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OGDEN — Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rededicated the Ogden Temple Sunday after being closed for four years for a major renovation.
Three dedicatory sessions were held throughout the day for church members to participate in.
The original Ogden Temple stood from 1972-2010. Now a completely new temple, except for the original foundation, thousands of people gathered to take part in the rededication.
"I think there is a special feeling now that comes with when you have been able to participate in a rededication," Rob Richards, an attendee, said.
President Thomas S. Monson presided over the rededication services that were available on a video link to LDS members at stake centers throughout Utah and in some areas of Wyoming.
The rededication Sunday comes after a six-week public open house that attracted more than half a million people to the temple.
“Each had an opportunity to walk through the temple and see its beauty, and we had a lot of wonderful comments from those who attended,” said Kent F. Richards, a general authority for the LDS Church.
Church leaders said the renovated temple has been welcomed by the community as a refreshing addition to downtown Ogden.
“It has been very inspiring to see the response of the local people here in Ogden and in the temple district as they came through the temple and saw its beauty and magnificence,” Kent F. Richards said. “They are overjoyed to have their temple back.”
Now that the Ogden Temple has been rededicated, it becomes the 14th operating temple in Utah and the 143rd LDS temple in the world. Two more temples in the state are still under construction — the Provo City Center Temple being built on the site of the original Provo Tabernacle and a new temple in Payson.
"Those two temples are progressing very nicely," Kent F. Richards said. "Payson is nearing completion, we are anticipating sometime next year to dedicate that temple and the Provo City Center Temple, the year after."
