Preparatory work is underway at the Missoula Montana Temple site ahead of next month’s groundbreaking ceremony. The property has been fenced off, and heavy equipment is actively clearing and grading the land in preparation for construction. Recent rainfall and low clouds over the surrounding mountains created a dramatic backdrop as crews continued earthmoving operations across the property for the future temple.

The official exterior rendering of the Rapid City South Dakota Temple has been published by Church headquarters. The 11,800-square-foot, single-story temple will be constructed on a 4.86-acre site at the northeast corner of Mount Rushmore Road and Moon Meadows Drive in Rapid City with an accompanying ancillary building. The temple will be the first Latter-day Saint temple constructed in the state of South Dakota.

In a staging area next to the Lethbridge Alberta Temple, crews have framed and sheathed the main body for the steeple that will rise above the front entrance of the building. The temple’s concrete structural walls are in place, and exterior finishes are underway. The bare concrete is covered with a waterproofing membrane and insulating layer before the stone cladding is installed. Work has already begun at the northwest corner.

Early construction activity is progressing at the Fairview Texas Temple site, where utility infrastructure is being established across the graded property. Trenches and excavated utility corridors are visible around the future footprint of the building, as crews prepare the site for foundation work and vertical construction. In the distance, the skylines of communities within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area can be seen silhouetted against the hues of the setting sun.