Today, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct 15 new temples in each of the following locations:
- Uturoa, French Polynesia
- Chihuahua, Mexico
- Florianópolis, Brazil
- Rosario, Argentina
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Brisbane, Australia (south area)
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Yuma, Arizona
- Houston, Texas (south area)
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- West Jordan, Utah
- Lehi, Utah
- Maracaibo, Venezuela
With today's announcement, there are now 350 temples announced, under construction, or dedicated. Moreover, the number of temples planned or dedicated has doubled since 2016 when four temples were announced in April.
98 comments:
My list:
Portoviejo, Ecuador
Palmdale, California
Gold Coast, Australia ✓
Pasadena, Texas ✓
Rosario, Argentina ✓
Maracanaú, Brazil
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay
Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
San Tan Valley, Arizona
Mapleton, Utah
São José, Brazil ✓
Osorno, Chile
Santiago, Dominican Republic
San Fernando, Philippines
Kampala, Uganda
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Maracaibo, Venezuela ✓
I never fail to be absolutely exhilarated by these announcements.
In terms of my level of success, I had Chihuahua Mexico, Rosario Argentina, Edinburgh Scotland, Des Moines Iowa, Cincinnati Ohio, and Lehi Utah in my 'Top 30' category.
I also had Florianopolis Brazil, Maracaibo Venezuela, and Yuma Arizona [listed as the 'Mexicali Mexico area'] in my 'Next 50' category; and Victoria British Columbia in my 'Less Likely' category.
I had not predicted second temples for Brisbane or Houston, nor did I predict Uturoa French Polynesia, Honolulu Hawaii, or West Jordan Utah.
A reminder to me that while metrics and numbers can predict temple announcements to some degree, at the end of the day, the Lord knows exactly where He wants His temples.
Lehi is almost certainly going to be by Viewpoint Middle School, just off of Timpanogos Highway.
Church bought Parcel #669420101 last year. Same size as the Saratoga one.
I somehow lost my prediction list, but I do have a map of any place that could reasonably have a temple there in my opinion. Of the 15, 12 were right on point, where I didn't have to change anything. The only one that needed to change was Brisbane South, which I had my marker on Gold Coast. The remaining 2, I didn't have on my map at all, which was Honolulu (due to being on the same island as Laie), and West Jordan.
I got French Polynesia, Florianópolis, Victoria, Houston South, Des Moines, and Cincinnati.
I have also listed Chihuahua and Edinburgh in the past, but this time I predicted a different city for Mexico and I have gone back and forth between Edinburgh and Glasgow (I said Glasgow this time)
I also predicted temples for Australia, Arizona, and Utah but for different cities.
I grew up in West Jordan so of course I am very excited for that temple! It will most likely be built on the west side of the city where the most open remaining land is. In fact, I have already seen posts from family that the church has a potential site all the way on the west side of the City northwest of 7800 South and Bacchus Highway (north of the Sycamore subdivision).
Excited for all the temples and blessings they will be to members all around the world!
Craig Shuler says,
I love the end of General Conference tradition - when President Nelson closes his Sunday afternoon talk with temple announcments.
I always prepare a list of 20 temples he might announce, this time 5 of the 20 on my list were announced:
- Florianopolis Brazil
- Rosario Argentina
- Glasgow Scotland
- Des Moines Iowa
- Houston Texas South
I didn't have a 6th Salt Lake County temple on my list. If I had, I would probbly have guessed West Valley not West Jordan. Wouldn't the Pioneers have been amazed, though to have 4 temples west of the Jordan River?
Uturoa is shocking to me. While the church has a relatively strong presence on the island and nearby islands comparatively, this is such a small community. Uturoa is the hub of activity in the Leeward Islands of the Society Islands chain. However the main village can be walked from one end to the other in 10 minutes and the airport is not big enough to support large planes. I can envision the building logistics will be very difficult but no doubt it will be a blessing to those in the Leeward Islands.
Utuaroa wins the record as place I have absolutely never heard of. It is about 2 islands from Bora Bora. This is a different island group from Tahiti, but still fairly close. The Marquesas remain far from the temple.
Each geographically small (at least by landing area) Pacific Island nation (or whatever French Polynesia is) that President Kimball announced a temple for in April 1980 has now had a second temple announced.
