Columbus Ohio Temple

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Announcement:  25 April 1998
Groundbreaking and Site Dedication:  12 September 1998 by John K. Carmack
Public Open House:  21–28 August 1999
Dedication:  4–5 September 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley

Site:  1.35 acres.
Exterior Finish:  Imperial Danby White variegated marble quarried from Vermont.
Ordinance Rooms:  Two ordinance rooms (two-stage progressive) and two sealing.
Total Floor Area:  10,700 square feet.

The Columbus Ohio Temple is located 150 miles south of Kirtland, Ohio, where the restored Church dedicated its first temple in 1836. The temple stands in a wooded area of western Columbus adjacent to a meetinghouse in the Columbus Ohio Stake. The beautiful white Vermont marble facing on the exterior was quarried near Sharon, Vermont, the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The Columbus Ohio Temple is the first of the operating temples built in Ohio and the second latter-day temple built in Ohio, following the Kirtland Temple (1836).

Ownership of the temple site has ties to Julia Clapp Murdock, a devoted member who lived at the time of Joseph Smith in Kirtland. On April 30, 1831, the day that Emma's twins were born and died, Julia passed away after giving birth to twins herself. Julia's husband asked the Prophet and Emma to care for the twins feeling he was unable, which somewhat softened Emma's sorrow. Julia's father, Orris, was a member of Sidney Rigdon's congregation, who eventually became embittered toward the Church and left New York for Ohio accompanied by his brother, Abner Clapp. Upon their arrival, Abner purchased the land where the temple now stands. Records indicate he was the land's first owner, and as far as can be ascertained, he did not share his brother's animosity toward the Church.¹

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1. Shaun Stahle, "Spiritual celebration—Columbus Ohio Temple dedicated," Church News 11 Sept. 1999: 3.

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