20 little-known facts about the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple on the 20th anniversary of its dedication
The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was dedicated from Oct. 13–19, 1996.
As part of the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the Mount Timpanaogos Utah Temple, here are 20 little-known facts about this House of the Lord:
- The Mount Timpanogos Temple was the Church’s 49th operating temple.
- The Mount Timpanogos Temple was preceded by the Hong Kong China Temple and it was followed by the St. Louis Missouri Temple. There are currently 149 temples in operation in the world.
- The Mount Timpanogos Temple was the ninth temple in the state of Utah and the second built in Utah County. The first temple in Utah County, the Provo Utah Temple, was dedicated in 1972.
- Eight temples have been built, or announced, in Utah since the construction of the Mount Timpanogos Temple — Draper, Brigham City, Oquirrh Mountain, Payson, Vernal, Monticello, Provo City Center and Cedar City.
- The floor plan of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was adapted from the floor plan of the Bountiful Utah Temple, which was dedicated in 1995. While the two temples are nearly identical from the outside, the spire on each is distinctly different.
- The exterior finish of the Mount Timpanogos Temple features sierra white granite with art glass windows and bronze doors.
- Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on Oct. 9, 1993 and the six-week public open house was held from Aug. 6 through Sept. 21, 1996, which attracted 679,217 people. The temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley — who was then president of the Church — from Oct. 13-19, 1996.
- The total floor area of the Mount Timpanogos Temple is 107,240 feet. There are four ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms at the Mount Timpanogos Temple.
- About 12,000 attended the groundbreaking of the Mount Timpanogos Temple. During those services, the Church announced the location of the Madrid Spain Temple.
- The 13-foot-3-inch gold-leafed statue of the Angel Moroni was set atop the Mount Timpanogos Temple on July 17, 1995.
- An estimated crowd of 20,000 gathered to watch the event, jamming the surrounding streets. Once the statue was placed on top of the temple, many visitors applauded then spontaneously sang “The Spirit of God.”
- The 20-inch by 30-inch cornerstone box, placed in the cornerstone the day before the Mount Timpanogos Temple dedication, featured a recent edition of the standard works, two books authored by President Hinckley, photographs of general authorities and the local temple committee, temple brochures and programs and Church publications, and newspaper clippings about the temple. Also placed inside were samples of original wall coverings and of original wood moldings used in the temple.
- The dedication of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple lasted one week. It featured three sessions on Sunday and four on each of the following days for a total of 27 dedicatory sessions.
- More than 800 children’s choirs, from nearly every ward and branch in the temple district, sang near the front entrance to the temple at least once during the open house.
- The height of the Mount Timpanogos Temple is 190 feet.
- Among those who applied mortar to the temple’s cornerstone before the dedication were President Hinckley and his two counselors, President Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust; President Boyd K. Packer, then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; W. Eugene Hansen of the Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department; Robert J. Mathews, temple president; Stephen M. Studdert, vice chairman of the temple committee; and President Hinckley’s wife, Marjorie.
- A total of 11,617 Church members participated in the temple’s first dedicatory session. Of those, approximately 2,900 gathered in the temple.
- Other members watched in the first dedicatory session at the American Fork Tabernacle, 12 stake centers in Utah and Wasatch Counties, and the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
- An estimated 38,000 attended the three dedicatory sessions on the first day. President Hinckley presided over and spoke in 11 dedicatory sessions that week. President Monson and President Faust presided over eight dedicatory sessions. Fifty-two general authorities spoke during the sessions, as well as the temple presidency and matron.
- The first president of the Mount Timpanogos Temple was Robert J. Matthews (1996-99). He was followed by Dee F. Andersen (1999-2002); Rex D. Pinegar (2002-05); Lawrence S. Clarke (2005-08); L. Edward Brown (2008-11) and Noel B. Reynolds (2011-14) and Ralph W. Smith Jr. (2014-present).
I have served under every president, except the current one.
