As the public open house for the Burley Idaho Temple begins, many experience the ‘love and peace of the Savior’
3 Nov 2025, 8:58 p.m. MST
BURLEY, Idaho — Surrounded by sugar beet and potato fields in Idaho’s Magic Valley, the Burley Idaho Temple opened its doors for public tours on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, beginning with three days of media and special-guest tours.
This will become the 212th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — and the seventh house of the Lord in Idaho — when it is dedicated on Jan. 11, 2026.
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, began the morning telling local media that the temple is the most holy place on earth.
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, smiles while talking with media members after leading them on a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
“Media day is all about our yearning for the public to understand the miracle of the temple,” Elder Bangerter said.
He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Susan A. Bangerter; Elder K. Brett Nattress, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director in the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Shawna Lee Nattress; and Elder Karl D. Hirst, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the United States Central Area.
The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
The ordinances and covenants
Elder Bangerter led a private tour for a dozen journalists from various media organizations. In each room, he explained the importance of the ordinances and covenants made.
After the tour, he said he saw countenances change as journalists entered the doors of the temple and learned about the purpose of each room.
“You see a warmth,” he said. “And by the time the process is completed and we’ve worked our way through the various ordinance rooms of the temple, and we find ourselves in the sealing room — where the crowning ordinances of the temple are experienced — they feel it, and you can feel it through the light in their eyes.”
The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Design motifs through the temple draw from the local landscape, including the sugar beet and potato farms that the area is known for. Art-glass patterns inside the temple highlight the blossoms and leaves of the potato plant. The color palette also ties to the local farmland and open skies, with hues of blue, gold, amber, cream, orange, peach and green.
Though Elder Bangerter made note of these artistic features unique to this temple, he made it clear that this was not the purpose of the temple.
The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
“The purpose isn’t the beauty or the comfort,” he said. “The purpose is that it provides an atmosphere of familiarity. And it demonstrates our love for God and our devotion to God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
A blessing for the community
Elder Bangerter praised the members of the Church in the Burley area who have prayed for a temple.
“They’ve knelt on their knees and prayed for a temple of God in their midst,” he said. “And now this temple will be filled with the youth of Zion.”
One of those youth, 15-year-old Sophia Silvaz, shared her testimony with media and an invitation for all to come to the open house to experience “the love and peace of the Savior.”
Sophia Silvaz, 15, speaks during a news conference at the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
“When I go to the temple, I just have this feeling of peace,” she said.
Silvaz is planning to attend the temple with friends “and not just our ward groups but all our friends.”
Members of the Church in this area — including youth — have traveled 45 minutes to the Twin Falls Idaho Temple to attend the temple.
Elder K. Brent Nattress, a General Authority Seventy and an assistant executive director in the Temple Department, talks with media after a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Elder Nattress said this temple — like all temples around the world — will be a blessing to the community, “both to members of the Church and those who are members of other faiths.”
“You can see how it’s surrounded by these farms and these wonderful communities. And it’s going to be a wonderful addition to the community having a house of the Lord right in the very center.”
The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Elder Nattress also shared how exciting it is for members to have the opportunity to invite others to the public open house. Following media day and two days of tours for invited guests, the open house will start Nov. 6 and continue Nov. 22, excluding Sundays.
“It’s the opportunity to share with their neighbors and friends who are members of other faiths something that means so much to them, something they hold dear,” Elder Nattress said.
The Savior is at the center
The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
He also pointed to the ordinances and covenants made in the temple, which will bless the members.
“The Savior is at the center of everything that happens inside the temple. And as we focus our lives on the Savior, then we will find that we are happier, that we experience more joy in this life as we prepare for the life to come,” Elder Nattress said.
Elder Hirst said he was struck during the media tour with how much of the world ‘melted away” while in the temple, particularly while in the celestial room.
Elder Karl D. Hirst, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the United States Central Area, talks to media members before a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
“The peace took a minute to be loud enough for me to hear, and then when it did, I realized that there’s a stillness all around me,” he said.
He also shared how he could tell from others’ comments that they were also having the same experience in the sacred space.
“It’s the power of temples, the power of the Lord’s house, even before it’s dedicated,” he said. “The transforming power is felt by people.”
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Susan A. Bangerter, lead members of the media on a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Following the media, invited guests toured the temple, including Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke.
“I’m always kind of rejuvenated every time I go through and tour a temple,” Gov. Little said. “The grounds are gorgeous, the paintings inside are gorgeous. It’s just a great addition to the community of Burley.”
After his tour, Elder Bangerter, Elder Nattress and Elder Hirst gifted the governor a painting of Idaho’s Magic Valley, where the temple now sits, from local artist Garth Williams.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little, center, talks with Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and local artist Garth Williams, right, after Williams presented a painting to the governor after a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, left, talks with Idaho Gov. Brad Little after the latter toured the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, talks with media after a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Elder Karl D. Hirst, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the United States Central Area, talks to media members before a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Sophia Silvaz, 15, speaks during a news conference at the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Elder K. Brent Nattress, an assistant executive director in the Temple Department, stands with Elder Steven R. Bangerter, executive director of the Temple Department, during a news conference before leading them on a tour of the Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Burley Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, during the temple media day in Burley, Idaho. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
