The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ St. George Temple, the first temple completed in Utah in 1877, will soon be open for tours after a 4-year renovation project.
The well-beloved pioneer temple was renovated to include a new heating and cooling system; more accessible elevators, improved walkways and stairs; more water-efficient landscaping; and a reinforced stone foundation.
Though many of the changes were quite substantial, the designers worked hard to restore the temple to the way it looked when it was first built. It is still considered a pioneer temple, after all, and Andy Kirby, director of the Church’s historic temple renovations, thought the pioneers would be proud of how it turned out.
“I think the pioneers who built this would be pleased with our work,” said Kirby. “They would be satisfied that we preserved their efforts and the beauty and the intent of their work.”
While much of the pioneers’ artwork, furniture, fabric and other details from the original temple wore out long ago, the features in the 2023 update “really harken back to those early Saints,” Benjamin Pykles, director of the Church History Department’s Historic Sites Division, told Church News. “It feels special and it feels beautiful, but it also feels historic. It still feels like a pioneer temple.”
The renovated temple has been open for media tours and other special invited guests since September 6. Tours for the general public begin Friday, September 15.
Anyone can reserve a tour on the church’s website for anytime between September 15 and November 11.
The temple will be dedicated on December 10, 2023.
– The Byway
Feature image courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.