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Groundbreaking On First Mormon Temple In Wyoming Announced

Star Valley Chamber of Commerce

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will break ground on its first Wyoming temple this April. The new Star Valley Mormon Temple will be built just south of Afton near the Idaho border.

Unlike other church buildings, temples perform special services for members of the Mormon faith, like marriage and baptism ceremonies.

Jerry Hansen is an LDS spokesman for the Afton area. He says the temple is highly anticipated by local members.

For this area in Western Wyoming where we're talking about specifically, it's an hour and a half or just under two hour drive depending on where you're at in Star Valley to go to either the Idaho Falls or the Rexburg temple.

"Right now people in Wyoming go to various different temples depending on where they’re at," says Hansen." For instance in the Big Horn Basin, they would go to the Billings temple. For this area in Western Wyoming where we’re talking about specifically, it’s an hour and a half or just under two hour drive depending on where you’re at in Star Valley to go to either the Idaho Falls or the Rexburg temple."

The temple should be completed about two years after the April 25th groundbreaking.

Jordan Giese is a political science major currently working on his bachelor's degree. He has lived in Wyoming all his life but has a focus on both local issues and international stories. He moved to Laramie just last year rediscovering Wyoming and all it has to offer in landspaces, opportunities and people. He has listened to WPR for years and is thrilled to contribute to an important state service and NPR.
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