South Jordan will soon be home to 2 temples

Quick — name the city where two LDS Church temples are located.

The obvious answer — Salt Lake City — isn't the most correct answer. Yes, there are four temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located throughout the Salt Lake Valley in what one could call "metropolitan Salt Lake City."

But only the iconic Salt Lake Temple is located in Salt Lake City proper.

Nauvoo, Ill., has been the site of two temples, but the two were built more than 150 years apart and the current Nauvoo Illinois Temple is modeled after its predecessor and built on the exact same site.

The real answer is South Jordan, a city in the southwestern area of the Salt Lake Valley that covers some 21 square miles that can lay claim to two LDS temples now that the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple begins pre-dedication functions this week.

Located at 11022 S. 4000 West just off Bangerter Highway, Oquirrh Mountain is just a 13-minute or four-mile drive away from its South Jordan neighbor, the Jordan River Utah Temple, at 10200 S. 1300 West.

Once a predominantly rural area in the valley, South Jordan has grown from a population of 1,345 in 1960 to the April 2009 estimate of nearly 54,000 residents.

Work on the Salt Lake Temple began in 1847 and was completed in 1893. The Jordan River Temple was announced in 1978 and dedicated in 1981. The valley's third temple was dedicated in Draper earlier this year.

LDS Church leaders will host reporters on a tour of the Oquirrh Mountain temple Wednesday.

Additional tours will continue over the next week and a half as the church welcomes civic, religious and other dignitaries for invitation-only sessions.

The public will be able to visit during free open houses scheduled for a two-month period. The open houses begin Monday, June 1, and continue through Saturday, Aug. 1, excluding Sundays and the July 4 and July 24 holidays.

Open house reservations, which have been available since May 4, can be made by calling 800-521-5105 or 801-240-7645 or online at www.lds.org/reservations.

Following the open house, the temple will be dedicated in nine sessions over the weekend of Aug. 21-23.

The temple will open Aug. 25 for regular sessions and ordinance work.

E-MAIL: taylor@desnews.com