Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


Perth Australia Temple

Snowflake Arizona Temple

Columbia River Washington Temple

107th dedicated temple in operation
Columbia River Washington Temple

© Leon Jacob. All rights reserved.

Address

969 Gage Blvd
Richland, Washington  99352-7777
United States
Telephone:  (+1) 509-628-0990

Services

NO clothing rental available
NO cafeteria food served
NO patron housing available
NO distribution center nearby (Store Locator)

Announcement: 

2 April 2000

Groundbreaking and Site Dedication: 

28 October 2000 by Stephen A. West

Public Open House: 

27 October–10 November 2001

Dedication: 

18 November 2001 by Gordon B. Hinckley

Site: 

2.88 acres  |  1.2 hectares

Exterior Finish: 

Bethel white granite from Vermont and Italy

Architectural Features: 

Single attached spire with an angel Moroni statue

Ordinance Rooms: 

Two instruction rooms (two-stage progressive), two sealing rooms, and one baptistry

Total Floor Area: 

16,880 square feet  |  1,568 square meters

Elevation: 

538 feet  |  164 meters

Temple History

The Columbia River Washington Temple was the third temple built in Washington, following the Seattle Washington Temple (1980) and the Spokane Washington Temple (1999).


Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Stephen A. West, who presided at the groundbreaking ceremony, stated at that occasion, "Our homes are where we become prepared to go to the temple. Carved over the temple door is the phrase, 'The House of the Lord.' Our houses should be homes where the Lord could be comfortable to visit. In the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple it was said?'establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.' May that be said of our homes as well."

The temple's construction is of exceptional significance for the many second and third generation Latter-day Saints who moved from Utah to Richland during the build-up of the Hanford site in World War II. These faithful saints who have remained in Washington for many years will now be blessed with the proximity of temple as enjoyed by most Utahns.

Elder Lowell Barber, Area Authority Seventy, quoted the First Presidency from a letter written in 1893, counseling Church members how to prepare for temple worship: "Before entering into the temple to present ourselves before the Lord in solemn assembly, we shall divest ourselves of every harsh and unkind feeling against each other,?that we shall confess our sins one to another, and ask for forgiveness one of another; that we shall plead with the Lord for the spirit of repentance, and having obtained it, follow its promptings?"1


  1. Church News, 4 Nov. 2000.

Kirtland Temple
Historic Church building that ceased operation as a temple in the late 1830s
Seattle Washington Temple
19th dedicated temple in operation
Spokane Washington Temple
59th dedicated temple in operation