FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is building a new temple in Federal Way, giving the church its sixth temple in Washington once it’s completed.
The temple is planned to be built on an 11.6-acre site — currently a gated-off wooded area — located at approximately 1405 South 364th Way in Federal Way. It will be the city’s first temple allotted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can,” President Russell M. Nelson said in the announcement of the temple’s finalized location.
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The temple will have multiple stories, approximately 45,000 square feet in size — more than double the square footage of the latest completed Latter-day Saints’ temple located in Moses Lake.
The other four temples in Washington are located in Columbia River, Seattle, Spokane and Vancouver.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second largest denomination in Washington, trailing only the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, Washington has the sixth-most members of Latter-day Saints in the U.S.
“Latter-day Saints worship in temples for several reasons: To feel God’s love and peace, to learn more about God’s plan for His children and the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make promises with God and with one’s husband or wife and to unite families in this life and the next through sacred ordinances,” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a prepared statement.
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The construction start date and planned opening date are unknown, as of this reporting.
Editors’ note: Bonneville International Corporation, the company that owns KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest, is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.