I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General
Conference in April. 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, the square-footage of the nearest temple, the historical number of endowment
sessions scheduled at the nearest temple, and member and missionary
reports regarding member activity, temple attendance, and convert
retention. Altogether, there are 144 potential
temples on the map (33 more like temples, 108 less likely temples).
Thirteen (13) less likely locations were added to the temple prediction map in February 2022. Most of these locations have not experienced significant church growth in recent years, but many of these locations appear likely candidates for a future small temple due to remote location. Many of the Church's recently announced temples have been in locations with few Latter-day Saints, but there is sufficient membership to support a small temple.
- Birmingham, England
- Brisbane South, Australia
- Cotonou, Benin
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Kolonia, Federated States of Micronesia
- Luanda, Angola
- Luputa, DR Congo
- Majuro, Marshall Islands
- Munich, Germany
- Murcia, Spain
- Porto, Portugal
- Roanoke, Virgina
- Prince George, British Columbia
The following prospective temple was transferred from the less likely category to the more likely category:
- El Paso, Texas
The following 10 locations appear most likely to have temples announced
this coming General Conference. You are
welcome to provide your top 10 picks for temple announcements in the
comments below.
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Spanish Fork, Utah
- Austin, Texas
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Santiago/Tuguegarao Philippines
- Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines
- Tacoma Washington
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Kampala, Uganda
- Iquitos, Peru
See below for the map of likely and less likely new temple sites:
Fairbanks Alaska, three or four stakes they serve. Barrow Alaska now called some Inuit name hard for me to pronounce. Hour fligh5 there. No roads unless you want to go on ice in Winter. Weather is not something I pa6 attention too unless it is real cold and I want to see the ligh5 at the end of the tunnel. And I type in Barrow out of curiosity. NFL network did a program on there High School football team a few years ago and said not for faint of heart. I was thinking for faint of brain. I couldn’t ge5 paid to live there.
ReplyDeleteIdaho Courd A Lane may be too close to Spokane to justify temple right now. Could Moscow or Lewiston get one? Idaho Oregon border Ontario, Weiser, Payette could they get one? Nampa or Kuna. What about Blackfoot? Idaho predictions.
Tremonten area of Utah, not familiar with other places nearby. Topeka, Kansas, South Dakota, Cedar City Iowa, Portland Maine Jackson Mississippi, Tampa Florida, Charleston West Virginia.
Outside Us South Island of New Zealand. Indonesia. Some places I could see with temple.
Great report, Matt. As I've mentioned in earlier threads, President Nelson is a very forward-thinking man. For the Church News podcast in early January, the Church News editor (Sister Sarah Jane Weaver) spoke to Sister Wendy W. Nelson about her husband, and the remarkable way he has moved the work forward in an unprecedented manner aside from the pandemic. She shared that her husband always comes home excited about what has been discussed in his meetings, even if he can't always tell her what he's excited about. He recently came home and said to her, "I wish I could tell you about the decision we made today." She responded, "Well, when will I know?" The prophet offhandedly remarked, "Oh, sometime in the next 50-100 years."
ReplyDeleteThat account stunned me a bit, because if the Church is already planning things that far ahead in advance, the rest of us will really be scrambling in the future to keep up. In another thread, I also mentioned recently how Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, who serves as Executive Director of the Family History Department, presided at my stake conference in December of last year. He referenced the fact that the Church now has over 300 temples in the planning queue.
So since the current number of temples in any phase is currently 265, that tells us a lot about what to expect in terms of new temple announcements this year. If 35 new temples are announced this year, I'll be interested to see how those announcements are divvied up between the two General Conferences. My theory is that the Church will announce a smaller number in April, work on clearing the queue before and after that General Conference, and then announce a larger number of temples in October when the current queue has cleared out a bit more.
As far as my own temple list, I'm still working on revising my predictions for the April 2022 General Conference, but when I have those published, including a list of potential temple locations, I'll share the link to that part of those predictions here. Thanks again, Matt.
It wouldn't shock me to see 40 temples announced with over 300 temples in planning. I predict that temples will be announced for Tierra del Fuego Argentina, Tirana Albania, and even Savai'i Samoa.
DeleteWith 265 in various phases, I am not sure how immediately the Church might announce the next 35+. Could be in the next 1, 2, or 3 General Conferences. But with 70 temples anticipated to be dedicated in the next 5 years, I'll be intrigued to see what happens in April.
DeleteThey are preparing to have 70+ temples in each of India and China. I would reckon thats where the 50-100 year type of stuff goes.
Delete@Matt, I am very thankful for your hard work in preparing this new update of your prayerful thoughts and research of possible future sites. I for one wasn't expecting the report and map quite so fast this time. I appreciate all you do for us that are interested in how the work of the Savior progresses in both numbers of members, congregations and of course, Temples.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to over think things. But I can ONLY count 28 More Likely sites and 116 Less likely sites posted on the updated Map. Totaling 144, after you removed the "Rancagua / Santiago Chile South" from the list, possibly due to the closeness of the recently announced Santiago Chile East Temple last conference.
Chris, I think you meant "Santiago Chile West", rather than East":
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/santiago-chile-west-temple/
Unless you got that confused with Sao Paulo East Brazil:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/sao-paulo-brazil-east-temple/
Sorry if I'm being nitpicky here, just wanted to clarify.
Interesting how quickly a temple can be build with modular design (BLOX) built elsewhere and trucked into the site:
ReplyDeleteHelena Montana:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/helena-montana-temple/photographs/
Casper Wyoming looks to be taking the same approach:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/casper-wyoming-temple/photographs/
So scores of small temples like this can be built rapidly in in the USA to service smaller areas that have long drives to perform temple ordinances.
With that in mind:
1. Black Hills/Paha Sapa/Rapid City, South Dakota
2. Las Cruces, New Mexico
3. Colorado Springs, Colorado
4. Charleston, West Virginia
5. Evanston, Wyoming
6. Asheville, North Carolina
7. Buena Vista, Virginia
8. Winchester, Virginia
9. Price, Utah
10. Bakersfield, California
On the International front:
1. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2. Dublin, Ireland
3. Edinburgh, Scotland
4. Kampala,Uganda
5. London, Ontario, Canada
And more in the South Pacific, Africa, India.
Brian, something to consider about the modular temples: the process is still new enough that there's currently only 1 company with the know-how and capacity to make those temples, and as the result of both cost and supply issues, they can only produce 2 per year. Hopefully that changes, and more companies can be involved, and the cost and supply issues can be fixed, which might allow a mass-production on those going forward.
DeleteThank you Christopher Duerig - I had forgotten to update the total number of prospective temple sites! This has been corrected.
ReplyDeleteHello again, everyone! I did some quick work this evening and finished updating my General Conference predictions a short time ago:
ReplyDeletehttps://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2022/02/updated-april-2022-general-conference.html
I'd prefer (and I'm sure Matt would too) if any discussion about my predictions took place on my blog rather than here so the focus here might be on Matt's thoughts and our feedback thereon. My thanks once again to you all.
@James Stokes, yes, Thank you for correcting my mistake. I had confused the Santiago Chile West Temple as being in the East. Once again thank you for bringing that to my attention.
ReplyDeleteNo problem.
DeleteHere are my picks; I'll organize them by area and by likelihood (0-very unlikely, 10-almost a certainty)
ReplyDeleteNORTH AHERICAN AREAS:
UTAH
Spanish Fork OR Mapleton (7.5)
Murray (5)
Kearns / WVC (3)
Price (5)
IDAHO
Blackfoot (3)
NA-W
Fairbanks (6)
Bakersfield (3)
NA-SW
Vegas II (Summerlin) (5)
Vegas III (Henderson) (4)
El Paso (6)
Austin (4)
NA-SE
Jackson MS (3)
Jacksonville FL (3)
Charlotte (2.5)
NA-CTRL
Wichita (2)
Rapid City (3)
Wisconsin (GB) (4)
Wisconsin (MAD) (2)
NA-NE
Bangor ME (3)
MEXICO
Cancun (4)
Acapulco (3.5)
Pachuca (3.5)
La Paz BCS (2)
CENTRAL AMERICA
Liberia CR (4)
Huehuetenango GT (3)
CARRIBBEAN
Port of Spain TT (2)
BRAZIL
Florianópolis (4)
Ribeirão Preto (3)
Natal (3)
Teresina (3)
Cuiaba (3)
SA-NW
Medellin CO (3)
Cuzco PE (5)
Sucre BO (3)
SA-SOUTH
Rosario AR (3)
Neuquen AR (4)
Punta Arenas CL OR Ushuaia AR (3)
Puerto Montt OR Osorno CL (2)
Triple Frontera / Triple Fronteira BR/AR/PY (5)
AFRICA WEST
Yamousoukkro CI (4)
Abuja NG (5)
AFRICA CENTRAL
Brazzaville CG (4)
Dem Rep Congo IV (2)
AFRICA SOUTH
Maputo MZ (2)
EUROPE
Edinburgh UK (3)
EUROPE EAST
Russia named as MOSKVA (3) ST PETERBURG (1) SARATOV (1) OTHER (0.5)
ASIA NORTH
Ullanbattar MN (8)
Osaka JP (3)
Busan KO (2)
ASIA
New Delhi IN (1)
Jakarta ID (3)
Hanoi VN (2)
MENA
Jerusalem (1)
Cairo (0.5)
Five Prophesied Temples in Egypt (<0.1)
PHILLIPINES
Baguio (6)
South Luzon (3)
Gen Santos (2)
PACIFIC
South Island NZ (4)
Gold Coast AU (2)
Bryan, I believe Idaho now falls under the North America Central Area. Are you not anticipating any new temples for that area this go-round? Thanks.
Delete@Bryan Dorman:
DeleteWhat is the "Five Prophesied Temples in Egypt" a reference to? I'm not familiar with it. Thanks.
@Matt, Also I forgot to thank you for adding a new Less likely to your list that I had previously recommended a few years ago for distance : Prince George BC.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the modular temples, I hope that after constructing a couple the church waits a few years to see how they function and work out kinks before building more. A lot of trouble could have been saved if the small standardized Hinckley-era design had been allowed to function and troubleshoot for a few years (many across the southeastern US had to be torn back to studs and rebuilt because some of the issues the design had took a few years to crop up).
