A location has been selected for the Montpelier Idaho Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday.
The news comes less than two months after the new temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson in April general conference.
The new temple, a two-story structure of 27,000 square feet, will be built on a 2.6-acre site at the intersection of Washington and 6th North in Montpelier. A map showing the location was published on the church’s newsroom.
An exterior rendering and additional details about the temple will be provided at a future date.
Settled by Latter-day Saints in 1864, Montpelier was once a stop along the Oregon Trail. Today it has a population of less than 3,000 and is located just north of Bear Lake. The town is 22 miles north of the Utah-Idaho border and 10 miles west of the Idaho-Wyoming border.
Before it was a temple site, Montpelier’s city hall stood on the property until it was torn down in March 2021. Other small homes in the vicinity were recently relocated, according to Church News.
The historic Montpelier Tabernacle, a 1,200-seat semi-circular meetinghouse built in 1917, is across 6th North to the west of the temple site.
How many Latter-day Saint temples are in Idaho?
The Montpelier temple will join a list of eight Idaho temples in operation, under construction or announced.
- Dedicated temples: Boise, Idaho Falls, Meridian, Pocatello, Rexburg and Twin Falls.
- Construction: The church will break ground and start construction on the Burley temple on Saturday, June 4.
- Announced: A second temple in Rexburg, announced in October 2021, is in the planning stages.
There are more than 15,000 Latter-day Saints in the proposed temple district, which includes congregations in both Idaho and Utah.