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In advance of June groundbreaking at site off Thomasville Road
TALLAHASSEE – Local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will host a virtual Interfaith Roundtable titled, “Why Temples in Modern Times,” Tuesday, May 11 at 7 p.m.
President Benjamin Smith of the Tallahassee Stake of the Church, Bob Swetnam, building advisor for the Tallahassee Florida Temple, and President Dennis Berry, president of the Orlando Florida Temple, will give remarks and make a presentation about why the Church builds temples.
The Tallahassee Stake includes seven congregations in Tallahassee as well as congregations in Thomasville, Cairo, Quincy, Crawfordville, Perry, and Madison.
Tallahassee Temple Exterior
The Church will break ground on the Tallahassee Florida Temple in June.
More than 25 leaders from different congregations in the Tallahassee area, including both Christian and non-Christian denominations, were invited to participate on the Zoom platform.
The Church reached out to churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples associated with the Tallahassee Interfaith Clergy Association, Tallahassee Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the Tallahassee Citywide Faith-Based Community Leaders, and the Florida State University Interfaith Council.
The agenda includes a 30-minute question and answer period.
The 29,000 square foot temple will be located at 2440 Papillon Way off Thomasville Road in Northeast Tallahassee and will be built on a 4.97-acre parcel adjacent to the Church’s Thomasville Road meetinghouse.
The temple in Florida’s capital city was announced in April 2020 by Church President Russell M. Nelson. It will be the state’s third temple.
Florida is home to more than 160,000 Latter-day Saints in 267 congregations. Other temples in the state include the Orlando Florida Temple and Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man.
