LDS Church announces 8 new temples, including Syracuse, Shanghai and Dubai

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — Speaking at the Sunday afternoon session at the 190th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for eight more temples around the world — including one in Utah.

The 95-year-old church leader announced the church’s intention to build temples in the following locations:

• Bahia Blanca, Argentina
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Benin City, Nigeria
• Syracuse, Utah
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
• The Syracuse temple would be the 24th temple in Utah.

The temple in Shanghai will be the first in China, and will be in a multipurpose meeting place, President Nelson said. It comes after the church’s temple in Hong Kong was closed for renovation. It will be available for Chinese members to participate in ordinances for themselves and their ancestors.

In accordance with the church’s teachings to obey nations’ laws, the church will still avoid sending proselyting missionaries to the People’s Republic of China. Expatriate and Chinese congregations will continue to meet separately.

Prior to the announcement, Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, noted during the Sunday morning general conference session that the church has 168 operating temples; 49 more temples were either under construction or announced prior to Sunday.

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