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Now Here: The Long-awaited Return of Temple Open Houses, Dedications and Rededications

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Scott Taylor, Church News

September 2021 marks 19 months since the last temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated, 18 months since the Church closed all 168 operating temples worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 16 months since the start of a careful and cautious phased reopening of those closed temples.

And now, September 2021 marks the start of a long-awaited return to public temple open houses preceding the first scheduled dedications and rededications. And one week into the new month, nearly 94% of the reopened temples are offering at least some proxy ordinances in addition to all living ordinances.

A recap of past dates:

Bokang and her sister Awande Tshabalala attend the Durban South Africa Temple dedication in Umhlanga, South Africa, on Sunday, February 16, 2020. Photo Jeffrey D. Allred, courtesy of Church News. Copyright 2021 Deseret News Publishing Company

Fast forward to Monday, September 13, when the Pocatello Idaho Temple begins conducting media tours, signaling the start of its public open-house period — the first open house since Durban in early 2020. Open to the public, the open house runs Saturday, September 18, through Saturday, October 23, except for Sundays and general conference October 2–3.

Rendering of the Pocatello Idaho Temple. © 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will dedicate the temple on November 7.

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple follows with its open house the next month, from Saturday, October 9, through Saturday, October 23, with the exception of the two Sundays, October 10 and 17, and Monday, October 11, which is Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday.

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple will actually be the next temple dedicated — and the Church’s 169th overall — because its October 31 dedication by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will occur one week before the Pocatello Idaho Temple dedication.

A rendering of the exterior of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. © 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rededications of recently renovated temples have also been scheduled. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, will preside at the December 12 rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple, with its open house running from mid-October through mid-November. Rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple is scheduled for June 19 and the open house set for late April to early June.

The pandemic forced the postponement of dedications of the Winnipeg Manitoba and Rio de Janeiro Brazil temples and the rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple that were originally scheduled for 2020. Dates for the Rio de Janeiro Brazil temple have yet to be rescheduled.

Besides those three finished temples, the Church currently has another 40 temples under construction, following the recent groundbreakings of the Neiafu Tonga and Nairobi Kenya Temples held Saturday, September 11. Three more are waiting in the wings, with a September 18 groundbreaking set for the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple and two more on October 9 — the Casper Wyoming and Pago Pago American Samoa Temples.

The Washington D.C. Temple, July 2021. © 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

 
With the completion of the renovated Mesa Arizona and Washington D.C. Temples, six more temples are under renovation, soon to be joined by the Manti Utah Temple, which is scheduled to close October 1.

Excavation has reached 45 feet below street level on the Salt Lake Temple renovation project. Twenty more feet of soil will be removed before construction begins on the three-level underground north addition. © 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

   
As of today, the status of the Church’s 168 dedicated temples can be broken down as follows:

  • 140 operating in Phase 3, offering all living and proxy ordinances.
  • Seven operating in Phase 2-B, offering all living ordinances and proxy baptisms.
  • Six operating in Phase 2, offering all living ordinances.
  • Two operating in Phase 1, offering living sealings of husband and wife.
  • Five “paused” because of local COVID-19 conditions — 4 in Phase 3, 1 in Phase 2.
  • Eight closed for major renovations — 6 districts designated as Phase 3.

Counting all the current and projected temples and districts operating in Phase 3, including those that are paused, 150 of the Church’s 168 temples — or 89% — are now designated as offering all living and proxy ordinances.

Add in the additional temples operating or projected to be operating in Phase 2-B and offering proxy baptisms and confirmations, and that makes 157 of the Church’s 168 temples — or 93% — offering at least some proxy ordinances in addition to all living ordinances by month’s end.

Copyright 2021 Deseret News Publishing Company

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