Sunday, September 6, 2020

New Temple Predictions - September 2020 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in October. It is unclear whether or not the Church will announce additional temples this coming conference given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of proxy ordinance work for deceased persons. Nevertheless, the Church may announce new temples this conference given the steady trend in new temple announcements that has continued for several years. As a result, I have updated my list of the top 10 most likely locations to have a temple announced.

Data used to identify probable locations for future temples include the size of the Church in a specific geographical area (i.e. number of stakes and districts, the number of wards and branches), the age of the oldest stake in a specific geographical area, church growth trends, 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. In September 2019, I divided prospective temple sites into more likely and less likely categories. This change appeared warranted given recent trends of temple announcements in remote areas of the world with few relatively Latter-day Saints, such as Tallahassee, Florida; Cobán, Guatemala; Budapest, Hungary; and Okinawa, Japan, that appear less likely to receive temple announcements given historical trends. Altogether, there are 131 potential temples on the map (40 more like temples, 91 less likely temples).

Locations added to the temple prediction map include:

    • Noumea, New Caledonia (less likely)
    • East London, South Africa (less likely)
    The following 10 locations appear most likely to have temples announced this coming General Conference if any new temples are announced. You are welcome to provide your top 10 picks for temple announcements in the comments below.
    1. Santa Cruz, Bolivia 
    2. Monrovia, Liberia 
    3. Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines
    4. Tarawa, Kiribati
    5. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 
    6. Missoula, Montana
    7. Colorado Springs, Colorado 
    8. Santiago or Tuguegarao, Philippines 
    9. Charlotte, North Carolina
    10. Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

    See below for the map of likely and less likely new temple sites:

    84 comments:

    James G. Stokes said...

    Matt, thanks for posting this today. Hope you and your family are staying well in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the recent birth of your son. Keep up the great work! As for my list, I'd be hard-pressed to narrow it down to the top ten, but as I mentioned in the comment threads of the previous post, earlier today, I published my full list of likely temple prospects that could be announced. Anyone interested in dialoguing with me on any of those locations or the reasoning behind them can do so by consulting the predictions and commenting in the threads of the following post:

    https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2020/09/updated-october-2020-general-conference.html

    As far as the idea that President Nelson might not announce any temples this go-round due to ongoing COVID-19 conditions, while there is precedent for a hiatus, as we have seen at least one during the last decade, President Nelson has shown a keen focus on announcing new temples, and the queue of announced temples has tapered down a lot so far this year, and will continue to do so before the end of this year.

    In the April 2020 General Conference, when announcing new temples, President Nelson stated: "It may seem odd to announce new temples when all our temples are closed for a while. More than a century ago, President Wilford Woodruff foresaw conditions such as ours today, as recorded in his dedicatory prayer of the Salt Lake Temple, given in 1893. Some of you may have recently seen excerpts from this remarkable prayer on social media.

    "Hear these pleadings from a mighty prophet of God: 'When Thy people shall not have the opportunity of entering this holy house … and they are oppressed and in trouble, surrounded by difficulties … and shall turn their faces towards this Thy holy house and ask Thee for deliverance, for help, for Thy power to be extended in their behalf, we beseech Thee, to look down from Thy holy habitation in mercy … and listen to their cries. Or when the children of Thy people, in years to come, shall be separated, through any cause, from this place, … and they shall cry unto Thee from the depths of their affliction and sorrow to extend relief and deliverance to them, we humbly entreat Thee to … hearken to their cries, and grant unto them the blessings for which they ask.'

    "Brothers and sisters, during times of our distress when temples are closed, you can still draw upon the power of your temple covenants and endowment as you honor your covenants. Please use this time when temples are closed to continue to live a temple-worthy life or to become temple worthy."

    Since the prophet offered those remarks last General Conference, the Church has begun a carefully-coordinated phased reopening of temples, and groundbreakings have been held for 7 temples thus far this year, with a total of 6 others set to occur at various intervals following the October 2020 General Conference. With that in mind, I have no doubt that more temples are on the way and will be announced next month in General Conference.

    Either way, thanks to you all for bearing with me through this comment, and thanks especially to you, Matt, for this update on your blog and for sharing your thoughts with us. Please keep up the great work!

    Bryansb1984 said...

    My list has
    A second temple in the Las Vegas Area either Henderson or Summerlin
    Bakersfield, California
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Osaka, Japan
    Baltimore, Maryland
    San Jose, California

    Chris D. said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Chris D. said...

    Matt, I might recommend adding PRINCE GEORGE BRITISH COLUMBIA, with possibly 1 Stake (Prince George B.C.) + 1 District (Terrace B.C.). To be added as Less Likely Candidate site due to remote distance and winter travelling to next closest temples in Anchorage Alaska (1,718.6 mi or 33 hours driving) or Vancouver B.C. (464.4 mi or 8 hours driving).

    Matt said...

    I have considered Prince George, British Columbia, but I think this is unlikely given that it is a pretty small stake without a core of active members in a small urban area. Small temples recently announced usually have a least 3-4 wards in the city where the new temple is announced, whereas Prince George has only two and no more than 300 active members per RM report and local member reports five years ago. Vanderhoof does have two wards, but it is 60 some miles away. Seems like things are a bit too spread out and with too few members to warrant a temple yet. Fairbanks, Alaska seems like a much more like contender for cities with one stake that are far from the nearest temple. Fairbanks has nine wards and one branch within the immediate city and suburbs.

    Whizzbang said...

    I live in Canada, I can't imagine another Canadian temple being announced for quite awhile. My temple, Winnipeg, is on hiatus for now anyways.

    my picks

    Ireland
    Scotland
    Milwaukee
    Peru somewhere
    Southern Chile or Southern Argentina
    Mongolia
    Bolivia somewhere, Sucre? Santa Cruz? La Paz?



    BYULAW said...

    I’m guessing the church relied on members being able to cross the U. S. Border to attend in Mexico or Canada when deciding which stakes to assign to respective temples. With leisure travel across borders being restricted for the foreseeable future. I’ll guess El Paso, Texas and Burlington, Vermont

    BYULAW said...

    Sharon, Vermont - Joseph Smith’s birthplace

    Gracie said...

    Does anyone have news about the Nairobi and Harare temples? Nothing new has been posted about them on Rick's site for some time.

