The Palmyra New York Temple is the 77th 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). The site for the Palmyra New York Temple, atop a wooded hill in pastoral western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, is in an area prominent in the early history of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. Nearby is the grove of trees known as the

Sacred Grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

in which the founder and first prophet of the church,

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 ...

, reported having a vision in which he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, an event known as the

First Vision The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the ...

. The temple grounds, on the border between the towns of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

, are also on the grounds of the original

Smith Family Farm The Smith Family Farm was the boyhood home of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The farm—located in the townships of Palmyra, Wayne County and Manchester, Ontario County, New York—includes the Sacred Grove, the Smit ...

. The church itself was organized thirty miles away in

Fayette, New York Fayette is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Seneca County, New York, Seneca County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,617 at the 2020 census. The town is in the north-central part of the county and ...

in 1830.

History

At the groundbreaking ceremony, held May 25, 1999, LDS Church president

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

commented on the area's rich history, saying that it was in that locale that Mormonism truly began. Hinckley also marveled at how much the church had grown since its founding in 1830. Local reaction to the new temple was positive and more than 30,700 visitors toured the new temple before its dedication. The temple serves about 18,000 members within seven stakes. The Palmyra New York Temple was dedicated on April 6, 2000, the 170th anniversary of the organization of the church. While only about 1,200 members attended the dedicatory sessions within the temple itself nearly 1.5 million members took part through media broadcasts throughout the United States and Canada. The Palmyra New York Temple has a total of , two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms. The exterior is white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. Forty art glass windows inside the temple depict local events in LDS Church history. A gold statue of the

angel Moroni The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...

tops the single spire. Ornate carved cherry wood railings, wainscoting, and moldings line the halls, along with hand-sculpted carpeting. In 2020, the Palmyra New York Temple was closed in response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

.Stack, Peggy Fletcher
"All Latter-day Saint temples to close due to coronavirus"
''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'', 26 March 2020. Retrieved on 28 March 2020.

Gallery

File:Palmyra_New_York_Temple_2018.jpg, Temple, 2017 File:Palmyra_New_York_Temple_Exterior.jpg, Temple, exterior File:Moroni_Palmyra_New_York_Temple.jpg, Moroni sculpture

References

External links

Palmyra New York Temple Official sitePalmyra New York Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{Authority control 20th-century Latter Day Saint temples Buildings and structures in Ontario County, New York Buildings and structures in Wayne County, New York Latter Day Saint movement in New York (state) Religious buildings and structures in New York (state) Temples (LDS Church) completed in 2000 Temples (LDS Church) in the United States 2000 establishments in New York (state)

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links