President Eyring Dedicates Red Cliffs Utah Temple

President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Red Cliffs Utah Temple today, March 24, 2024, nearly four years after construction commenced for this sacred house of the Lord.

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“You will find a joy in your service here that is available in no other way,” President Eyring said in the temple’s first of two dedicatory sessions in St. George, Utah.

“My faith is strengthened whenever I come to this area,” President Eyring added. “This ground was made sacred to my family and to me by the faith of ancestors now in the spirit world. Their faith in God, in temples, and in prophets carried them through the difficult times that come into every life. My great-grandfather, Henry Eyring, was one of the pioneers of the St. George area. He served as a recorder in the St. George Utah Temple. I can only imagine his joy to know that there is now a second temple in St. George.”

Many Latter-day Saints have a deep connection to the St. George Utah Temple, which was recently rededicated and is 146 years old (the oldest operating temple in the Church). The Red Cliffs Utah Temple is the second temple in St. George.

President Eyring was accompanied by Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his wife Jennifer, Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Utah Area President, and his wife June, along with Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt of the Seventy and his wife, Alexis.

President Eyring said faith in Christ and family love are increased through temple attendance. “As you exercise faith in Jesus Christ and qualify to enter the temple, you will find your heart drawn out in love to the people around you and to your family."

In the dedicatory prayer, President Eyring blessed the Saints to feel more of God’s presence. “May [the temple] be ever sacred to those who enter it and to all who look upon it,” he prayed. “Bless them to feel Thy presence and a sense of hope and a desire to draw closer to Thee and to Thy Son.”

The Red Cliffs Utah Temple, first announced in October 2018, is one of 28 temples dedicated, under construction, or being renovated in Utah. The location was announced in 2019. In April 2020, an official rendering of the Red Cliffs Temple was released. Several months later, construction commenced with a groundbreaking ceremony of the three-story 96,277-square-foot temple.

The temple’s interior and exterior motifs resemble the environment surrounding the St. George area and were inspired by Southern Utah’s grand cottonwood trees and its numerous mountains and canyons. A palm tree-lined entrance leads to the sacred edifice. This house of the Lord stands against the scenic Red Cliff mountains as a beacon of serenity and peace for all who enter.

Church News President Eyring dedicates the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, a tribute to faith of the past and confidence in the future

President Eyring described how Latter-day Saints can invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost through a pattern of lifetime temple attendance and keeping covenants.

“Frequent participation in the ordinances of the temple can create a pattern of lifetime devotion to the Lord,” he said. “When we keep our temple covenants and remember them, we invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost, which both strengthens us and purifies us.”