Brazil is at 23 and Mexico at 25. Church wide when I was born there were only 27 temple announced (18 operating).
Utah has 30, 29 in Utah Area. I think North America Central just hit 35.
At the earlier discussion I said 9 States had at least 4 temples announced. It is 10, I forgot Colorado Springs put Colorado to 4. So we only need 3 to get to at least a quarter of States at 4 temples.
Virginia could have a 3th announced for Virginia Beach/Norfolk. Oregon has a vague chance of a 4th for Salem. Wyoming or Montana might be vague candidates for a 3th temple. I don't see 7s hitting a 4th at 4 temples for a bit. A 5th, or 10 States at 5 temples seems even harder. I think we are at 7. Washington, California, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Florida and Texas. The easiest to join are in theory Colorado, Hawai'i and Nevada. Only Nevada with a Henderson Temple do I think super likely, though San Luis Valley Colorado I think remains a temple contender. Hawaii getting a 5th temple seems a crazy prospect.
Ohio is another vague 3th temple prospect. In theory Dayton with 3 stakes could get a temple. However I am not sure doing literally only 3 stakes for a temple district is likely.
Cincinatti might also be the first temple not actually in the state it is named for, unless you count the Washimton DC Temple being outside DC. However I expect that Xincinatti Temple will be built on the Ohio side of the river. If it is built much into the north suburbs I will also not expect a Dayton Temple for a while.
I wonder if they will convert the Honolulu Tabernacle into the temple. The other idea is to build on adjacent land to the Tabernacle, but I am not sure how hard that would be. I think that is what is being done in Montpelier, Idaho, but the situations are very different.
Honolulu and Laine are on the same island, but they are not close. Sister Casey, the incoming Lai'e Temple matron, grew up in Honolulu and her parents would go to the temple in Laine weekly. However this was only doable because her father was a medical professional (I can't remember if he was a dentist or a dictor) who could close his office early, her parents did not come home until late either. This is a day long awaited, although so many other places also need temples we did not know if hoping was reasonable.
Eric,
The Church owns a very interesting 16 acre property out where you are describing, but it is surrounded by undeveloped land. All the surroudning land appears to be owned by a developer.
Parcel Numbers
20282010020000 and 20282010010000
I shouted for joy when Pres Nelson announced a temple in Yuma. Praise God! We just had Stake Conference last month and the visiting general authority talked of the possibility of a temple in Yuma. My wife and I were looking at some properties where they could build it. I know it will be a number of years before it happens so we will continue to drive the 3 hours to Phoenix until the San Diego temple is finished renovations. Then we will drive there until the temple is finished.
I didn't make a prediction list, but I did say (with some inside information) that there would be exactly 15 announced. Happy to see my source was right!
I need to stop predicting these lol.
April 2024
Correct:
Edinburgh/Glasgow, Scotland
Chihuahua, Mexico
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Rosario, Argentina
Florianópolis/São José, Brazil
South Houston Metro (Sugar Land)
Des Moines, IA
Incorrect:
Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
Abuja, Nigeria
Kampala, Uganda
Lomé, Togo
Angeles, Philippines
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Pisco, Peru
Green Bay, WI
Augusta, ME
Flagstaff/Prescott, AZ
Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls/Hayden, ID
Henderson, NV
Renovation: Logan, UT (at opening of Smithfield temple)
I guess I didn't do too bad all things considered. I'm dumbfounded at West Jordan, though. I thought for sure the next SLC temple would be the Herriman property the Church has been sitting on for nearly 20 years. I guess not. Lehi is no surprise to me, and it will certainly be the parcel acquired north of Viewpoint. I also am a bit shocked at Yuma over Flagstaff. The Lord knows better than I do, I just have to keep reminding myself that.
I'm still optimistic about Henderson, but given the absolute fire and brimstone that residents are trying to unleash on the Lone Mountain temple, I can understand not announcing it this conference.
Considering the proximity to the new Taylorsville temple, I was pleasantly surprised for West Jordan. I would have thought that the temple for the Salt Lake Valley would be either in the East side (such as Millcreek, Cottonwood, or Sandy) or the South (Such as Bluffdale or Herriman)
It looks to me like a decision was made to get to an even 350.
With so many temples awaiting ground breaking, even among those with sites announced, this seems like an expected number.
EP I think getting 7 right was pretty good.