ReplyDeleteI predict 8 temples this conference, listed more-or-less in order of how likely I regard each:
ReplyDeleteKampala, Uganda
Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
Osorno, Chile
Uyo, Nigeria
Chiclayo, Peru
Glasgow, Scotland
Rosario, Argentina
Lehi, Utah
And since Matt invited us to list our top 10, the 2 next most likely locations I think would be:
Naga, Philippines
Florianopolis, Brazil
Interestingly, many of those Matt listed on his top 10 that I do not expect this conference I have "scheduled" in my predictions for announcement in the two following conferences after this upcoming conference (specifically Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Spanish Fork, Utah; Charlotte, North Carolina; Santiago, Philippines; and Iquitos, Peru).
Unknown, in the last decade or so, to my knowledge, the Church has never made an announcement without extensive testing first. The concepts of combining the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums in the ward into a single Elders' Quorum, ministering, home-cetnered Church-supported curriculum underwent pilot testing in various parts of the world before the announcement was made affecting the worldwide Church.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, my understanding is that the reason no "modular" temples have been announced before now is because the Church has spent the last couple of years working with construction professionals to determine how safely and how well the modular temples might work, and the first modular temples were not announced until the Church was assured the designs would be safe, effective, and would stand the test of time.
Helena was the "pilot" temple for the modular design. The success with that temple more than assured that the same design could be used on Casper, which extended to Elko, and applies now to the upcoming Torreon Mexico Temple. It's my understanding that the Church intends to have those involved with the initial modular temples train other companies to produce modules themselves. That will take time, but within the next few years, hopefully the number of crews that are comfortable crafting and putting together the modules on-site will increase, which would soon allow more of those temples to be built, and perhaps allow for an extension of the size of the modular components used.
The biggest issues right now are costs, supply, demand, and manpower. And I don't see any of that as a long-term problem.
I would think that Missoula MT/northern Idaho areas would still need their own temple, despite the Helena temple announcement & building thereof. 🤔🤷
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong, but I've noticed a pattern in the ads from the big nations outside the US (Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines). When a conference makes an announcement in one of these countries, the others are left out. As such, there is a new announcement for each of these nations every 1.5 years. If this prediction isn't just crazy in my head, I imagine it's the Philippines' turn to receive one or more new ads, with Mexico in October and Brazil in 2023. Regarding my Brazil, I cannot apply an order of priority among the main candidates, so I imagine that any of these cities could be announced soon: Ribeirão Preto, Florianópolis, João Pessoa and Foz do Iguaçu. Sorry for the googled english.
ReplyDeleteIn 1998 we needed to have twice as many temples immediately. Waiting to see all issues in the temple design would have deprived thousands of easy access to the temple and would have lead to tens of thousands of less ordinances being performed.
ReplyDeleteI am all for any current program that will speed up temple construction. Urdeneta has been in process for over a decade. Something needs to be done to build temples more quickly. Going to the temple is key to fully coming unto Christ. We need to do all we can to make it possible for the most people in the most reasonable amount of time.
I did post a list of possible temples in a previous discussion. I am not feeling up to posting a new one here.
I am hoping we have at least as many temples announced in 2022 as in 2021, but it is hard to predict what will happen. I am really hoping we are finally seeing the last days of the pandemic.
If I understood a comment above it seemed to say that of the Philippines, Brazil and Mexico only one of the 3 gets a temple announced in any general conference.
ReplyDeleteI may have misunderstood what the commentator was saying. However, if that is what was being said, it is not actually accurate. It may apply to some general conferences, but is not a rule.
In October 2021 general conference a new temple was announced for Tacloban City, the Philippines, a new temple was annouced for Vitoria, Brazil and a new temple was announced for Culiacan, Mexico. So all 3 countries having temples announced in the same general conference session is possible.
Mexico had 2 temples announced in April 2021. Mexico had 2 temples announced in April 2021, and Brazil had 1, but the Philippines did not have any at that session. So it is possible to announce multiple temples for the same country at once as well, although it has not been super common. It did happen in 1997-2000, although since those were more spread out announcements than we have seen in the last 20 or so years, the comparison is not quite the same.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey everyone! I recently updated my prediction map. If any of you are interested, it can be found at this link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=10lauuaMZA5ZyrCXU5DpKk1kbhZKpCExq&usp=sharing
ReplyDeleteThis is a test post. I’ve had some trouble getting my comments to go through on mobile lately so this is a test on the desktop mode.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone see this?
Yes
DeleteEP, I seeee you...
ReplyDelete@Danny, in relation to your comment about 70+ for each of China and India. I could also see in the future 70+ for the Russian Federation (looking past the current events), considering the Federation has currently 85 States called "Federal Subjects" including the annexed Federal City of Sevastopol and the Republic of the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. I can envision a future with 70+ Temples (1 per Federal Subject). And since it is the Largest Country in land mass in the World currently. Even with only 140+ million people. Does anyone else share this vision?
ReplyDeleteWell, on Facebook I predicted that the calling of James Toronto, a Middle East expert professor who was mission president at times there and in Italy and is the direct descendant of the first Italian to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Giuseppi Taranta, aka Joseph Toronto), will be a key to temple outreach in the Middle East, since he Middle East is under the Rome Temple at present.
ReplyDeleteI said something along the lines of "President Toronto serving in Rome will be a key step in the announcement of temples in Beirut and Mosul by President Soares." I am maybe being incredibly optimistic with that type of post. However we do have Ulysses Soares as the one announcing temples, most likely because he is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it will be at least 30 years from now.
So this is not a short term prediction at all.
10 years ago it would have seemed crazy to predict even 1 temple announced by this time in either China or India. It is hard to predict very far in the future in my experience.
With reference to any of the current apostles becoming Church President someday, I was intrigued by this analysis on that subject:
Deletehttps://zelophehadsdaughters.com/2018/04/06/thats-president-soares-to-you-probabilities-of-new-q12-members-becoming-church-president/
The more I hear about how robust, healthy, and energetic President Nelson continues to be, the harder it is to gauge which current apostles might succeed him. He could very well outlive both of his counselors, but I could see President Oaks succeeding him. Elder Holland is younger than the current First Presidency members, President Ballard, and Elders Uchtdorf and Cook.
Elder Bednar is younger than each of the apostles named above, in addition to being younger than Elders Christofferson, Andersen and Rasband, and Elder Ulisses Soares is only 6 years younger than Elder Bednar.
So I'd say Holland and Bednar are likely, but that the likelihood of any other current apostles becoming Church President would be difficult to determine for the next 2-3 decades.
There's a bit of a backlog and with temple building far surpassing church growth, I figure a slight slowdown in announcements - especially in areas close to another temple. But in the Meantime (this list is not in order),
ReplyDelete1) Luzon Island, Philippines - Main island of the Philippines and even the temples being built will likely reach capacity once opened. Maybe two temples here.
2) Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
- Mongolia stakes and district relatively
- close proximity and easier border access for residents of eastern Russia and northern China than current temples in other far-east countries.
- relatively close ties between the church and the Mongolian government (in comparison to their neighbors)
3)Utah - Another Utah temple. One can drop one about anywhere along the Wasatch front and realign temple districts. Price Utah. Several stakes near price that have to go outside their own valley to go to the temple.
5)Buena Vista Virginia (SVU) - Only latter-day saint dominated college I know of that's not in immediate Proximity to another temple. College students are less likely to have cars - making the commute to DC harder for these individuals.
6)Kampala Uganda - Africa is fast-growing, and Kampala is the most likely need. By the time it's opened, it's going to need it.
7)Maracaibo Venezuela - this would serve plenty of members, and President Nelson hasn't been afraid to announce temples in countries that don't like us.
8)Henderson Nevada - Growth of the area and of the church over the decades may warrant another temple here.
9)Brazil - Brazil is still growing and large membership base may warrant another temple.
10) Glasgow Scotland - Europe has seemed to get more than its share of temple in the past (compared to membership and unit concentration) so I'm placing this temple as a potential.
11) Java Island, Indonesia. 2 stakes and a district on the island and far from any other temple. It will give this country of 273,500,000 people a temple.
David, I've addressed the "backlog" in other threads here. To recap, there are 50 announced temples currently in the queue. If we subtract the 4 that have groundbreakings set already, that's 46 left. I received word that the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple will likely have a groundbreaking in April or May, and that this spring will be huge for temple groundbreakings in the US, so I wouldn't be shocked if the remaining 7 US temples which have had sites announced (with exterior renderings released for all but 1) are added to that.
DeleteSo 7 US Temples + Belo Horizonte=8 more out of the queue by the end of June brings the queue down from 46 to 38. In view of the Church's plans for Belo Horizonte, it's not a stretch to assume that the other 4 Latin American temples with sites and renderings released might have groundbreakings in the Southern Hemisphere's spring and summer, taking the queue down to 34.
Feedback from my Pacific Area contacts indicates that ground will be broken later this year for the temples in Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, leaving 31 in the queue.
As discussed in another thread here, 4 other temples had locations marked on either Google Maps or the Church's Classic Maps, resulting in a queue of 27.
And I am aware of at least 4 additional temples for which official details could be announced and a groundbreaking held this year, so that leaves 23 remaining in the queue. And since President Nelson reportedly likes the queue of announced temples at a minimum of 35, that means a double-digit number of temples is likely to be announced in April.
For a prophet who has announced 83 temples between 2018-2021, I don't see any "backlog" preventing him from announcing new temples every conference for the foreseeable future.
There is a seventy of Iranian descent, he was descended from an immigrant, and after some time he got the family history and it had among other things a straight line genealogy with a number of mullahs in the middle generations and someone higher near the early part of the line which was at least ten generations. That person had lived his later years at least in the Salt Lake area.
ReplyDeleteThe statement of 70 dedications by about 2027 is reasonable as there are 95 in the announced/under construction queue, with 45 as of today being under construction, 4 more scheduled for groundbreaking, and two dedications scheduled for dedication first half of this year.
They are trying to get everyone on the same page in the Church when it comes to missionary and temple work, the Love, Share, Invite initiative, the 'gathering Israel on both sides of the veil' and 'the covenant path' matters also. 'The covenant path' was first stated by Elaine Dalton, she used the phrase in a general conference address in 2008 for the first time it was used, and that has now been said as of last October general conference 199 times there.
Ten out of 12 announced temples will be in some stage of construction as of when Lindon is started in late April. Three temples are being renovated with one slated for rebuilding, and one other is due for renovation per President Nelson's 2018 announcement about Pioneer temples. This is enough that at some point someone is going to misquote it and I heard that someone got the numbers wrong for exactly that reason, ten is more than the entire church had after about 140 years.
