Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for Temples in Mexico, the Philippines and Utah

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the open house and dedication dates for the Layton Utah Temple, the Puebla Mexico Temple and the Urdaneta Philippines Temple. The groundbreaking ceremony date for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple has been announced, as well as the site location for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple.

Layton Utah Temple

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication of the Layton Utah Temple on Sunday June 16, 2024. Two sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. MDT.

The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the Layton Utah Temple district. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date.

Prior to the dedication, a public open house will be held Friday, April 19, through Saturday, June 1, 2024, excluding Sundays. A media day will be held on Monday, April 15, 2024, while invited guests will tour the temple Tuesday, April 16, through Thursday, April 18, 2024.

The Layton Utah Temple was announced in 2018 by Church President Russell M. Nelson. “Eventual exaltation requires our complete fidelity now to covenants we make and ordinances we receive in the house of the Lord,” he said, as seven temples, including the Layton Utah Temple, were announced during the April 2018 general conference. He also counseled Church members “to identify those things you can set aside to spend more time in the temple.” Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony, held on May 23, 2020, with a small group in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Utah, the Church’s world headquarters, is home to nearly 2.3 million Latter-day Saints, approximately two-thirds of the state’s population of 3.4 million people. Utah has a total of 28 houses of the Lord in operation, under construction or announced: the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Jordan River, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo, Red Cliffs, Salt Lake, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, St. George, Syracuse, Taylorsville and Vernal temples.

Puebla Mexico Temple

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Puebla Mexico Temple in two sessions on Sunday, May 19, 2024. The dedicatory sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CST.

A public open house will be Friday, March 29 through Saturday, April 20, 2024, excluding March 31, April 6, 7, and April 14. Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Monday, March 25, 2024. Invited guests will also tour the temple on Tuesday, March 26 through Thursday, March 28, 2024.

The Puebla Mexico Temple was announced in October 2018 by Church President Russell M. Nelson. “Building and maintaining temples may not change your life, but spending your time in the temple surely will,” he said, as twelve temples, including the Puebla Mexico Temple, were announced during the 2018 October General Conference. “Time in the temple is crucial to our salvation and exaltation and that of our families,” he added.

Construction began as ground was broken in a ceremony held on November 30, 2019.

The preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ began in Mexico during the 1870s. In 1961, a stake (similar to a diocese) was organized in Mexico City. In 1983, a temple was dedicated in in Mexico City.

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The Puebla Mexico Temple will be one of 24 temples operating, under construction or announced in Mexico.

Dedicated temples in Mexico are found in Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa. In addition to the temple in Puebla, there are also temples under construction or announced in Cancún, Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Mexico City Benemérito, Pachuca, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Toluca, Torreón and Tula.

Mexico is home to more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints, more than any other country except for the United States, in over 1,850 congregations.

The Urdaneta Philippines Temple

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, will preside at the dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

Two sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. PHT. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the Urdaneta Philippines Temple District. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date. 

A public open house will start on Monday, March 18, and continue through Saturday, March 30, 2024 (excluding Sundays). A media day will be held on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, while invited guests will tour the temple Wednesday, March 13, through Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The Urdaneta Temple was announced October 2, 2010, by former Church President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018). The groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 17, 2019. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland presided at the event. “This property, this city, this province, and the entire nation of the Philippines will never be the same as a result of the construction of this building,” he said.

The Urdaneta Philippines Temple will be the third temple in operation in the country, joining the Manila Philippines Temple (1984) and the Cebu City Philippines Temple (2010).

There are 13 temples that are announced, under construction, or in operation in the Philippines: those in Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Manila, Naga, Santiago, Tacloban City, Tuguegarao City, and Urdaneta.

There are more than 850,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 1,275 congregations in the Philippines. The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ began in 1961 in the country, where Church growth has been among the fastest in the world.

Knoxville Tennessee Temple Groundbreaking   

Groundbreaking services will be held for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Elder Shayne M. Bowen, First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area Presidency, will preside at the event.  

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The Knoxville Tennessee Temple was announced in April 2022 by Church President Russell M. Nelson. This house of the Lord will be built on a 4.99-acre site located at 13001 Kingston Pike, Farragut, Tennessee. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet. This will be the city’s first temple.    

The Northcutts Cove chapel in Altamont, Tennessee, is one of the oldest buildings of the Church in the southeastern United States and was built in 1909.  

Tennessee is home to more than 57,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 110 congregations. Tennessee, located in the southeastern region of the United States, has two other temples. The Memphis Tennessee Temple was dedicated in 2000 and rededicated in 2019. The Nashville Tennessee Temple was dedicated in 2000.

The Antananarivo Madagascar Temple   

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the location of the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple.   

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The Antananarivo Madagascar Temple will be built on a 9.8-acre site located at Fokontany Andranoro, Ambohibao, Antehiroka, Andranomena, Madagascar. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet, with patron housing and arrival facilities. First announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2021, this temple will be the first in the country.  

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa and is the world’s fourth-largest island. More than 14,000 Latter-day Saints live in Madagascar in over 40 congregations. The preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ formally began in 1998, with the formation of the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission. In September 2000, the Antananarivo Madagascar Stake was organized.   

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of 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 or 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 that unite families forever.