The Payson Utah Temple is one of 159 dedicated temples worldwide, built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Payson temple is located at 1494 S 930 W Payson UT 84651
When it was announced (January 25, 2010) our family was so excited for the blessings associated with having the temple in our town. We participated in the groundbreaking and Site Dedication on 8 October 2011 by Dallin H. Oaks. We drove by the lot several times a month to view the progress.
At its completion, there was an open house and I was the one assigned from our ward (congregation) to coordinate volunteers, guides and attendants for the open house I coordinated about 120 volunteer shifts and participated in a couple myself.
My youngest daughters were two of nearly 13,000 youth that participated in the cultural celebration on June 6, 2015, they practiced for months leading up to this event and the whole day of the event. As their final practice finishing up a huge rainstorm came in and dumped rain like I have never seen it before. The early audience and participants sought shelter underneath the stadium while thunder and lightning and a downpour of epoch proportions threatened the continuation of the event. From my vantage point, I saw several prayer circles and others who visited and some groups sang hymns. About an hour after the event was scheduled to start the clouds parted and the rain stopped. The cultural celebration was back on track and despite the fact that it was a little chili there was no rain until the last moment that the event finished up. Then it started to sprinkle again. This miracle and celebration is something I will remember forever.
After the temple dedication I was a temple worker and served there once a week and I count that serves as one of the highlights of my life.
This temple is big compared to most of the recently built temples. It is 96,630 square feet and sits on about 11 acres.
If you want to know more about temples and what they are for please watch this quick video it will explain the sacred nature of our temples. https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/topics/temples?lang=eng
The Payson temple is probably the most non-retail destination in Payson.
