With a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, August 17, construction began on the Austin Texas TempleIt is one of nine houses of the Lord dedicated, under construction, or announced for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Texas.
The groundbreaking was one of three held at temples around the world on Aug. 17; the other two were for the Londrina Brazil Temple and the Santiago West Chile Temple.
He Elder Michael A. Dunna General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Southwest Area presidency, presided at the groundbreaking for the Austin Texas Temple and offered remarks and a prayer to dedicate the site.
Information and photographs of the groundbreaking ceremony are available published on August 19 in ChurchofJesusChrist.org (both in English).
Elder Dunn said in the prayer: “Help us as a people to stand firm on holy ground, reaching toward heaven as heaven reaches toward us in the form of this magnificent Austin Texas Temple.”
Elder Dunn also recognized leaders from several faith traditions who attended the groundbreaking.
“You honor us with your presence,” he said. “And we want you to know that while we consider this to be a house of the Lord, it is not just our house of the Lord. It is also yours.”
Local religious leaders pose for a photo at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Austin Texas Temple in Cedar Park, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Allie LaFeber of the Round Rock Texas Stake shared that she had an older brother who died of cancer before she was born. She grew up hearing stories about him, holding in her heart the hope of meeting him one day.
“Because of the Savior’s Atonement and the eternal perspective temples provide, I know we can live together as families with our Heavenly Father,” said Allie, a young woman who spoke at the groundbreaking.
Allie LaFeber of the Round Rock Texas Stake speaks at the groundbreaking for the Austin Texas Temple in Cedar Park Texas on Saturday, August 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
About the Austin Texas Temple
President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Austin during the April 2022 general conference, one of 17 locations he announced on April 3, 2022, bringing to 100 the number of temples he had announced since being called as president of the Church in 2018. Through the April 2024 general conference, he has announced 168 temples.
An artist’s rendering of the Austin Texas Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
An artist’s rendering of the exterior of the Austin Texas Temple was first released in September 2023, and the site location for the house of the Lord in Central Texas was released in December 2022.
The House of the Lord will be built on a 10-acre site adjacent to an existing meetinghouse at 1801 E. Park St., Cedar Park, Texas. It is planned as a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet. Cedar Park is a northwest suburb of Austin.
Location map of the Austin Texas Temple site. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
About Temples and the Church in Texas
The Austin temple is one of nine houses of the Lord in the Lone Star State. There are operating temples in Dallas, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen y Saint Anthonyand one in Fort Worth (the above in English) under construction. Two more are planned in McKinney and south Houston.
Missionaries first visited this south-central U.S. state in 1843. In 1898, about 300 Church members settled on Church-purchased land in northeast Texas that would become the Kelsey Colony, about 110 miles (177 km) east of Dallas.
Church membership in Texas has grown rapidly in recent decades: from 132,000 Latter-day Saints in 1985 to just over 210,000 in 2000. Today, More than 385,000 members (in English) of the Church comprise the more than 750 congregations in the state.
Elder Michael A. Dunn, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, center left, and his wife, Sister Linda P. Dunn, and members of the local Church break ground for the Austin Texas Temple in Cedar Park, Texas on Saturday, August 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Guests, including local officials, greet each other before the groundbreaking ceremony for the Austin Texas Temple in Cedar Park, Texas, on Saturday, August 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ceremonial shovels are lined up for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Austin Texas Temple on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Cedar Park, Texas. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Elder Michael A. Dunn, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, center left, and his wife, Sister Linda P. Dunn, and members of the local Church break ground for the Austin Texas Temple in Cedar Park, Texas on Saturday, August 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
