Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Open House and Dedication

The dates for the open house and dedication of the Grand Junction Colorado Temple have been announced. A media day will be held on Monday, September 8, followed by two days of tours for invited guests. Tours for the public will be offered from Thursday, September 11, through Saturday, September 27, excluding Sundays. The temple will be dedicated by President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, October 19, 2025. The dedicatory session will be broadcast to all units in the temple district.¹

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple on Saturday, April 16, 2022. The 29,000-square-foot temple will be constructed on a 6.94-acre site at the intersection of Horizon Drive and North 12th Street. Elder Wong, who serves as first counselor in the North America Central Area presidency, said in his dedicatory prayer: "Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We are grateful for the Atonement of Thy Son Jesus Christ and the blessing of the promised Resurrection. As we dedicate this holy ground, we pray that we can maintain this positive spiritual momentum in our lives."²

Temple Rendering

On September 17, 2021, the official exterior rendering was released for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple.

Temple Site

On June 23, 2021, the location of the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was announced as a beautiful 6.94-acre site, located at the intersection of Horizon Drive and North 12th Street, just a mile from an Interstate 70 interchange. The single-story temple will be approximately 25,000 square feet.³

Temple Announcement

On April 4, 2021, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Grand Junction Colorado Temple at the 191st Annual General Conference. Colorado, in the Intermountain West of the United States, is home to over 150,000 Latter-day Saints and around 310 congregations. The first mission of the Church in Colorado was established in 1896. The first official congregation was formed only a year later, in January 1897. The Grand Junction Colorado Temple will be the third for the state. Temples in operation in Colorado are the Denver Colorado Temple and the Fort Collins Colorado Temple.⁴

Temple Facts

The Grand Junction Colorado Temple will be the third temple built in Colorado, following the Denver Colorado Temple (1986) and Fort Collins Colorado Temple (2016).

Temple Design

The Grand Junction Colorado Temple incorporates elements that celebrate western Colorado’s natural environment, with special emphasis on the claret cup cactus, recognized as the state’s official cactus. Decorative paint in the building also references Indian paintbrush, cliffrose blossoms and peach blossoms, uniting the desert landscape motifs with the temple’s spiritual significance.

Exterior

The temple’s steel and concrete structure is clad in Portuguese Pedras Salgadas granite, providing a subtle warmth against the surrounding high-desert vistas. This design approach reinforces the connection to Grand Junction’s rugged terrain and the confluence of two major rivers that shape the region. Rising to a height of 118 feet, 8 inches, the temple is enclosed by an Ameristar Montage Plus Majestic fence in a bronze finish.

Interior

The temple features custom-designed carpets throughout, fabricated and installed by Bentley Mills of City of Industry, California. These carpets incorporate the warm colors and organic patterns inspired by the regional landscape. Custom nylon area rugs fabricated by Rugs International of Guangdong, China, complement the overall design approach while providing visual warmth and texture in select areas.

The interior reflects the area’s palette of crimson, amber, green and pale pink, drawn from the claret cup cactus and other local flora. Mineo marble serves as the primary flooring stone, accented by New Saffron, Red Jasper, Verde Laguna and Quetzal Green marbles. These stones bring depth and color variations reminiscent of southwestern canyon landscapes. The stonework was fabricated and installed by Superior Tile & Marble of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Solid wood doors throughout the temple use hardware featuring a peach blossom design. The hardware has an antique brass finish in most areas, with a refined satin brass finish in the sealing and celestial rooms. The exterior bronze doors were fabricated by Ellison Bronze of Falconer, New York, and installed by MTH Industries of Hillside, Illinois. The interior doors were manufactured by Masonite of Tampa, Florida, and installed by Crown Custom of Phoenix, Arizona. The hardware was fabricated by ASSA ABLOY’s Sargent of New Haven, Connecticut.

Crystal chandeliers and fixtures with antique brass finishes illuminate the bride’s room, celestial room and sealing rooms, creating an atmosphere of sacred elegance. The lighting was fabricated by HB Lighting of Bronx, New York; Schonbek of Plattsburgh, New York; and St. Louis Antique Lighting Company of St. Louis, Missouri. It was installed by CR Lighting & Electric of Layton, Utah, with each piece selected to enhance the temple’s design motifs.

Millwork throughout the temple is crafted from African sapele hardwood by Crown Custom Millwork of Phoenix, Arizona. The architectural team included a peach blossom design as a subtle nod to the region’s orchards.

The baptismal font railing is designed with an intertwining geometric motif reminiscent of the two rivers that join at Grand Junction, with the claret cup blossom added at the top of the railing in specific areas. This distinctive feature was fabricated and installed by Sheet Metal Specialties of West Valley City, Utah.

The temple’s art glass, fabricated by Holdman Studios in Lehi, Utah, combines the claret cup’s crimson color with shades of amber, green and pale pink. This cohesive design thread resonates throughout the temple, drawing attention to local botanical features in an elevated, sacred context.

The temple’s artwork includes pieces by Ken Stockton, such as “Joy in the Journey” and “Rocks and Rills,” as well as “Sunset at San Ysidro” by Wilson Hurley. These landscapes capture the dramatic vistas of the American West, mirroring the beauty and grandeur of Colorado’s high desert.