Sunday, April 7, 2019

Eight New Temples Announced

This afternoon President Russell M. Nelson announced eight new temples in the following locations:
  • Pago Pago, American Samoa
  • Okinawa City, Okinawa
  • Neiafu, Tonga
  • Tooele Valley, Utah
  • Moses Lake, Washington
  • San Pedro Sula, Honduras
  • Antofagasta, Chile
  • Budapest, Hungary
With these new temple announcements, there are now 209 temples that are dedicated, under construction, or announced.

72 comments:

  1. After the rumors of a huge temple-building initiative, 8 announced seems very disappointing. Nonetheless, they are important temples in important places that are prepared for them.

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  2. This is still another large temple announcement - mostly in places few of us had expected, at least not any time soon.

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  4. Disappointing?!? Wow, some people need to temper their expectations a bit!!

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  5. 8 is still high on average. Last April was only 7. I am excited for the saints in all those areas.

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  6. This was a great conference! I was not disappointed with any of the temple announcements. Temples are a expensive to build and maintain. There is a huge backlog of temples already announced and under construction and many temples being renovated. I am sure in coming years there will be many more temples announced.

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  7. Okinawa is a real surprise. Unless it ends up taking a significant chunk of Kiushu, there would be only one stake and one district in the temple district. And looking at the data from the Cumorah.org atlas, the Okinawa Stake looks a bit fragile, as well. We don't know about everything that goes into a decision like this but to me, it is a real surprise despite the distance to Tokyo.

    A second temple in Tonga was a real dark horse, given that the first one is on the small side and rather busy. I doubt that it will be a very large temple anyhow.

    The other ones were definitely on the shortlist as well. Hungary will likely take Austria and most of south-eastern Europe, perhaps with the exception of the Balkan states that are not part of the EU (most notably Albania).

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    1. Surprised at Okinawa too I mean the latest temple built there in 2016, Sapporo only serves 3 stakes, 2 districts and is almost 49000 sq ft, talk about under utilised. Sigh

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  8. Six of the eight were on someone's radar or another, two were not.

    Errata on Okinawa. Okinawa is a prefecture in Japan, an island slongside Honshu, the missing of Japan is partly due to Okinawa being an American possession until the early 1970s.

    So that and the one in Washington are the two that we had never discussed, I think that both will be of the small variety, the rest will be a little larger, with Tooele being the largest.

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  9. What an exciting set of temple locations! Okinawa and Moses Lake are probably the big surprises for me. Excited for second temples in Samoa and Tonga. Antofagasta will cover large distances in northern Chile. I though Vienna would be Europe's next temple but excited to see it announced for Budapest! That will cover a large area for Eastern Europe who have to travel far to nearest temples. The work moves forward!

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    1. Each of the two Samoas will now have a temple. But the original temple in Samoa was announced for Pago Pago American Samoa due to ease of travel for other Pacific island countries. But after other island Nations got temples announced, it was moved to Apia Samoa because there were more Somoan saints in the nation of Samoa rather than in American Samoa. It even hard circular looking architectural rendering. In the past year 3 of the 5 US territories got temple announced and two of those 3 already have renderings and groundbreaking dates scheduled. Okinawa was a big surprise. I expected that washington would get a couple more temples in next couple years, but thought the next one would be in Tacoma. I am excited for Moses Lake. The other temples were on my possible list.

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    2. As far as Hungary, I was guessing a temple would there or Viena Austria. I was hoping and praying for that region of Europe. Budapest and Vienna are less than 150 miles apart and well within the 200 mile goal. Maybe someday both countries would have a temple. I am excited for Northern Chile.

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    3. I do wish that the architectural design of the proposed American Samoa temple (1970s) is incorporated/replicated in this new 2019 announced temple. The original is inspired by traditional South Pacific architecture thus the rounded appearance, roofing and overall wooded appearance. Its exciting as although never built I'd say this is the churches best example of incorporating a non western cultural influence into temple design. The most current example of this would in my opinion be Sapporo Japan with the exterior/interior. I think Mexico City was a fluke at it same with Thailand. I'm not a temple department employee but that's what I would propose.