Sign in at familysearch.org/connect to see so far how many other FamilySearch users you are related to. Then check again over the next month to see how many more are connected, not everyone will sign in so that will always be a tad incomplete, and you can message some of them if you would like as well. FamilySearch will announce some big things that could accelerate things in a big way as well in the near term.
- North Pole, (Fairbanks) Alaska - 2 stakes very distant from its current temple. This announcement would sound better in an October Conference in preparation for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI'm personally anticipating a relatively long list of announcements. I would be shocked if both April and October stay under 20 each, but not surprised if both are well over 20 each.
ReplyDeleteIn the recent construction boom, the US east of the Missouri River has been relatively neglected. That will probably change as comfort increases with building smaller temples. This is a list of temples I could see announced in the Midwest, South, and Eastern US in the forseeable future:
Pierre SD
Sioux City SD
Kearney NE or Garden City KS (the two most remote stakes in the Lower 48 which are coincidentally right next to each other)
Wichita KS
Tulsa OK
Texas has not been neglected per se but Austin, El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Houston Metro II could all get temples for starters...although 10+ for Texas are possible in the next decade
Shreveport LA
Little Rock AR
a location in central Missouri
Des Moines IA
Madison WI
Green Bay WI
Champaign IL
Grand Rapids MI
Cincinnati OH
Cleveland or Kirtland OH
Memphis TN
Charleston WV
Jackson MS
Savannah GA
Wilmington NC
Buena Vista VA
Norfolk or Chesapeake VA
Burlington VT
Portland or Augusta ME
While not all of these would be high-usage temples, they would definitely allow a greater percentage of members to participate in ordinances frequently.
Memphis has a temple
DeletePascal, Memphis already has a temple. I love your idea of many temples in the midwest/south. Jackson MS would put a smile on my deceased parents' faces, as they served a mission there in the late 80's. I agree with Matt that Colorado Springs is highly likely in the next couple of conferences, and no doubt the remote Garden City Stake would attend there. James' analysis makes me smile with excitement at the potential of continued announcements of many temples. My own Grand Junction temple is rumored to be very close to a groundbreaking announcement, with a speedy construction schedule to follow.
ReplyDeleteIt is tremendously awesome to hear of temples that are packed with waiting lists to enter. I have been in many sessions in many temples where there were few of us participants. I believe that our kindred dead are waiting in long numbers.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Toronto (Canada) I know a sister of Finnish descent craved more attendees there. Let’s go, Canada.
At this point I would gladly take one temple in Russia. Or China. I worry for the temple and members in Ukraine. What a continent.
West Virginia and Wisconsin, and Iowa plus New England need temples.
Adds are additions, ads are advertisements. We need more of both for holy temples.
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ReplyDeleteHello! Each temple announcement is a source of joy for everyone, especially because they get a little closer to the faithful, so that they can attend more often.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that there are more announcements and previews of temples everywhere today, because there is enough money in the Church for it.
With the pandemic, attendance at the temple is lower, and therefore fewer people can attend regularly.
I await announcements of temples in many parts of the world, especially from my country Chile.
It has already been shown that so many stakes are not needed to deserve to have a temple, an example of this is winipeg in Canada and in other remote places.
I wish the Prophet would announce 100 temples, it is a dream, with the number of temples that are announced in each conference it is a blessing that there are temples a little closer to the faithful, regardless of the place, or distance, or how many faithful they may to have.
I wish that Rancagua, Viña del Mar, Osorno, Punta Arenas, Arica, had temples, it is unfortunate that this is not the case due to the few faithful there are, but more temples are needed in Chile considering the distances, and the cost and the travel time and return to go to the holy temple, it is expected that these variables will be considered by the temple committee.
Greetings from Santiago de Chile, Republica Stake
Pascal, in general, I'd agree that the first temple in any state would be likely to go to its' capital city. But South Dakota only has two stakes currently. One is in Sioux City, and the other is in Rapid City. My dad served in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission, which might have since been consolidated into the Biskmarck North Dakota Mission. Although the two South Dakotan stakes are in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, it is the Rapid City Stake that apparently includes the Pierre Ward. So between the two stakes, if either were to be selected to have a temple within its' borders, it would probably be the Rapid City area that is favored because of the Pierre Ward.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned in the past the feedback I received indicating the first Wisconsin temple was likely to be announced in the Green Bay area. Would a temple there affect the timing of another one (or two) in Madison or Milwaukee? Only time might tell. And the first temple in Vermont is likely to go to a city that has a stake to support the temple, which is why it's more likely to be built in Montpelier.
In general, based on my research, I count at least 8 locations within the North America Central Area, at least 4 in the North America Northeast, and at least 6 in the North America Southeast Area that seem likely within the next several General Conferences. And those are just the ones for the immediate future.
Nancy, each time I get a new temple tidbit, I smile about that myself. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised by your mention that the Grand Junction Colorado Temple was anticipated to have its groundbreaking in the relatively near future. From what I understand, the Grand Junction Colorado Temple is of a similar (if not identical) design to the Farmington New Mexico Temple, which will have its' groundbreaking in April.
ReplyDeleteRight now, the Church has groundbreakings scheduled for March 19 and April 9, 23, and 30. I'd assume, as a result, that the next groundbreakings to be scheduled will be set for May and will include, at least as a starting point, the Belo Horizonte Brazil, Grand Junction Colorado, Elko Nevada, and Ephraim Utah Temples. But I wouldn't be shocked if others are added to that list for May and June. There may even be a chance that one or two groundbreakings could occur in July, if they don't interfere with the recess month for General Authorities or the likely transitions from and/or to area presidencies.
Just some additional thoughts, FWIW.
I have to admit I would be shocked if both Pierre and Sioux City South Dakota have temples before 2040. I actually think Rapid City, South Dakota is the most likely temple for South Dakota. Rapid City and Sioux City both having temples by 2040 would not shock me, but I am not sure how likely it is.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances of Fargo, North Dakota getting a temple? It has had a stake longer than Bismark which has the temple. How far is it from Fargo to Bismark? I do not think that is high on the list though.
I love having a temple close enough I can go home from work, change, and make it to the temple all in 1 evening.
This is why I think San Jose and Tampa are strong contenders for temples.
I did notice that the April 2020 annoucement of temples was mainly in the western US. The eastern US has some possible locations.
I am of the opinion that Brazil will get at least 1 announced this spring and the Philippines as well. I am hoping for at least 1 in Peru, especially since President Nelson has not announced a temple for that country yet.
Mexico got 3 last year, so I would not be surprised if this April it gets no new announced. Although it would not shock me if it does either. Also El Paso getting a temple would be a sign that Ciudad Juarez and its Mexican environs can support a temple on their own without help form north of the border.
Kampala, Uganda is the most likely temple announced as the first in its country in Africa in April. Breazzaville, Republic of Congo would for sure see a temple announced if it was not so close to Kinshasa. I stil hope for that annoucement in April.
Lusaka, Zambia and Luanda, Angola are dark horse candidates.
Abuja, Nigeria is a stong candidate. It has 3 stakes, plus there is a district close by. Port Harcourt and somewhere in Akwa Ibom state also both seem candidates worth considering.
Cape Coast, Ghana is one I hope for, but that might wait until Kumasi is further along. Yamosoukoro, Ivory Coast would help a lot, especially since Abijan is essentially done, we shall see.
A 4th temple announced for DR Congo is a possibility, but I am not sure how likely.
Botswana is another dark horse candidate.
I do expect the British Isles to have a temple announced. I also hope for at least 1 more in continental Europe. I really would love to hear of a Busan, South Korea Temple. Taiwan having a second temple announced gives me hope for South Korea.
Japan I think would be benefited by a second temple on Honshu.
The Philippines could clearly use a temple in Naga. I also think north Luzon is a contender for a temple as well.
Chile and Argentina could both use another temple announced. I hope Ecuador gets a 3rd announced, and a second for Venezuela and a 3rd for Colombia would be awesome. I think El Salvador has a strong chance of getting a 2nd temple announced.
Jamaica also seems a contender for a temple. Especially if a place is an island, it seems that getting a temple is possible once you go above 1 stake.
Another temple in Samoa and in French Polynesia, a 3rd in Tonga, a third in either Wellington or on the South Island of New Zealand, and another in Australia are all dreams I have.
A temple for Indonesia seems a strong contender. On paper some may say "well, Singapore next door is getting a temple", but the members in Indonesia are not in northern Sumatra, but mainly on Java, so the distance to the Singapore Temple is high, so a temple in Jakarta would make sense.
India getting a 2nd temple would be awesome.
I would expect the next temple in west Tennesee to be in Jackson, Tennessee. However I also expect Little Rock, Arkansas to get a temple before that. I expect the next temple for Tennessee to be Knoxville, Tennessee. I think though that Greater Charlotte, North Carolina and somewhere in the far east of North Carolina are pobably likely to be before Tennesee but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking in the North America Southeast Area Jackson, Mississippi; Tampa, Florida and Jacksonville, Flordia and maybe somewhere in south Georgia are the most likely, the last driven as much be growth in Atlanta making getting to the temple there harder than anything else.
Also either Savannah Georgia or Charleston, South Carolina seems to be a conteder.
In the North American Northeast Area I really see potential for Buena Vista, Virginia, Central Pennyslvania, somewhere in Maine, Grand Rapids, Cleveland or its environs, and Cincinatti. Fort Wayne, Indiana is an outlier candidate as well.
North America Central I see Champaign, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Rapuid City, South Dakota, another temple in Wyoming, Missoula, Montana and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
If President Nelson announces 17 or more temples in April he will have announced a total of at least 100 temples.
ReplyDeleteSouth Dakota Rapid City was renamed to Bismark North Dakota. It was not in any way a consolidation, there was 1 mission with a name change. There were some adjustments to the boundaries as well, but there have never been seperate missions for North and South Dakota. At one time the mission only focused on outreach to Native Americans, but it later expanded to overseeing outreach to all people living within its geographical boundaries.
ReplyDeleteFargo is about 200 miles from Bismarck and slightly more to the Twin Cities, they would need to avoid a short final approach to the local airport which also has an Air National Guard base so loud fighter jets were a regular takeoff or landing sight, worse if they landed from or took off to the south. Less-used enough that pilots practice go-arounds and touch-and-go procedures there.