    Christopher Nicholson said...

    Temples in third world countries can be delayed by bureaucracy, corruption, and outright opposition in the government even if no apparent legal reason prevents them from being built. A book by Elder Glenn L. Pace documents a lot of this happening behind the scenes with the Accra Ghana Temple that most people would never know about. I'm just guessing this is also the case with the two East African temples. Kenya in particular has a very negative view of the Church, with many people thinking we're literal devil worshipers who sacrifice chickens and dance naked around fires.

    L. Chris Jones said...

    My guess in the Northeast would include either Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine. I have hoped for an historic temple in Sharon, but it is far from the nearest stake. So other locations may appear more likely based on travel distance and maximum use for the most number of members.

    Cory said...

    There is a landscape architect that has posted on his website a rendering of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple and the site plan. Rick can't post it on his site because of intellectual property protection. It looks like the floor plan for the Praia Cape Verde Temple. It will be interesting to see if the final rendering includes an angel Moroni like it does in this rendering:
    https://www.scottallreddesign.com/harare-zimbabwe-temple-site

    My picks:
    Santa Cruz
    Belo Horizonte
    Iquitos
    Punta Arenas
    Charlotte
    Antananarivo
    Ulaanbaatar
    Oslo

    Whizzbang said...

    I think that Kiribati is slowly being submerged into the ocean, I had heard maybe 100 years it will be gone or if not they'll have to re do things. I think it would be great to get a temple there if not for the erosion

    phxmars said...

    Africa:
    Capetown, SA; SE Nigeria
    Asia:
    Osaka, Japan; Leyte Island or Southern Luzon Philippines; Singapore; Tarawa
    Europe:
    (Longshots) Scotland and Oslo, Nwy.
    South America:
    Santa Cruz or La Paz, Bolivia; Iquitos or Cusco, Peru; (Longshots) Cali, Colombia or Maracaibo, Vza
    North America:
    El Paso, Tx; Elko, NV; Colorado Springs, CO; (Longshots) Durango, Mx; Charlotte, NC; Missoula, MT; Fairbanks, AK

    Valenzuela y Escobar said...

    The most exciting, at least for me, of each conference are the announcements of new temples.

    In these difficult times that we live, they provide much more encouragement and strength.

    As a Chilean I would love to see temples announced in cities as distant as: Viña del Mar, Valdivia and Punta arenas, and I say this because of the amount of stake, districts and existing fidelity.

    -Bolivia, at least 2 more temples or in Santa Cruz
    -Colombia in Calí and Medellín, although there is potential for another city
    -Venezuela at least in Maracaibo
    -Jamaica or nearby islands

    In Africa, Asia, Oceania and Europe at least 10 more temples thinking of the great distances that there are without a temple.

    It is beautiful to dream, it has already been seen that the Church builds temples on more than one occasion with few stakes, it is the case of Alaska and the not yet dedicated temple of Canada among others.

    Cody Quirk said...

    Imo, while growth has been slow to stagnant in a few parts- Montana should get a second temple in Missoula; they and northern Idaho need it.

    Unknown said...

    I've been coming up with my temple announcement predictions, and thought I would share something I do that may be of interest to others making predictions. In an effort to calibrate the accuracy of my temple announcement predictions, I award myself 1/n points (where n is the number of temples I predict) for temples that are announced which I predicted, and penalize myself 1/n points for temples that I either did not predict or for ones I predicted which are not announced. When added up, the closer they are to 1 the better my predictive accuracy. If they sum to 0, that means I got things right as often as I got them wrong. Anything below 0 means I was wrong more than I was right. I like this system as it prevents me from just throwing everywhere with a stake into my predictions and helps me to see how well my predictive ability does over time.

    My predictions for this conference are:
    Belo Horizonte, Brazil
    Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
    Torreon, Mexico or Chihuahua, Mexico (but not both)
    Kampala, Uganda
    Tacoma, Washington
    Tacloban, Philippines
    Sao Paulo, Brazil II

    Unknown said...

    I accidentally left Tarawa, Kirbati off my prediction list I just posted -- that one should be on there as well.

    Francesca said...

    Is there any indication that members increase activity once a temple has been announced, built, and opened in their area? What about public interest and converts? I've always assumed that a new temple is a great PR opportunity for the Church and great for finding new investigators, but I've never lived in an area where a new temple has been built.

    Whizzbang said...

    @Francesca- I haven't seen an uptick in new converts but we have new move ins, but I don't know if more or less than when we didn't have a temple coming. I think it may prevent people from leaving? I don't know for sure though. I don't know if converts would appreciate a temple coming here. Mind you covid has blown up everything so it's hard to tell

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @Christopher Nicholson

    I didn't know that about the Ghana temple opposition. Perhaps that explains the delay with the Church announcing a 2nd temple for that country.

    James G. Stokes said...

    Chris, while Matt already weighed in on your suggestion to him, a while ago, someone living in Victoria British Columbia mentioned on my blog that, to get to the Vancouver temple requires an arduous journey. My research on that prospect indicates that those Saints in that location experience undue hardship thereby, making that location one of the next (if not very next) Canadian cities to have a temple announced. That said, I understand why Matt, and perhaps others, have chosen not to include it.

    Eduardo said...

    "Third world" nations has fallen out of vogue. Now most economists or social scientists refer to them as "developing" nations.
    Hate to say it, but does anyone think that God is chastising some people with fires and plagues?
    Is anyone complaining that the Church has too much money anymore? People are quite ignorant and spoiled, in my opinion. Inside the Church too, but tithe payers are usually more humble. Sounds arrogant to say that, but it is true. Put your money where your mouth is.

    Whizzbang said...

    Vancouver island has , I believe, a stake and a district. They are very small though. Then again, the Winnipeg Temple has significantly less than 1000 members endowed with a recommend.

    Eric S. said...

    I anticipate another set of 8 new temples announced this conference, following the number from the previous 3 conferences. My list of 8 is a mix of top picks from previous years along with some other remote area temples I think could be announced in the near future. In no particular order:

    Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    Punta Arenas, Chile
    Missoula, Montana
    Rapid City, South Dakota
    El Paso, Texas
    Antananarivo, Madagascar
    Oslo, Norway
    Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Some other thoughts:

    -If another Utah temple is announced, I'm going to guess somewhere outside the Wasatch Front in either Delta, Price, or Smithfield.

