The new Latter-day Saint temple is located outside Richmond in Glen Allen.
For the more than 10,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in metro Richmond, the impending opening of a new temple in Henrico County is the answer to prayers.
“When you’re a person of faith, you always hope” to have a temple nearby, says Lindsay Bunting Eubanks, a Henrico resident. “It was surreal finding out [in 2018] that we would get a temple here.”
Members of the faith use meetinghouses, similar to churches for other denominations, for weekly Sunday worship and other activities. But on the other six days of the week, Latter-day Saint temples are open for certain sacraments only performed there, including weddings and a special ceremony for parents and their adopted children. Temples are also where church members participate in “proxy baptisms,” which are performed on behalf of deceased ancestors who may not have had the chance to be baptized while they were living. Members make appointments to ensure that when they arrive, they can be accommodated.
Lindsay and Peter Eubanks were married in 2002 at the temple in Kensington, Maryland. That location opened in 1974 and was closed from March 2018 until summer 2022 for a renovation. With four children now ranging in age from 12 to 20, the Eubanks family has aimed for quarterly temple visits, often driving to Philadelphia when the Maryland temple was unavailable, even though the Raleigh, North Carolina, temple is closer.
“The Raleigh temple just couldn’t accommodate everybody,” Lindsay says. “Philly isn’t much further, but it’s a bigger temple. [Going there] was cumbersome, to say the least.”
Now that they have a local option, the Eubankses say, they expect to visit the temple every other week, if not weekly. “We’ll just get to go to the temple more often,” Peter says.
The Richmond temple is the church’s 178th worldwide, says Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a general authority of the church and executive director of the church’s temple department. During a media day for the new temple, Duncan noted that free public tours, offered through April 15, are the church’s way to “share the promise” of God’s love with others. After the temple’s dedication in May, only Latter-day Saints who have a “recommend” — a card signifying they have made certain covenants — will be admitted beyond the temple’s welcome hallway. The temple’s landscaped grounds, inspired by the gardens of Colonial Williamsburg, will remain open to the public for enjoyment and reflection.
The foyer of the church incorporates Jeffersonian motifs and dogwood blossoms, the state flower of Virginia.
Day-to-day activities within the temple will be supervised by Larry and Sandy Willis of Goochland, both of whom have held other positions within the church. Shane Holdaway, president of the Richmond stake — a collection of congregations — says the temple will also rely on hundreds of volunteers to help visitors engage in ceremonies within.
“Our culture focuses on Jesus Christ’s example and his teachings, which are very focused on service and helping those who need it, [so it is] culturally embedded that we serve,” Holdaway says. “We have a phrase, ‘You lift where you stand,’ which means that wherever you are in life, you can do something to help somebody.”
The building itself, which sits on 12 acres and faces the intersection of Staples Mill and Mountain roads, is made of Moleanos limestone with architecture that employs elements of Georgian, Federal and Jeffersonian styles. The front entry features columns topped by a pediment with an arched window. Inside, crown moldings and millwork, including ornamental ceiling medallions, continue the historical architectural motifs. Interior walls are primarily white with accents in gold and blue. Virginia’s state flower, the dogwood, is depicted throughout in paint borders, carpets and even door hardware. The design is intentional, Elder Duncan says. “Each temple is unique to its community,” he notes. “We want people to feel that this is their house.”
The local touch is felt by the Eubankses, who became a couple at the University of Virginia and were happy to see a dome atop the Richmond temple. While she was at UVA as a third-year student from Gloucester County, Lindsay converted to the church. Peter, who had been born into the faith in Maryland, began studies at UVA after completing his church mission. The two had crossed paths years earlier at a Rotary Club youth conference, and Lindsay remembered him. “He showed up suddenly, and I reintroduced myself,” she says, laughing.
Now, the couple’s eldest child is participating in his mission in France, where his father served. They will soon learn where their second child, an 18-year-old son, will be offered a mission.
“We make commitments, especially in the temple, to be willing to serve,” Lindsay says. “Our son who’s going to mission doesn’t get to decide what’s offered, but he can choose to accept the call. It’s a key principle in our faith that we all have agency and we respect the agency of others.”
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