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    4. Original 1970s American Samoa temple:
      https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/samoa-temple/

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    5. @William

      I agree. The original design for the Pago Pago temple was designed by Emil Fetzer, who designed some of our more memorable/different-looking temples, including: Mexico City, Provo, and the original Ogden Temple. He seemed to have an affinity for incorporating round elements into some of his designs, whereas most of our other temples are square or blocky. The Mexico City Temple is also one of our best examples of incorporating native architectural elements into the design - with its Aztec step-pyramid base and Mayan zigzag motifs.

      If they don't go with Fetzer's original Samoa design outright, I hope they at least pay homage to it and use some of its elements.

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  10. I was wondering why Okinawa is Okinawa and not Japan?

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  11. To clarify, disappointed in the face of rumors. My own stupid fault for believing them. I'm grateful that there are more being build and the cost of these beautiful buildings is not lost on me.

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  12. There is a continued theme of island temples with 3 being announced. I wouldn’t be surprised that the Okinawa, Pago Pago, and Teiafu will havequick location announcements. This has been the recent trend with Puerto Rico, Cabo Verde, and Guam.

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  13. Now on to the areas that didn't get temples: Mainland Asia, Brazil, Africa, the Philippines, Mexico. I think we've gotten accostumed to seeing temples announced in those places regularly, but their big time (especially for Africa) might come next Conference. Two or three African temples would not be a surprise, with how far Kinshasa and Durban are along now. Despite the vast size of the continent, it may make sense to not build a too large "regional backlog", but those two dedications should probably remedy some of that.

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  14. The Church has also created a new temple construction infographic. Been a long time since they did one.

    https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temples-currently-under-construction

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  15. What all on Temple Square are they rennovating?? And the adjoining plaza? What's that?

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  16. I would've guessed Yakima before Moses Lake. I've known members from Moses Lake and I think there are quite a few in the area given the population size. Okinawa was a complete surprise. Are there still a lot of Americans stationed there?

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  17. I was wondering about "the plaza." My best guess is that it's the area just to the south of the Church office building, which - in my humble opinion - could use the renovation probably more than any other Church-owned property in the area.

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    1. The plaza has referred to the Main Street portion with the reflective pool. But, the area surrounding the Church Office Building makes sense. It has been quite some time since it was updated. Here also mentioned Temple Square in general. Wonder what he means there.

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    2. Wasn't the Ogden temple overhauled partly because its architectural appearance wasn't in harmony with the surrounding community? Also City Creek Mall was built by the church to aid in the revitalization of downtown SLC and maintain a clean community. If the church can spend so much time and effort to change physical appearances here's to hoping the church office building is overhauled to meet 21st century architectural standards yeessh. Forgive me but that thing Is uuugglly. Also the visitors centres can be redesigned to fit a more holy location they look too basic. Sorry for sounding shallow but they're only opinions.

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    3. @William P

      Yes, and Ogden was overhauled because couples and brides were avoiding getting married in it (traveling to other temples like Bountiful) because they thought its original design looked ugly.

      The official reason was to revitalize downtown Ogden, though. Also, they wanted to remove the spire from the adjacent Ogden Tabernacle, as it was considered a distraction from the temple's spire.

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  18. Oh, so like a renovation of The Church Office Building and Relief Society Building? Yeah, those def could use some major updates.

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  19. Yakima also crossed my mind for a second, but only because it had two stakes in the area. Moses Lake has a Stake with 11 wards and a branch. I would wager that the stake will be split in the coming years. Othello, Ephrata, and Wenatchee will be assigned to the temple district. Selah and Yakima are a few minutes closer to the Columbia River Temple, but some of the norther units could go to Moses Lake. So, maybe five stakes.

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    1. 5 stakes is more than several Canadian Temples have.