    -It's been two years since a new temple has been announced for Brazil or Mexico so I think a new announcement in those countries may be likely soon.
    My guesses for Brazil: Belo Horizonte, Ribeirão Preto, or São Paulo Area #2
    For Mexico: Torreón OR Durango, Querétaro, or Cancún

    Christopher Nicholson said...

    Almost always the people hurt the most by natural disasters and plagues are in the most humble, God-fearing regions of the world. East Africa is dealing with locusts and floods in addition to Covid, and when the people are under lockdown and can't go to the store even if they had money, they get next to no government assistance. If this has anything to do with God, the United States (and not just California) should be getting hit far harder than they are.

    Brian McConnell said...

    With the establishment of the new Sheridan, Wyoming Stake, the remaining portions of the Gillette WY Stake would be closer to either a Casper, WY or Rapid City, SD temple.

    Also Lowell and Powell and Cody WY side of the Bighorn Mountains would benefit greatly from a temple.

    Casper, WY has church historical significance as a ferry crossing on the Mormon Trail, and its proximity to Martin's Cove.

    Lowell and Powell have significance as early pioneer settlements, and Cody has the famous chapel panorama depicting pioneer heritage.

    Rapid City has one of the farthest travel requirements for temple attendance in the US, and is especially onerous during the winter. Rapid City has always provided a significant number of temple workers to the far-away Bismarck, ND temple.

    Scott said...

    Here are my top 10 picks (in no order). These are not the temples that I think are most likely, but the ones that I think are both possible and find interesting.

    Ulaanbaatar Mongolia (first in this country and gets temples closer to parts of China and Russia)
    Antananarivo, Madagascar (first in this country and island and Africa could use more temples)
    Glasgow or Edinburgh Scotland (Or Dublin, Ireland / Belfast, North Ireland) – The first in Scotland, North Ireland, or Ireland. I think Scotland is much more likely, but the Ireland picks would provide a temple on the island of Ireland.
    Jakarta Indonesia/Singapore (first in these countries)
    Monrovia, Liberia (first in this country and Africa could always use more temples)
    Kampala, Uganda (first in this country, and east Africa could always use more temples)
    Christchurch New Zealand (first on this island)
    Tacloban City/Ormoc or Iloilo City Philippines (first on each of these islands, and The Philippines has so many members it could easily have more temples)
    Eugene Oregon (I always think having temples in cities with colleges is good as it provides opportunities for younger members to regularly attend)
    Price, Utah (I think this is the only college town in Utah not to have a temple nearby)

    André Freire said...

    Where can we see your predictions and the results of your prediction rates?

    L. Chris Jones said...

    Now that the UEA is formalizing a relationship with Israel, could they become part of the new Dubai temple district when it is completed?

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    -My Picks for Likely Temples (Based on Growth & Other Factors (but mostly on Stakes/Districts) - Top 10

    Santiago/Tuguegarao, Luzon (10 Stakes, 10 Districts) or Angeles/Olongapo (13 Stakes) Philippines
    Tarawa, Kiribati (4 Stakes, 3 Districts)
    Belo Horizonte, Brazil (10 Stakes, 6 Districts)
    Iquitos, Peru (4 Stakes, 2 Districts)
    Herriman, Utah (15 Stakes)
    Antananarivo, Madagascar (2 Stakes, 5 Districts)
    Kampala, Uganda (3 Stakes, 4 Districts)
    Bakersfield, California (6 Stakes)
    Beira (2 Stakes, 2 Districts) or Maputo (2 Stakes, 1 District), Mozambique
    Kumasi, Ghana (3 Stakes, 6 Districts) or Cape Coast, Ghana (6 Stakes, 3 Districts)

    Extras:
    Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (11 Stakes)
    Colorado Springs, Colorado (9 Stakes)
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia (12 Stakes, 4 Districts) or La Paz, Bolivia (9 Stakes, 1 District)
    Spanish Fork, UT (21 Stakes)

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    -My Top 10 Picks for Extremely Far Distance Temples (simplified)

    (all distances are in a straight line - as the crow flies - unless otherwise indicated)


    1. Punta Arenas, Chile

    -(2 Stakes, 1 District) (Assigned to Concepción Chile)

    -Concepción to Punta Arenas is 1823 km (1133 miles).
    -Punta Arenas to Bahia Blanca is 1736 km (1078 miles).


    2. Rapid City, South Dakota

    -(2 Stakes) (Assigned to Bismarck, North Dakota)

    -Rapid City to Bismarck is 224 miles.
    -259.36 miles from Fort Collins to Rapid City.


    3. La Paz, Baja California Sur, MX

    -(2 Stakes) (Assigned to Tijuana Mexico)

    -La Paz, Mexico to Hermosillo, Mexico is: 340 miles / 547 km flying.
    -La Paz, Baja California Sur to Guadalajara, Jalisco is 809 km (503 miles).
    -Tijuana from La Paz (Mexico): Flight distance is 706 miles.


    4. Juneau or Fairbanks, Alaska

    -(1 Stake Apiece, Both Assigned to Anchorage Alaska)

    -Fairbanks from Anchorage: Nonstop drive: 359 miles or 578 km. Driving time: 6 hours, 7 minutes.
    -Anchorage from Juneau: Nonstop drive: 849 miles or 1366 km. Driving time: 20 hours.


    5. Kiribati (4 Stakes, 3 Districts) or Vanuatu (2 Stakes, 4 Districts)

    -(Both Assigned to Suva, Fiji)

    -Fiji to Kiribati is 1,953 kilometers (1,214 miles).
    -Port-Vila, Vanuatu to Suva, Fiji is 1071 kilometers (666 miles).


    6. New Delhi, India

    -(1 stake, 3 districts) (Assigned to Hong Kong)

    -Bangalore to New Delhi (flying) is 1058 miles / 1703 kilometers.


    7. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    -(2 stakes, 3 districts) (Assigned to Hong Kong)

    -1,239 Miles (1,994 Kilometer) Ulan Bator (Mongolia) to Seoul (South Korea)
    -Ulan Bator to Hong Kong (flying) is 1804 miles / 2904 kilometers.


