Date set for Mormon temple groundbreaking

The Mormon temple planned for Henrico County will begin taking shape April 11.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday that it would host a groundbreaking that day for the new facility, which will include a two-story, 36,000-square-foot building and an adjacent 16,000-square-foot meetinghouse.

The groundbreaking service will be by invitation only but will be broadcast to select church buildings in the temple district. Elder Randall K. Bennett, North America Northeast Area president, will preside.

The temple – the first for the church in Virginia – will be located on an 11-acre site at the intersection of Staples Mill Road and Mountain Road, at 10915 Staples Mill Road in Glen Allen. It will serve Latter-day Saints in Virginia, eastern West Virginia and northeastern North Carolina and is expected to be completed by late 2022, according to church officials.

More than 100,000 Mormons live in Virginia, according to church officials. The closest temples are in suburban Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and near Raleigh, North Carolina.

The design of the temple draws heavily from historical American traditions, according Bill Williams, the church’s director of temple design. Elements found on buildings throughout Virginia – such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia – will be part of the temple’s overall look.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the lord.” Unlike meetinghouses, where Sabbath worship and weekly activities take place, temples are open throughout the week and closed on Sundays.