Construction is underway for the Tallahassee Florida Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which will be the third temple in the state after the Orlando, Florida and Fort Lauderdale, Florida temples.
Florida is home to more than 160,000 Latter-day Saints in 267 congregations.
The temple in Florida’s capital city was announced in April 2020 by Church President Russell M. Nelson.
The single-story structure of approximately 29,000 square feet is being built on a 4.97-acre site adjacent to a Church meetinghouse off Thomasville Road (2440 Papillion Way) in northeast Tallahassee. The project is expected to be completed in late 2023 to early 2024
Elder James B. Martino, North America Southeast Area President, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony which was held Saturday June 5th. He was assisted by local Church leader Elder Victor P. Patrick.
“This temple will bless the entire land around it and the entire community. It will be a beacon of holiness and a place of peace for all to both see and feel. Here we will seek to draw closer to God, to hear His voice, and seek to follow His teachings,” said Elder Martino. “This edifice that will be built right here is called the House of the Lord, because truly it is His house for us to learn of Him.”
In addition to the two existing Florida temples, the Tallahassee Florida Temple will join temples in Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Columbia, South Carolina in the southeastern United States.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. They are considered “houses of the Lord” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and promise to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man.
In more recent times, members would travel to Washington, D.C., then Atlanta, and then Orlando for temple blessings.
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Martino prayed for the individual lives of those living in the region and that Saturday’s milestone would be a spiritual groundbreaking in the lives of the members of the Church.
In his opening remarks, Elder Martino talked about the significance of the word “groundbreaking.”
“Groundbreaking was considered a representation of breaking the earth, to make a sacred deposit that would endorse a firm foundation. How appropriate of a description. Truly, this is the symbolic act to begin a foundation for a most sacred building,” he said.
Several community leaders attended the ceremony, including Ron Cave with the Leon County Sheriff’s office, Courtney Thomas with the Tallahassee Mayor’s office, and Enrique Yañez, a member of the Hispanic faith community.
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As a former Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served in Tallahassee in 2001-2003, I am delighted to see the fruits of our labors pay off. For those of you whom say that we are a cult, shame on you. I don’t say your churches are crap, or not true. I say bring your truths that you know and let us expand on it. TRUTHS, not opinions. We follow the Same Jesus Christ you do. We love our Father in Heaven, We testify that only through Jesus Christ can we return to Him. When the Elders or Sisters knock on your door, keep an open heart and open mind. It’ll amaze you what the Spirit of the Lord can do for you.
Every temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is absolutely beautiful and brings a sacred, inspiring feel to the area.
This Temple will be a wonderful addition to Tallahassee.
I am saddened that Christian people are so prejudice against another religion when our country holds in the Bill of Rights – freedom of religion. I don’t cast stones at your beliefs and I believe that Jesus (who said he is the way to heaven if you follow his teachings) would expect you to love your neighbor regardless of their faith, race, ethnicity or other differences. I know many Mormon people who I am proud to call friend and neighbor. Matthew 22:37-39.
The Temple looks like a beautiful building, that will be a lovely addition to our area. Thomasville Road, like every busy highway, is going to be all commercial district – I’d rather have a Temple than another strip shopping center. Trust me – I am a STRONG Canopy Road advocate, but Thomasville Road is a highway.
I never had many negative feeling about the Mormons except that they are leading people away from the truth of the Gospel as proclaimed in the Bible. But what they have done to the piece of land they want to put their Temple on is unconscionable! It is a very large piece of land, which was nicely forested. They have removed EVERY single tree and bush/shrub. EVERY SINGLE one! It’s hard to believe the temple is going to be so huge as to not allow some of the older/larger hard woods to be preserved. And the fact that the county/city is allowing this is another story. It all makes me very angry and I no longer feel neutral about this cult.
I am so thankful for the progress of the church and the response it has received from the larger community. The stone rolling forth without hands in Daniel 2 is truly growing to fill the Earth and people are learning the truths of the restored gospel. Joseph Smith was truly accurate in describing the growth of this church, and it is exciting to see it play out.
Please build a carpeted fellowship hall with basketball hoops like the one at FSU has. Would love to have a new air conditioning place to play on the north side!
You guys rock by the way. Really kind people.
I know several Mormons and they are wonderful people. The right to follow whomever you choose is who we are…cult or no cult, these are good, God fearing, people.
I guess Christianity passed the threshold to go from cult to mainstream many centuries ago. Still, there are many nice people in that erstwhile cult.
I am thankful that we have freedom of religion in this great country. But, it is sad that 160,000+ Floridians have been duped into joining this cult. It is a cult by every definition of the word.
They proclaim the doctrine of their founder Joseph Smith. They do not proclaim the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
But they are free to follow whomever they choose. There are many nice people in this cult.