    8. Canary Islands, Spain

    -(1 stake, 2 districts) (Assigned to Madrid, Spain)

    -Cape-Verde to Las-Palmas-De-Gran-Canaria: 1,001.25 mi (1,611.36 km).
    -Lisbon to Canary Islands is 2 hours 9 minutes. A distance of 839 miles / 1,351 km.
    -(bird fly) Canary Islands to Madrid is 1,791 km= 1,113 miles.


    9. Antananarivo, Madagascar

    -(2 stakes, 5 districts) (Assigned to Johannesburg, South Africa)

    -Antananarivo, Madagascar to Harare, Zimbabwe is 1,745 kilometers (1,085 miles).
    -(air line) Johannesburg to Madagascar is 1,277.29 mi (2,055.60 km).
    -(air line) Madagascar to Durban is 1,208.88 mi (1,945.51 km).


    10. Capetown, South Africa

    -(3 stakes, 1 district) (Assigned to Johannesburg, South Africa)

    -Cape Town to Johannesburg is 1262 kilometers (784 miles) in South Africa.
    -Capetown to Durban: 17 h 30 min (1,635.2 km).
    OR
    -The calculated flying distance from Cape Town to Durban is equal to 790 miles which is equal to 1272 km. If you want to go by car, the driving distance between Cape Town and Durban is 1636.31 km. If you ride your car with an average speed of 112 kilometers/hour (70 miles/h), travel time will be 14 hours 36 minutes.


    *In no particular order.

    Temple Map Showing Eyeball Distances:

    https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1W60CDwd4qDDMA3tW74z8g-2WxNw&ll=-3.81666561775622e-14%2C0&z=1

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    -My Personal Picks (Whittled Down) - Top 10 + Extras

    (some may be likely, others are just ones I'd like to see or have a personal connection to)

    1. Missoula, Montana (8 Stakes)
    2. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (2 Stakes, 3 Districts)
    3. Pleasant View/North Ogden, Utah (7 Stakes at least)
    4. Heber City, Utah (8 Stakes)
    5. Price, Utah (8 Stakes)
    6. Barcelona, Spain (3 Stakes)
    7. Monrovia, Liberia (5 Stakes, 1 Districts)
    8. Charlotte, North Carolina (8 Stakes)
    9. Singapore (3 Stakes, 7 Districts)
    10. Osaka, Japan (9 Stakes, 3 Districts)

    Some Extras for the Future:

    Spanish Fork, Utah (21 Stakes)
    Tirana, Albânia (1 Stakes, 1 District)
    Macon, Georgia (a few Stakes at least)
    Lexington, KY (4 Stakes)
    Jakarta, Indonesia (2 Stakes, 1 District)
    Springville/Mapleton, UT (11 Stakes at least)
    Vilnius, Lithuania (3 Districts in the Baltic States, 1 in Poland, 1 in Belarus)

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    My numbers didn't post for my likely list. Here they are:


    1. Santiago/Tuguegarao, Luzon, Philippines
    (10 Stakes, 10 Districts)
    or
    Angeles/Olongapo, Philippines
    (13 Stakes)

    2. Tarawa, Kiribati
    (4 Stakes, 3 Districts)

    3. Belo Horizonte, Brazil
    (10 Stakes, 6 Districts)

    4. Iquitos, Peru
    (4 Stakes, 2 Districts)

    5. Herriman, Utah
    (15 Stakes)

    6. Antananarivo, Madagascar
    (2 Stakes, 5 Districts)

    7. Kampala, Uganda
    (3 Stakes, 4 Districts)

    8. Bakersfield, California
    (6 Stakes)

    9. Beira, Mozambique
    (2 Stakes, 2 Districts)
    or
    Maputo, Mozambique
    (2 Stakes, 1 District)

    10. Kumasi, Ghana
    (3 Stakes, 6 Districts)
    or Cape Coast, Ghana
    (6 Stakes, 3 Districts)

    Extras:

    Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (11 Stakes)
    Colorado Springs, Colorado (9 Stakes)
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia (12 Stakes, 4 Districts) or La Paz, Bolivia (9 Stakes, 1 District)
    Spanish Fork, UT (21 Stakes)

    Jim Anderson said...

    Sptingville proposal covers half the area of the Provo City Center temple district which includes some stakes on its north end that may end up in Orem, especially those on the top of Grandview Hill and north of Provo Center Street (U-114). Those are needed for more steady temple workers, some get called from the BYU YSA stakes but they may end up moving out of the district at the very next semester change.

    Spanish Fork: Payson is about the largest new temple built in recent years, one that could support 40 stakes unless everyone that could go does go more frequently. The only other temple anywhere near that size is Saratoga Springs and they did that to accomodate expected growth in both areas. But that could change if, after the full reopenings, everyone goes more often than they did before.

    Heber Valley has over 40k people and unlike Price, is primed for growth. However, both have travel issues at times. US 6 is becoming known for major car and truck accidents, a load of explosives blew a crater in the road 15 years ago, and Heber City has to deal with winter conditions on US-189 at times. It still is conceivable they both could get smaller temples, with Heber Valle getting one a little larger.

    They are placing temples 5-7 miles apart in Salt Lake Valley and the metro in general, especially more densely populaed areas. Holladay or Midvale, or even north Sandy, could see one east of Highland Drive. NW Lehi just above all the new tech buildings is another. Herriman is also similarly spaced from Oquirrh Mountain and will also be near a new freeway that is planned and has the feeder roads built.

    On the 5-mile spacing, it is almost exactly that between St. George and Red Cliffs, so the areas just north of St. George are likely for that third temple there.

    Brian McConnell said...

    My guesses:

    US

    1. Rapid City, SD
    2. Bakersfield, CA
    3. Missoula, MT
    4. Martins Cove, WY (Casper)
    5. Eugene, OR
    6. Price, UT
    7. Heber City, UT
    8. Colorado Springs, CO
    9. Charlotte, NC
    10.Charleston, WV

    International

    1. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    2. Tarawa, Kiribati
    3. Singapore
    4. Naga, Phillipines
    5. Osaka, Japan
    6. Kanaga, DR Congo
    7. Kampala, Uganda
    8. Madagascar
    9. Iquitos, Peru
    10.João Pessoa, Brazil
    11.Cancún, México
    12.Maracaibo, Venezuela
    13.Cuautla, México
    14.Querétaro, México
    15.Santa Cruz, Bolivia

    Pills & Pillows said...