      Still I see October conference bringing temples in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Monrovia, Liberia; Lumbumbashi, DR Congo; Benin City, Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; northern Luzon; Madagascar with so many Island Temples; Neuquen, Argentina; Brlo Horizonte, Brazul; Joinville, Brazil; Soracaba, Brazil; Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Cuzco, Peru; Cali, Colimbia; Coban, Guatemala; Durango, Mexico; Christ Church, New Zealand; Jacksonville, Florida; Scotland; Knoxville, Tennessee; Portland, Maine; Madison, Wisconsin; Northwest Arkansas; Colorado City, Colorado; Farmington, New Mexico; Heber City, Utah; and Bakersfield, California. Another temple in Central Mexico and one in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria are dark horse candidates as is one in eastern Texas at Gilmer or somewhere elsein the northest of the state. However as MosesLake and Okinawa prove the factors leading to temple announcements continue to ellude me. Thesame is shown by Yuba City.

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  20. Okinawa has at least 6 different U.S. armed forces bases that I can think of. There are approximately over 50,000 Americans there at any one time.

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  21. Okinawa has three military branches. Probably no more than 500 U.S. troops attending on a good day, and likely just about the same number of civilians in the Okinawa Stake. Given that members of the military may have a comparably difficult time attending the temple regularly while on duty, holding a significant number of sessions regularly and properly staffing the temple will be a challenge. But the more I think about it, the more I like that the Church is tackling it. Even four sessions a week or so will be a tremendous blessing to the people of Okinawa and the surrounding islands - a couple of which have small isolated branches of the Church.

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    1. Military members stationed in Okinawa may have it even harder than civilians leaving to other parts of Japan. I have a friend who served her mission in Okanawa I need to see her reaction. Okanawa getting a temple bodes well not just for Madagascar but also for Trinidad and Tobago or maybe Barbados.

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  22. A Chinese-speaking general authority was sustained this weekend. I bet President Nelson takes him and Elder Gong along for a visit to China in the future to try to open more doors to the church in the PRC. That would be momentous and exciting.

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  23. Bringing temples to isolated and far-flung members seems to be an even higher priority for President Nelson than his predecessors. At this point North Africa is pretty much the only location that would surprise me.

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    1. Im with you. UAE would not shock me. Abuja is a possibility, wi

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    2. Sorry I got cut off. Abuja with two growing stakes and Jos close to a stake seems a possibility. Kumasi, the historic heart of the Akan Empire, has strong potential. Kampala, Uganda is possible. Elko a long shot but I could see it. Same with Price, Utah. Charlotte, North Caolina; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania also are contenders. So is Iquitos, Peru. Singapore is a contender more so when a stake is formed in Malaysia. Jakarta, Indonesia remains a possibility. Even New Delhi, India would not be beyond possible since it is so far from Bangalore. Still with 1 stake in north India and no districts it would be a surprise. Actually a tempke in Karachi would seem less surprising. O maybe Islamabad. I still have not figured out.

      Sortof like I am still trying to figure how Elder Johnson will effect outreach to Muslims since he is a former Muslim.

      A Beijing Temple is now possible. The biggest problem in building a temple in China is how to deal with the rules about seperate worship for nationals and non-citizens.

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    3. Beijing possible, can you elaborate? It sounds interesting. I thought the reason to build the Hong Kong temple was to enter the country before communist China took ahold of which was then a British territory. How would communist China allow a Beijing temple to be built, or any temple?

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  24. Another interesting item I gleamed in the new book by Sheri Dew beside Pres Nelson's desire to build fewer chapels and more temples (see previous post for my comment on that) is that when he received the Chinese "old Friend" award in Jinan, China a few years back he was also given permission to visit with the Chinese members during church services in Beijing and Shanghai. So that ended up being the first visit by an apostle to Chinese members in China. The book is well worth the money and the read. It has so many little details of so many events all the way up to Dec 2018. I found it very interesting!

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  25. For those who were "disappointed" (for a lack of a better word) in the temple construction surge not happening yet, I do not think it is wrong to feel that. Isn't is a righteous desire to want to fill the world with temples so everyone can have access to those blessings? If I think back, the feeling I had for the temple announcements was joy for the temples that were announced. But also a sigh that the blessings weren't coming for others yet. But I also knew that we'll get there someday, hopefully soon.

    As I thought about those feelings today, a thought popped into my head. Why are we waiting for the blessing of temple construction? Do we generally just wait and hope for a blessing? Aren't we supposed to act?

