<h4 class="label">Groundbreaking Ceremony</h4>
<p>Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple on Saturday, April 16, 2022. The 29,000-square-foot temple will be constructed on a 6.94-acre site at the intersection of Horizon Drive and North 12th Street. Elder Wong, who serves as first counselor in the North America Central Area presidency, said in his dedicatory prayer: "Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We are grateful for the Atonement of Thy Son Jesus Christ and the blessing of the promised Resurrection. As we dedicate this holy ground, we pray that we can maintain this positive spiritual momentum in our lives."¹</p>
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<h4 class="label">Temple Rendering</h4>
<p>On September 17, 2021, the official exterior rendering was released for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple.</p>
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<h4 class="label">Temple Site</h4>
<p>On June 23, 2021, the location of the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was announced as a beautiful 6.94-acre site, located at the intersection of Horizon Drive and North 12th Street, just a mile from an Interstate 70 interchange. The single-story temple will be approximately 25,000 square feet.²</p>
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<h4 class="label">Temple Announcement</h4>
<p>On April 4, 2021, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Grand Junction Colorado Temple at the 191st Annual General Conference. Colorado, in the Intermountain West of the United States, is home to over 150,000 Latter-day Saints and around 310 congregations. The first mission of the Church in Colorado was established in 1896. The first official congregation was formed only a year later, in January 1897. The Grand Junction Colorado Temple will be the third for the state. Temples in operation in Colorado are the <a href="/denver-colorado-temple/" onmouseover="showTip('denver-colorado-temple')" onmouseout="unTip()">Denver Colorado Temple</a> and the <a href="/fort-collins-colorado-temple/" onmouseover="showTip('fort-collins-colorado-temple')" onmouseout="unTip()">Fort Collins Colorado Temple</a>.³</p>
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<h4 class="label">Temple Facts</h4>
<p>The Grand Junction Colorado Temple will be the third temple built in Colorado, following the <a href="/denver-colorado-temple/" onmouseover="showTip('denver-colorado-temple')" onmouseout="unTip()">Denver Colorado Temple</a> (1986) and <a href="/fort-collins-colorado-temple/" onmouseover="showTip('fort-collins-colorado-temple')" onmouseout="unTip()">Fort Collins Colorado Temple</a> (2016).</p><div class="footnote"><hr><ol><li>"Ground Broken for Grand Junction Colorado Temple," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 16 Apr. 2022.</li><li>"New Temple Locations Announced in Three Western US States," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 23 Jun. 2021.</li><li>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "At April 2021 Conference, Prophet Announces 20 More Temples to Be Constructed," 4 Apr. 2021.</li></ol></div><p></p>