- Bahia Blanca, Argentina
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Lubumbashi, DR Congo
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Benin City, Nigeria
- Syracuse, Utah
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Shanghai, China
Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple
The Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple will be the Church's fifth temple to be announced for Argentina, and the first temple to be built in southern Argentina. Previous temples were dedicated in Buenos Aires (1986) and Cordoba (2015), whereas the Church has announced temples for Salta (April 2018) and Mendoza (October 2018). The new temple will likely include 14 stakes and five districts in southern Argentina. Due to few stakes in the nearby area around Bahia Blanca, the size of the temple building will likely be small (under 20,000 square feet). The Church in Argentina has experienced slow membership growth for many years albeit annual membership growth rates have slightly accelerated for the past few years. However, the number of congregations (i.e. wards and branches) continues to slightly decrease year to year as units with few active members are consolidated into neighboring congregations. For more Church statistical data for Argentina, click here.
Tallahassee Florida Temple
The Tallahassee Florida Temple will be the Church's third temple in Florida. The Church previously dedicated temples in Orlando (1994) and Fort Lauderdale (2014). The new temple will likely include approximately 10 stakes in the Florida Panhandle, Jacksonville metropolitan area, southern Georgia, and southeastern Alabama. The size of the temple building will likely be small (under 20,000 square feet). The first and only stake in Tallahassee was organized in 1973. The Florida Tallahassee Mission was organized in 1971 and merged with the Florida Jacksonville Mission in 2019. For Church growth statistics in Florida, click here.
Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple
The Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple will be the Church's second temple in the DR Congo after the dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple in 2019. The new temple will likely be built from local construction teams trained by the Church and utilized in the construction of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple and meetinghouse construction elsewhere in the country. The Church has experienced rapid growth in Lubumbashi and other cities in southern areas of the country. The first stake in Lubumbashi was organized in 1997 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Lubumbashi Mission was organized in 2010 from a division of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission. The new temple will likely service at least the six stakes in the southern DR Congo, and may also serve an additional six stakes and one district in the Kasai Region in the central area of the country (where the first stake was organized in 2011). As of year-end 2018, there were 62,563 members in the DR Congo, whereas at year-end 2008 there were only 20,883 Latter-day Saints in the country. The size of the temple building will likely be small (under 20,000 square feet). For more statistical data on Church growth in the DR Congo, click here.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple
The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple will be the Church's second temple in Pennsylvania after the dedication of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple in 2016. The new temple will likely include nine stakes in western Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia. There are three stakes in the Pittsburgh area, and the first stake in Pittsburgh was organized in 1969. The Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission was organized in 1975. The size of the temple building will likely be small or medium-sized (under 25,000 square feet) given the size of the likely temple district. Slow growth has occurred for the Church in the area likely to be covered by the temple district, although the most recently organized stake was created in 2014. For Church growth statistics in Pennsylvania, click here.
Benin City Nigeria Temple
One of the most likely locations to have a new temple announced for a number of years, Benin City has been a major powerhouse for Church growth in Nigeria. No other city in Nigeria has as many stakes as Benin City. The first stake was organized in Benin City in 1993 followed by two additional stakes created in 1997 and 2007. Since then, the Church has organized five additional stakes for a total of eight stakes in the city - two of which appear likely to divide in the immediate future. Benin City has one of the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints of any African city with one million or more inhabitants. There are 82 wards and branches in the metropolitan area - more than twice as many as one decade earlier. The average ward or branch in the city has 20,122 people within its geographical boundaries, indicating more penetrating outreach than any other city. The new temple will likely service at least 11 stakes and four districts in Edo State and surrounding areas. The new temple will be the third temple in Nigeria after the Aba Nigeria Temple (dedicated in 2005) and Lagos (announced in October 2018). The temple is likely to be a small or medium-sized temple of less than 30,000 square feet. For statistics regarding Church growth in Nigeria, click here.
Syracuse Utah Temple
The Syracuse Utah Temple is the 24th temple to be announced in Utah. The new temple will likely service approximately 25 stakes in Syracuse, Clearfield, and West Point. The first stake in Syracuse was organized in 1915. The Church in Utah has appeared to focus on temple districts having between 20-40 stakes rather than 40-80 stakes. The new temple is likely to be a large temple between 50,000-80,000 square feet. The Church in Utah experiences some of the highest temple attendance in the world as evidenced by the consistent announcement of new temples in the state. For example, two new temples were announced in Utah just last October (Orem and Taylorsville). For more information about Church growth in Utah, click here.
Dubai United Arab Emirates Temple
The Church has already posted an article about its plans to build the Dubai United Arab Emirates Temple. The Church in the Middle East and North Africa has two stakes in the Gulf States (Abu Dhabi and Manama Bahrain) as well as three districts headquartered in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. The Church organized its first stake in the region in 1983 and created a second stake in 2014. The new temple is likely to be a small temple under 20,000 square feet. Latter-day Saints in the Gulf States are overwhelmingly Europeans, North Americans, Filipinos, and South Asians. The temple will be the Church's first temple to be built in the Middle East. Membership growth rates have slowed dramatically in the United Arab Emirates in recent years. Click here to obtain more information about Church growth trends in the United Arab Emirates.
Shanghai China Temple
The Church's announcement of a temple in Shanghai, People's Republic of China (PRC) was a major surprise given that the Church operates under significant legal restrictions in the PRC, and there remains no stakes in the PRC at present. As noted by President Nelson's comments, difficulties with travel for PRC to the Hong Kong China Temple, combined with its current closure amid major renovations, appeared to in part prompt this announcement. The Church organized its first branches for PRC members in 2004 and today has a presence in most of the major cities. There appear to be at least 10,000 Latter-day Saints in the PRC, the vast majority of whom are likely PRC citizens. Shanghai is one of the three major Church centers in the PRC for both foreign and PRC citizens, the others being Beijing and Guangzhou. There are eight member districts in the PRC for PRC citizens, and four member districts in the PRC for foreign members.
