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

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Ryan K. Olsen, General Authority Seventy, presided at the groundbreaking for the Montpelier Idaho Temple on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Speakers and a children's choir assembled from local congregations were featured on the program for the event, which had over 600 people in attendance on site. In his site dedicatory prayer, Elder Olsen said: "We ask a special blessing on those who have gathered this day that they and their families will be given understanding and peace with confidence in Thy plan."¹

Temple Rendering

On April 24, 2023, an official exterior rendering for the Montpelier Idaho Temple was released to the public.

Temple Site

On May 20, 2022, the site location for the Montpelier Idaho Temple was announced as a 2.6-acre parcel located on Washington Street between North 6th Street and North 5th Street. The Church acquired nine properties in this block east of the Montpelier Tabernacle (renovated in 2015) including the former City Hall building. The city fixture, which was built in the late 1910s at the same time as the tabernacle, was demolished in March 2021. The City also granted its interest in an alleyway to the Church, and several of the residences were demolished or relocated. The property lies south of the Bear Lake County Library and the John A. Bagley House—a Queen Anne-style Victorian known as the Purple Sage that was built in 1902 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Temple Announcement

On April 3, 2022, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Montpelier Idaho Temple at the April 2022 General Conference. Montpelier, Idaho, is a community of around 2,500 people located just north of Bear Lake along the southeastern Idaho border. Early Church pioneers settled in Idaho in 1855. Several Church presidents are natives of Idaho, including Presidents Harold B. Lee, Ezra Taft Benson, and Howard W. Hunter. Other temples in the state at the time of the announcement included the Twin Falls Idaho Temple, Boise Idaho Temple, Burley Idaho Temple, Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, Meridian Idaho Temple, Pocatello Idaho Temple, Rexburg Idaho Temple, and Teton River Idaho Temple.²

Temple Facts

The Montpelier Idaho Temple will be the eighth temple built in Idaho, following the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (1945), the Boise Idaho Temple (1984), the Rexburg Idaho Temple (2008), the Twin Falls Idaho Temple (2008), the Meridian Idaho Temple (2017), the Pocatello Idaho Temple (2021), and the Burley Idaho Temple (under construction).