‘A blessing on this property’: Latter-day Saints break ground for Red Cliffs Utah Temple

ST. GEORGE —It was a windy and chilly November morning as a small crowd of church officials and guests gathered in Washington Fields Saturday for the groundbreaking of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks at the groundbreaking for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George, Utah, Nov. 7, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles, who is also a Southern Utah native, presided over the event and gave a dedicatory prayer over the temple site located at the corner of 3000 East and 1580 South in St. George.

“What was once a boggy swamp with a lot of rocks and no irrigation is now going to be the site of a temple,” Holland said as he shared some of the history of the property.

The site was originally settled by Charles Seegmiller around 1880 and his family tended the land for a time. Later on, it was obtained by the church and leased out as farmland to local Washington City farmer Ralph Staheli for eight years. Various crops grown on the parcel included alfalfa, sudagrass and various other grains used for feeding livestock.

“I pronounce a blessing on this property that once provided the bounties of the land, in the growth of hay and grain and other products of the soil, so too will now provide the bounties of thy (God’s) hand those baptized, ordained, endowed and eternally sealed families on both sides of the veil,” Holland said during the dedicatory prayer.

A rendering of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple shown at the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony, St. George, Utah, Nov. 7, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Latter-day Saint temples are considered “Houses of the Lord,” and are among the most sacred places of worship for members of the faith.

While all are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses, the primary purpose of temples is for faithful church members to participate in ceremonies related to marriage as well as proxy baptisms and other ordinances on behalf of deceased ancestors.

Temples are also central to the church’s longstanding doctrine related to the “eternal nature of the family,” which teaches a family unit can be “sealed” together for eternity in the afterlife. The eternal binding of the family can extend back through the generations, which is why Latter-day Saints place heavy emphasis on genealogy work. It allows them to find ancestors whose names they can take to a temple where proxy ceremonies on behalf of that ancestor can be performed.

The temples are also considered a place Latter-day Saints can go to find peace and comfort in the face of difficult times or trying decisions as they seek to connect with the Almighty.

At the groundbreaking for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George, Utah, Nov. 7, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

While the construction of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple will not require the kind of sacrifices area residents made to build the St. George Temple, Holland said during the dedicatory prayer that, “We still face challenges of a more modern kind for which temple attendance and worship experiences are the sweet and soothing answer to our problems… These, our brothers and sisters, need the strength that only a temple of the most high can provide.”

Holland also pronounced a blessing on all those who will have a hand in building the new temple before concluding the dedicatory prayer.

Following the dedication and ceremonial groundbreaking, Holland and his wife, Patricia, offered brief remarks to the members of the media.

Both said they were grateful to President Russell M. Nelson, the president of the church, for assigning the dedication of the new temple site to Elder Holland considering their family’s ties to the area.

“We’ve lived here as long as anyone can live here,” Holland said. “It means everything to us to have another temple (here).”

L-R: Elder Craig C. Christensen and his wife, Debbie Christensen, along with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Patricia Holland, about to turn over dirt as a part of the groundbreaking for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George, Utah, Nov. 7, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Elder Holland’s family was among the first groups to settle in Southern Utah in the 1860s, while his wife’s family settled in Enterprise.

“(This temple) is a very real tribute to the history, the tradition of those who went before and those who are here now. This temple will bridge the past and the future,” Holland said.

The Red Cliffs Temple, which will be three-stories tall and approximately 90,000 square feet, is one of seven new temples either announced or being built by the church in Utah.

Elder Craig Christensen, the Utah area president for the church, said the work of the church is moving forward despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“The work is accelerating,” Christensen said. “This period of time shall pass and the saints are so anxious to be back in temples that you will see that when we can get back finally, that the temples will be busier than ever.”

At the groundbreaking for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George, Utah, Nov. 7, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The temples, which the church operates worldwide, were closed earlier this year due to the pandemic. However, some are gradually reopening with limitations.

As to why the St. George area has received a second temple, Christensen noted the continuing growth in Southern Utah and the surrounding region.

“St. George is growing and for the same reason, we’re adding another temple,” he said. “It’s a growing community and (the temple) will be a blessing to those that are coming here and those that have been here for generations.”

The incoming temple was announced in October 2018, with the exact location announced in November 2019.

The new temple’s district will cover part of Southern Utah as well as northeast Arizona and southeast Nevada.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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