Denver Colorado Temple

Denver Colorado Temple
Denver Colorado Temple
Number	40
Dedication	October 24, 1986, by Ezra Taft Benson
Site	7.5 acres (3.0 ha)
Floor area	29,177 sq ft (2,710.6 m2)
Height	90 ft (27 m)
	Official website • News & images
Church chronology
Additional information
Announced	March 31, 1982, by Spencer W. Kimball
Groundbreaking	May 19, 1984, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Open house	September 8-27, 1986
Current president	Thomas Taylor Priday
Designed by	Church A&E Services and Bobby R. Thomas
Location	Centennial, Colorado, United States
Geographic coordinates	39°34′7.3″N 104°57′56.8″W / 39.568694°N 104.965778°W
Exterior finish	Precast stone walls and a built-up roof
Temple design	Modern, single-spire design
Baptistries	1
Ordinance rooms	4 (stationary)
Sealing rooms	6
Clothing rental	Yes
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The Denver Colorado Temple is the 40th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

History

The LDS Church announced plans to build a temple in Colorado on March 31, 1982. Almost two years later, Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the site dedication and groundbreaking. The temple is situated on a hilltop in Centennial and was completed in 1986.^[1]^[2] Hand-carved woodwork adorns the temple interior, along with hand-painted designs on the walls and ceilings. The temple also features more than six hundred square feet of specially designed stained glass windows.

Many Latter-day Saints contributed what they could to the building and beautifying of the Denver Colorado Temple. Some made tatted cloths, children earned money and donated it for the building of three 'bride benches,' young men and women made and assembled a dollhouse to be used in the youth center, and more than six hundred volunteers cleaned the temple before the open house held September 8–27, 1986.

LDS Church president Ezra Taft Benson dedicated the temple on October 24, 1986. The Denver Colorado Temple has a total of 29,117 square feet (2,705 m²), four ordinance rooms, and six sealing rooms. In 2016 a second temple in Colorado, the Fort Collins Colorado Temple, was completed.^[3] In 1997 the temple was celebrated as part of the 100th-anniversary celebration of the LDS Church in Colorado.^[4]

Community reaction

Prior to the construction of the temple, residents were worried a temple in their area would be too big and overshadow everything else. The church let the residents of the neighborhood surrounding the temple grounds pick the final design of the temple.

In 2020, the Denver Colorado Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.^[5]