Temple-Update
People walk around the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple between dedication sessions in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, January 15, 2023. Photo by Kristin Murphy, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.
This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Scott Taylor, Church News
Six months into the current year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has dedicated three temples, rededicated another, started construction on five new temples and announced 15 new temple locations.
More temple milestones are coming in the second half of 2023, with eight temple dedications already announced for dates from August through November and a temple rededication slated for December.
At the midway point of 2023, the Church has 315 total houses of the Lord — 178 dedicated; 58 under construction or completed and awaiting dedication, and 79 announced and in planning and design.
President Russell M. Nelson has announced 133 of the 315 temples during his five and a half years as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During that same time period, the Church has dedicated 19 houses of the Lord — despite a stretch of nearly 20 months where dedications weren’t conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying restrictions on large-scale public gatherings.
The increases of dedicated, under-construction and announced temples help provide the blessings of temple ordinances and covenants for Latter-day Saints across the world as well as for their ancestors.
Following is a look at the temple milestones in 2023.
Temples Dedicated So Far in 2023
Temple-Update
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, looks over the Richmond Virginia Temple in Richmond on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.During the first six months of 2023, dedications for three houses of the Lord were held — the Church’s numbers 176, 177 and 178 dedicated temples, all in North America.
The three are:
- San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, dedicated January 15 by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles;
- Richmond Virginia Temple, dedicated May 7 by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency;
- Helena Montana Temple, dedicated June 18 by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Temple-Update
Latter-day Saints depart the Helena Montana Temple between dedication sessions on Sunday, June 18, 2023, in Helena, Montana. Photo by Colter Peterson, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.Upcoming Temple Dedications
The number of temples dedicated this year will more than double in the second half of 2023, with eight houses of the Lord scheduled for dedication in the year’s final five months. And five of those temples will be dedicated over just two dates — three on September 17 and two on October 8.
Temple-Update
Utah media members get a tour of the new Saratoga Springs Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Monday, April 10, 2023. Photo by Scott G Winterton, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.The upcoming temple dedications are:
- Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, to be dedicated on August 13 by President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency.
- Brasília Brazil Temple, to be dedicated on September 17 by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Bentonville Arkansas Temple, to be dedicated on September 17 by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Moses Lake Washington Temple, to be dedicated on September 17 by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- McAllen Texas Temple, to be dedicated on October 8 by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Feather River California Temple, to be dedicated on October 8 by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Bangkok Thailand Temple, to be dedicated on October 22 by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Okinawa Japan Temple, to be dedicated on November 12 by Elder Stevenson.
Once those eight have taken place, the Church will have 186 dedicated temples worldwide.
Looking ahead to 2024, two temple dedications have already been scheduled for soon after the new year — the January 14 dedication of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple by Elder Christofferson and the January 21 dedication of the Orem Utah Temple, with a presiding officer yet to be announced.
Temple-Update
The Brasília Brazil Temple, as photographed on Monday, March 6, in Brasília, Brazil. The temple is complete and is scheduled to be dedicated on September 17, 2023. Photo by Scott Taylor, Church News.All rights reserved.Rededications in 2023
One temple has already been rededicated this year following lengthy renovations, and a second is scheduled to be rededicated before the year’s end.
On June 4, the Columbus Ohio Temple was rededicated by President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Temple-Update
President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints greets Russel Boss, 12, and Elizabeth “Eliza” Boss, 10, of the Gahanna 1st Ward, Columbus Ohio South Stake, after attending the Columbus Ohio Temple dedication on Sunday, June 4, 2023. Photo by Scott G Winterton, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.And on December 10, the St. George Utah Temple — the Church’s oldest latter-day temple still in operation — will be the first of the “pioneer-era” temples to be rededicated following President Nelson’s announcement in October 2018 general conference of such renovation plans for older temples.
Two such others — the Salt Lake and Manti Utah temples — are currently under renovation, as is the Stockholm Sweden Temple.
Three more will close in the second half of 2023 for lengthy renovations — the San Diego California Temple in July and the Kona Hawaii and Toronto Ontario temples in October. The Provo Utah Temple will close for its reconstruction in early 2024.
And it’s a “reconstruction” project while the temple remains open, as the building of a new Anchorage Alaska Temple begins in early 2024 while the current temple remains in operation during the rebuild nearby.
Temples Under Construction
Construction began this year for five temples following their groundbreakings.
The five are:
- Querétaro Mexico Temple, with a January 7 groundbreaking.
- Port Vila Vanuatu Temple, on April 8.
- Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple, on April 22.
- Montpelier Idaho Temple, on June 17.
- Belo Horizonte Temple, on June 17.
As of July 3, no other groundbreakings have been scheduled for the second half of 2023 or into 2024.
Removing from consideration the 10 temples that have dedications scheduled between August 2023 and January 2024, the Church has 48 temples under construction.
Those 48 are being built in 10 states of the United States and elsewhere in 20 other countries and U.S. territories. Nations with multiple temples under construction include the Philippines with four, Mexico and Argentina with three apiece and Brazil and Guatemala with two each. States with multiple temples being built are Utah with nine and Idaho with three.
Temple-Update
Elder Ryan K. Olsen, General Authority Seventy, invites Primary children who sang at the groundbreaking of the Montpelier Idaho Temple to turn a shovelful of dirt on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Photo by Jon Ryan Jensen, courtesy of Church NewsAll rights reserved.Sites and Renderings
Not milestone events per se but noteworthy still are the site announcements and releases of exterior renderings for new temples. The site and rendering of a new temple are released — usually separately but sometimes simultaneously — well into the planning and design phase and well before the groundbreaking ceremony.
Four temples have had renderings released so far in 2023 — the Tampa Florida, Cody Wyoming, Montpelier Idaho and Oslo Norway temples. Renderings for the yet-to-be-renovated Anchorage Alaska and Provo Utah temples were also published this year.
Sites for the following temples were announced already in 2023: Barcelona Spain, Vitória Brazil, Maceió Brazil, Cody Wyoming, Huehuetenango Guatemala, Oslo Norway, Kumasi Ghana, Charlotte North Carolina and Wichita Kansas temples.
Temples Announced
So far in 2023, President Nelson has announced 15 new temple locations — all coming as part of his concluding message in the Sunday afternoon session of April 2023 general conference.
The 15 are:
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- Iquitos, Peru
- Teresina, Brazil
- Natal, Brazil
- Tuguegarao City, Philippines
- Iloilo, Philippines
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Hamburg, Germany
- Lethbridge, Alberta
- San Jose, California
- Bakersfield, California
- Springfield, Missouri
- Winchester, Virginia
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
As mentioned above, a site has already been identified for the Charlotte North Carolina Temple.
Future Announcements
The general pattern for new temple announcements during President Nelson’s tenure is for him to identify new temple locations at the semiannual general conferences.
Since 2018, President Nelson has announced 133 temple locations — all but one in a general conference setting. The exception was the Ephraim Utah Temple, announced on May 1, 2021, during a news conference on the renovation of the nearby, pioneer-era Manti Utah Temple.
As such, more temples could be announced in the second half of 2023 — and if so, mostly likely during October 2023 general conference but possibly at any time.
As of July 3, the Church has 79 “announced” temples still in planning and design. The 79 are located in 16 states and 34 nations outside the U.S.
Countries with multiple announced temples still in planning are Brazil with eight, Mexico with seven, Philippines with six, Nigeria and Peru with three and Bolivia with two. States with multiple temples in planning include Texas and California with three each and Florida with two.
Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.