Ground was broken Saturday for what will be a third Latter-day Saint temple in Davis County.
General authority Seventy Kevin R. Duncan presided and offered a dedicatory prayer at a ceremony for the Syracuse Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday morning.
“I am very familiar with these fields where we stand, where we are gathered today. From this temple site, I can see the barn roof of my childhood home,” said Duncan, according to a church news release. “Some of you are new to this area, but this is your home, too. Whether you are a longtime resident, or a ‘new pioneer,’ this temple will be your temple.”
The three-story, 89,000-square-foot structure will be located at 2500 W. 1025 South in Syracuse, about 30 miles from Salt Lake City.
It will be the county’s third Latter-day Saint temple, joining the one in operation in Bountiful and another under construction in Layton.
Earlier in the week, the church announced that the Smithfield Temple, farther north in Cache County, will be built on a 13.3-acre site at the intersection of 800 West and 100 North. Plans call for a three-story temple of about 81,000 square feet. An exterior rendering has not been released.
There have been a number of groundbreaking ceremonies for new temples in Utah over the past year, including in May for the Deseret Peak Temple in Tooele and on Halloween for the new Taylorsville Temple. Work began on the Red Cliffs Temple in St. George in November.
Utah has 15 operating Latter-day Saint temples — though at reduced capacity due to the coronavirus — with two pioneer-era structures (Salt Lake and St. George) undergoing renovation. Another 10 are in the works.