    There are three things we can do to strive righteously for the desire of our hearts.
    (1) Pray for temples and temple blessings to reach those in the world. Show your love for the people of a specific region and pray for them.
    (2) Set a goal for temple worship (whether it's once a week/month/quarter/year) and keep it.
    (3) Sacrifice something to go toward the temple fund. The early saints gave much more than we've ever dreamed to build the pioneer-era temples. Homes, lives, etc. Let's take a look at our life and find what we can sacrifice for temple construction. Buy a cheaper bag of chips. Drink less pop. Skip eating out once a month. Donate $5 per month or whatever you can for temples.

    We don't need to wait for God to tell us we're ready for temples. Why don't we show God we're ready to bring the gospel and His blessings to every nation and pave the way.



    Rephrase and re-post to spread the message!

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  26. What happened to the mission length reduced to 18 months for elders rumor? Yet another thing many folks were so sure was going to happen...

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  27. The Okinawa military district has 4 branches and all are very large. The main issue with it is how temporary everyone is there. My dad was recently released as District President there. The area authority gave him all the keys that would normally be given to a stake president. He was able to interview those going to serve missions, etc., without the need of the mission president. There was more than enough priesthood to make it a stake, and each branch had very high numbers at sacrament. While stake presidents often serve 7+ years, all branch presidents and district presidency members all served less than 3 years at the most.

    My parents were equally surprised at the announcement, as it doesn't seem to have the members to warrant a temple. There also aren't any other countries nearby that would seem to service it, as many do with Hong Kong.

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  28. It has been under the radar compared to the 1998-2002 "small temple" program, but several of the latest batch are *very* small, including PR, Haiti, and Guam, and I'm sure a few of these new ones will be as well. I wonder how these will operate--by appointment only?

    I am willing to bet that the recent Kuwait acceptance of the Church could be a precursor to a temple; is that a higher level of acceptance than Israel, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain?

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    1. I dont think by appointment only is likely in many cases. There is a big range of differences. A temple like Jordan River you just show up for endowments. One like Detroit you call ahead because the session might not exist otherwise. When Aba Nigeria first reopened after they gave up on foriegn temple workers you had to schedule an appoinment there were no fixed sessions nut they now have scheduled times. Most will probably go the call ahead to get a spot model, but a few with 3 or less stakes may have very few scheduled weekly sessions and have people organize for more. Although with emphasis on 5emple attendance as a family event as opposed to a ward one, which has reconfigured how the baptistry works, I am not sure how much that will be the wave of the future.

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  29. I estimate that all of the new temples will be on the smaller side (with 1-2 exceptions).

    Pago Pago American Samoa - 5 stakes
    *Closest Temple - Apia
    *Assigned Temple - Apia

    Okinawa City Okinawa - 1 stake, 1 district
    *Closest Temple - Taipei
    *Assigned Temple - Tokyo

    Neiafu Tonga - 4-5 stakes, 1 district
    *Closest Temple - Nuku'alofa
    *Assigned Temple - Nuku'alofa

    Toole Valley Utah - 13 stakes, 1 district
    *Closest Temple - Oquirrh Mountain
    *Assigned Temple - Salt Lake

    Moses Lake Washington - 4 stakes
    *Closest Temple - Columbia River
    *Assigned Temple - Columbia River

    San Pedro Sula - 15 stakes, 2 districts
    *Closest Temple - Tegucigalpa
    *Assigned Temple - Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City

    Antofagasta - 7 stakes, 2 districts
    *Closest Temple - Cochabamba, Arequipa, Salta
    *Assigned Temple - Santiago

    Budapest - 2 stakes, 8 districts
    *Closest Temple - Freiberg
    *Assigned Temple - Freiberg, Frankfurt, Kyiv

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  30. My wife grew up in Sunnyside and went to school in Ellensburg. I had suggested Ellensburg to her at one point, and she responded with Wenatchee. I expect Moses Lake will serve Moses Lake, Othello, Colville, Ephrata and Wenatchee, and possibly Selah. That still keeps Columbia River busy, and only takes one stake from Spokane. I still expect Missoula to happen in the near future.

