- Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Cody Wyoming Temple Sunday.
- The Cody Wyoming Temple is the third temple dedicated in Wyoming, following Star Valley and Casper temples.
- Set near the eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, the temple draws its character from the historic Sheridan Avenue in Cody’s city center.
The land in Cody, Wyoming, sat empty for decades.
Glenn Nielson, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the city, received the land as a gift from his grandparents but never used it.
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It was “a rocky thing” he watered despite the soil not growing much. Occasionally he kept cows and horses there, or was approached by potential buyers. He even thought he might build a house on it someday. But none of those plans ever solidified, and so the land sat empty, year after year.
Then, in 2021, Latter-day Saint representatives approached Nielson about the plot. They were exploring potential sites for the Cody Wyoming Temple, and would his land be available for consideration?
Nielson recalled the “overwhelming” spiritual impression he instantly received. Not only was the land available, he told the representatives, but nothing would be a greater fulfillment of his faithful grandparents’ desire to support the Church of Jesus Christ. If the church wanted the land, Nielson would donate it.
The decision wasn’t made immediately — church representatives were evaluating multiple sites — but eventually, Nielson and his wife, Erica, received the happy news: the Cody Wyoming Temple would be built on their long-empty land.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the new temple Sunday.
The Cody temple was announced in October 2021 and is the third temple dedicated in Wyoming, following the Star Valley Wyoming Temple and the Casper Wyoming Temple. Set near the eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, the temple draws its character from the historic Sheridan Avenue in Cody’s city center, whose Romanesque revival architecture — found throughout Wyoming, especially in its religious buildings — inspired the temple’s exterior.
In an interview before the temple’s dedication, Glenn and Erica Nielson became emotional as they recounted the circumstances that brought the land for the temple into their possession and subsequently kept it empty until the Lord needed it — circumstances that were sometimes difficult, but in hindsight feel miraculous.
For instance, Glenn Nielson said his grandparents did well in the gas and oil business. In addition to supporting the church’s philanthropic pursuits, they enjoyed giving each of their grandchildren a small inheritance as they came of age.
But by the time Glenn Nielson was a young man, his grandparents’ financial situation had changed and they could no longer give monetary gifts. In lieu of their traditional inheritance, then, Nielson’s grandparents gave him land.
Through the successes and failures of generations, “we have a testimony that the Lord’s hand was in preserving that property,” Glenn Nielson said.
Now the Nielsons can see the new temple through their kitchen window.
For Erica Nielson, “it’s a testimony that the Lord does hear our prayers and he answers in his time. … The Lord is ready and willing to offer those ordinances closer to where we are.”
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Becoming peacemakers
The road to building a temple in Cody wasn’t always easy. Some local residents opposed the temple’s location with concerns about views, traffic, steeple height and lighting, Deseret News reported.
Glenn Nielson called the challenges a “perfecting process,” one that taught him to calmly share his beliefs instead of getting defensive.
Latter-day Saints often have strong, sacred feelings about the temple, he continued, and naturally want to stand up for the Lord’s cause. Balancing that instinct with President Dallin H. Oaks’ charge to become peacemakers has, at times, created a dilemma for church members in Cody — “How do you act like a peacemaker but still support what you know is a good thing?”
Navigating that question is an ongoing process for Nielson and other local Latter-day Saints.
Over and over, he said, Latter-day Saints in Cody have seen miracles, such as community members who once opposed the temple attending the open house multiple times, or elected officials with reservations ultimately voting in support of the temple.
The temple is more than a building to Cody, Nielson continued; it’s a symbol of religious freedom for all people.
“I think the whole process has taught and brought a community together in a way that they didn’t know they needed to be brought together,” he said.
Nielson isn’t the only Latter-day Saint in Cody who’s felt stretched and refined during this time. Luke Hopkin said working with a community that didn’t always support the temple taught him that “the Lord makes things happen, even when they seem like a long shot.”
Some city meetings were long and difficult, Hopkin continued. People sometimes spread misunderstandings or misinformation. But with continued communication and connection, and particularly through the temple’s open house, minds began to change. Hopkin saw it firsthand as he accompanied several concerned community members to the open house; afterward, every one of them said they felt better about the temple, he said, and some even came back for more tours.
“The miracle that I’ve seen has been the change in perception and attitude,” Hopkin said.
Cody Wyoming Stake President Andrew Jacobsen added that “kindness is a pretty good remedy to a lot of things.”
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