    I am curious if anyone knows of any incidences where a proper service animal did assist a disabled member in the temple? (Ive seen them at meetinghouses, but I haven't seen them at the temple -- although I do frequent the temple in my wheelchair). Was curious to know if the recent church policy regarding service animals impacts anyone you know personally?

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-09-15/service-animals-policy-church-meetinghouses-temples-192744

    John Pack Lambert said...

    The refusal to pay bribes was key to the long delay of both the Bogota and the Guayaquil Temple.

    Having a Kenyan as area president in Kenya cannot hurt the process of getting a temple built. Although the widespread existence of corruption in Kenya, Zimbabwe and other countries cannot be underplayed.

    The film "heart of Africa" directed by Chrisopher Tsopher and based on a screen play by Tsopher and Margaret Blair Young shows us how to deal with this in an interesting film about a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in DR Congo. Tsopher is a Congolese film director who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His work may be the first feature length film by a Congolese director period. If not the first probably among the first 10.

    Do not underplay the amount that corruption is thought to influence the economies of poor countries and do not underplay how the Church's absolute refusal delays things.

    What is the book by Elder Pace.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    Do not undercount the possibility of Austin, Texas getting a temple.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    The question is can we turn enough of the oil patch working Saints into temple workers if they loose South Dakota.

    Rapid City temple would be a great blessing to the Sioux Nation.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    Wait why is Spanish Fork not pick #1 with that many stakes?

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @John Pack Lambert

    My list isn't in particular order. And I was thinking that they might announce for somewhere else in Utah this time with the recent announcements for Utah Valley.

    Thomas Jay Kemp said...

    It is now 2 weeks until Conference.
    Interested to see if we’ll have a steady cascade of near daily announcements/changes from the Church during the lead up to Conference.

    Buckle up!

    James G. Stokes said...

    Whizzbang, one of my favorite seminary teachers had several sayings. One of them was "Who was right, Noah or the weather man?" I am hard pressed to believe that the predictions of fallible mortal scientists would deter the Lord, who sees the end from the beginning, from inspiring the prophet from announcing a temple that could easily be the means whereby that prediction could be proven as faulty as the ground allegedly is. No disrespect intended here, but given the recent trends of Nelsonian temple announcements, Kiribati could see a temple announced within the next 3 conferences, if not sooner than that. Of course, that's nothing more than my own imperfect assessment, which the Lord may correct if I'm wrong on this.

    Michael Worley said...

    I think the brethren will find it extra important to announce new temples, to portray hope in the future and keep things as normal as possible.

    Thomas Jay Kemp said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Jim Anderson said...

    As of General Conference, the backlog of temples that have not had a groundbreaking will be 35, but if the Salta delay had not happened that would have been 34, with about five-six others as of today scheduled for a groundbreaking with one other that was thought to be on the table but redoing the master plan came necessary, that will come next year.

    So we may see 17 this year still, they could announce three more in the next few weeks also.

    So there reasonably could be at least eight this time, if not more, announced. The projection for returning to normal in many areas is about Summer (northern hemisphere) next year but that could change. Vaccine timelines have unfortunately become politically charged, and poliricized, they have had one possible stage 3 failure because someone got something from the test vaccine and it may not have been published what that was. And that is exactly why they do trials, to find if it does really work, what side effects there are, and other benefits and dangers exist.

    We should try to coalesce a list before next Friday of the best 8 of all our individual lists, then see what is announced that weekend. I think it could be 8 but October 2018 saw 12.

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @Thomas Jay Kemp

    Take your vitamin pills...

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @Michael Worley

    I certainly hope so, Michael! I would love to see something like 20,then most of our top tens will be covered.

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @Thomas Jay Kemp

    Get your rest....

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @Pills & Pillows

    I asked my friend, who's used service animals for years:

    His response:

    "On the service animals in the temple, that's a hard no. In the church houses, that's allowed and shouldn't be an issue anywhere. The policy isn't new. It's been in place now for 11 years."

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    I hope Rapid City and Missoula gets one, too. Speaking of Native American Nations, a Missoula Temple could serve the Blackfoot and the Flathead Reservations, including the Salish-Kootenai.

    EP said...

    I have a running list for the next ten years of temples I expect to see come forward. This is what I’m thinking for conference:

    October 2020
    Preston, ID/Smithfield, UT 40-70k
    Missoula, MT 25k
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia 25k
    Belo Horizonte, Brazil 25k
    Cape Coast, Ghana 10k
    Singapore 20k
    Tarawa, Kiribati 15-20k
    Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 10k

    I added approximate sizes in square feet at the end of each list. The Church seems to have identified 6 or 7 general floor plan templates that have been working well for them and excepting some unique temples like Phomn Phenomena, Bangkok, and Bengaluru, most every temple under President Nelson fits those templates. I’d be happy to post my additional future picks or thoughts about these templates.

    One other note: perhaps this is common knowledge now, but I think I’ve finally figured out the site for the Southwest Salt Lake Valley temple that President Hinckley mentioned back in 2005. At 14852 Juniper Crest Rd in the Rosecrest community in Herriman, the Church owns 18 acres of land. There is an existing chapel at the site that is built on the southeast portion, with a very unusual driveway leading to it. This site was also part of a controversial land development issue that ultimately caused deannexation from Bluffdale so the developer could annex into Herriman and develop the land at the desired density. I’m not from the area so I could be wrong, but the view, the situation, and the size all seem to fit the bill.

    Bryan Dorman said...

    My temple predictions

    Most likely

    Heber or Bluffdale UT US
    Austin TX US
    Querétaro MX
    Santa Cruz BO
    Ulanbataar MN

    Likely

    Spanish Fork UT US
    Colorado Springs CO US
    Jackson MS US
    La Paz BO
    Abuja NG

    Less likely

    Kumasi GH
    Abidjan II CI
    Hamburg DE
    Edinburgh UK
    Ushuaia AR or Punta Arenas CL

    What the...

    Smithfield UT
    Jerusalem IL/PS
    Jakarta ID
    Capetown ZA
    Monrovia LR

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    @EP

    I appreciated your predictions on the potential Herriman Temple and the Temple sizes.