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  31. I'm genuinely surprised there aren't more Temples in the UK. Wonderful members but why don't they have more Temples I wonder?

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    1. London and Preston are both sognificant is size. Another Temple in England or one in Wales does not seem pressing but I could be wrong. The 5 stakes in Scotland could in theoryjustify a temple, but considering hom many more stakes are in some temple districts and the income/free time travel time issues faced by members in say some parts of Bolivia to get to the temple, or substandard roads/ no roads in say parts of Nigeria to Aba, the no roads is Lumbumbashi to Kinshsa, Scotland is not a super high priority. Although it is one of a lot of temples that wouldnot surprise me if announced in October. So many new temples it exceeds any likelihood, which leads to the concludion I cant predict such things well.

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  32. Considering 8 temples is more than existed when President Nelson and his wife Dentzel got married in the Salt Lake Temple, the same as the total number of operating temples when David O. McKay became president of the Church and more than President Monson ever announced at once it is not disappointing. True some of us hoped each conference would see more temples announced than the last one but it is a good number.

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  33. Only San Pedro Sula and Tooele were on my short lists. I know some expected a temple in Heber City to be Utah's next and many said Tooele would hurt SLC too much, but it is happening.

    Considering how isolated Okinawa is it does not surprise me. With Moses Lake Spokane having an 11,000 square foot temple makes it unsurprising now. Antofagasta has at times made my lists but with Arequipa getting a temple it had dropped off. I am not too surprised by Pago Pago. Even less that Tonga is getting a 2nd temple although I had not done enough analysis to predict where.

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  34. Is something wrong with the area West of Seattle? Is it not as strong as Eastern Washington? Maybe some more volcanoes are going to erupt or some tsunamis are coming and now would be a bad time to build another temple.

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    1. MeganT,
      The Seattle Temple is just underutilized. Once it is used more regularly I could see a Temple built in Tacoma.

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  35. Whizzbang

    The UK has two Temples.
    I think that if these Isles see other Temples, first would be Ireland although only two Stakes and a District so not holding my breath.
    In terms of road distance Scotland with 5 Stakes is mentioned. Depending on location in Scotland, Sunderland Stake in England is a possible part of a district.
    Yet a Temple around Bristol would serve Cornwall which geographically is as far from London as many parts of Scotland. Without checking, a Temple in Bristol would bring blessings closer to Plymouth, Bristol, Poole, and Cheltenham in England. Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff in Wales.

    Aberdeen Stake includes branches in off mainland islands requiring flights to Scotland so Glasgow or Edinburgh candidates.
    Poole Stake includes Crown Dependencies Channel Islands, both served by Bristol Airport I would imagine.

    Maybe another 10 Stakes across England, or stronger activity rates, member numbers would see for many the final UK Temple around Birmingham. Currently would cover for distances, Birmingham,Lichfield,Coventry. Leicester, Nottingham (but think that’s two Stakes away for that region).

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  36. To put things in oerspective Tonga had 21 stakes in its district while London had 22. However London Temple is twice as big as Tonga so averages at about 2,000 square feet per stakeinstead of 1,000. Comparing temple sizes does not quite compare ordinance capacity but it does tell us something. Also island to island and on island travel prese t their own sets of factors in favor of a new temple.

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  37. I anticipate that Samoa (not American) will get a second temple soon, probably in Savai'i. It may be a few years but I am prayful and hopeful for those saints. I also pray for Kirabati and Vanauatu.

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  38. It's an amazing day when "only" 8 temples are announced, the third most ever. How many people on this blog have attended 8 temples? How many have done temple ordinances 8 weeks in a row? This is great progress.
    Keep going on missions and attending the temple. Do more family history and share it with others.

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  39. I have performed ordinances in 8 or 9 temples. I think I went and did ordinamces in Nanti Temple once but I am less than clear on it. There are 2 more temlles I was in before dedication, one veing Provo City Center long before it was announced.I also stood where tge Nauvoo Yemple now standz and listened to the guide say no temple would be built there.

