Missionaries are the bridge between community and Montpelier temple as construction continues

MONTPELIER — The excitement felt in Southeast Idaho on April 3, 2022, was unmeasurable as the announcement was made that Montpelier would be the location of the ninth Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple to be built in the Gem State.

Construction crews were on site and ready to go just days after the groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 17, 2023.

Just over a year after the groundbreaking the temple has more than taken shape and the sheetrock phase of the build has begun.

Each temple typically has church representatives onsite five to six days a week who oversee the building site and help with community and church relations.

Those representatives in Montpelier are husband and wife Trent and Catherine Lamb. They said they had no idea this mission call would come when it did.

The Lambs are American citizens but Trent’s work with Melaleuca took them overseas to Shanghai, China, roughly 20 years ago as the vice president of manufacturing.

Both were set on the idea they would retire and serve a mission closer to 2025.

However, when COVID-19 shut down China for a second time in 2022, after just eight new cases of the virus were detected there, the couple knew their plans for serving a mission would be accelerated.

The call soon came to serve as the Montpelier Idaho Temple representatives and both were excited but especially for Trent as his family ancestors are Charles C. Rich and John Uriah Stucki, both of whom helped settle Montpelier in the late 1800s and remained there to live and raise families.

But the Lambs' excitement didn’t come without a variety of emotions about uprooting and leaving their livelihood and home in China.

Without fail, the process of moving back to the U.S. went smoothly but came with many moments of faith. Moments and trials that seemed to come one after another yet the couple's prayers were answered time after time, including Melaleuca aiding in getting their belongings shipped back to the states.

Now residents of Idaho and loving their calling in Montpelier, the Lambs work closely with roughly 100 construction crew members, local volunteers and church leaders to be the bridge between the community and the temple site and prepare the property to become a house of worship.

The Lambs not only serve and aid at the temple site but also serve in a makeshift visitors center just across the street east from the temple.

This center is open and available for all to come visit. The Lambs can provide a presentation about the temple and answer questions at the center.

The temple site stands tall right down one of Montpelier’s main roadways through town. It is located at 125 N. 5th St.

As of now, the temple is on schedule to be finished sometime in 2026.