Announcement: 3 March 1937
Groundbreaking: 19 December 1939 by David Smith
Site Dedication: 19 October 1940 by David O. McKay
Public Open House: 15–20 September 1945
Dedication: 23–25 September 1945 by George Albert Smith
On the banks of the Snake River, the Idaho Falls, Idaho LDS Temple sits on a seven acre lot just above the cascading waters for which the city is named. The lot originally originally featured a series of three reflecting ponds filled with water lillies and small fish, but were converted to flowerbeds in the 1960s. Latter, in October 2011, a complete renovation of the landscaping was completed, replacing the flowerbeds with a beautiful waterfall feature, and installation of four gathering plazas.
After the three previous temples build had no spires, the Idaho Falls temple incorporated a single centralized spire. The angel Moroni statue atop the spire wasn’t placed their until September 1983. The design was done by architect John Fetzer, Sr., who had prayed for guidance and received an inspirational vision of an ancient Nephite temple. The exterior was completed in September 1941, but the interior was delayed, taking four more years, due to World War II shortages.
This temple is one of only seven temples where patrons progress through four ordinance rooms before passing into the Celestial Room. (The other six temples are the Manti Utah Temple, the Salt Lake Temple, the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Cardston Alberta Temple, the Los Angeles California Temple, and the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.)
[GARD align=”center”]