-The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple is the 8th temple in operation for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the first temple built in Idaho.
-The Idaho Falls Temple’s groundbreaking was on December 19, 1939 and was dedicated September 23-25, 1945 by President George Albert Smith.
-The Idaho Falls Temple was the ONLY temple dedicated by President George Albert Smith.
-Once the temple location was selected, members of the Church board of temple architects was assigned to submit a proposal. The architectural plans that were chosen were drawn up by John Fetzer Sr. Later, John Fetzer Sr. said he “saw in a vision an ancient Nephite temple” which he used as the basis for his design.
-At one point Brigham Young had prophesied saying “The time will come when there will be one [spire] in the center of temples we shall build.” Brother Fetzer believed that his one spire temple design fulfilled that prophesy.
-The United States entered World War II at the same time of the building of the Idaho Falls Temple. This caused many delays in finishing temple. The exterior of the temple was close to being done, but the interior of the Idaho Falls Temple still needed a lot of work. The temple finished just one month after World War II had ended.
-The Idaho Falls Temple was the fist temple with a central spire. This also represented the ‘return to spires’ because the three temples dedicated just before this temple did not have any spires(The Laie Hawaii Temple, the Cardston Alberta Temple, and the Mesa Arizona Temple).
-The temple walls sparkle in the sunlight from the two-inch-thick facing of white quartz aggregate and white cement.
-In the early 1980’s representatives of the Idaho Falls Temple asked Church Headquarters if the Idaho Falls Temple could have an Angle Moroni Statue. In 1983 there petitions were answered and they put the Angle Moroni Statue on top of the Idaho Falls Temple with a helicopter. Making the Idaho Falls Temple the first temple to receive an angel Moroni statue after it was dedicated.
-The Idaho Falls Temple was rededicated June 4, 2017 after a two year closer and renovation. There were lots of things that needed to be done to update and strengthen the Idaho Falls Temple: Structural walls were reinforced, all mechanical and electrical systems were upgraded. A separate exit was created for brides and grooms, and a large waiting room was added for wedding parties. In the ordinance rooms, the original murals were restored, and the number of seats was reduced from 140 to 88 to increase roominess and improve the room-to-room progression of the temple. Finishes and furnishings were replaced throughout the temple in shades of chartreuse, purple, and gold.
Sources:
”Temples of the New Millennium” by Chad Hawkins p. 18-19
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/multimedia/file/temple-media-kit-idaho-falls-fact-sheet.pdf
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/idaho-falls-idaho-temple/