Here’s Your First Look Inside the Montpelier Idaho Temple

The open house for the Montpelier Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began Tuesday, September 8, with a media day for invited guests and journalists, according to a Church Newsroom release. The Church will welcome the public for free tours from Thursday, September 10, through Saturday, September 26, excluding Sundays.

Visitors do not need reservations to tour the temple, located at 534 Washington Street in Montpelier. The open house gives community members an opportunity to enter the building before the Church formally dedicates it for religious worship.

Elder Karl D. Hirst of the United States Central Area Presidency presided at the media event. Elder Mark D. Eddy of the Seventy joined him for the occasion.

Dedication Scheduled for October

The Church will dedicate the Montpelier Idaho Temple on Sunday, October 18, 2026, during a session beginning at 10 a.m. A rebroadcast will follow at 2 p.m., and congregations throughout the Montpelier Idaho Temple district will receive the broadcast.

Once dedicated, the temple will serve more than 15,500 Church members in six stakes. It will become the 226th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ worldwide and the eighth dedicated temple in Idaho.

The new temple joins dedicated temples in Idaho Falls, Boise, Burley, Rexburg, Twin Falls, Meridian and Pocatello. The Church also has temples under construction in the Teton River and Coeur d’Alene areas, while President Russell M. Nelson announced the Caldwell Idaho Temple in April 2025.

Idaho has nearly 483,000 Latter-day Saints who worship in more than 1,300 congregations. Altogether, the state has 11 temples that the Church has announced, placed under construction or dedicated.

Local Landscape Shapes the Design

According to construction and design details released by the Church, the temple occupies 2.6 acres and contains 34,370 square feet. Its spire brings the building’s total height to 151 feet, 7 inches.

Designers drew inspiration from the landscape and plant life of southeastern Idaho, incorporating the chicory flower throughout the temple’s interior in several stages of bloom. Reeded details complement that floral pattern, while shades of gold, blue, green and yellow reflect local wildflowers and the turquoise water of nearby Bear Lake.

Gold and blue carpets carry the color palette through the interior, with wall-to-wall rugs appearing in selected spaces. Decorative painting repeats the chicory flower and reeded patterns found elsewhere in the building.

Polished brass fixtures and hanging crystals provide lighting throughout the temple, including crystal chandeliers in the bride’s room, celestial room and sealing rooms. Sapele wood and quarter-cut makore veneer appear in the interior millwork, while makore doors feature decorative hardware.

Art glass designs use simple borders with bud details and portray a landscape of mountains and a lake reminiscent of Bear Lake. Gold, blue, coral and yellow tones connect the glasswork with the temple’s broader color scheme.

The temple also contains original works by Kimbal Warren, Chris Manwaring, John Horejs and Josh Clare. Their pieces include “North Fork Trail, Wind Rivers Wyoming,” “He Lives,” “River Tranquility” and “Softly Now the Light of Day.”

From Announcement to Open House

President Russell M. Nelson announced the Montpelier Idaho Temple during the April 2022 general conference. The Church held the groundbreaking ceremony on June 17, 2023, beginning the construction process that led to this month’s open house.

The completed building now stands as a visible addition to Montpelier while incorporating references to the region throughout its architecture and interior design. Public tours will introduce those features to visitors before the October dedication restricts the building’s use to temple worship.

A Different Form of Worship

Temples differ from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints gather for weekly Sunday services, classes and other congregational activities. Church members consider temples houses of the Lord and reserve them for sacred ordinances, covenants and worship centered on Jesus Christ.

Inside temples, faithful Church members make covenants with God and participate in ordinances that reaffirm the teachings of Jesus Christ. Those ordinances include baptisms and marriages, along with other ceremonies connected with the Church’s teachings about salvation and eternal families.

Latter-day Saints believe temple sealings allow husbands, wives and children to remain united as families beyond death through the Savior’s power. Church members also participate in ordinances on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not receive them during their lives.

Temple attendance continues throughout a Church member’s life rather than serving as a one-time religious observance. Latter-day Saints return to worship, remember their covenants, seek spiritual instruction and participate in ordinances for themselves and others.

The public open house offers visitors a temporary opportunity to see the Montpelier Idaho Temple before the Church dedicates it for those purposes. Tours will conclude September 26, leaving approximately three weeks before the dedication on October 18.

What do you love most about visiting a temple? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Holly Wallace

Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.