Fun Facts about the Monticello Utah Temple

-The Monticello Utah Temple is the 53rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

-The Monticello Temple was the first of the new series of smaller temples announced by President Hinckley.

-The Monticello Temple was built in eight months and nine days! It was the fastest time of any temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

-Much care went into ensuring that the Monticello Utah Temple was as well built and as beautiful as any other temple. The exterior is finished in a marble called Noah’s Creme, chosen for it’s color and range of shades. The hue of the temple seems to change with the weather conditions and time of day. The marble on the exterior is ideal for weathering sandstorms, which is common in that area.

-One morning during the open-house a member if the temple committee came to find thousands of moths covering the grounds and the walls of the temple. After unsuccessful attempts to remove them workers tried getting rid of them with air blowers. As they did so birds that had been nesting nearby swooped down and caught the moths in midair. The birds got rid of the moths in about 20 minutes!

-The first statue Moroni on the Monticello Temple was white, but it didn’t stay long because when the sky was overcast nobody could see the statue. It was changed to a gold statue Angel Moroni.

-At the dedicatory session President Hinckley told the story that in 1894 Brigham Young Jr.(a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) said ”In the near future a temple will be built in this country.” President Hinckley said ”It’s taken a long time to fulfill Brigham Young Jr. prophetic statement. I’m glad to be in harmony with Brigham Young Jr. The inspiration of the Spirit is strong, clear and certain that this is where the House o the Lord should be built. . . No one could be happier than I am.”

-After four years of consistently high temple attendance it was decided that the Moticello Temple needed to be expanded. The temple president said ”The facilities we had were just not adequate to take care of the work that was being done.” After eight months of renovations the temple was enlarged from 7,000-11,225 square feet. President Hinckley rededicated the temple four years to the date of the groundbreaking.

-Here is the link to the rededication by President Hinckley: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/details/monticello-utah-temple/prayer/2002-11-17?lang=eng

Sources:

”Temples of the New Millennium” By Chad Hawkins p. 108-109