ReplyDeleteWe had to pause a time or two before approaching the door if under that and especialy so if they landed an A-6.
Rapid City, don't know if they sold the mission home property, was large enough for a small, modular temple but do not know if they had enough room where parking would be possible.
Charlotte and Knoxville, Yes. Both are spaced enough away from other temples hat one is needed in each.
I think Samoa is small enough that both temoles now will do, if there is added growth another may eventually be needed.
A stake and district in Mongolia's capital, and recent announcements as there is always one or two out there each time, is likely any conference now.
Think of distances between cities and look where members are roughly midway between them, if there is a concentration near the midpoint, that is likelyhood a temple could go in that midpoint location or reasonably close.
Mission home in Rapid City was in a residential hilly area not conducive to a temple with easy access from Pierre, SD, Chadron, Nebraska or Gillette Wyoming.
DeleteThe newer chapel off Hwy 16 just sohth of town has better access but the lot might need expansion. Other sites along the I-90 corridor would also be beautiful.
Fort Wayne would blow me away if it had a temple. Indiana has grown some stakes this century, but I think the Detroit and Indy temples are close enough and the membership is not that high.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati would make a lot more sense, even though not too too far from Columbus.
How many U.S. members live more than 3 hours from a temple? I am sure a few in West Virginia do. Most states probably have a few in those isolated areas.
I believe Mongolia actually has 2 stakes in its capital.
ReplyDeleteOne southeastern temple has a few five hours away from it, but those are fairly remote from anything anyway.
ReplyDeleteMY Top 10:
ReplyDeleteCharlotte North Carolina
Austin Texas
Las Vegas #2
Herriman Utah
Kampala Uganda
Naga Philippines
Maceio Brazil
Iquitos Peru
Santiago Dominican Republic
Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Matt, I noticed you changed the name from Colorado Spring Colorado to Pikes Peak Colorado. I know you've pointed out that site before. Are you pretty confident for this conference?
Mongolia has 2 stakes whos stake center share a large, 5-story stake center that practically acts as a church office complex. (distribution center, various offices, etc.). North of the capital is another district and elsewhere in Mongolia are a few remote branches that are not part of a stake or district. A temple there would also make it easier for those particularly in East Russia and possibly north China (depending on their own customs/restrictions) as Mongolia is Visa-Free from most countries.
ReplyDeleteIn his recent Ministry visit to several countries in the West Africa Area, Elder Christofferson visited the city of Abuja in Nigeria. Is it possible that location is further up the prospective list than imagined previously?
ReplyDelete"22 February 2022 - Africa News Release
Elder Christofferson Ministers in West Africa
Apostle meets with Nigerian vice president
...
Elder Christofferson traveled to Abuja for a meeting with Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, the vice president of Nigeria, on Monday at the Nigerian Presidential Complex."
https://news-africa.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-christofferson-ministers-in-west-africa
The last comment reminds me of how in 2008 I predicted President Monson would announce a temple for Brazilia while he was there. It did not happen for a few more years.
ReplyDeleteApostles go to capital cities to meet with government officials. I really hope Abuja gets a temple announced, but I do not think we can read more into Elder Christopherson's visit than meeting with government officials.
@John Pack Lambert, I tend to agree with your assessment. About a year ago, I made a similar comment about an Apostles visit to Stuttgart Germany. And to this day, no announcement has been made for that location. Thanks again for your insight.
ReplyDelete@Christopher Duerig
ReplyDeleteElder Bednar was in Stuttgart to visit the Alpine German speaking mission. To speak to the missionaries, stake and ward leadership and all the members. Stuttgar has one of the largest stake centers in Europe. The only compareable in the mission in size is the Zurich Switzerland stake center. The stake center in Stuttgart can fit about a 1000 people.
On the Stuttgart issue, we of course do not know exactly how they develop the backlog to the queue for new temples. We do know from President Nelson's statement at Bangalaru that sometimes (or at least once) he added a temple to the list to be announced based on revelation he received the night before.
ReplyDeleteSo in fact the apostolic visit to Stuttgart in 2021 may in fact lead to an annoucement of a temple there in 2022 or even 2023.
We also know that in the case of Accra, Ghana President Hinckley went there in about 1993 when it the First Presidency to scout out a temple site, but was not able at that time to find a satisfactory site. The apostolic trip to Stuttgart may have been such a scouting expedition, and may have not been successful. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.
Elder Holland is 1 month younger than Elder Uchtdorf and 2 months younger than Elder Cook, so you are being very precise to say he is younger.
In 1993 if one was writing a prediction of the presidents of the Church for the next 30-40 years one would have most likely put President Hinckley, President Monson, and President Oaks, with a possible darkhorse contender for Elder Maxwell. Elder Nelson would have seemed a very unlikely name to put forward with him being older than President Monson, Elder Packer (although just by a few weeks) and Elder Maxwell (by a whole year).
At that point Elder Maxwell was about a year younger than Elder Bednar is today.
While the Lord controls who comes to the Church presidency and when and how long those individuals serve, factors of age vs. apostolic seniority in addition to health are the key metrics.
DeleteWith the Brethren frequently sharing hope that President Nelson will be around for the next decade or two, he could well outlive either or both of his counselors and at least a few more apostles junior to him.
But with President Oaks being the second apostle by seniority, he is the third oldest. Elder Holland is the fourth in seniority and the seventh oldest, with Elder Bednar being the seventh in seniority but the eleventh by age.
So if Elder Bednar does become Church President someday, any apostles junior to him who are older, and even some who are younger, may or may not become Church President. That being said, I'd love to see another Church President born outside the United States (the last one was John Taylor).
It will be interesting to see whom the Lord has prepared/is preparing the next Church Presidents to serve
President Packer was younger than now-President Nelson by one day (with Nelson born on September 9 and Packer on September 10). Maxwell was almost two years younger than Nelson, but was in considerably worse health starting in the 1990s and culminating in his death in 2004.
DeleteStuttgart getting a temple would put 3 temples in the boundaries of the Alpine German speaking mission. I believe that would be the highest number of temples in one mission outside the inter-mountain west. However 20 years ago there were no missions with even 2 temples outside the intermountain west, so we can not rule such out.
ReplyDeleteDisclaimer: This is a very childish post/comment
ReplyDeleteHere in Richfield we really felt like we had a strong possibility for a Temple,
and then POOF... Ephraim was announced. Mind you Ephraim is 7 miles from Manti.
I understand there is a college there..with the YSA and all that....but I can tell you,
as an active member of the church, the people here are heart broken that it was at least CLOSER to this area. Temple attendance has dropped even lower than before. People arent renewing temple recommends. I fear for what is happening in Sevier Valley. I have an appointment this weekend in Payson temple. We are trying to hang on... but Ephraim was tough for us. I feel so catty saying that, but it is the truth. The majority of those I have dared discuss this with feel the same. My apologies for the childish post, just keeping it real and expressing feelings.
Personally I think the building of a temple in Sevier County is not impacted at all by Epraim getting a temple. Ephraim is getting a temple more because the wheel chair bound and some just infirm cannot use Manti Temple than anything else.
DeleteIf Salta and Mendoza, Orem and Lindon, Layton and Syracuse and Cagayan de Oro and Davao can both be getting temples at once, so can Richfieldamd Ephraim.
Most members in Utah are blessed to have temples so close. When the Bentonville temple is dedicated, it will be the first time I've lived closer than 3 hours from a temple. I'm so excited that I will be able to attend it before or after work during the week.
ReplyDeleteI assume it is a lot closer than 3 hours. I am not sure about before work. The Detroit Temple does not normally have starting before 10 AM during the week.
DeleteWishful thinking,
ReplyDeleteI understand your frustrations over the Ephraim Temple. In my opinion, its announcement effectively doomed the chances of a temple in Richfield for many decades. I also want to be careful to respect the remarks of President Nelson that the decision came from prayer and revelation. From my interpretation of the scriptures, I believe that there aren't any wrong choices when deciding where to build temples (Moroni 7:12-16). The Holy Ghost will only intervene to prevent you from making a wrong choice (D&C 9:8-9). Even then, the Lord sometimes allows us to take a wrong path because he trusts our agency and wants us learn for ourselves. I believe that the church leaders believe there will be 1000s of temples in coming centuries and into the millennium. Eventually every town will have its own temple(s). Therefore, the challenge of church leaders and the temple department is to place temples in locations that provide the most access to church members. They have to use limited resources to decide when and where to build a temple. That is why they do extensive research and why we on this blog like to add our own guesses/speculation. Considering the abundant recourses of the church, it is likely that leaders are less selective of where to build temples than they have been in the past.
In the case of Manti, It seems like church leaders were initially trying to renovate the temple in a way that would allow a larger throughput of ordinances. This would be accomplished by removing the murals and four-room progression and replacing it with four stationary rooms. I've only done a session in the Manti Temple once, but my impression is that the current ordinance capacity was more than sufficient for the needs of the area. The valley is not filled with new housing development that will increase demands in the coming years like other areas in Utah.
While it has not been explicitly explained this way, the renovation overhaul was also meant to remove the stairs in the progressive room layout to be in compliant with ADA standards and accommodate aging patrons. When the community learned that these plans were made without their consultation, there was understandable concern and organized feedback. I believe that revelation cannot come without consultation with the people that will be affected by such a decision. I was grateful that the church leaders were willing to reconsider and make a new decision with this additional information. I was a little turned off that they did not acknowledge on the record that the feedback from the community was the reason for their reconsideration. The pessimistic side of me fears the church leaders are afraid of letting church members know that they can successfully petition the church leaders for change. The optimistic side of me thinks that the Public relations machine didn't communicate the whole story to the public and there is significantly more good will than I am let on to believe.
Before the renovation plans were changed, I and others on this blog proposed that building another temple in a nearby community would be a reasonable compromise that could preserve the character of the Manti Temple while still providing a nearby place for individuals that need a more accessible place to worship. My solution would have been to preserve the Manti temple as a museum/public meeting place and then build two temples in the larger centers of population - Ephraim and Richfield (and eventually one in Price). I understand the arguments for keeping Manti as an operating temple to respect the original sacrifice of those that built it. But as a proponent of historical preservation, I would have loved to have seen the building retied as an operating temple and function like a historic structure (like the Kirtland temple). It could be like a permanent open house for anyone at any time to see; creating a visitor's center and regional tourist attraction. This could have opened up the pioneer temple experience to families with children and people not of the faith. I know the decision has already been made and I'm not here to rehash the past or debate anyone. Anyone is free to disagree with me and I take no offense.
