SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints marked milestones for two western temples this week, dedicating a new temple in Cody, Wyoming, and announcing an upcoming groundbreaking ceremony in Lehi.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Cody Wyoming Temple on Sunday. The event marked the church’s 227th operating temple worldwide, its third in Wyoming, and the first dedication presided over by Gilbert since his call as an apostle in February 2026.
Speaking in the Big Horn Basin, an area historically considered among the last frontiers in the contiguous United States, Gilbert drew parallels between the region’s early pioneers and modern believers. While early settlers sacrificed to develop arid lands and endure harsh winters, he noted that church members today face personal “spiritual frontiers,” including deepening conversion, returning to worship and fulfilling church callings.
“May we mark this temple dedication as an invitation to go to the spiritual frontiers in our own lives,” Gilbert said during the service, which was broadcast across the temple district. “As we do, I promise that we will become who the Lord needs us to become.”
The Cody temple stands on land donated by residents Glenn and Erica Nielson. Erica Nielson said the new facility allows local members to replace long travel hours with service inside the building.
“It just changes everything for the people who are able to serve and worship there,” Glenn Nielson said.
Worland Wyoming Stake President Duane Whitlock praised the temple’s completion, calling it “this miracle of having a temple right in our backyard.” Wyoming is home to nearly 67,000 church members across more than 170 congregations. The Cody temple joins previously dedicated Wyoming temples in Star Valley and Casper.
Gilbert was accompanied at the dedication by his wife, Christine, as well as three General Authority Seventies: Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, Elder I. Raymond Egbo and Elder James G.O. Fantone, along with their wives.
Meanwhile, church officials announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the Lehi Utah Temple will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5. Elder John A. McCune of the Utah Area Presidency will preside at the event.
First announced in April 2024, the Lehi project is part of a statewide network of 32 temples that are operating, announced, or under construction or renovation. Utah currently has 24 operating temples, serving approximately 2.2 million members in more than 5,000 congregations. Seven additional Utah temples remain under construction, undergoing renovation or in planning phases.
Unlike standard church meetinghouses, which host Sunday services open to the public, Latter-day Saint temples are reserved for faithful members to participate in sacred ceremonies. These ordinances include marriages that unite families eternally and proxy baptisms performed on behalf of deceased ancestors.