Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, selected and dedicated these locations, but construction did not proceed as church members left the area due to persecution.

The temple is near other LDS Church historic sites; five miles away from Liberty Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were incarcerated in 1838, less than ten miles from Jackson county and Independence, and an hour's drive from Adam-ondi-Ahman, which church members believe is the place Adam and Eve lived after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

[8] A press release later confirmed the temple would be built in the Shoal Creek development in Clay County, Missouri, in the Kansas City boundaries.

Among the visitors were the governors of Missouri, Jay Nixon, and Kansas, Sam Brownback, whom were given a private tour on April 5, 2012.

[12] At the time of its dedication, the temple served 45,000 church members in 126 congregations in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.