    I'd be interested in your "additional future picks or thoughts about these templates."


    Brian McConnell said...

    Left one off.... Far West, MO

    John Pack Lambert said...

    At this point I do not even expect to know what will happen. An expansion of the Doctrine and Covenants is something I was thinking about. CV

    John Pack Lambert said...

    On my facebook page I posted a list of I think 70. I am going to post a maybe longer list here. If I miss any that are announced I am truly out of touch. Although Feather River would have never been on a list I ever made, and my mom partly grew up in Marysville, in what was then the Gridley Stake before Yuba City Stake was formed.

    The list:
    Fairbanks, Alaska
    Juneau, Alaska
    Prince Georges, British Columbia
    Lethbridge, Alberta
    Kingston, Ontario
    Hamilton, ontario
    Augusta, Maine
    Manchester, New Hsmpshire
    Sharon, Vermont
    White Plains, New York
    Syracuse/Ithica/Utica/Albany, New York
    Harmony/Oakland Township, Pennsylvania
    Trenton, New Jersey
    Detroit City Center
    Kinston, North Carolina
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Ashville, North Carlina
    Buena Vista, Virginia
    Baltimore, Maryland
    Charleston, west Virginia
    Charleston, South Carolina
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Lansing, Michigan
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Jackson, Mississippi
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Kingston, Jamaica
    Port of Spain, Trinidad
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Springfield, Missouri
    Des Moines/Ames, Iowa
    Madison/Appleton/Green Bay, Wisconsin
    Duluth, Minnesota
    Rapid City, South Dakota
    Wichita, Kansas
    Gilmer, Texas
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Waco, Texas
    Austin, Texas
    El Paso, Texas
    Farmington, New Mexico
    Chile, Arizona/Tuba City, Arizona
    Flagstaff, Arizona
    Buckeye, Arizona
    Queen Creek, Arizona
    Temecula, California
    Bakersfield, California
    Oxnard, California
    San Francisco, California
    San Jose, California
    Summerlin, Nevada
    Kanan, Utah
    Price, Utah
    Springville, Utah
    Delta/Filmore, Utah
    Heber City, Utah
    Park City, Utah
    Holliday, Utah
    Herriman, Utah
    Lehi, Utah
    West Valley City/Magna, Utah
    Elko. Nevada
    Morgan, Utah
    North Ogden, Utah
    Smithfield, Utah
    Missoula, Montana
    Tacoma, Washington
    Eugene, Oregon
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
    Torreon, Mexico
    Chihuahua, Mexico
    Culiacan, Mexico
    La Paz, Mexico
    Mexico City 2
    Pachuca, Mexico
    Cancun, Mexico
    Acapulco, Mexico
    Guatemal City # 2
    Antigua, Guatemala
    Cali, Colombia
    Medillin, Colombia
    2nd temple in Venezuela
    Iquitos, Peru
    Cusco, Peru
    Tacna, Peru
    Valparaido/Vina del mar, Chile
    Punta Arnas, Chile
    Neuqurn, Argentina
    Resistencia, Argentina
    Florianopolis, Brazil
    Londrina, Brazil
    So Paul #2
    Santos, Brazil
    Cuiaba, Brazil
    Maceo, Brazil
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Antanarivo, Madagascar
    Mabaye-Mbuji, Congo
    Abuja, Nigeria
    Aboh Mbase, Nogeria
    Port Harcourt, Nigeria
    Somewhere in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
    Enugu, Nigeria
    Kumasi, Ghana
    Cape Coast, Ghana
    Monrovia, Liberia
    Daloa, Ivory Coast
    Kampala, Ugana
    Jakarta. Indonesia
    Singapore
    Southern Taiwan
    Osaka, Japan
    Nagano, Japan
    3rd temple in Tona
    2nd temple in Samoa
    Christ Church, New Zealand
    Canberra. Australia
    Grand Junction, Colorado
    Martin's Cove/Casper Wyoming
    Cody, Wyoming
    Malad, Idaho
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Barcelona, Spain
    Bordeaux, France
    Hamburg, Germany
    Milan, Italy
    Prague, Czechia
    New Delhi, India
    Tarawa, Kiribati
    Marshall Islands
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    La Paz, Bolivia
    Otavalo, Ecuador
    Durango, Mexico
    San Luis Potosi, Mexico
    Tirana, Albania

    John Pack Lambert said...

    A surised temple would not be any of the last 5 except Jerusalem. Logan is overdue for a split, Cape Town is hug er ly far from Johanesburg, Monrovia could easily support a temple, and Jakarta is insanely far from any temple.

    I just realized I neglected to include any Philipino Temples on my insane list. I am thinking somewhere in northern Luzon but I do not know the area well enough to say where.

    Unknown said...

    I haven’t published them anywhere before – maybe I should start doing so.

    Michael Worley said...

    Okay, maybe I'm inferring way too much. But could the gap in temple announcements in 2014 have in part been in anticipation of the pandemic's disruption of the temple open houses and dedications? There's little benefit in having a completed temple sit unopened. (Not that the brethren knew it was coming, but that they were inspired). It seems very convenient that this is a slow year for dedications-- 3 scheduled and 1 took place pre-COVID.

    I wonder when we get to the afterlife how much we'll find was planned to accommodate the pandemic.

    Bryansb1984 said...

    Gonna add a few to my Temple predictions
    Austin, Texas
    Shreveport, Louisiana
    Cancun, Mexico
    Milan, Italy

    Doug the Ex-Fat Guy said...

    Hafta trust you as far as the new temples for the Phillipines; IDK much about the Church growth there, save it's a LOT.

    Here's my prediction of the likeliest candidates, though I don't expect even a majority will "hit"...

    UTAH: West Valley City (Magna?), Salt Lake Mount Olympus, Heber (City) Valley, Richfield, Spanish Fork

    CONUS and CANADA (ex UT): Bakersfield (CA), Willamette Valley (OR, probably Eugene or Albany), Puget Sound (WA, Lacey, Olympia, or Tacoma), Sandpoint (ID), Mountain Home (ID), Las Cruces (NM), Colorado Springs (CO), Charlotte (NC), Ottowa (ON)

    LATIN AMERICA: Zihuatanejo (Mexico), Cali-Columbia, Maracaibo-Venezuela

    EAST ASIA and OCEANIA: Canberra (ACT), Christchurch-New Zealand, Jakarta-Indonesia

    EURASIA: Oslo-Norway, Warsaw-Poland

    AFRICA: Kumasi-Ghana, Monrovia-Liberia, Luanda-Angola, Cape Town-RSA


    Doug the Ex-Fat Guy said...

