Las Vegas Nevada Mormon Temple

The building of the Las Vegas Mormon Temple was announced on April 7, 1984. With its completion, the Las Vegas temple became the 43rd Mormon temple worldwide.

Mormon Church history is a vital part of the Las Vegas area. In 1855, 30 Mormon missionaries from Salt Lake City were sent to Las Vegas to protect the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City mail route and establish a settlement. They built a 150 square foot fort made of sun-dried bricks. The settlers planted fruit trees and began some agriculture, but the settlement was mostly abandoned by 1858 because of Indian raids. In 1865 settlers once again came to Las Vegas, and the settlement flourished until it grew to the Las Vegas of today. Part of this original fort still stands and is preserved as an historic site at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington Avenue. In 2000 the site was rebuilt and made into an historic park. Visitors can visit re-creations of the pioneer gardens and corrals used by the original inhabitants of the fort. The Mormon Church still has a strong presence in Las Vegas, making up about 15 percent of the population.

A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on November 30, 1985. Gordon B. Hinckley presided and gave the dedication prayer. Construction began soon after the ceremony. Mormon members who would be attending the temple as a part of their temple district donated most of the 18 million dollars needed to build the Las Vegas temple.

The Mormon temple was open to the public for tours November 16-December 9, 1989. Almost 300,000 toured the temple and its grounds during these three weeks. The temple site is 10.3 acres on the eastern edge of the Las Vegas Valley at the foot of Frenchman Mountain, also known as Sunrise Mountain. The temple has six spires, the highest of which is 119 feet. At the top of this tower stands a ten-foot statue of the angel Moroni. The exterior has white pre-cast stone walls with a copper roof. The temple is 80,350 square feet and has 192 rooms, which includes four ordinance rooms, a celestial room, six sealing rooms, baptismal font and other facilities to meet the needs of the purposes of the temple.

Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Las Vegas temple December 16-18, 1989. Eleven sessions were held, and more than 30,000 Mormon members attended the dedicatory services.

Mailing address:
827 Temple View Drive
Las Vegas, Nevada 89110-2920
United States
Phone:   702-452-5011

Other Links:
Temple (Mormonism) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teachings About Temples – Lightplanet
Mormanity: Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”

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