Tallahassee Welcomes Mormonism

Open House of the New Mormon Temple 

Photo by Maggie Murray/Maclay Andalusian

Back in January 2021, Elder James B. Martino announced Tallahassee would get their very own Mormon Temple. Since then, the temple has become a 29,000 square-foot single-story building with a 125-foot center sphere in the middle. It is now the third Mormon temple in Florida, along with the Orlando and Fort Lauderdale locations. The temple is located on Thomasville Road and a public open house is being held at the temple from Nov. 4 through Nov. 23. Elder Patrick Kearon will dedicate the temple in a session at 9 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2024. After the dedication, the temple will close, and only invited guests will be allowed inside. 

"This temple will bless the entire land around it and the entire community,” Martino said. “It will be a beacon of holiness and a place of peace for all to both see and feel. Here we will seek to draw closer to God, to hear His voice and seek to follow His teachings."

The Mormon community in Florida includes over 150,000 people. Before the temple was built, Moroms in Tallahassee would travel up to 260 miles to the temple in Orlando, Fla. 

“I thought the temple was cool but weird at the same time,” senior Pearce Witters said. “There was an odd vibe within it. The baptism room really freaked me out with the bulls on the bottom of it.”

Almost everything inside the temple is made of gold metal or marble. The temple is made of a steel structure and precast concrete. The metal bull that sits underneath the baptism tub is made of antiqued brass and has a diamond panel carved in its center. The focal point of many of the rooms, such as the baptistry, bride and instruction rooms, is the large diamond chandeliers in the center. The ceilings contain several small designs and inscriptions. The temple also includes several artwork pieces, including “That They May Be Called Trees of Righteousness,” “The Planting of the Lord,” “That He May Be Glorified (Isaiah 61:3)” by Josh Clare and “She Offered All, Even All Her Living” by Heather Edwards. 

“The temple was very unique, and the architecture was beautiful,” senior Kate Reichelderfer said. “There was a plentiful amount of gold and diamond chandeliers, and the rooms were filled with decorative features.”