Latter-day Saint president announces 15 new temples

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — During the final session of general conference Sunday, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced 15 new temples to be built around the world.

New temples will be built in the following locations:

• Uturoa, French Polynesia
• Chihuahua, Mexico
• Florianópolis, Brazil
• Rosario, Argentina
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Brisbane Australia South Area
• Victoria, British Columbia
• Yuma, Arizona
• Houston Texas South Area
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• West Jordan, Utah
• Lehi, Utah
• Maracaibo, Venezuela

The newly announced temples bring the total number across the earth to 350, including 189 dedicated temples, seven scheduled for dedication, 45 under construction and 53 with published site locations.

“Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever,” President Nelson said in a prerecorded video message that aired while he presided over the final session of the conference. “Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.”

President Nelson has announced 168 temples during his six years as president of the church, including the second-most temples at one time during last October’s conference. That’s up from the six functioning temples when the current church president, whose 100th birthday is in September, was born: in St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City; as well as Cardston, Alberta; and Laie, Hawaii.

But temples in West Jordan and Lehi would mark the 29th and 30th temples in Utah alone. New temples are currently under construction in Ephraim, Heber Valley, Lindon, Smithfield, Syracuse and Tooele (Deseret Peak), while the Provo Rock Canyon and Salt Lake temples are currently under renovation.

The Manti temple will be dedicated April 21, Taylorsville will follow June 2 and be dedicated by Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and a temple in Layton will be dedicated by Elder David A. Bednar on June 16.

The temple on the southwest side of the Salt Lake Valley will serve close to 115,000 residents in the West Jordan area, while the temple in Lehi — commonly referred to Silicon Slopes for the area’s prolific technology sector — will service more than 85,000 residents in northern Utah County.

Utah, the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is home to nearly 2.2 million Latter-day Saints — roughly two-thirds of the state’s population — in more than 5,400 congregations.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained during Sunday’s closing session of general conference why the church has undergone a recent explosion in temple building.

“One reason is that amid the turmoil and temptations of the world, he has promised to strengthen and bless his covenant Saints,” he said. “His promises are being fulfilled! … In his house, we are literally endowed with heavenly power. Our faith in Christ and our love for him is confirmed and fortified. We are spiritually assured of our true identity and the purposes of life. As we are faithful, we are blessed with protection from temptations and distractions.”

Uturoa will be the second temple in French Polynesia and the first since the Papeete Tahiti temple was dedicated in 1983 and rededicated in 2006 following an expansion.

Mexico will add a 25th temple upon completion of the Chihuahua temple in a country where church missionaries first arrived in the 1870s and the first stake was organized in 1961.

Florianópolis, Brazil, will host the 23rd temple in the lone Portuguese-speaking country in South America, where nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints call home. South America will also see the seventh temple in Argentina in Rosario, located approximately 190 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires.

Scotland will get its first temple in Edinburgh, but the fourth in the United Kingdom. Prior to Sunday’s announcement, the church’s roughly 185,000 members in Scotland would travel to London, Preston or Birmingham, England, to attend the temple.

Brisbane — the Australian capital of Queensland — will be getting its second temple in the city of close to 2.2 million people, in a country with more than 155,000 church members in more than 300 congregations.

Victoria will be the 11th temple in Canada and the first in British Columbia since the dedication of a temple in Vancouver in 2010.

Arizona has been home to Latter-day Saints since the 1850s and is currently home to more than 440,000 church members in 925 congregations, with temples in Mesa, Gilbert, Phoenix, Snowflake, Gila Valley and Tucson.

Houston will receive a second temple since the Houston Texas Temple was dedicated in August 2000 and rededicated in April 2018 following renovations due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the state of Iowa, with over 29,000 Latter-day Saints spread throughout more than 200,000 residents, making it a fitting stop for the first temple in the state.

Ohio has three temples, but Cincinnati will be the first temple in southern Ohio — and is announced just one month after the church reacquired the historic Kirtland temple from the Community of Christ.

After temples were built in Laie, Kahului and Kona, Hawaii will add a fourth temple in the state’s capital and largest city on the southwest shore of Oahu.

With more than 175,000 members of the church, Venezuela will build just its second temple in Maracaibo and the first since the Caracas temple was dedicated by former church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 2000.

“The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us,” President Nelson said. “The temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham. That is why we are doing all within our power, under the direction of the Lord, to make the temple blessings more accessible to members of the church.”