The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on Monday that the groundbreaking for the Winchester Virginia Temple will take place on Aug. 9, 2025.
Elder Robert M. Daines, the second counselor of the North America Northeast Area Presidency, will preside at the event.
As announced in October, the temple will be built on an 11.27-acre site at 200 Merrimans Lane in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. The single-story temple will be approximately 30,000 square feet in size. The temple was first announced by President Russell M. Nelson at the April 2023 general conference.
Virginia is home to more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints, according to a press release. The Richmond Virginia Temple is the only one currently in operation in the state, though additional temples in Roanoke and Norfolk have been announced.
“Jesus Christ is the reason we build temples,” President Nelson said when he announced the Winchester Temple. “Each is his holy house. Making covenants and receiving essential ordinances in the temple, as well as seeking to draw closer to him there, will bless your life in ways no other kind of worship can.”
Antofagasta Chile Temple dedication
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spent his Father’s Day testifying of a Heavenly Father at the Antofagasta Chile Temple dedication on Sunday.
“We are children of a loving Heavenly Father who desires that we return and live in his presence as an eternal family,” he said.
It’s the third dedicated temple in Chile, with an additional three announced or under construction. It will serve eight stakes and one district.
President David A. Reyes Torres, president of the Antofagasta Chile La Portada Stake, said having a house of the Lord closer to home is “a testament to his mercy and a demonstration of the love of our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, and that he hears prayers.”