ReplyDeleteEphraim was probably selected over Richfield so that the existing patrons in the area could easily choose to go to Manti or the more accessible Ephraim temple. Plus, it fits the trend of building temples next to universities and colleges (Orem - UVU and Taylorsville - SLCC). I am thinking that the stakes in the Price area will also be assigned to Ephraim (although they are currently closer to Payson and Provo City Center). This leaves Manti with nine stakes: a large temple with a smaller number of stakes.
If a temple were to be announced in Richfield, it would probably draw from seven of those stakes. This would leave Manti with only Gunnison and Manti stakes assigned to it. With the resources the church is investing in the renovation and the capacity of the Manti Temple, it would not make much sense to have a temple that large serving only two stakes. So, for now, I don't anticipate Richfield having a temple for a few decades unless there is significant increases in the population. Although the drive is longer than what most members in Utah have to make, it’s still less than what a significant population in the church has to make and therefore less of a priority to have a temple.
But I am open to surprises; there have been plenty already.
I think with Manti being a historic temple that is not fully accessible, there would be a way for stakes to be assigned to it and another temple. So you could assign all Sanpete stakes to both Manti and Ephraim, and maybe double assign stakes in Sevier County to Richfield and Manti.
DeleteCory,
ReplyDeleteYour comments, insight, and empathy is much appreciated.
Our Stake President even talked our area 70 about this.
It has really caused a stir around here.
As in all things... we must continue to have faith and hold onto the
good ship Zion. Even if He loves Sanpete Valley more than Sevier (thats a joke )
Cory,
ReplyDeleteYour comments, insight, and empathy is much appreciated.
Our Stake President even talked our area 70 about this.
It has really caused a stir around here.
As in all things... we must continue to have faith and hold onto the
good ship Zion. Even if The Lord loves Sanpete Valley more than Sevier (thats a joke )
Since President Nelson has announced up to 20 temples at a time before, I'll share my top 20 temple guesses:
ReplyDelete1. Mongolia
2. Uganda
3. Madagascar
4. Chiclayo, Peru
5. Spanish Fork, UT
6. Rosario, Arg.
7. Maceio, Brazil
8. Natal, Brazil
9. Naga, Philippines
10. Santiago, Philippines,
11. Santiago de los Caballeros, D.R.
12. Valparaiso or Vina del Mar, Chile
13. Tacoma, Wash.
14. Las Vegas, NV (2nd temple)
15. Phoenix metro area
16. Mexico City (2nd temple)
17. Colorado Springs
18. Austin, TX
19. Herriman, UT
20. Cottonwood area (UT)
I can't wait to see what happens. I hope temple dedications pick up soon. It's so sad the covid has put a damper on those activities.
The Spencers, a temple was announced for Madagascar in October:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/antananarivo-madagascar-temple/
Are you predicting a second one already? Might be too soon, IMHO.
No I meant to take Madagascar off the list. Thanks for catching that. I'll replace it with Wellington, NZ.
Delete@Cory and @Wishful thinking, I found your comments refreshing. I hope people are renewing their recommends. We have been instructed to do so, no matter where live or how often we can attend the temple. My relatives lived in Sevier Valley (some still do). They made it a priority to go the Manti Temple and loved serving there.
ReplyDeletePart of me believes that "revelation" for the Ephraim Temple came when the renovation of pioneer era temples was announced. Allow me to explain. We know that revelation requires correct knowledge. The church was going to preserve the murals in similar fashion as they are doing in the Sale Lake Temple. The members of the church who descended from those who were involved in building and completion of the Manti Temple expressed their concerns. The leaders of the church considered their concerns and took it to the Lord. I get the impression that they labored over their concerns and were sympathetic to the people. Thus, they came back with the temple in Ephraim. The revelation for the renovations would have regardless and we received an additional temple.
I had a similar experience on my mission. My companion was inspired to try on previous investigator who he knew would not be home. She was not. However, because we followed that inspiration, we found a part member refugee family. We were able to baptize the members of that family as they came from their war torn country. Thus we were inspired to find these refugees (by being given direction based on our knowledge).
Both may be examples of one revelation leading to another as happened, and not uncommon, in the early days of the church.
I wonder if sometimes the leaders ask a question of the Lord and Lord responds, "Why not?" For example, temple in President Hinkley's mission stomping grounds or temple where President Monson likes to fish. I am sure the Lord does the same to us.
Please do not take my comments as gospel.
Nathaniel, your words involve good news, which is gospel. Gospel truth is perhaps another thing.
ReplyDeleteTo my knowledge this is the first time a temple is surrounded by missile strikes, massive violent activities, a large scale war. Prayers to those in Kiev.
Both Russia and China may take a while with their temples. Meanwhile Arab nations have more freedom of religion. Not all, but many.
Freedom is not free.
And Russia will pay for their insolence. Sad that leaders are that twisted.
Alexander Lebed disliked our faith. He got his.
Prayers to all affected.
There were civil wars in the Philipines involving missiles lobbed in the general direction of the Manila Temple since its dedication.
DeleteI am not sure if Guatamalan Civil wars have effected Guatemala City since its dedication, but clearly some have come to the temple with fear of violence on the road at times.
The Laie Temple could have fallen victim to the bombings at Pearl Harbor.
Not quite the same but members from Soweto who went to the Johanesburg temple dedication did so in defiance of a general boycott against apartheid and in fear of facing violence for non-solidarity.
@nathanial
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words.
and @eduardo and everyone else
Prayers to those in the Ukraine...Russia.. All places that are currently experiencing Wars or
rumors of Wars etc.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is less than 49 miles from Richfield to the Manti Temple. In contrast it is 148 miles from Grand Rapids to the Detroit Temple.
ReplyDeleteUlaanbaatar, Mongolia - Many people including myself has this temple on the list. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been announced already. This being said. A new Iron wall may form. If Russia and China are at the other side this iron wall, I would imagine Mongolia would have to go with them.
ReplyDeleteTemples have been announced for both countries so maybe it wont deter announcing it, but I do see it as a potential obstacle with moving forward with the announcement/construction. Russia, for example, see our church as an American church and has put many restrictions on the church. Absolutely no proselyting, all family history centers had to close, restrictions on buildings... and these restrictions were placed prior to this year's events. This may make it hard to build a temple.
That being said, in February 2018, I made a trip to the Central Visayas in the Philippines. I looked at the stakes in the Cebu district and in conversation with some of the local missionaries said "I think within the next 10 years a temple will be announced in Mindanao." These Elders looked at me surprised and responded and said they had pulled all foreign missionaries from that island (Islamic terrorist groups were thriving there). A temple was announced for each of the next two conferences in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro & Davao) and one of them is currently under construction.
Recommend renewal went badly. I consider injection, mask, distancing as man's decision, not God's. Not revelation for church or world.
ReplyDeleteRecommend renewal came by joining another-language ward. Hard times--Get along--Be bigger than your problems.
I hope you weren't denied a temple recommend over the issue of vaccination or wearing a mask. At my recommend interview a couple months it wasn't even mentioned. The interviewer wore a mask but did not require me to. Unless you stated that you don't sustain the prophet I don't know why it's an issue. Of course, you can discuss those topics in the meeting and even disagree, but I hope that wouldn't be used to determine your worthiness (or unworthiness).
DeleteSteven, The first presidency in recent easing of restrictions stated masks will still be required in temples as many performing temple ordinances is elderly, more vulnerable when it comes to COVID. I don't think it's going to be permanent, but as long as other's lives are at stake, these restrictions will remain in place. This allows the temples to be open so many can enjoy the blessings of the temple.
ReplyDeleteThe first presidency did say when they asked us to wear masks in the temple they would remove this request as soon as it is practicable. However with vaccinated people in their 60s being as much as risk of any given negative outcome from Covid-19 as unvaccinated people in their 20s, I can see why the First Presidency is hesitant about removing the mask mandate for temples, even though they have allowed for it to be removed on a case by case basis on a more local level.
ReplyDeleteNauvoo had a population of 12,000 people at its peak with many additional members elsewhere around the globe. It was the only temple in the church at the time and too far to attend for many members. It faced oppression and members were driven out and persecuted.
ReplyDeleteUkraine has more than 11,000 members. Many more members in Russia call the Kiev Ukraine Temple their temple even though they're not able to attend in recent years because of tensions. Ukraine has been invaded by an oppressive outside force that has oppressed the church in Russia in recent years. Missionaries left in January for safety. The Kiev Ukraine temple is now closed until further notice.
Hopefully it doesn't get destroyed like the Nauvoo Temple, or occupied by others like the Kirtland Temple. No doubt it's going to be hard and difficult for these members in Ukraine. Many may loose their lives. The church may face restrictions and persecution. But the faith and efforts of these saints will not be in vein.
The Nauvoo Temple stands and is being used once again.
Steven, to a certain point, we all have our agency regarding social distancing, masking, and vaccination. But as with anything else, if our personal choices by extension impact someone else negatively, I believe the Lord will hold us accountable for that. Although any restrictions could be considered a violation of a person's choice, the Church is legally and morally responsible for the conduct of its members. If temples were open with no restrictions (phase 4), and someone caught COVID-19 from someone else who had it, there is a chance that the newly-infected individual could hold the person, the temple in question, or even the Church-at-large responsible for that. And just as Christ set the conditions for the atonement He wrought for all of us, so the prophet, through inspiration, sets the conditions under which the work moves forward. If I, having heard the prophet repeatedly encourage social distancing, masking, and vaccination, and had chosen not to do any of those things, I could not bring myself to honestly answer "yes" when asked whether I sustained general and local leaders of the Church. The general leaders of the Church have enough problems on their plate right now with all that's going on in the world. If they reversed the mask mandate in temples and someone caught COVID-19 as a result, it would not be a good PR move for the Church. At the end of the day, none of us can judge one another on matters of personal temple worthiness except those who have the keys to do so. I hope this comment doesn't come across as condescending or insensitive because that's not how I mean it. I appreciate your ongoing contributions to the discussions here and on my blog.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGrand Junction, CO and Elko NV groundbreakings announced. Grand Junction on April 16, Elko on May 7. This prophet is picking up the pace! Grand Junction was originally announced as a 25,000 square foot temple. Today it was described as a 29,000 sf temple. Hurray for dates! Hurray for upgrades!
