Latter Day Saints opens new building

Growth in the Latter Day Saints church in Lenox has been so consistently steady and growing, officials decided a new building was needed and in a different location.

People in the area will get a chance to see the new building during an open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at 1111 S. Lincoln in Creston. (That portion of South Lincoln, off of U.S. Highway 34 on Creston’s west side, eventually turns into Hi and Dry Road farther south.) Groundbreaking for the building was March 25 last year.

President John Van Horn said growing attendance at its facility in Lenox strongly influenced officials to research a new, larger building. With facilities in strategic locations, the Lenox site goes back to 2001.

“We just outgrew it,” he said.

Van Horn said the region those in attendance were coming from an area roughly from Adair County to Ringgold and Taylor County and east of Creston. Striving to find a central location for where members lived, and viable options to relocate, Creston was an ideal choice.

Van Horn said Creston and Union County were also considered for its history related to the church. What is known as the Mormon Trail sent those in the faith in the 1840s from Nauvoo, Illinois, through southern Iowa to present day Salt Lake City, Utah. The Mormon Trail included Union County and Mount Pisgah located northeast of Afton. Mount Pisgah was a settlement where trail travelers could replenish supplies.

“We thought it was a great fit,” Van Horn said about building in Union County knowing the connection to the faith’s history.

But finding a place to build was a challenge. Van Horn said multiple sites were looked at in Creston including vacant, existing buildings. Nothing fit what was visioned. Comparing costs to remodel buildings to building new is what helped the church decide to build.

More than 3 acres were acquired on the South Lincoln Street. The building design is not typical for a church as the sanctuary does not stand out among other rooms in the building. Van Horn and the others are fine with that as the building has more of a practical design and feel.

“It’s not a cathedral,” Van Horn said describing the room intended for services. The congregation has recently numbered as many as 110. The room can hold more. In 2011, average attendance was 35-40.

The sanctuary can also be divided into two to create rooms for other functions. Other rooms are intended for the youth group and typical classrooms. The building’s design is in such a way where it can be added onto in the future.

Sunday services begin at 10 a.m.