Ogden Utah Temple

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Ogden Utah Temple

Number	14	edit data
Announcement	1967-08-24
Groundbreaking	1970-09-07
Dedication	1972-01-18 by Joseph Fielding Smith
Site	18.3 acres (7.4 hectares)
Total floor area	115,000 ft² (10,684 m²)
Exterior finish	Mo-Sai stone facing
Temple design	Modern, single-tower design
Ordinance rooms	6 with movie sessions
Sealing rooms	11
Preceded by	Oakland California Temple
Followed by	Provo Utah Temple
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The Ogden Utah Temple (formerly the Ogden Temple) is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Ogden, Utah, it was built with a modern, single-spire design very similar to the Provo Utah Temple.

The temples in Ogden and Provo were planned due to overcrowding in the Salt Lake, Manti, and Logan temples. The Ogden temple serves more than 135,000 members. The LDS temple in Ogden, Utah was announced on August 24, 1967. On September 7, 1970, a cornerstone laying ceremony was held for the Ogden Temple. The site for the temple was a ten-acre lot called Tabernacle Square, that the Church had owned since the area had been settled. In 1921, President Heber J. Grant had inspected the site as a possible place for a temple but had decided that the time was not right for a temple in the area.

The Ogden Temple is different from the previous temples built by the Church in many ways. For one, the design is extremely contemporary. Secondly, the lot chosen for the Ogden Temple is in downtown Ogden, surrounded by businesses and offices. The Ogden Temple is also significant because it was the first temple built in Utah since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893.

The Ogden Temple is 115,000 square feet and has four floors, one below ground. There are six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms. The stone on the Ogden temple is fluted, and between the stone decorative metal grillwork has been added. Gold windows with directional glass also add to the beauty of the temple.

The Ogden Temple was dedicated on January 18, 1972, by Joseph Fielding Smith, almost a month before the Provo Utah Temple was dedicated. Over thirty years after its dedication, a gold angel Moroni was added to the temple's spire.[1]