For years the hill just northeast of downtown Provo had been called "Temple Hill," but in 1911, the Maeser Building of Brigham Young University was constructed there. The campus continued to grow to the north and east, but in 1967, seventeen acres at the mouth of Rock Canyon remained undeveloped even though the property was surrounded by subdivisions. Easily visible from most parts of the Utah Valley, this became the site for the Provo Utah Temple.

Church architect Emil B. Fetzer designed the functional Provo and Ogden temples. Efficiency and convenience were the prime goal of this project. He was to create a design that would accommodate a large number of people but at a reasonable cost. The six ordinance room design evolved. These rooms would be surrounded by an exterior hallway and all adjoin the central Celestial Room. He reported that the idea for this arrangement came to him when he read about a similarly designed park developed in Denmark.

The dedication was able to be completed in only two sessions because several large auditoriums on the BYU campus carried the proceedings. The silent throngs that left the 23,000-seat Marriott Center was truly an amazing experience. Since its construction, the Provo Utah Temple has led the Church in the total number of endowments performed for the dead, even when the estimated participation from Brigham Young University and the Missionary Training Center was eliminated.