Update: On June 19, 2020, the First Presidency approved that the official name of the Washington County Utah Temple will be the Red Cliffs Utah Temple.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the location of the Washington County Utah Temple.
The temple, which was announced in October 2018 by Church President Russell M. Nelson, will be built on a 14-acre site located northeast of 3000 East 1580 South in St. George, Utah. Plans call for a three-story temple of approximately 88,000 square feet.
This will be the city’s second temple. The St. George Utah Temple, which was dedicated in 1877, closed November 4, 2019 for an extensive renovation. The temple is expected to reopen sometime in 2022.
Detailed design plans for the Washington County Utah Temple are still being developed. Further information — including interior and exterior renderings — will be made public later. A groundbreaking date has not been set yet. Project leaders will soon start working with city officials on preliminary plans for the temple, and they will begin filing public documents in the coming months.
Utah currently has 17 operating temples. In addition to Washington County, temples have also been announced in Layton, Orem, Saratoga Springs, Taylorsville, and Tooele Valley. Temples in southern Utah include Monticello, Cedar City and St. George.
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the Lord” and the most sacred places of worship on the earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for faithful members of the Church to participate in sacred ceremonies such as marriages that unite families forever and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity while living.