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/groundbreaking-dates-set-for-temples-in-nevada-and-colorado
James, assuming the groundbreaking schedule you posted a couple of days ago is accurate (I'm sure it is!), that makes 5 weeks in a row of groundbreakings, plus the one in March, 3 weeks ahead of these. I also recently heard that the Smithfield Temple groundbreaking will be scheduled sometime this spring. May and June could make a significant dent in the backlog, which makes me suspect that 10 to 20 more temples could be announced in April General conference.
ReplyDeleteNancy, this announcement was mentioned by me in the comment thread of the more recent post on this blog. That is 5 straight weeks in a row of groundbreakings. In that other thread, I shared links to side-by-side comparisons of temple groundbreakings in 2020 vs. 2021, and groundbreakings in 2021 vs. 2022. I mentioned in that other thread that the first temple groundbreaking last year was held on May 15 (for Deseret Peak Utah), so the Church will have 6 temple groundbreakings this year before the first anniversary of the Deseret Peak groundbreaking. In that other thread, I mentioned you had correctly indicated that Grand Junction would be scheduled soon. Assuming your information about Smithfield is correct (about which I have no doubts), that's a newer update than the information I had, so I will have to update that across my various files as well.
ReplyDeleteAs I also mentioned in the relatively recent past, the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple, according to my information, was anticipated to have a groundbreaking in April as well. I suppose there is still a chance it could happen since the Church has broken ground for 2 or 3 (or 4 in at least one case, if memory serves correctly) on the same date.
So that's two more to watch for an announcement in the near future. And the Church Temples site recently reported that the Church's rezoning application for the Ephraim Utah Temple site has been approved, bringing the total to 3 more that could have groundbreakings announced in the relatively near future. If arrangements are set for each of those temples in the next week or two, the next most likely ones up are the Burley Idaho, Yorba Linda California, and Willamette Valley Oregon Temples.
I could see each of these 6 having groundbreakings in May or June, which would then leave 4 Latin American temples, 1 African temple, and 3 Pacific Area temples which have had sites announced and renderings released, but are awaiting a groundbreaking. I also think that in the coming weeks, we will see official confirmation of the details (site announcements at minimum, with the possibility of renderings released and groundbreakings scheduled) for the 4 newest US temples (Rexburg North Idaho, Fort Worth Texas, Cody Wyoming, and Heber Valley Utah).
I also think the back half of the year will give us the opportunity to see sites confirmed (with some also having renderings released and groundbreakings scheduled) for the following temples at minimum: Kumasi Ghana (with a rendering already having been presented to the king), Managua Nicaragua (with the confirmation that the Church has had a site for that temple for years prior to its' announcement) and Cagayan de Oro Philippines (which recently showed up as a location on Google Maps and/or Classic Maps). A site has reportedly been acquired for Taiwan's second temple, so there could be an announcement there as well.
And it appears that Expo 2020 in Dubai is set to wrap up at the end of next month, after which the government of Dubai will turn the previously-mentioned location for the temple over to the Church officially, so I'd anticipate an announcement on that in the back half of this year as well. I will be interested to see what happens with the Russia temple in view of the Russian incursion into Ukraine. I hope we are all praying for a peaceful and swift ending to that conflict. In the worst-case scenario, I could see the Church rescinding the announcement of a Russian temple for the time being. I don't think the current crisis will have any impact o the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, but perhaps only time will tell on that question.
I cannot in good conscience rule out the prospect that the Church could confirm sites for any other temples, and would hope that some of those announcements might also include exterior renderings, with a few, at least, setting groundbreakings as well. I think the Lord will definitely surprise us on the temple construction front this year. He already has.
James,
ReplyDeleteJoseph Smith said that he spoke sometimes as a man and sometimes as a prophet.
Is it to be different with Russell M. Nelson?
Some of us are sure that the real protectors are FOR "no-shot, no-distancing, no-mask."
Is G5 causing the adverse reactions and deaths?
Along with fake tests, polluting tests, chemtrails, dangerous shots, can't-breathe masks, psychological warfare, FEAR of false worries?
Steven, that might be a fair point, but since the current prophet has not yet made such a differentiation for the most part, I'm not inclined to second-guess such things. Anyone else is free to do so if they choose. I will not. In fact, the only example I can think of is when, in relation to things like the medical research about the virus, President Nelson described his reaction as a man of science vs. a man of faith. That's it. And either way, if there's any chance that by not supporting social distancing, masks, and vaccinations, if the Church removed all restrictions and someone caught COVID-19 or a variant thereof, if regulations are not in place in the temple, it's still a bad PR move for the Church, which might then be held legally and morally responsible if anything like that happens on their watch. As someone outside of those discussions, I'm not willing to second-guess or question that. Others may do so if they choose. I cannot, especially as someone who, thanks to several long-term respiratory conditions, is among those most susceptible to COVID-19 and any variants to the point where I still can't chance going in-person to Church at all. Thank heavens they still carry our meetings virtually! I respect you and your contributions here and on my blog, but cannot agree with anything you said above. There's a difference between being safe, wise, and prudent and the type of things you're describing. But just as I disagree with you on this, you are free to disagree with me, as long as the substance and tone of that disagreement remains civil. Either way, however it needs to happen, I hope for a speedy end to this pandemic. But to get there, we all have choices. And when it comes to Church policy and doctrine, some choices have clear consequences for each of us in this life and when we get to the judgement bar. With that in mind, I cannot and will not question the prophetic guidance in this regard, because I've considered it, prayed about it, and felt it's consistent with the Lord's will for His Church at this time. That's more than good enough for me.
DeleteThose who seek to follow and implement the couple of the prophets and apostles will be blessed.
ReplyDeleteI am very much looking forward to seeing what temples will be announced at general conference.
Amen to all of that, JPL. Well said. Steven Cuff, I wanted to see if I could provide a better answer for you than I did above about when a prophet speaks as such versus when he speaks as a man. I would refer you to the following blog post (not mine, but someone else's) that addresses that very question:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.truthwillprevail.xyz/2016/03/when-does-prophet-speak-as-prophet.html
All of the content there (which includes quotes from multiple apostles, some of whom subsequently served as prophets themselves) is well worthy of your attention. But two quotes therefrom (one from Marion G. Romney, the other from our current prophet, President Nelson, was given while he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On the latter, then-Elder Nelson could not have known at that time that he would be the prophet now, but the Lord surely knew).
Anyways, here are those quotes:
"I have never been very particular to determine when [Church leaders] were speaking as prophets of God and when they were speaking as men. It has never occurred to me that I had the ability to determine that. It has been the rule of my life to find out if I could, by listening closely to what they said and by asking the Lord to help me interpret it, what they had in mind for the Latter-day Saints to do and then do it. I am happy to say, not boastfully but gratefully, that I have never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church, even though it crossed my social, professional, or political life. " Marion G. Romney, from the 1940s, years before he served as a counselor to 2 Church Presidents
"From time to time, I hear people speculate on the question 'When does the prophet speak as a prophet, and when does he speak otherwise?' This query seems curious to me, as if one were presumptuous enough to sit in judgment on a prophet. To one asking such a question, my observations may be of interest. In my close associations with President Kimball spanning two decades and the spectrum from suffering to sublimity, I have never been forced to that question. The only question I have faced has been 'How can I be more like him?' His saintly life has truly been an inspiration to me, for I have watched him carefully in virtually all circumstances to which one may be subjected. Nothing could bless me and my family more than for us to strive toward the degree of perfection and self-mastery he has achieved. I know that this man, as his predecessors, has been prepared, blessed, inspired, and preserved to preside over the Church as a living prophet. I know that he is directed by the Lord. I have seen it, and I have felt it. I know that Spencer W. Kimball teaches and testifies as a prophet, that he has suffered as have other prophets, that he serves as a prophet. He receives and responds to revelation as a prophet. He has the courage of a prophet, the kindness and concern of a prophet. He lives as a prophet and will die as have other prophets, sealing his testimony that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and the head of his church." Russell M. Nelson, often repeated in some form throughout his apostolic ministry.
What then-Elder Nelson noted in relation to President Kimball sums up what I have felt and seen as one of many witnesses to the prophetic prerogative of President Nelson. I feel it is no accident that, just before a global pandemic hit, the Lord put in place a prophet who had emphasized principles from which we as Latter-day Saints have drawn comfort from in the midst of this crisis.
ReplyDeleteIn the days between when President Monson passed away and when President Nelson was officially introduced as the Lord's new prophet, and even more so since, I have repeatedly prayed for confirmation to know that, when the prophet announces or states or determines anything on any subject, that it is in harmony with the Lord's will for the Church and the world at this time. Given the rapidly-changing world, those petitions on my part have become increasingly more regular of late.
And I have never once read anything official put out by the Church under President Nelson's direction without the clear and unmistakable feeling that whatever is released on each of those occasions is consistent with the Lord's will for the Church and the world at this time. If anyone reading these comments has not undergone the same process, the time to start is now. I take the current worldly situation (including Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine) as a clear sign of the times. And in a time when "men's hearts [are truly failing] them", as has been prophesied in the scriptures as a defined sign of the times, I will not and cannot believe it is accidental that, as the Lord's mouthpiece on Earth today, and as the only living individual authorized to speak for the Lord, we have a man whose life's work of mending hearts in a physical and medical way has transitioned to a greater work doing the same in a spiritual way. He is the man the Lord needs to represent Him to the Church at a time when worldly conditions are deteriorating.
ReplyDeleteNor do I consider it an accident or coincidence that a former physician is the Lord's representative during the ongoing global pandemic. So, as President Nelson himself said numerous times before becoming the prophet himself, I will not put a question mark behind prophetic counsel, policy, directives, or anything else. I will put a resounding exclamation point after each such declaration, because every time anything has been declared by that man, my preparation to do so has enabled me, through the gift of discernment, to instantly know that whatever has been said is consistent with the Lord's will. For me, that's all there is to it.
What a powerful and undoubted testimony! I would easily use it in a speech or class as an eloquent example of the truth propagated by the prophet of God in these days.
DeleteVenezuela Maracaibo 103
ReplyDeleteMexico Mexico City S 64
Japan Osaka 60
Brazil Ribeirao Preto 57
Peru Chiclayo 57
Uruguay Rivera 56
Utah Lehi 54
Chile Osorno 49
Nigeria Abuja 30
Italy Milan 30
Is anyone else surprised that there has been no news for the Heber Valley temple?
