Nashville Tennessee Temple Christmas Ornament

Temple Locale

The Nashville Tennessee Temple lies 15 miles south of the state capital in the picturesque suburb of Franklin, next to the Franklin Tennessee Stake Center. In the vicinity of the temple are two 100-acre horse farms and a historic private high school named Battle Ground Academy. The holy structure and its beautiful grounds complement the immaculate character of the rural residential neighborhood.

Temple History

The Nashville Tennessee Temple was the second temple built in Tennessee, following the Memphis Tennessee Temple (2000).

When the First Presidency announced plans for the Nashville Tennessee Temple, there were only four operating temples east of the Mississippi River.

The Nashville Tennesse Temple was originally planned as a large regional temple to serve much of the Upper South.

From 1995 to 1998, the Church sought to rezone land at the northeast corner of Hillsboro Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard in Forest Hills, Tennessee, to permit construction of the Nashville Tennessee Temple. After failing to obtain a court order, the Church abandoned its plans for the site, which later became home to a city hall and Nashville Electric Service substation.

On April 25, 1998, Church leaders announced revised plans for the Nashville Tennessee Temple. One of the new generation smaller temples would be constructed at another location in the Nashville area—not at the previously announced Forest Hills location.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Nashville Tennessee Temple was held on the same day as the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Kona Hawaii Temple and Oaxaca Mexico Temple.

Ground was broken for the Nashville Tennessee Temple on a cold and heavily rainy spring day to an audience of approximately 1,500 members from central Tennessee and southern Kentucky. Officials held umbrellas in one hand while struggling to turn water-soaked soil with the other.

During his remarks at the groundbreaking services for the Nashville Tennessee Temple, Elder John K. Carmack, president of the North America East Area, drew a comparison between the challenges encountered in securing a site for the temple and the patience exhibited by Jacob of Old Testament times, who waited more than seven years to marry Rachel.

The Nashville Tennessee Temple was constructed simultaneously with the Memphis Tennessee Temple, which was dedicated just a month earlier.

During construction of the Nashville Tennessee Temple, the adjacent stake center was remodeled.

A week-long open house was held for the Nashville Tennessee Temple, which was toured by over 24,300 visitors, an average of more than 3,000 a day. Temple matron Diane McClurg noted, "I heard people say as they went out that they felt different when they were inside. That's a lot of what it's all about—the feeling of the Spirit."

Open house attendees came from all walks of life and religious affiliations. On one tour, Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Seventy hosted a group consisting of two Catholic priests, two Catholic nuns, three Church of Christ ministers, two Presbyterian ministers, a Jewish rabbi, and two city councilmen.

News of the Nashville Tennessee Temple open house enjoyed widespread coverage through a series of nearly daily articles that gave largely positive reports on the Church and the temple.

The Nashville Tennessee Temple was dedicated on the same day as the Villahermosa Mexico Temple.

The Nashville Tennessee Temple was dedicated in four sessions on May 21, 2000, by President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. Persistent cloudy skies gave way to sunshine within an hour of the first dedicatory prayer.

Several couples were sealed on the first day of operation of the Nashville Tennessee Temple.