Latter-day Saints community in Bakersfield to build its first temple on Stockdale Highway
Jul. 28—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as the Mormon Church, has announced the location of a temple slated to be built in southwest Bakersfield.
It will be the first Latter-day Saints temple in Kern County.
According to a news release from the church, the temple will be built on 13.07 acres of land at the northwest corner of Stockdale Highway and Jewetta Avenue.
It will be a single-story structure offering roughly 30,000 square feet of floor area. A church distribution center and a meetinghouse will also be near the temple.
Two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms and one baptistry will be included.
The site elevation is listed at about 366 feet, according to the news release.
It's important to note that Mormon temples are very different from local meeting houses, the LDS church points out in one of a series of informational videos on its website.
Attempts to reach local church leaders Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
But according to information on the web, there are thousands of local meeting houses around the world where church members go for Sunday worship services.
Latter-day Saints temples number about 315, although new temples are being planned and built in several locations.
Plans to construct a Bakersfield temple were announced in April, although the location was not revealed at that time. It was the 12th temple announced in the state of California. Another new temple was announced for San Jose at the same time.
The local temple is currently in the planning stages. No groundbreaking date has been announced.
An official rendering of the Bakersfield temple has not yet been released to the public.
Editor's note: A change was made to the story to specify the elevation of the building site.
Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.
