President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to build eight new temples throughout the world. For the first time, the announcement of eight new temples was made Saturday evening during the women’s session of general conference, which was held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
President Nelson’s announcement brings the total number of operating temples (166) and temples announced or under construction (51) to 217 worldwide.
The new temples will be in the following locations:
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Orem, Utah
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea,
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bacolod, Philippines
McAllen, Texas
Cobán, Guatemala
Taylorsville, Utah
“As the Church grows, more temples will be built so that more families can have access to that greatest of all blessings, that of eternal life,” said President Nelson, who was the final speaker of the session. “We regard a temple as the most sacred structure in the Church. Whenever plans are announced to construct a new temple, it becomes an important part of our history.”
Since becoming Church president in January 2018, President Nelson has announced 35 new temples. Last April, he announced eight new temples. Aside from when former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced some 30 new smaller temples in 1998, no other Church president has announced more temples in such a short period of time.
Newsroom will have additional details of these newly announced temples shortly.
Update on Other Temples Under Construction or Renovation
Fourteen temples are currently under construction. Ground will be broken this fall on the Saratoga Springs Temple in Utah and the Puebla Mexico Temple.
The Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fortaleza Brazil, Port-au-Prince Haiti and Lisbon Portugal Temples were dedicated this year. Following renovation, the Memphis Tennessee, Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Oakland California Temples were rededicated.
Nine temples are being renovated, including the Raleigh North Carolina (rededication Oct. 13), Frankfurt Germany (rededication Oct. 20), Asunción Paraguay (rededication Nov. 3) and Baton Rouge Louisiana (rededication Nov. 17). Other temples under renovation include the Hamilton New Zealand, Hong Kong China Temple, Mesa Arizona, Tokyo Japan and Washington D.C. Temples. The St. George and Salt Lake pioneer-era temples will close for renovation before the end of the year. Temples undergoing renovation are included in the number of operating temples.
About Temples
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the Lord” and the most sacred places of worship on the earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for faithful members of the Church to participate in sacred ceremonies such as marriages that unite families forever and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity while living. Find out more about temples.