Temple open house begins in Twin Falls, Idaho

A steady flow of people lined up to visit the new Twin Falls Idaho Temple during a public open house that began July 11.Twin Falls Idaho Stake President Randy V. Hansen said he is in awe of the spirit and anticipation surrounding the open house and upcoming dedication of the temple."This is really exciting for our saints here," he said. "It is great."President Thomas S. Monson is expected to dedicate the church's 128th temple Sunday, Aug. 24, in four sessions. A cultural celebration will precede the dedication on Saturday, Aug. 23.The open house continues through Saturday, Aug. 16, except Sundays.The Twin Falls temple will be the fourth temple in Idaho; other temples in the state are located in Idaho Falls, Boise and Rexburg.The temple will serve 42,000 members living in 14 stakes in communities across southern Idaho, including Twin Falls, Jerome, Burley, Rupert, Ketchum and Hailey."The temple is wonderful and beautiful," said President Hansen.Elder Brent H. Nielson, an Area Seventy, said there have been many positive comments about the new temple. Even "those who are not of our faith refer to it as 'our temple,' " he said."Anticipation of the open house is quite something," he said. "Ninety thousand tickets to the various open house sessions have been ordered from the church's Web site."President Hansen said many church members in the district want to be part of the open house. More than 900 people volunteered to help during the three days their stake has been assigned to staff volunteers for the open house.