    Are Fukuoka and Okinawa in the same mission? By my count at least 2 (Samoa and Tonga) missions outside the US will now have multiple temples. Colonia Jyarez and Ciudad Juarez may have once been in the same mission but I do not believe they are currrntly.

    Farmington New Mexico has now become a strong candidare for a temple.

    Of couse outside the western US the dest templeless stake is Jacksonville Florida dating to 1947 and maybe delayed thatate because the man they made stake president whose grandfatger was a founding martyr of the Church in Florida was deployed with the military until just before that.

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  40. I think the most likely next temple for Nexico would be Torreon. Another stronv xandidate is Cancun. 4 stakes there is enough fof a temple and that would still leave Merida with at least 8 stakes.

    Even the recent unit consolidations in Mexico leave active members with more time to devote to temple attendance with less demands on time as leadership. So dwspite stake loss and regiobal vioksnce a Culiacan Temple I find a possibility.

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  41. I have performed ordinances in 42 different temples, including 8 in 8 temples over three days. I once had a goal of performing ordinances in every temple and I couldn't be happier to see that goal becoming more and more impossible.

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  42. Yes, the two temples in Chihuahua are both in the Cuidad Juarez Mission, and Fukuoka and Okinawa are in the same mission. That lead me to think of which missions outside the US and Canada have two temples. Mexico Cuidad Juarez, and now Japan Fukuoka, Tonga, and Samoa. Although of course, America Samoa is part of the US, but the mission that covers it is located outside the US. Also, it is interesting to note that the Aukland MTC is actually located inside the boundaries of the Hamilton Mission. So if the temple is indeed built there, the Hamilton Mission will have two temples.

    I have also been considering metro areas that have two missions, but no temple. Recently the announcements for Salvador Brazil, Puebla Mexico, and San Pedro Sula Honduras have taken those cities off the list. Currently, I believe the only cities that remain are La Paz Bolivia and Santa Cruz Bolivia.

    I also think Culiacán is still a strong possibility, given it is at least 8 hours away from the nearest temple. It would also be closer for the stakes of the Baja California peninsula, depending on whether the ferry service is cheaper than driving all the way to Tijuana. If that's not the case, then perhaps Los Cabos could also be considered for a temple.

    I also wouldn't be so fast to not consider Ireland or Northern Ireland. Many temples are being announced on islands with small numbers of members. Perhaps it could receive a temple before Scotland does. It will be interesting to see how the Ireland/Northern Ireland boarder is resolved if Brexit ever gets resolved.

    In the past, I would have favored Wellington New Zealand over Christchurch. Now I think Christchurch might be more likely. Besides, wouldn't it be great to have a temple literally named after Christ's Church.

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    1. There are 3 missions in New Zealand nowadays. Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland. The MTC is literally in South Auckland within the Auckland mission boundaries.

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    2. You can go to Classic lds maps and sign in to see the mission boundaries. The stakes in the southern Aukland and Manurewa fall in the boundaries of the New Zealand Hamilton Mission. The wards that attend the meetinghouse located next to the MTC are assigned to the Hamilton mission. Litterally, the other side the highway is the boundary of the two missions. I guess in an effort to balance the size of the two missions, they assigned four Aukland area stakes to the Hamilton mission.
      Comorah.com also has a map of the boundaries: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&ll=-36.99384245343171%2C174.8875040461985&spn=11.294247%2C23.269043&mid=1K53xm-RhP6Ebuq2iEr6cLXXZkdc&z=15

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    3. OK thanks for the info. What a strange boundary. Geographically South Auckland is a separate region from Hamilton altogether. I don't see the geographical gap fair on Missionaries or Leadership, South Auckland is the main stronghold of the church in the entire North Island specifically the Auckland region. This reason it would make sense to keep everything in South Auckland together in the Auckland Mission. Well my opinion doesn't matter I'm not leadership. I use to live in Auckland.

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  43. Reading the comments, I have to make a very serious observation.

    That is people that live in the United States or in countries with modern transportation systems and are not remote do not understand what is really going on. These small temples that are being built is to relieve the stress on people saving every dime that they earn just to attend the temple once or twice in their lifetime.