    Interesting thought about the one that predicts a temple in Queen Creek, AZ...although it's proximity to the Gilbert temple likely rules it out for at least a decade or so...my niece recently moved to the East Valley, just put down a deposit on a new home to be built there in QC, and is now teaching Kindergarten at a QC elementary school...and she sez that almost all her kids are LDS! So maybe...

    Cory said...

    I updated my Temple Bracket for this General Conference. Here is the link if you want to print it out. There is an option for a wildcard option if there is a location you want to add.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hTy-v7q0eMVWeXbq8wU7FcMueHgCuFiU/view?usp=sharing

    I think Brazil defiantly merits more temples. It has more stakes than Mexico, but less temples. I would look out for more temples in Brazil in the next decade.

    Having served my mission in Cancun, Mexico, I am happy to see it on your lists. But I think there are other cities in Mexico that will get temples before Cancun. Torreon and Culiacan are much further away from the nearest temple. I would expect those cities before Cancun. I did hear from a stake president that some general authorities were looking for a piece of land in Cancun. But it could have been for a future meetinghouse or something else.

    Brian McConnell said...

    Thanks for this thread. When Elder Bednar recentlu quoted Brigham Young in conference about "thousands of temples" in all the countries... I thought back to earlier thoughts of "hundreds of temples dotting the earth".

    This order of magnitude increase caught me off-guard. But there is BY's quote in the 3rd to the last paragraph on Saints Volume 2!

    Ad Elder Bednar said a couple of years ago, all the changes are tied together. For instance:

    - The changes in leaders and mothers with children at home being able to officiate and work in the temple.

    - Changes and simplification in presenting the temple ordinances in any language or culture with the same, shared experience.

    - The example of the future Shanghai China temple being able to perform all ordinances in a building set apart and arranged for the purpose... think of the Endowment House or Ensign Peak.

    - And my favorite from Pres. Nelson saying we are known as a chapel building people, but will be known or need to be known as a temple building people.

    Final point: with this COVID pause moving on, and the realization by all of what can be done in shorter time and less meeting houses, I'm hoping there can come a great expansion of temple ordinances in thousands of locations in the coming years. Small buildings. Repurposed buildings. New temples of all sizes. In all countries in the forseeable future.

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    Hey, thanks for doing the Temple Bracket again, Cory! Now I don't have to update mine for this go 'round. :)

    Jim Anderson said...

    They are building the SR-24 freeway from Ellsworth to Ironwood/Ganzel in the East Valley, and near Signal Butte there is some property, albeit smaller, that has rumors attached to it for a temple. Heard about the rumors two years ago.

    The State is building SR-24 as a 'skeleton' freeway so the basics are in and will expand it later, most of the development is north of it, but there is strong growth along Ocotillo. But what will fuel growth even more is the extension of SR-88 due south of Apache Junction eventualy down to Eloy, and that will be another freeway too.

    So even if it does not end up being the SR-24/Signal Butte property, there will be something the Church has in that area that will end up being used for a future temple.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    How does total temple square footage in Mexico and Brazil compare?

    EP said...

    This is still a bit rough, but here’s the list moving forward, with some long range guesses as well:

    April 2021
    Tacoma, WA 70k
    Cuautla, Mexico
    Legaspi, Philippines
    Osaka, Japan 25k
    Monrovia, Liberia
    Kananga/Mbuji-Mayi, DR Congo
    Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
    Heber City, UT 25k

    October 2021
    Charlotte, NC 40-50k
    Price, UT 25k
    Colorado Springs, CO 25k
    Abuja, Nigeria
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Antananarivo, Madagascar
    Rosario, Argentina
    Teresina, Brazil

    April 2022
    Oslo, Norway
    Santiago, Philippines
    Evanston, WY 10-25k
    Herriman, UT (14852 Juniper Crest site) 70-100k
    Bakersfield, CA 40k
    Iquitos, Peru
    Uyo, Nigeria
    Kampala, Uganda

    October 2022
    Flagstaff, AZ
    Eugene, OR
    Fairbanks, AK
    El Paso, TX
    Edinburgh, Scotland
    Queretaro, Mexico
    North Ogden/Pleasant View, UT 70-100k
    Ibadan, Nigeria

    April 2023
    Spanish Fork, UT 100k
    Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls/Hayden, ID
    Casper, WY
    Pachuca, Mexico
    Tacloban City, Philippines
    Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire
    Kumasi, Ghana
    Remodel: Logan, UT

    October 2023
    Green Bay, WI
    Austin, TX
    João Pessoa, Brazil
    Santiago, Dominican Republic
    Maracaibo, Venezuela
    Lomé, Togo
    Port Harcourt, Nigeria
    Remodel: Seattle, WA

    April 2024
    Elko, NV
    Shreveport, LA
    La Paz, Bolivia
    Busan, Korea
    Bo, Sierra Leone
    Piura, Peru
    Torreón/Durango, Mexico
    Traverse Mountain/Lehi/Highland/Alpine, UT 70k
    Remodel: Provo, UT

    October 2024
    Henderson, NV 40k
    El Paso, TX
    Washington City or Hurricane, UT 70k
    Santa Ana, El Salvador
    Campo Grande, Brazil
    Cualicàn, Mexico
    Cusco, Peru
    Savaii, Samoa

    April 2025
    Delta, UT
    Nampa/Caldwell, ID
    Port of Spain, Trinidad
    New Delhi, India
    Cali, Colombia
    Vanuatu
    Maputo or Beira, Mozambique
    Remodel: Lima, Peru (original)

    October 2025
    Farmington, NM
    Rapid City, SD
    Queen Creek, AZ
    Chihuahua, Mexico
    Osorno, Chile
    Vienna, Austria
    Remodel: Manti, UT

