New Temple Predictions - September 2019 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in October. Data used to identify likely locations for future temples include the number of stakes and districts, the number of wards and branches, age of the oldest stake, trends in church growth, distance to the nearest temple, number of endowment sessions scheduled at the nearest temple, and member and missionary reports regarding member activity, temple attendance, and convert retention. Given President Nelson's comments in a media conference a couple days ago, there will be new temples announced this October. The Church announced 19 new temples during 2018 and eight new temples in April 2019.

In March 2019, I added a new classification for less likely potential new temples to be announced (i.e. locations with few stakes and distant from the nearest temple). I have added this new category given the recent trend for the Church announcing more temples in locations with fewer stakes. Thus, there has been an emphasis on the construction of new temples in more remote locations with comparatively few members to improve accessibility to the temple. Locations I added to the map back in March in this category include:

• Rosario, Argentina
• Flagstaff, Arizona 
• Londrina, Brazil
• Natal, Brazil
• Santa Maria, Brazil
• Sao Jose, Brazil
• Teresina, Brazil
• Osorno, Chile
• Vina del Mar, Chile
• Cali, Colombia
• Grand Junction, Colorado 
• Santiago, Dominican Republic
• Coban, Guatemala
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Wichita, Kansas
• Augusta, Maine 
• Aguascalientes, Mexico
• Cancun, Mexico
• Chihuahua, Mexico
• Culiacan, Mexico
• Torreon, Mexico
• Farmington, New Mexico 
• Enugu, Nigeria
• Piura, Peru
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Rapid City, South Dakota 
• Austin, Texas
• El Paso, Texas 
• Longview, Texas
• McAllen, Texas
• Tacuarembo, Uruguay
• Charleston, West Virginia
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
• Casper, Wyoming

I have added the following 58 locations to the less likely list of temples that may be announced:

• Fairbanks, Alaska 
• Juneau, Alaska
• Tirana, Albania 
• Neuquen, Argentina
• Trelew, Argentina
• Hobart, Australia
• Tarija, Bolivia
• Campo Grande, Brazil
• Cuiaba, Brazil
• Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
• Maceio, Brazil 
• Pelotas, Brazil
• Rio Branco, Brazil
• Sao Paulo Guarulhos, Brazil
• Sorocaba, Brazil 
• Vitoria, Brazil
• Punta Arenas, Chile
• San Luis Valley, Colorado 
• Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
• Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire
• Machala, Ecuador
• Quevedo, Ecuador
• Ra'atea, Tahiti, French Polynesia 
• Kahului, Hawaii
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Dublin, Ireland
• New Delhi, India
• Kingston, Jamaica 
• Sendai, Japan
• Busan, Korea
• La Paz, Mexico 
• Beira, Mozambique
• Maputo, Mozambique
• Elko, Nevada (previously on Likely Potential New Temples list)
• Christchurch, New Zealand 
• Abuja, Nigeria
• Calabar, Nigeria
• Ibadan, Nigeria
• Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Cleveland, Ohio (previously on Likely Potential New Temples list)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
• Cusco, Peru
• Huancayo, Peru
• Pisco, Peru
• Puno, Peru
• Tacna, Peru
• Iloilo City, Philippines
• Puerto Princesa, Philippines
• Savaii, Samoa
• Barcelona, Spain
• Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan 
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Lome, Togo
• Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
• Delta, Utah
• Port Vila, Vanuatu
• Barcelona, Venezuela

Altogether, the temple prediction map has 140 potential sites for more likely and less likely locations where temples may be announced. Church growth trends in 2019 have appeared to slightly accelerate during the year compared to 2018 in regards to the creation of new congregations and stakes, and also increases in convert baptisms in many missions around the world. However, this significant increase in the number of locations added to the map is NOT due to a sudden increase in church growth, but rather a change in temple announcements to more cities with few members that are distant from the nearest temple (such as Yigo, Guam; Budapest, Hungary; Okinawa, Japan; and Moses Lake, Washington to name a few). As for what I see as the 10 most likely locations for new temples to be announced this October, see below:

• Benin City, Nigeria
• Santa Cruz, Bolivia 
• Monrovia, Liberia 
• Freetown or Bo, Sierra Leone 
• Angeles, Philippines
• Bacolod, Philippines
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Rogers, Arkansas 
• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
• Tarawa, Kiribati

Red squares on the map below are temples which are dedicated or planned. Yellow squares are likely potential new temples that may be announced in the near future. Blue circles are less likely potential new temples that may be announced in the near future. Please share your predictions for new temple announcements in the comments below.