The Ogden Utah Temple (formerly the Ogden Temple) is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Ogden, Utah, it was originally built with a modern, single-spire design very similar to the Provo Utah Temple. During a renovation completed in 2014, the exterior and interior were extensively changed. History The temples in Ogden and Provo were planned due to overcrowding in the Salt Lake, Manti, and Logan temples. The Ogden Temple serves more than 135,000 members. The intention to construct a temple in Ogden was announced by the church on August 24, 1967. On September 7, 1970, a cornerstone-laying ceremony was held. The site for the temple was a lot called Tabernacle Square that the church had owned since the area was settled. In 1921, church president Heber J. Grant inspected the site as a possible temple site, but decided the time was not right to build. At the time of construction, the Ogden Temple differed from temples built previously by the church. The original design was very contemporary and the lot chosen was in downtown Ogden, surrounded by businesses and offices. The temple in Ogden was the first built in Utah since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated in 1893 and since Utah gained statehood in 1896. The Ogden Temple was originally constructed with and four floors, one below ground. The temple included six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms. The stone on the temple was fluted and decorative metal grillwork was added between the stone. Gold windows with directional glass also added to the beauty of the temple. The Ogden Temple was dedicated on January 18, 1972, by church president Joseph Fielding Smith, a few weeks before the Provo Temple was dedicated. In 2020, like all the church's other temples, the Ogden Utah Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Renovations Beginning in 2001 and lasting through much of 2002, both the exterior of the temple and the surrounding grounds underwent significant changes. Weather damage to the exterior of the temple was repaired and the spire, which was originally a yellowish-gold, was painted bright white. A fiberglass statue of the Angel Moroni covered in gold leaf was added to the temple's spire, almost 30 years after the temple was dedicated. The temple grounds received walkways and paths allowing visitors to walk around the temple as well