On May 18, 1877, Brigham Young selected nine acres of land, overlooking Cache Valley, for the building site of the soon to be constructed Logan Temple.

Soon after the land had been selected ,Truman O. Angell, head architect for the LDS Church, began drawing the plans. Shortly thereafter, 25,000 people began construction on this magnificent structure. Those who didn't help directly with the temple building helped by sewing clothes, making meals, mending tools and other related jobs. Much of the rock was hauled from Logan Canyon and the quarry can still be seen.

The Logan Utah Temple was built completely by volunteer labor. Just after the groundbreaking, President Young spoke words of encouragement by saying that the temple could be built "without any burden to ourselves if our hearts are in the work, and we will be blessed abundantly in doing so. We will be better off in our temporal affairs when it is completed than when we commenced." Energy and excitement were high, and construction on the temple began almost immediately. Sacrifices were made by many to help quicken the pace of the temple's erection. Since the supply of commercially produced carpeting was not sufficient in the Utah Territory, the sisters in that district were asked to perform the overwhelming task of producing the needed floor coverings just two months before the planned dedication. They worked tirelessly collecting rags and stitching them together. By the time ordinance work began, these ladies had produced over two thousand square yards of finely woven rag carpeting.

Its design follows the pattern of the Manti Utah and Salt Lake Temples -- a large assembly hall in the top floor and towers on each end. It is in the great assembly hall where the dedication took place. Speaking at the dedication, Elder Wilford Woodruff testified that "the spirits of Elias, Elijah and other holy men of old are hovering over us and are ready to aid us in any way that is possible." He stated that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and the Savior were especially interested in the dedication of the temple and that "if the veil were taken from our eyes we would behold their faces.…God and the heavens are with us today and the Lord is pleased with our labors."

Not too many years after the dedication, fire broke out in the Logan temple after it had closed on the night of December 4, 1917. The cause was faulty electrical wiring, and the resulting flames quickly engulfed the southeast stairway. Many things were destroyed including art windows and paintings. Extensive smoke and water damage was plainly evident in adjacent parts of the building. Forty thousand dollars were spent to rebuild the stairway and make other necessary repairs so that the temple could reopen within three months of the accident.

The Logan temple underwent two additional remodeling projects. The first was from 1949 to 1950 when the temple underwent major improvements in offices, the kitchen, laundry areas, heating, air conditioning, lighting, and the installation of elevators.

The Logan temple is unique in that it is the only temple to be completely gutted and rebuilt; only the outer walls are original.  President Spencer W. Kimball, who oversaw the 1977-1979 rebuilding, later said he regretted having the interior completely demolished because of the pioneer craftsmanship that was destroyed.