    Why should people living in modern societies have an easier time of driving 10 mins to a couple of hours to go to a temple not be afforded to people who live in remote areas? Why should they spend a day or more on a bus after spending their life savings to attend a temple? Why can't smaller temples be built in remote areas to afford those same people an opportunity to raise themselves up a bit more in the financial area instead of spending all their money just to attend the temple once in their life.

    The arrogance of people arguing that this city or that city is more worthy to get a temple than a remote area diminishes the value and faith of those saints that save everything and have nothing just to attend the temple.

    I am very disheartened by some of the comments here. It is not up to us to decide who is worthy and who isn't. All should have the opportunity to attend the temple and they should not have to sell everything and scrimp and save just to attend once. People should be rejoicing that those people will be able to travel an hour or two just to attend the temple like people in more modern areas.

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  44. There are some thoughts here that fit the non-continental US temple announcements exactly. Reminds me of President Hinckley sketching the small temple design on a trip to a place that sorely needed a temple for the local saints.

    "These small temples that are being built [are] to relieve the stress on people saving every dime that they earn just to attend the temple once or twice in their lifetime."

    "Why should they spend a day or more on a bus after spending their life savings to attend a temple?

    "Why can't smaller temples be built in remote areas to afford those same people an opportunity to raise themselves up a bit more in the financial area instead of spending all their money just to attend the temple once in their life.

    "All should have the opportunity to attend the temple and they should not have to sell everything and scrimp and save just to attend once."




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  45. I'm not sure what your comments are in reference to. We all enjoy making predictions for likely temple locations, but I dont think anyone is upset that any locations were chosen. We are all very happy for those who will have easier access to temples. That said, some of the places were surprising and I think that is fine to discuss. Building a temple in a remote place isnt the same as simply giving a gift to a struggling people. Temples require a significant amount of work and leadership from the local members and as much as I would love to see a temple in many of the places that match your description, it simply doesnt seem feasible right now for most. That doesnt mean that we can't hope for changes that will make temple access easier for people in far reaches of the world.

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  46. Why the need to renovate all these temples all of a sudden? Haven't they've been renovated numerous times before so that they could meet safety codes? Surely, the Oakland Temple was built up to earthquake cod in the first place -- so why the renovations across the board?

    Are they renovating all the temples to be tornado/hurricane-, fire-, flooding-, or nucelar- proof in addition to the earthquake proofs?? :p

    Or are they adding more baptismal fonts so so baptismal ordinances can hasten?
    Are they enlarging them?

    Or are they adding like a Geneology/Family History annex right on the grounds too?

    Or is it simply: "update style." It seems like they would gradually do aesthetic work on Pioneer-Era Temples -- not all at once for several years.

    What is the real reason for the sweeping renovations? Guesses?

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    1. Temples are renovated usually about every 30-40 years to refresh the "updated style" usually focusing on the interior, you wouldn't want the designs and inner properties to fall apart would you? More importantly at the same time all technological function and moreover the mechanical workings of the temple are given a modern update to improve overall functionality. Most temples are earthquake strengthened if not all ready completed a seismology upgrade.

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    2. Here's a great article after the Jordan River rededication 2018 the church went on to explain why mechanics need a refresh. This quote is only a snippet full story here:

      https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/jordan-river-temple-open-house?__prclt=J1DsKL6M

      “Over time,” Bishop Davies explained, “temples tire. It’s like owning a car. After a few years, you have to change the tires. And so in a temple, over a number of years, we have systems that show wear — heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical systems.”

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    3. Speaking of mechanical systems at the Jordan River Temple, during the renovation they also removed the old escalators and replaced them with stairs.

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  47. Cory Ward: La Paz, Baja California South is more likely for a temple than Los Cabos, in my opinion. It would help more Mexicans to the north of the state capital for quicker access.
    Love begets Love: good points.
    I have argued for a long time that if Americans had to deal with the lack of heating that Chileans deal with in their cold, rainy winters in their non-heated chapels, the activity rate would suffer greatly. California has the same climate but I would be surprised to know of a California chapel without air conditioning and heating systems. There are double standards for church comfort per country, it seems. This is cultural, too, it seems. Public schools and buildings, residences, can be the same way.

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