The Grand Junction Colorado Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its doors to the public for free tours beginning this week. The open house will be held from Thursday, September 11, through Saturday, September 27, 2025, excluding Sundays. President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, October 19, 2025.
The Grand Junction Colorado Temple was first announced by President Russell M. Nelson during the April 2021 general conference. It will join previously dedicated Colorado temples in Denver and Fort Collins. Another temple is coming in Colorado Springs.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was held on April 16, 2022. The 29,630-square-foot temple sits on a 7.93-acre site at 678 Horizon Drive, Grand Junction, Colorado.
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| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Media and invited guests attended a news conference and toured the temple on Monday, September 8, 2025.
"We believe that this is the house of the Lord," said Elder James R. Rasband, an assistant executive director in the Temple Department. "We want it to be something that is absolutely beautiful.”
Sister Karen Bland, former director of Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, spoke about her experience touring the temple and learning about the purpose of temples.
“I so appreciated the sharing of the theology behind all you showed us," she said. "It's a beautiful, beautiful place.”
The temple incorporates elements that celebrate western Colorado’s natural environment, with special emphasis on the claret cup cactus — the state’s official cactus. Decorative paint inside the building also references Indian paintbrush, cliffrose blossoms and peach blossoms, uniting the desert landscape motifs with the temple’s spiritual significance.
The temple’s interior color palette highlights crimson, amber, green and pale pink hues, bringing depth and color variations reminiscent of Southwestern canyon landscapes.
Grand Junction City Manager Mike Bennett attended the event.
“I am so excited... to have such a beautiful building that brings so many people together for such a positive purpose," he said. "What a wonderful opportunity for the community to be welcomed in and see, both the beauty and learn about the purpose of temples for our faith.”
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Temples
There are 382 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that are dedicated, under construction or announced.
Latter-day Saints worship in temples for several reasons: to feel God’s love and peace, to learn more about God’s plan for His children and the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make promises with God and with one’s husband or wife, and to unite families in this life and the next through sacred ordinances.
“Jesus Christ is the reason we build temples. Each is His holy house. Making covenants and receiving essential ordinances in the temple, as well as seeking to draw closer to Him there, will bless your life in ways no other kind of worship can,” Church President Russell M. Nelson said at the April 2023 general conference.