The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints breaks ground Saturday on a temple in Cincinnati. It will be the religion's third temple in Ohio.
"These are different than just our regular church chapels where we worship on on Sundays. These are where you go and you make special covenants or promises with God," says Jared Mattingley, stake president of the Cincinnati North Stake.
The temple will serve church members in Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky. Mattingley estimates that's about 20,000 people — many of whom were excited when the Cincinnati temple was announced. While there's no official time a church member must visit a temple, many, he says, try to go about once a month. Until now, that meant making a trip to Columbus.
"Driving up to Columbus, it may take you an hour and a half. You're typically worshiping there for a couple of hours, and then an hour and a half back," he estimates."So what it does is it gives you more time to actually worship in the temple rather than spending that driving."
The Cincinnati temple was announced in 2024. The nearly 30,000-square-foot, single-story building is being built on 35 acres in Mason at the corner of Mason-Montgomery Road & Cedar Village Drive.
Ohio is home to more than 65,000 members of the faith commonly referred to as Mormonism. The temple in Columbus opened in 1999, and a second in Cleveland opened earlier this year.
Temples differ from the religion's regular meetinghouses and chapels, which are used for Sunday worship services, in that they're used for sacred religious ceremonies. Only members of the church are allowed inside a temple once it is officially dedicated.
Mattingley estimates it will take about two years to complete construction. The building will then be open to the public for free tours for a period of time before it's dedicated. After that point it will only be open to church members in good standing.
"These are beautiful facilities," he explains. "If you think about in the Catholic Church, you've got these beautiful cathedrals where the level of craftsmanship and detail is so much greater than just your regular church building. These are very similar. The level of craftsmanship is top notch."
Mattingley, who lives and works in Mason, says he was overjoyed when the location was announced.
"It is a blessing for the community, and it's a blessing for the members to have it so close," he says, adding "and rather than spending all of that time commuting, you get to spend that in the temple itself."
This is technically the fourth Latter-day Saints temple in Ohio. The church's first-ever temple was built in Kirtland, Ohio, northeast of Cleveland. It was completed in late 1835 and opened in 1836. Kirtland served as the religion's headquarters in the 1830s. The building is still standing and operates as a historic site.
Read more:
