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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:
- The Durban South African Temple was the last to be dedicated, on February 16, 2020.
- A week later, the Taipei Taiwan and Seoul Korea Temples were the first to close because of the pandemic; after scores more followed over the next month, the First Presidency announced all temples would close at the end of the day on March 25, 2020.
- On May 7, 2020, the First Presidency announced a four-phase reopening of temples; on May 11, the first 17 temples reopened in Phase 1, offering living sealing ordinances for husbands and wives.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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