Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple

Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple
Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple
Number	104
Dedication	April 22, 2001, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Site	1.92 acres (0.78 ha)
Floor area	16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2)
Height	86 ft (26 m)
	Official website • News & images
Church chronology
Additional information
Announced	June 14, 1999, by Gordon B. Hinckley
Groundbreaking	November 28, 1999, by Hugh W. Pinnock
Open house	March 30 – April 14, 2001
Current president	David Garth Pincock
Designed by	Dan Reinhardt
Location	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Geographic coordinates	41°20′2.7″N 95°57′58.3″W / 41.334083°N 95.966194°W
Exterior finish	Bethel white granite
Temple design	Classic modern, single-spire design
Baptistries	1
Ordinance rooms	2 (two-stage progressive)
Sealing rooms	2
Visitors' center	Yes
	(edit)

The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple is the 104th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is located in Florence, a neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and formerly an independent city.^{[citation needed]}

History

Winter Quarters is considered hallowed ground for the members of the LDS Church. It was the site where early church members settled after they were driven out of Nauvoo, Illinois. It was also where many Latter-day Saints, including many who came from Europe, camped before crossing the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. The area has many graves of Mormon pioneers who died on their journey. More than 2,000 church members died at Winter Quarters because of heavy storms, scurvy, malaria and inadequate food and shelter.

Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple

The new temple was built next to the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery and Mormon Trail Center. During the groundbreaking ceremony, conducted by Truman F. Clawson on November 28, 1999, he said, "Now today on this end of the hill, we will take shovels in our hands to dig not a grave but the foundation of a special building, a temple."^[1]

In preparation for the open house, church members and the community of Florence worked together creating handcrafted flowers for storefronts and decorating historic sites and markers with balloons. Over 61,000 visitors toured the Winter Quarters Temple during its open house, which ran from March 30 to April 14, 2001.^[2]

Members all over the United States and Canada watched via satellite broadcast as LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple on April 22, 2001. During the dedicatory prayer, Hinckley recognized the sacrifice of the Saints and the great spiritual and historical significance of having a temple at Winter Quarters.

The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple has a total area of 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.

At one time, the church intended to name the temple Winter Quarters Temple in contradiction to the standard naming convention for church temples.^[3]

In 2020, like all the church's other temples, the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]