Memphis Tennessee Mormon Temple
June 11, 2008 by admin
Filed under Temples in America
The Memphis Tennessee Temple is the 80th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Memphis Tennessee Temple, Elder Gordon T. Watts of the Seventy promised “The presence of the temple in the community will spark the Spirit of Christ in hundreds of people.” [1]
Travel time has been reduced from days to hours as Mormon temples have been built closer and closer; now some members will have less than an hour to drive. The Memphis Tennessee temple will serve more than 20,000 members in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri.
The prophet Joseph Smith sent Wilford Woodruff as the first missionary to the Memphis area. Many people joined the Church, but left the area with the body of the Saints as they migrated west to escape persecution. The presence of the Church was small, and in 1934 only about 130 members worshipped in Memphis. Since then the Church as grown significantly, warranting the construction of numerous meeting houses, with a temple as well.
On April 23, 2000, President James E. Faust, of the First Presidency, dedicated the Memphis Tennessee Temple. During the dedicatory prayer, he echoed the prayers of many of the members in the area when he said, “Now Father, we thank Thee for this temple. It is an answer to our prayers. It will enrich the lives of countless thousands who will here seek blessings for themselves and stand as proxies in behalf of those who have passed beyond. May hearts leap with joy, and may smiles of satisfaction come to the faces of all who labor herein as they carry forward Thy work of salvation and exaltation.” [2]
The Memphis Tennessee Temple has a total floor area of 10,700 square feet, two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
Physical Address:
4199 Kirby-Whitten Pkwy
Bartlett TN 38135-9245
United States
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 341816
Bartlett, Tennessee 38184-1816
United States
Phone: 901-379-0202
