The temple was announced by LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley during a visit to Columbus on April 25, 1998, with a groundbreaking held later that year on September 12.

Increasing persecution and other factors led to the Kirtland Temple being mostly abandoned by 1838, after most church members moved west to Missouri, eventually relocating to Illinois in 1839, and ultimately to present-day Utah, beginning in 1847.

The statue of the angel Moroni atop the spire was originally used on the Monticello Utah Temple and was white instead of the traditional gold.

[8] Later in March, the LDS Church announced that the temple would close for renovation on August 15, 2020, and was anticipated to reopen in late 2022.

Prior to the rededication, a public open house was held, with an estimated 20,000 people attending, including Ohio Governor Mike Dewine.