Orem Temple Box
The Orem Utah temple just became the twenty-second temple in Utah and the sixth in Utah county. My wife and I toured it during its recent open house and were surprised to meet some good friends (and fellow saints) on the stairs. We hadn’t seen them for about 15 years, so imagine our joy at … Continued
Saratoga Springs Temple Box
After taking over two years off from making a new temple box, my nephew Shadd requested that I make the Saratoga Springs Utah for him. Of course, it’s been much longer than that since there has been a new temple in Utah, but that will soon change with President Nelson’s recent flurry of announcements. The … Continued
Payson Temple Box
The Payson Utah temple has several unique features that made it fun to build. First, similar to a few other temples, it is constructed in a split-level fashion – the front is three stories tall, while the back is four (which also made the entrances at two different levels). Second, there are curved walls on … Continued
Draper Temple Box
The Draper temple sits on the side of a mountain. It is a split level with about ⅓ of it on the upper part of the slope and the rest accessed from the lower part. In other words, it was going to be too difficult to make my temple box to mimic that look, so … Continued
Salt Lake Ring Box
I made this ring box to give as a Christmas token to the ordinance workers on our temple shift. It came out the perfect size to serve as a ring box. It comes with a black felt insert, but can be customized with white, green, blue or red felt. The Salt Lake temple ring box … Continued
Vernal Temple Box
The Vernal Utah temple was the first one to be created by repurposing an existing tabernacle. I figured out early on while designing the Vernal temple box, that it would be both simple yet challenging. For example, it only has 40 parts making it rather simple. But while the cupolas are only made of 4 … Continued
St. George Temple Box
The St. George temple box is the first to feature a drawer. It opens from the back and has a capacity of 20 in³. I tried to replicate the original temple as much as possible, including the dual stairs on its front elevation. The St. George temple box has just 22 pieces and measures 4¼” … Continued
Provo / Original Ogden Temple Box
As originally constructed, the Provo and Ogden temples were the first of the “sister” temples. They featured a modern look that departed from the traditional appearance, and Provo is still the “work horse” of all of the temples. The Provo/Old Ogden temple box features dual, over-and-under compartments. Not including its platform, it measures 6” x … Continued
Provo City Center Temple Box
This marks the first time I have constructed a temple box before its namesake has been completed, but I have been watching the progress on the conversion of the Provo Tabernacle to the Provo City Center temple and could not wait to render a temple box in its honor. This temple box was a challenge … Continued
Oquirrh Mountain Temple Box
Like its namesake, the Oquirrh Mountain temple box is somewhat lion- or Sphinx-like in appearance. It required 54 parts to construct. The Oquirrh Mountain temple box measures 4¼” x 7¼” x 7½”, with a box capacity of just under 19 in³. It is made primarily of pine with some plywood.
Ogden Temple Box
As everyone in Utah knows, the Ogden Utah temple was rebuilt a few years ago. The same general floor plan was used with the rebuilt temple, but the result was a much more ornate and beautiful version of its former self. Like the original Ogden temple box, the new one features dual, over-and-under compartments. To … Continued
Mt. Timpanogos Temple Box
The Mt. Timpanogos Utah and Bountiful Utah temples are sister temples. Like sisters, they look very similar to each other and only differ in their spires. I first made temple boxes of these temples in 2013. As with the real temples, I realized that it was time to update them. My skills have improved quite … Continued
Manti Temple Box
This is my new version of the Manti temple box. Its predecessor was one of the earliest I had made and I always felt it did not do the Manti temple justice. I fancied it up quite a bit with castellations on the walls and towers. I also increased it in size a lot at … Continued
Logan Temple Box
The Logan temple box has more castellations than any I have yet made. They are on its side walls and all six of its towers. The Logan temple box has 35 pieces and measures 3¾” x 7¼” x 6½”, with a box capacity of almost 32 in³. It is made of pine and three types … Continued
Brigham City Temple Box
The Brigham City, Utah temple is a combination of the classic 6-tower design, but with just two spires. The corner towers consist of just 5 parts (taking 30 cuts each to fabricate), but also feature the smallest piece I have ever had to make (⅛” x ⅛” x ¼”); so small, in fact, I had … Continued
Jordan River Temple Box
The dominant feature of the Jordan River temple is its huge spire. I did the best I could to replicate this beautiful temple with my temple box. Building the Jordan River temple box also required that I buy a new tool (a router and router table). Lucky me! The Jordan River temple box is made … Continued
Cedar City Temple Box
I included the 23 windows and 1 door in each side of the Cedar City, Utah temple in my original temple box design. I also included the 8 or 9 windows and 1 door (plus the tablature) in each of its ends. However, after madding its end walls, I had to scale back on my … Continued
Bountiful Temple Box
The Bountiful Utah and Mt. Timpanogos Utah temples are sister temples. Like sisters, they look very similar to each other and only differ in their spires. I first made temple boxes of these temples in 2013. As with the real temples, I realized that it was time to update them. My skills have improved quite … Continued
Salt Lake Temple Box
I decided to update the Salt Lake temple box by adding castellations to its walls. I also increased it somewhat in size and made the side walls out of pine, instead of plywood. Now I think the Salt Lake temple box more closely resembles the real thing. It is comprised of 25 pieces and measures … Continued