The Kansas City Missouri Temple is the 137th operating

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). It is the first to be built in the

Greater Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

area. Previous attempts at building a temple in the area failed in

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1833 and

Far West Far West may refer to: Places * Western Canada, or the West ** British Columbia Coast * Western United States, or Far West ** West Coast of the United States * American frontier, or Far West, Old West, or Wild West * Far West (Taixi), a term used ...

in 1838, after church founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

had selected and dedicated locations for their construction. A temple was completed in

in 1994 by the

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

, which is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

History

The announcement of the new temple was made on October 4, 2008, during the church's 178th Semiannual general conference by LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

. When the announcement was made, Monson did not specify whether the temple would be constructed in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. However, a later press release confirmed that the temple would be built in the Shoal Creek development in

Clay County, Missouri Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Liber ...

, within the city boundaries of

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. This was the second temple of the LDS Church built in Missouri, after the St. Louis Missouri Temple. The Kansas City Missouri Temple was announced concurrently with the

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

Calgary Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Córdoba Argentina and Rome Italy temples. On October 22, 2009, the Kansas City Council approved The Meadows at Searcy Creek First Plat, the subdivision of the Shoal Creek development where the temple is located. The plat includes the lot for a church meetinghouse as well as the temple. In 2019, JE Dunn Construction was selected to build a temple. Site work in the development, including acquiring property for the future temple, commenced in late October. The official groundbreaking for the temple took place on May 8, 2010; attendance was by invitation only. The temple stands not far from

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willi ...

where LDS Church founder

Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

was incarcerated in the winter of 1838-39. The temple was opened to the public for an open house between April 7–28, 2012. Among the visitors were Missouri governor

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the governorship in 2008 and reele ...

and Kansas governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

, who were given a private tour on April 5, 2012. Both governors presented proclamations to the LDS Church congratulating them on the completion of the temple. Over 92,000 people toured the temple. People from 47 states and 11 countries attended the open house. On May 5, 2012, church members between the ages of 12 and 18 who resided in the new temple district staged a cultural performance at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium in celebration of the completion of the temple. The following day, May 6, 2012, the temple was dedicated by

. The temple, built on 8 acres, serves 45,000 LDS Church members from 126 congregations in Kansas and Missouri, as well as some who live in Oklahoma and Arkansas. In 2023, a new temple was announced to be built in Springfield, Missouri, the state's third location in addition to Kansas City and St. Louis.Collingwood, Ryan
"Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build temple in Springfield"
''

Springfield News-Leader The ''Springfield News-Leader'' is the predominant newspaper for the city of Springfield, Missouri, and covers the Ozarks. The ''News-Leader'' has a daily circulation of 32,363 and a Sunday circulation of 51,402 as of September 2013. Sunday sin ...

'', 2 April 2023. Retrieved on 7 August 2023.

Gallery

File:Kansas City Temple Exterior.jpg, File:Kansas City Temple.jpg, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 10.jpg, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 12.jpg, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 1.JPG, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 2.JPG, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 4.JPG, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 6.JPG, File:Kansas City Missouri Temple 8.JPG,

References

External links

*
Kansas City Missouri Temple Official siteKansas City Missouri Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{Authority control 21st-century Latter Day Saint temples Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Missouri Temples (LDS Church) in the United States The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Missouri 2012 establishments in Missouri Religious buildings and structures completed in 2012

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links