More than five years after it was announced, Tooele’s Latter-day Saint temple — one that was relocated after running into some community pushback — is opening to the public this week.
The Deseret Peak Temple will welcome daily tours from Sept. 26 through Oct. 19, excluding Sundays and Saturday, Oct. 5. It is scheduled to be dedicated Nov. 10, becoming the 200th operating temple worldwide belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the 21st in Utah.
As with most of the global faith’s temples, this three-story, 72,000-square-foot building (with a central spire rising nearly 183 feet) draws its design inspiration from the surrounding landscape. Its walls contain limestone extracted from the Tooele Valley, while imagery of native grasses and flowers adorn everything from rugs to lacelike stained glass.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Glass features and other decorative elements found throughout the Deseret Peak Temple contain representations of lupine, cliff rose and grasses native to the region.
Originally announced as the Tooele Valley Temple and slated for nearby Erda, the structure was renamed in 2021 after the faith’s governing First Presidency made the nearly unprecedented decision to relocate the structure (then paired with a high-density housing project) to Tooele City in response to local opposition.
The church has yet to blink, however, on a handful of other planned temples, from Las Vegas to suburban Dallas, where residents are balking at, among other complaints, the height and size of the proposed buildings.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) In the baptistry of the Deseret Peak Temple, patrons are baptized on behalf of their deceased ancestors, who can choose whether to accept this baptism.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) In this instruction room in the Deseret Peak Temple, patrons review the the creation story and make covenants to serve God, the church and others.
The Deseret Peak Temple joins the following list of the state’s operating Latter-day Saint temples: Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River (South Jordan), Layton, Logan, Manti (rededicated in April), Monticello, Mount Timpanogos (American Fork), Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain (South Jordan), Orem, Payson, Provo City Center (converted from the former Provo Tabernacle), Red Cliffs (St. George — dedicated in March); Saratoga Springs, St. George (rededicated last year), Taylorsville and Vernal.
The faith’s most-celebrated temple, the iconic six-spired Salt Lake Temple, in the heart of Utah’s capital, is undergoing a seismic upgrade and extensive renovation. This includes the removal of historic murals and other pioneer-era elements — much to the ire of preservationists. It is expected to reopen in 2026, at which point it will be able to accommodate more patrons, with 100,000 square feet of additional space.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The view as one enters the Celestial Room in the Deseret Peak Utah Temple, an area meant to symbolize heaven.
The Space Age Provo Temple, meanwhile, is being overhauled, a move that also drew the ire of those who lamented the loss of the structure’s original design. It will be renamed the Provo Rock Canyon Temple.
Seven more Utah temples — Ephraim, Heber Valley, Lehi, Lindon, Smithfield, Syracuse and West Jordan — are either under construction or in planning stages.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Deseret Peak Temple's main staircase.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The brides' room of the Deseret Peak Temple. No ordinances are performed in this room; it is a space for women to prepare for their temple sealing.
When all are completed, the Beehive State will be home to 30 temples of Utah’s predominant faith.
For Latter-day Saints, temples represent a hallowed sphere beyond that of meetinghouses. They are the only place faithful members can perform the rituals required to enter God’s presence, including the sealing of married couples for eternity.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A waiting room inside the Deseret Peak temple.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) In this and other sealing rooms found in the Deseret Peak Temple, couples kneel at an altar and promise to be faithful to each other and God. Their marriage is sealed for eternity. Children can also be sealed to their parents in rooms like this one.
