New Wyoming temple dedicated as apostle shares message of faith and spiritual growth
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CODY, Wyoming — The newest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated Sunday, bringing a house of worship closer to members in northwestern Wyoming.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Cody Wyoming Temple, marking the Church’s 227th dedicated temple and the third in Wyoming.
During the dedication, Elder Gilbert drew on the region’s rugged history, comparing the challenges faced by early settlers in the Big Horn Basin to the spiritual challenges people face today.
While modern Latter-day Saints may not be called to conquer a physical wilderness, Elder Gilbert said they face spiritual frontiers of their own — including deepening their faith, returning to the Church, fulfilling callings and giving up things that distance them from the Spirit.
“May we mark this temple dedication as an invitation to go to the spiritual frontiers in our own lives,” Elder Gilbert said. “As we do, I promise that we will become who the Lord needs us to become.”
Elder Gilbert outlined four characteristics of what he called the Lord’s frontiers: God can help people discover their spiritual challenges, those challenges may take them into unfamiliar territory, the Lord directs them toward where they need to go, and He does not abandon them along the way.
He encouraged Church members to ask themselves a question posed by a young man in the New Testament who approached Jesus Christ seeking eternal life.
After Jesus listed the commandments, the young man asked, “What lack I yet?”
Elder Gilbert said asking that same question can help people identify where they need to grow spiritually.
He also compared spiritual development to the work of early settlers who had to clear sagebrush and bring irrigation water to cultivate the land.
In the same way, he said, people must be willing to work to develop their faith, even when the challenges ahead appear difficult.
“The Lord declared that He would have His people ‘redeem Zion, and establish her waste places,’” Elder Gilbert said, referring to Doctrine and Covenants 101:75. “He will help us reclaim the waste places in our lives.”
Elder Gilbert also spoke about sacrifice, recalling a time early in his discipleship when he wanted to determine the terms of what he would give to the Lord.
He said the Lord does not ask people to offer only what is convenient. Instead, disciples must be willing to make the sacrifices He asks of them.
The new temple represents a significant milestone for Latter-day Saints in the Big Horn Basin, where members have long looked forward to having a temple closer to home.
Glenn and Erica Nielson donated the land where the temple now stands.
Erica Nielson said she looks forward to spending less time traveling to a temple and more time worshipping and serving there, including as an ordinance worker.
“What a huge blessing. You can be in the house of the Lord more,” she said.
Her husband, Glenn, said having a temple nearby will make a meaningful difference for those who worship and serve there.
“It just changes everything for the people who are able to serve and worship there,” he said.
The dedication included a single session at 10 a.m., which was broadcast to congregations throughout the temple district and rebroadcast at 2 p.m.
The Cody temple follows the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2016, and the Casper Wyoming Temple, dedicated in 2024. Wyoming is home to nearly 67,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 170 wards and branches.
Sunday’s dedication was also a milestone for Elder Gilbert, who became an Apostle in February 2026. It was the first temple he has dedicated since joining the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.