    By April 2030
    Remodel: any of the first 50 temples not previously done since 1990
    Summerlin Las Vegas, NV 40k
    Eagle Mountain, UT
    Lindon, UT
    Morgan, UT
    Ammon/Rigby, ID
    Burley, ID
    San Jose, CA
    Victorville/Inland Empire, CA
    Yuma, AZ
    Grand Junction, CO
    Des Moines, IA
    Cleveland, OH
    Cincinnati, OH
    Knoxville, TN
    Jacksonville, FL
    Augusta, ME
    Juneau, AK
    Cancún, Mexico
    Kingston, Jamaica
    Liberia, Costa Rica
    Huancayo, Peru
    Puerto Princesa, Philippines
    Santiago, Philippines
    Milan, Italy

    By 2050:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Lethbridge, AB, Canada
    Prince George, BC, Canada
    Victoria, BC, Canada
    Havana, Cuba
    David, Panama
    Belize City, Belize/San Benito, Guatemala
    Huehuetenango, Guatemala
    Pisco/Ica, Peru
    Hobart, Tasmania
    Miri, Malaysia
    Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
    Taichung City, Taiwan
    Tirana, Albania
    Bucharest, Romania
    Brussels, Belgium
    Toulouse/Bordeaux, France
    Spain 2nd Temple
    Cardiff, Wales
    Belfast, Northern Ireland
    Dublin, Ireland

    EP said...

    Much as I would love to see a second temple for the Las Vegas Valley, I’m not sure we use the one we have enough quite yet. But I think we’re getting close. Another temple would definitely help increase usage because it is not very easy to get to the current temple from within the valley.

    Cory said...

    John Pack Lambert, that Is a good Point.

    I added up the square footage and filled in some estimates for the temples under construction. The Total for Mexico was approximately 300,000 square feet and the approximate total for Brazil was 332,000.

    Mexico had a huge temple boom at the beginning of the 21st century and then tapered off. While Brazil has grown more steadily. I guess my point was that Brazil did not have a small temple boom. Mexico got ten ~10,700 temples while Brazil only got one in that time period. I'm sure there are reasons for this, including the the maturity of the stakes. I guess my point was to say that Brazil seems prime for more temples in cities with two or three stakes.

    LDS in the Midwest said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Thomas Jay Kemp said...

    The Church announced tonight the groundbreaking dates in November and December for the Bengaluru India Temple; the Harare Zimbabwe Temple and Davao Philippines Temple.

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-groundbreakings-announced-in-asia-and-africa

    Nate said...

    Thanks to everyone who has put together a list of temple predictions. I have again compiled a temple matrix that combines all the lists I could find and computes a composite score. Currently it is composed of 17 lists - a new record! The top 3 most expected temples are Bolivia, Mongolia and Brazil. All 3 were in the top 10 for April conference so that is to be expected. See the following link:

    https://sites.google.com/view/templematrix

    John Pack Lambert said...

    Actually Brazil has both Campinas and Porto Alegre from that time period. Recife also basically took until then to complete.

    So Brazil will have roughly the same square footage.

    I do expect both the see more temples.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    El Paso is a strong contender for a temple. The same factors of hard cross border issues that caused a temple in Vancover and maybe played into the Tijuana Temple play in there.

    With only 1 new temple announced in Latin American last conference I can see several announced there.

    The only planned temples in Europe are Hungary and Russia.

    The Europe Area also has Capo Verde but that is normally classed as Africa. It is clearly closer to Africa.

    I would love to see a temple for Mozambique. The thing is the stakes there are so far apart I can not see a strong case for which stakes would get a temple first.

    Harare at four and a half years since it was announced is the longest delayed temple not yet started.

    John Pack Lambert said...

    Urdeneta Temple at 10 years since it was announced I believe is the longest delayed currently under construction temple.

    Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

    Thanks for the temple matrix, Nate. I'ma go check it out!

    coachodeeps said...

    My October 2020 temple announcement prediction:

    8 temples announced
    My top 15:
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    Monrovia, Liberia
    Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines
    Tarawa, Kiribati
    Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    Missoula, Montana
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
    Santiago or Tuguegarao, Philippines
    Heber Valley, Utah
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Iquitos, Peru
    Singapore or Jakarta, Indonesia
    Uyo, Nigeria
    Cape Coast or Cumasi, Ghana

    Other temples not as likely:
    Eugene, Oregon
    Tacoma, Washington
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Querétaro México
    Osaka, Japan
    Monrovia, Liberia
    Oslo, Norway

    Other potential temples in Utah:
    Spanish Fork
    Herriman or Riverton
    Morgan
    Price

    coachodeeps said...

    Updated. I had one listed twice and I forgot one possibility in Utah.

    My October 2020 temple announcement prediction:

    8 temples announced
    My top 15:
    Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    Monrovia, Liberia
    Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines
    Tarawa, Kiribati
    Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    Missoula, Montana
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
    Santiago or Tuguegarao, Philippines
    Heber Valley, Utah
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Iquitos, Peru
    Singapore or Jakarta, Indonesia
    Uyo, Nigeria
    Cape Coast or Cumasi, Ghana

    Other temples not as likely:
    Eugene, Oregon
    Tacoma, Washington
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Querétaro México
    Osaka, Japan
    Oslo, Norway

    others in Utah:
    Spanish Fork
    Herriman or Riverton
    Morgan
    Price
    Cache Valley #2 (Smithfield or Nibley/Hyrum area)

    coachodeeps said...

    6 temples! Kiribati, Vanuatu, lindon,utah, greater Guatemala City (yippee! That is where I served!), Bolivia, brazil!

    coachodeeps said...

    Greater Guatemala City could be in Mixco or Villa Nueva. A little further out makes sense in several areas, too.

    David McFadden said...

    Of course it's now after Gen Conference
    Flagstaff/North Pole Alaska. I think "North Pole Alaska" would be more fun coming from the Pulpit. It's 2 stakes but a very isolated 2 stakes.

    Another Luzon Island Temple. It already has 1 dedicated and two under construction, but the Manila temple has 86 stakes and 27 districts in its temple district. In addition, these 25,000 sf temples have nothing compared to the capacity of Utah's 80,000 sf temples.

    Buena Vista Virginia. This is home to Southern Virginia University, operated by members for members, and a YSA Stake. This would also bring a temple closer to several stakes in Virginia/West Virginia.