Back in April of 2019 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that they would be renovating the Manti temple and getting rid of some of the original murals that had been painted on the walls. 

However, after more consideration, they decided against this plan, and instead announced the building of the Ephriam temple, only seven miles away from the Manti temple.

“As we have continued to seek the direction of the Lord on this matter,” the late President of the church Russell M. Nelson said in a prerecorded message in May of 2021, “we have been impressed to modify our earlier plans for the Manti Utah Temple so that the pioneer craftsmanship, artwork and character will be preserved, including the painted murals loved by so many. We will leave those murals where they are located now — inside the Manti Utah Temple.”

The Ephraim temple was announced to the public on May 1, 2021, with the ground breaking being over a year later on Aug. 27, 2022. The Ephriam temple is a religious building where members of the church who are worthy, can go to worship. 

The church recently held a temple open house on Sept. 2-19 where they invited anyone to attend, to go see the interior of the temple, and to ask any questions that they might have about the temple.

“I think [people] are going to understand that things aren’t secret, and that we worship Jesus Christ and are Christians, and that we love our Savior,” temple recorder Jeff Ericksen said.

Many attended the Ephriam temple open house, with an estimated total of 64,000 people going through the temple from all over the country.

“I happened to be visiting with the person that was standing outside the exit door, and a couple came out that had just been invited to go. They were driving through from Indianapolis,” temple open house committee chairman Linda Hill said.

Not only did they have 64,000 attend, but they also had around 300 volunteers coming everyday to make sure that the open house was running smoothly.

“One of the biggest things was getting enough volunteers, and we had three shifts a day and about 100 people would come and man all the shifts. That’s a lot of people in the community,” Hill said.

The community has stepped up to the challenge of having two temples, with 980 workers already lined up to work in the temple after the dedication. 

“There’s a buzz and an excitement in every different aspect. Whether you're a regular patron or whether you're preparing to become a worker or whether you’re in the temple presidency and you’re making sure that everybody and everything is ready, there’s an air of excitement,” Ericksen said.

With the new Ephriam temple opening the drive will be shorter for those in the North Sanpete area. For some, this may not be the biggest deal, but for others like senior Malia Schlappi who attends the temple at 6:30 a.m. every Wednesday, it means more sleep.

“I’m so excited. I mean, it’s 10 minutes closer, and also I just love the temple and temple attendance,” Schlappi said. “I think it’s so important, and I’m excited for other people to get that experience too.”

The temple dedication will be held on Oct. 11, and will start operating Oct. 13.