Temple also is one of four currently operating in the state; a fifth temple is to be dedicated in Meridian on Nov, 19, and the Utah-based faith recently announced plans for a sixth Idaho temple, which will rise in Pocatello.
Other existing Idaho temples are in Twin Falls, Boise and Rexburg.
Mormons view temples as Houses of God, reserved for eternal marriage and other ordinances. Once formally dedicated, only members in good standing may enter.
Bob Mims
photo courtesy LDS church The Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple was the first temple built in Idaho and is located on the picturesque banks of the Snake River on 1000 Memorial Drive. President George Albert Smith announced plans to build the temple on March 3, 1937, and it was subsequently dedicated on September 23, 1945
photo courtesy LDS Church The First Presidency has announced open house and rededication dates for the newly renovated Idaho Falls Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The public is invited to visit the temple during an open house from Saturday, April 22, through Saturday, May 20, 2017.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple near the banks of the Snake River.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Sealing room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Instruction room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Stained glass in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The board of temple architects.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Construction workers at the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church President David O. McKay inspects the baptismal font oxen.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Reception desk where Latter-day Saints enter the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Original construction of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Instruction room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Original construction site of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The garden room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. This room serves to teach Latter-day Saints about the beginning of life with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Part of the grand staircase in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple and a painting of Jesus Christ instructing His disciples.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Mural in the garden room of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The garden room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. This room serves to teach Latter-day Saints about the beginning of life with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple near the banks of the Snake River.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The creation room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. Latter-day Saints are taught about the creation of the world in this room.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple near the banks of the Snake River.
Photo courtesy LDS Church A chandelier in the celestial room of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The celestial room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Brides have a room in which they get ready for their important event and photos afterwards.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Mural in the celestial room of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Detail on the mirrors in the bride's room of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The baptistry in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The bride's room in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church The baptistry in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
Photo courtesy LDS Church Oxen in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple baptistry.
