COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced seventeen new temples will be built across the globe, including one right in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
This is exciting news for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jennifer J. Hicks, the Regional Communications Director for the church, said that the temple in Spokane Valley is “bursting at the seams.”
This also comes after the most recent opening of the church’s Moses Lake temple.
Coeur d’Alene Stake President Tyler Morton said the Inland Northwest is home to about 54,000 members. He said between Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Sandpoint and Spokane Valley, there are about 28,000 members – who, as of now, have all been commuting to the Spokane Valley Temple.
With the growth of the area's population, there has been a need for a closer temple to provide a place for faith, family, and connectedness.
“A lot of the local members here have been praying and working toward this for many, many years," Morton said. "And so, I guess I would see it as a big sign of their devotion. To their heavenly father, where it’s like, okay, we want to have one of these big buildings close to us.”
Morton also said the announcement was a complete surprise.
“And when the announcement came, we all got chills, we were super excited, exchanged a couple of tears, and so excited for this area," Morton said.
Elder Hal C. Hunsaker also said that some members of the church are commuting two to three hours to the Spokane Valley Temple. He said bringing a temple to Coeur d’Alene will help with commute times for families and give people a larger opportunity to experience the blessings a temple provides.
“They are currently driving, some two to three hours from the northern and southern parts of Idaho, up to Spokane Valley," Hunsaker said. "So, it will shorten their commute by a bit."
Hunasker said the Coeur d'Alene temple will take between two to three years to build. As of now, they do not have the site location, but they are looking forward to those announcements soon enough.
The growth of The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints does not stop there. Hicks also said they expect a 14th stake to open in Pullman and temples in western Washington, Tacoma and Vancouver, are well on their way.