DRAPER, Utah — When the Draper Utah Temple, the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple and other new temples from Peru to Arizona to Rome open, they will all need the same thing: temple workers.
At Draper, more than 1,300 temple workers and volunteers will be needed to staff the temple, said Elder William B. Walker of the Quorums of the Seventy and the temple department executive director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When a temple needs workers and volunteers, church leaders turn to the stakes in the temple district, said Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Presidency of the Seventy.
Volunteers typically help in areas like the laundry, and ordinance workers help with the endowment and other ordinances.
To be a temple worker or a volunteer, members need to talk to their bishop or branch president to be recommended, said Elder Walker. Unlike other callings in the church, members don't need to wait to be called by a church leader.
Once recommended by their bishop and stake president, new temple workers and volunteers are called and set apart by the temple presidency to work in a specific temple, Elder Walker said. That's why current workers and volunteers from the Draper and Sandy areas will be called by Draper Temple President Donald L. Staheli and set apart to work in that temple.
There are some requirements for temple workers, including not having young children at home or certain time-consuming callings, Elder Walker said. Those requirements and guidelines can be discussed when a member talks to the bishop or branch president.
Members don't need to wait until after they have a family to be a temple worker, Elder Walker said.
There are many younger members who are endowed who are eligible to serve. There are some duties in the temple that are physically easier for younger members, said President Rodolfo Franco, the Draper Utah South Mountain Stake president.
Many times temple workers and volunteers — of all ages — start working in the temple and love it so much they continue serving after their initial assignment is finished, Elder Rasband said.
The Draper Temple
When a new temple opens, usually the challenge is finding experienced temple workers, said Elder Walker.
Not so in Draper, which will be the church's 129th operating temple after it is dedicated in March.
"The challenge (here) is one of logistics," Elder Walker said. Before the temple opens, all 1,300-plus workers and volunteers will need to be called and set apart by the temple presidency.
The temple district includes 25 stakes in the Draper and Sandy areas, which have been in the Jordan River Utah Temple district.
Many already have experience working in the Jordan River Temple, Elder Walker said.
Those temple workers in the Draper Temple district will need to be called and set apart by the Draper Temple presidency, as per church policy, Elder Walker said. New workers and volunteers will need to be trained.
But they still need more than those who are currently temple workers; and the Jordan River Utah Temple will need workers to fill the spots of those from the Draper district.
"This hasn't snuck up on us," Elder Walker said, adding that he has met with both temple presidents.
Needing more workers
More temple workers will be needed in coming years in areas where new temples are being built, especially in areas like central Arizona, where three temples have been announced near the Mesa Arizona Temple.
Temples are built in areas where they are "highly utilized," Elder Walker said.
More temple workers will be needed for both the Jordan River temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple when the latter opens.
The Oquirrh Mountain temple will include about 25 stakes, leaving the Jordan River temple with more than 60 stakes.
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