The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has circled key dates on the calendar for two highly watched projects, with public-tour plans now set for the Ephraim Utah Temple and a groundbreaking scheduled for the Springfield, Missouri, Temple. Ephraim will host invited tours and a public open house this fall ahead of a single-session dedication in October, while Springfield is queued up for a June groundbreaking. Together, the milestones mark the latest steps in a multi-year temple-building push that is reshaping local schedules and volunteer game plans across the country.
Ephraim open house and dedication dates
As reported by Church News, the Ephraim Utah Temple will kick things off with a media day on Monday, Aug. 31. Invited-guest tours will follow on Sept. 1, then the doors open wider for the public from Sept. 2 to 19, excluding Sundays. The First Presidency has set a single dedicatory session for Oct. 11 at 10 a.m., to be broadcast to units within the temple district and rebroadcast at 2 p.m. A separate Church News report notes that the First Presidency has also scheduled a June 6 groundbreaking for the Springfield, Missouri, temple.
Springfield site and building plans
A church news release on the organization’s newsroom identifies the Springfield temple site as part of a 38-acre parcel at 2720 East Farm Road #188 and details plans for an approximately 29,000-square-foot, single-story building. Once complete and dedicated, the Springfield temple will join the temples in St. Louis and Kansas City as Missouri’s third house of the Lord and will serve Latter-day Saints in the state.
What this means locally
Utah, where the church is headquartered, is home to more than 2.2 million Latter-day Saints and roughly 32 temples that are operating, under construction or announced, which puts the Ephraim timeline into a very active regional mix, according to Deseret News. Nearby Lindon recently wrapped a public open house and is on the books for a May dedication, so local leaders and volunteers are lining up several high-profile events back-to-back this spring and fall. In Missouri, the Springfield site announcement and June groundbreaking slot into steady local planning and point to a growing church footprint in the southwest corner of the state.
The church typically posts media-day instructions, tour hours, and any visitor-registration requirements on its official temple news pages, so anyone hoping to attend the Ephraim open house will want to keep an eye on the church’s site as September approaches. Reporters and local organizations planning coverage can coordinate with the church’s media team in advance to nail down details for media-day events.
