Elconevada Temple opens for media, public tour – Church News

August 27, 2025, 10:45am MDT

The public is invited to tour the Elconevada Temple during the Open House from August 30th to September 13th, excluding Sundays, starting this Saturday. The tour began with Media Day on Wednesday, August 27th, and guest tours were invited from August 28th to 29th.

The two general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 70s that lead today’s Media Day tour. Elder Michael A. Dunn, the first counselor to the President of the United States Southwestern President, and Stephen R. Bangerter, executive director of the Temple Department.

Attended on the first day of the tour was Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo and Elco Mayor Reese Keener.

A month after the Open House ended, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, a quorum of 12 Apostles, will dedicate the Elko Temple on October 12th. A single dedication session will be broadcast to all units in the temple district.

The heavenly room inside the temple of Elconevada. |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

In conjunction with Wednesday’s Media Day, the church released photos of the interior and exterior of the El Conevada Temple at churchofjesuschrist.org.

This will be the third home of the Lord of the State and the first home in northern Nevada. It is also planned to become the church’s 209th operational temple.

The Elko Temple district includes towns and communities in six counties in Nevada, covering approximately 46.5% (51,389 square miles) of the state’s area.

Baptism inside the Elconevada Temple. |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

Design and Features

The El Conevada Temple, a 12,901 square foot single-storey building, features a structural steel exterior with White Mount Airy Granite Stone Veneer. It was built on the 5.2-acre site at 2100 Ruby Vista Drive, adjacent to the southeast corner of Ruby View Golf Course.

The general design motifs throughout the temple are desert glove marrow, a native flower integrated into wood carvings, art glasses, decorative paints, fabrics and metalwork. The geometric patterns are inspired by the cultural heritage of the Paite and Shoshone peoples. The colours of orange, yellow and green accents reflect the shades of Elko’s landscape.

Close-up of a window with a flower design. — An art glass depicting native dessert glove marrow at the Elconevada temple. |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

The accent pendants and chandelier lighting feature brass and frost glass materials with crystal added to the ordinance. The building’s ceiling is made of painted plasterboard, painted wood and acoustic tiles.

In the waiting room outside the entrance and celestial room, the wool rug matches the pattern of art glass and decorative paint. Stone-like flooring field tiles are made of porcelain. The Emperador Light Stone is used on countertops and wall bases, while the Cremaela stone is used in the teaching and baptismal rooms. Lighter stones, lattes, are used in pass-through and celestial chamber transitions.

Exterior of Elconevada Temple "Holyness to the Lord: The House of His Lord." — The exterior of the Elconevada temple shows “Holyness to the Lord: the House of the Lord.” |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

This temple and church in Nevada

President Russell M. Nelson announced the Lord’s House in Elko, Nevada, April 4, 2021. It was one of 20 temples announced at the conference, including four temples in four states in five neighboring states in Nevada.

The ground broke due to Elko Temple on May 7, 2022, and was hosted by Elder Paul B. Peeper, then president of Southwestern North America. “We see this temple rise in the coming months, Elder Peeper said.

Recommended desks inside the Elconevada temple. |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

Nevada has two operating temples, Las Vegas (dedicated to 1989) and Reno (2000). The Solitary Mountain Nevada Temple, the fourth home of the Lord of the State, was announced in October 2022 as the Second Temple in Las Vegas.

Many Latter-day Saints moved from Utah to Nevada in the late 1920s in search of a better economic situation. Early church congregations in northeastern Nevada began in White Pine County, a community of Lund, Preston and Georgetown.

Ceiling room at Elconevada Temple. |Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ

Helping the churches grow in their communities, Latter-day Saints found places where they could meet and worship, such as the homes of people, opera houses, morgues, entertainment halls, community churches, Elks Halls and the Order of Pitias Halls. As their numbers increased, they hoped their place would meet, and worked hard to raise funds for the building, like Ely Tabernacle.

Today, Nevada has over 183,000 Latter-day Saints in about 340 congregations.