ReplyDeleteNot particularly. Most US temples announced by President Nelson have had official information released within 4-6 months of their announcement. The Ephraim Utah Temple, announced in May, had its' site confirmed last October, so if 5-7 months is the new standard, we should hear about the first of the 4 US temples sometime between March and May of this year, particularly if the current plan is to load up the queue of scheduled groundbreakings first.
DeleteDoes anyone know if renderings exist for temples dedicated before 2008? There are only a few that I am able to find (Newport Beach, Sacramento, Manhattan, Accra, The Hague, and Copenhagen). Also, are there any interior photographs of the Columbia River Washington Temple? I also noticed that the photograph of the Calgary Alberta Temple's celestial room is nowhere to be found, while all the others are available.
ReplyDeleteSteven Cuff, what do the numbers mean on your list?
ReplyDeleteNancy, I am not Steven Cuff, but in October of last year, when I posted my initial predictions for the April 2022 General Conference, Steven and I had an exchange on that thread wherein he explained that. You'll find his explanation in the comments of the following post:
ReplyDeletehttps://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2021/10/initial-predictions-for-april-2022.html
And in that same conversation, Steven gave me permission to share the details of his system when they were asked about in the future, either on my blog, or here, so I assume he'd be okay with my mentioning that here. Thanks.
I'm guessing 20 will be announced this time. But since the field is so much more wide open now than in the past, I broke it down by region and did about 3 possibilities
ReplyDeleteper region.
My criteria for each region was more or less that I chose 1 from my old picks (regardless of high likelihood), 1 new pick/dark horse, and 1 that I or Matt or another commenter felt was a fairly safe bet, not necessarily in that order.
Utah:
-Springville/Mapleton/Spanish Fork Area
-Price
-2nd in Weber County
-Herriman
Intermountain West/"LDS" Corridor USA:
-Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
-Colorado City, Colorado
-Las Vegas, Nevada, 2nd
West Coast USA/Canada:
-Fairbanks, AK
-Tacoma, Washington
-Prince George or Victoria, British Columbia
-Bakersfield, California
Central/South USA
-Rapid City, South Dakota
-El Paso, TX
-Wichita, Kansas
Eastern USA
-Jackson, Mississippi
-2nd in Ohio (Cleveland, Kirtland, or Cincinnati)
-Buena Vista, Virginia
Mexico/Central America/Caribbean:
-Belize
-Cancún, MX
-Trinidad or Jamaica
Brazil:
-João Pessao
-Foz do Iguaçu/Ciudad del Este, Paraguay (Triple Fronteira)
‐Florianopolis
Rest of South America:
-Osorno, Chile
-Iquitos, Peru
-Southern Tip of Chile/Argentina
Asia:
-Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
-Jakarta, Indonesia
-New Delhi, India
Africa:
-Kampala, Uganda
-New One in Ghana or Nigeria
-Luanda, Angola
-Cotonou, Benin
Australia/Oceania:
-Majuro, Marshall Islands
-3rd in New Zealand (Christchurch or Wellington)
-Brisbane South, Australia
Philippines:
-Puerto Princesa
-Naga/Legazpi
-Angeles or Olongapo
Europe:
-Tirana, Albania
-Edinburgh, Scotland
-Barcelona, Spain
I think Osaka is much more likely than New Delhi. But the others are all good candidates.
DeleteBenin and Togo combined have 3 or is it 4 stakes now? I can see a temple announced for one of those countries.
DeleteI also think Weber County is set to get a second temple soon, I'm thinking either Roy or North Weber County around Pleasant View or Plain City. I'm also curious about Morgan getting a smaller, almost Star Valley-esque, temple. There are 3 stakes there and canyon driving is not great in winter, could also take in a fourth from Coalville.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't know how realistic any of this is at this point, but I figure I better throw some darts at the board.
ReplyDeleteApril 2022
Edinburgh/Glasgow, Scotland (M)
Abuja, Nigeria (S)
Kampala, Uganda
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (XS)
Naga/Legazpi, Philippines (M)
Osaka, Japan (M)
Iquitos, Peru (XS)
Teresina, Brazil (M)
Fairbanks, AK (XS)
Tacoma, WA (L)
Flagstaff/Prescott, AZ (M)
Charlotte, NC (L2)
Colorado Springs, CO (L)
Herriman, UT (14852 Juniper Crest site) (XL/2X/3X)
EP,
ReplyDeleteI know what you are saying. A few of my predictions over the last few years have come to be, but then there were announcements I did not even guess at.
Iquitos and Abuja both currently have 3 stakes. On the other hand with Abuja being the capitol of Nigeria I could see the church making a temple there larger for making a statement of establishment in the country. Of course a temple as a visible landmark and a temple as a building that has large internal capacity are different things. A temple can be small and tall and thus still be highly visible.
I pulled up the map of stakes and districts at the temple wedbsite. From that I think Chiclayo, Peru is a very strong contender for a temple. Piura I could see as well. Chimbote, huancaya, Cuzco and Tacna I could also see getting temples. Cuzco would probably take in 3 stakes, but there is also 5 districts there.
If Vitoria Brazil means that the Church is about to start a wave of temples to give isolated areas in Latin American with no nearly as many stakes as some of the past areas that got temple temples, than I could almost see a temple in Potosi, Bolovia. It would probably only take in 3 stakes and a district, but there are other temples being built with that number of units of less. I could see both Campo Grande and Cuiaba Brazil getting temples.
In Argentina I predict Resistancia, Rosario, Neuquen and maybe San Miguel de Tucuman, but the last is probably long term. Even with the second temple announced for Santiago I think Vina del mar Chile is still a contender, also Osorno. Puenta Arnas is an isolate contender, on the Okinaa model.
I think Santa Maria, Brazil is a possibility for interior Rio Grande do Sul. The problem there is none of the stakes are very close. If Sao Gabriel is upgraded to a stake it would make the case stronger. Florianopolis seems a contender. Santos and Sorocaba look to be dark horse contenders as well. Ribeirao Preto looks like a stronger candidate, it would serve more stakes and is further from existing temples, although actual traffic patterns may present a different story. Londrina is also a contender, although Presidente Prudente advancing to stake status would make that a stronger case. One thing about Vitoria is it has 3 stakes all essentially right there. Maceio, Joao Pessoa and Natal all thus seem to be strong contenders. Teresina as well. I would be surprised if more than 2 temples were announced for Brazil next month, but Florianoplois, Londrina, Ribeirao Preto, Teresina, Maceio, Joao Pessoa and Natal all seem possible, I am guessing Ribeirao Preto and Joao Passoa are most likely in April.
I am wondering if East London, South Africa is a contender for a temple. Bloemfontein, South Africa or Maseru, Lesotho is probably an eventually contender, but Maseru getting to stake status would help, but having at least a third stake in that area would seem to make things most likely.
ReplyDeleteMaputo is still a contender for a temple since it is so far from Beira, but I am not sure it is likely to be announced quite yet. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe I could see getting a temple at some point, but to date no country has had its second temple announced while its first temple was in progress (Germany was 2 countries when it got its temple).
In Nigeria I could see Etinan getting a temple. I think if they do that they will hold off on Port Harcourt for a little more. Although some stakes in Aba are near ready for division, so if this month sees any new stakes in Nigeria I could see things changing.
Enugu also seems to be a strong contender for a temple. This would be more obvious if Enugu got a second stake. However an Enugu temple would cover probably 5 current stakes and 4 districts. If Nsukku advanced to being a stake that would also make a stronger case.
Ibadan is probably going to be the 2nd temple in south-west Nigeria, but I would be shocked if it was announced before Legos is completed. With 4 stakes between Benin and Toga, a temple in one of those countries seems likely. I also think Cape Coast Ghana is likely to get a temple. Bo, Sierra Leone is a very dark horse candidate. Although mostly because of the no 2nd temple has ever been announced for a country still waiting on its first temple except for the US. 3 stakes in Bo plus 1 in Kenema would in theory be enough for a temple, still leaving the 5 stakes in Freetown for that temple. I am not sure which way Makeni district would go.
Dakar is closer to Praia than to Freetown, but travel cross water is very different than travel across land.
In the Philippines Naga seems the most likely next candidate. In north Luzon both Ilagan and Vigan City seem to be potential candidates. The thing is although Ilagan would serve 8 stakes, Ilagan itself does not have a second stake very close. Abulug is also very far away, but it is the furthest north stake in the Philippines period. Batac and Laoag City might be closer to Ilagan than to urdeneta, but not by much. Roxas becoming a stake would make the case for an Ilagan temple stronger. Another approach would be both Santiago and Tuguegaro getting a temple. Both have 2 fairly close stakes, and although Ilagan would be a close call either way, I could see 4 existing stakes assigned to both of those temples.
If they announce Naga this conference, I could see a wait on the far north until we see a few more stakes. If Solano or Bambang advance to being stakes, I could see Santiago being a strong contender for a new temple.
In Japan I see Osaka as the most likely new temple. I could see an argument for Okayama, but mostly because I love how it would confuse some people if both Okinawa and Okayama got a temple. If Takamatsu and Matsuyama become stakes would maybe make Okayama a contender, but I still think Osaka would be much more likely.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the temple site map of the US, I think Appleton, Wiscons; Colorado Springs, Colorado, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kirtland, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; somewhere in Iowa and from a map prespective Sioux Falls, South Dakota all seem good candiates for temples. I also could see Gettysburg, Pennsylvania getting a temple. Champaign, Illinois and Scanton, Pennsylvania are fairly darkhorse candidates, although if Reading stake gets split with an Allentown Stake formed that would change things.
ReplyDeleteI am also looking at the map rooting for a temple in Middletown, Ohio. It may end up named either Dayton or Cincinnati, but I think a place like Middletown between the two would be the strongest contender.
Buena Vista or Lexington Virginia I see as a stronger contender than anywhere in West Virgnia. Charlotte is a contender, but that would rule out Savannah for a while. I could also see Plainfield, New Jersey getting a temple.
I could see Mexicali, Mexico getting a temple, but this is assuming people in Yuma and the Imperial Valley in California would be willing to cross the border. On the other hand if the border is assumed to be almost impassible, than Reynosa, Mexico is a contender.
Cuernavaca may be a contender in Mexico.
Is there an updated list of states/sovereignties without a temple?
ReplyDelete@Nathanial, I am not aware of any updated list maintained somewhere on the web (though I would not be at all surprised if one of the other commenters on here has one), but I can tell you which US states don't have temples (whether existing, under construction, or announced). State without temples are South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Permanently inhabited US territories without a temple are the US Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. The District of Columbia also technically does not have a temple, since the temple called the Washington D.C. Temple is in fact in Maryland a few miles outside of DC proper (and is the only temple in Maryland).
ReplyDeleteAs far as countries without a temple, they are too numerous to name here, but can easily be seen if you visit the excellent website https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org, which has a variety of useful maps you can use to see which countries do and do not have a temple.
@EP, I think that is a pretty realistic list. Different commenters on here have different approaches to predicting temples -- some like to list every place they think could eventually have a temple, while others limit themselves to only predicting those they think likely to be announced this conference. Personally, I find the latter, more limited lists more interesting because they are making a more specific and testable prediction. Personally, I grade myself by rewarding points based on how many temples that I specifically predict for this conference actually get announced, and deducting points for temples that are announced but which I did not predict or which I incorrectly predicted would be announced but which are not.
ReplyDeleteCambodia has the Phnom Penh temple which had groundbreaking in September, though full-scale construction is still pending.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct.
DeleteHere's my list, with some seriously crazy stuff at the end:
ReplyDeleteColorado Springs, CO
Utah-Spanish Fork, Herriman
Tacoma, WA
Flagstaff or Queen Creek AZ
Charlotte NC
Scotland
Mongolia
Mexico City #2
Iquitos Peru
Africa—Ghana, Cote d‘Ivoire, Uganda
Southern Chile or Argentina
Tirana, Albania
Philippines
Locations I would love but seem very unlikely:
Rapid City South Dakota
Israel—iknowcrazyright? But how about Cairo,
Lebanon, Jordan, Syria? I’m feeling it for the Holy Land vicinity. Just one little temple for all those far flung branches.
I should have been more specific, "Is there an updated list of states/sovereignties with the most members without a temple?" so like a top ten list? Thanks for the answers though. I know some of the lists would include a notation, such as Iowa with Nauvoo and Winter Quarters with a few miles. Also, Maryland with the Washington, D.C. actually in Kensington, MD. Sorry my original question made sense in my head.
ReplyDeleteIf you do a "we can assign a temple to an adjacent state, if the state it is in has an extra", we can cut down missing temple states to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware and Wisconsin, although flexing Casper into South Dakota is a bit much.
ReplyDeleteI also flexed Manhattan into New Jersey leaving Palmyra in New York, Pittsburgh into West Virginia, which is a long range flex, leaving Philadelphia; Nauvoo into Iowa leaving Chicago; and Memphis into Mississippi leaving Nashville.
With counties with most members without a temple, a top 10 for number of church units and number of stakes would also be an interesting list.
ReplyDeleteUganda I think tops for stakes with 3, but Malaysia may have more members. Malaysia has no stakes, but several districts, so will show up differently on different lists.
@unknown, here is a video with Calgary's celestial room
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZhrouI36tM
Top 10 List:
ReplyDelete-Tacoma, WA
-Charlotte, NC
-Modesto, CA
-Piura, Peru
-Rosario, Brazil
-Uyo, Nigeria
-Osaka, Japan
-Samoa #2 (on other island)
-Santiago, Philippines
-Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Opsy... Rosário is in Argentina! A common error
Delete-Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
ReplyDelete-Naga or Santiago/Tuguegarao (northern Luzon) Philippines
-Savaii Samoa
-Kampala Uganda
-Abuja Nigeria
-Glasgow Scotland
-João Pessoa or Ribeirão Preto or São José/Florianópolis Brazil
-Punta Arenas Chile
-Iquitos or Chiclayo Perú
-Santa Ana El Salvador
-Herriman or Spanish Fork Utah
-Bakersfield California
-Flagstaff or Prescott Arizona
-Colorado Springs Colorado
-1,2, or more of potential sites in the Central and Eastern US (Rapid City SD, Des Moines IA, somewhere in Wisconsin, Maine, Charlotte NC, Wichita KS, El Paso or Austin Texas). I'm going to predict that the next state currently without a temple will have one announced sometime this year, if not next month. The most recent was Arkansas in 2019.
I think I missed Kansas on my last states without temples list.
ReplyDeleteWichita may be the most likely next Temple in a US state without them.
Another possibility would be Wisconsin. I really would love to see Apeton get a temple. There is no super strong contender in Wisconsin.
I released my comprehensive map a few weeks ago, but here are my top picks for this upcoming conference
ReplyDeleteTop 10 picks:
1. Tacoma, Washington
2. Flagstaff, Arizona
3. Austin, Texas
4. Charlotte, North Carolina
5. Northwestern El Salvador
6. Chiclayo, Peru
7. Abuja, Nigeria
8. Santiago, Philippines
9. Poza Rica, Mexico
10. Kampala, Uganda
Wild Card Picks
1. Tirana, Albania
2. White Tank Mountain, Arizona (West Phoenix Metro)
JPL, a few years ago, when expanding my list of prospective temple locations, I was advised by one of my many sources for temple information that when Wisconsin gets a temple, it is likely to be built in the Green Bay area. Unless I am misremembering the details of that feedback, the Church has purchased land for such a prospect when the time for the announcement thereof is right. And based on the fact that Arkansas was the last state to have a first temple announced, I am hoping we see a "first temple" announcement for another state this April. If we do, Wisconsin, New Jersey. or Mississippi may be the most likely beneficiaries of that blessing.
ReplyDeleteSince the Church is taking the trouble to clear the queue of all US temples announced last April in the 11 weeks following this April's General Conference, I'd anticipate that at least a quarter of the total temples that are announced will be for areas in the United States, so it's conceivable that 2 or even 3 states could get their "first temples" this time around.
Although the North America Central, North America West, North America Southwest, and Utah Areas have a high concentration of Latter-day Saints, the fact that four temples have been announced in the eastern US thus far gives me hope that the eastern states may get at least one more in the upcoming conference. Hope this information is helpful to all who read it.
JPL, a few years ago, when expanding my list of prospective temple locations, I was advised by one of my many sources for temple information that when Wisconsin gets a temple, it is likely to be built in the Green Bay area. Unless I am misremembering the details of that feedback, the Church has purchased land for such a prospect when the time for the announcement thereof is right. And based on the fact that Arkansas was the last state to have a first temple announced, I am hoping we see a "first temple" announcement for another state this April. If we do, Wisconsin, New Jersey. or Mississippi may be the most likely beneficiaries of that blessing.
ReplyDeleteSince the Church is taking the trouble to clear the queue of all US temples announced last April in the 11 weeks following this April's General Conference, I'd anticipate that at least a quarter of the total temples that are announced will be for areas in the United States, so it's conceivable that 2 or even 3 states could get their "first temples" this time around.
Although the North America Central, North America West, North America Southwest, and Utah Areas have a high concentration of Latter-day Saints, the fact that four temples have been announced in the eastern US thus far gives me hope that the eastern states may get at least one more in the upcoming conference. Hope this information is helpful to all who read it.
The Church seems to like building temples in state capital cities (i.e, Tallahassee vs. Jacksonville; Helena vs. Missoula) when there's a choice between two cities. Not a set rule just more of an observation. I expect a temple for Wisconsin will be built in either Madison or in Waukesha (Milwaukee Temple). Madison is more centrally located for the state and further away from Chicago than Waukesha. The Milwaukee area has two stakes though. For either location, a temple would be more accessible for Wisconsin saints than having to drive all the way down to Chicago and battling the horrific traffic there.
ReplyDeleteAs for Kansas, their first temple will be in Wichita. Topeka is too close to Kansas City to justify building the first temple there.
It might be worth remembering that Arkansas got a temple in Bentonville, not Little Rock. Texas is still awaiting a temple in its capitol. Your two listed examples were the 2nd and 3rd temples in their states.
DeleteWyoming has 3 temples, none in the capitol. New York has 2. Pennsylvania has 2.
The big question with a Wisconsin Temple is which stakes will it cover. Closely related to thos would be to figure out where in Wisconsin are the furthest points that would be more accessible for the Milwaukie stakes than the Chicago Temple. Bear in mind the new Chicago Temple president and matron live in Wisconsin even though they were largely raised in Illinois. The new Chicago matron was born in Utah and I believe also lived in DC for a year growing up. I think she graduated from high school in Illinois, but her dad, President Oaks, became BYU president roughly about that time or maybe a year later.
Of course temples normally take at least 3 years from announcement to dedication, and the temple president does not need to be from the current temple district.
Illinois and Missouri are two more states that have multiple temples with none in their capitol. California had 6 temples before it got one in the capitol. Washington also has 3 temples without one in the capitol. The same is true of Oregon. Arizona's capitol got the 5th temple in the state. Nevada also has 3 temples without one for the capitol. I think only 18 states have a temple in the capitol, so 20 states lack a temple in the capitol if I did the math right.
Prince George would be incredible. The closest temple is Vancouver. Approx. 8 hr drive, or Edmonton, which is 8 hrs. Winter travel is difficult in the area.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you live?
ReplyDeleteOk, my $0.02 worth...
ReplyDeleteTOP TEN TBA April 2022 General Conference:
(1) Price, Utah
(2) Puget Sound, WA (between Tacoma/Olympia, most likely Lakewood)
(3) Bakersfield, CA
(4) Colorado Springs, CO
(5) Las Vegas Valley, NV (most likely Summerlin area)
(6) Maracaibo, Venezuela
(7) Ulanbataar, Mongolia
(8) Osaka, Japan
(9) Canberra, ACT, Australia
(0) San Fernando, Phillipines
Failing to make the top ten, but not out of the running:
Christchurch, New Zealand
Savaii, Samoa
Kampala, Uganda
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Glasgow, Scotland
Dublin, Eire
Iquitos, Peru
Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
Charlotte, NC
El Paso, TX
All this with the qualifier that President Nelson is likely more attuned to where the Lord wants His houses than I.
I would say Puerto Montt in stead of Osorno
ReplyDeleteLong time viewer, first time commenter. Here are my predictions:
ReplyDelete- Kampala, Uganda
- 1-2 in West Africa
- Ulaanbatar, Mongolia
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Osaka, Japan
- Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Iquitos, Peru
- 1-2 Brazil
- 1 Central America
- 1-2 Mexico
- Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Charlotte, NC
- Austin, TX
- Herriman, UT
- Evanston, WY
Are there any predictions for the upcoming October conference? I haven't seen any posts yet and it's already September.
ReplyDelete