Since Logan is assumed to be part of the all pioneer temples announcement, I do not think we will have an announcement in general conference. We did not know the plans for Provo at all until announced. So I think Logan will be another forum. How close is Smithfield to completion?
I go back and forth on Henderson. Las Vegas is over 80,000 Square feet, and Lone Mountain is planned about that large. We are talking twice as big as Dallas. I would love to see a Henderson Temple, but I am not sure it will come yet. A lot of temples seem stalled because of local opposition.
Craig Shuler says,
Wyoming (Star Valley, Cody, and Casper) and Montana (Billings, Helena, and Missoula) already have 3 temples built or announced. :)
Technically Virginia already has 3 temples Richmond (dedicated) Winchester (announced) and Roanoke (announced) I could see a 4th temple in Norfolk/Virginia Beach and maybe even a 5th one in Alexandria
It looks like I made a major typo above. I was trying to figure which states could get us to 13 with at least 4 temples. I meant to say 4th when I wrote 3rd.
I am thinking my predictions might work better long run if I made a list and then stuck with UT over time. I think I worked out Laoag, Tugaguerao and Santiago and possible sites to build temples in northern Luzon years ago, and then a few years later they were announced.
I have noticed we have not yet had a repeat of anything like the 4 metro Mexico city sites.
I also wonder if we will see another new temple announced for Venezuela in October. Barcelona, Venezuela would not at all surprise me then.
I think the steak of repeat names was also broken.
I got 11 temples correct to the exact location, 2 half-right, and I wasn't anticipating Yuma Arizona or Brisbane Australia South. I was gratified to see that I was right to prioritize Edinburgh over Glasgow and that a temple is coming to Lehi. It'll probably be close to where we're living, so that should be good. I even correctly guessed West Jordan. Kudos to all who similarly predicted correctly.
Yuma Arizona Temple was the biggest surprise I saw. Unless there's plans for an open border with Mexico, there's only one stake in the vicinity on this side of the border and another stake further out that would likely be in that temple district.
Prior to this announcement, the previous 1-2 stake temple district announcements I'm aware of have been for locations far enough saving overnight travel to the temple when built.
Fun trivia: the U.S. State of Ohio and the Mexican State of Chihuahua each got their third temples announced at this conference, and all 6 temples start with "C".
- Colonia Juarez
- Ciudad Juarez
- Chihuahua
- Columbus
- Cleveland
- Cincinnati
What if they decided to scale back the Lone Mountain Nevada temple on size and height but then added the Henderson Nevada temple. I think we had similar opposition to the Nashville Tennessee temple and then it was scaled back when President Hinkley announced a plan for smaller temples and I think several temples were announced for what would have been that temple district.
Craig Shuler says,
Besides Yuma AZ Stake, Lake Havasu AZ Stake (now in Las Vegas NV temple district) and El Centro from a San Diego stake would also probably be assigned to the Yuma temple.
I was hoping for temples to complete the alphabet. We do not have temples named after the letters X or Z. Though the Bern Switzerland temple is in the municipality "Zollikofen". Locations for future temples could be Xalpa Mexico and Zacatecas Mexico. What other major cities that start with X and Z that have stakes that could be candidates for a temple? Maybe a temple near Hurricane Utah could be called The Zion Canyon Temple.
West Jordan: About everything east of Bangerter is filled in but there is land open west of that and the closer you get to the future Mountainview Freeway (feeder roads already in place) it could easily be by that if not a short distance away.
Lehi was known for two years de to the developer saying something.
Houston South will likely be between Beltway 8 and Grand Parkway (sH-99) mirroring how the current temple sits similarly to the north, not that much land left inside Beltway 8 so I see it south of that between about SH-288 and SH-99 like the one in the NW is between the same two rings and between US-290 and IH-45.
Some commentors will remind us that it is ridiculous to think that the Brethren sit around trying to complete the alphabet with temple location names. But we just can't help ourselves think about it anyway ;)
Current temples considerations:
-Quetzaltenango is commonly referred to as Xela.
-Bern's address is in Zollikofen, although technically the temple is located within the Commune of Münchenbuchsee.
-Guadalajara is located in the City of Zapopán.
-The Hague is located in the City of Zoetermeer.
-Puebla is located in the City of Puebla de Zaragoza.
IMO, the most likely new temple candidate locations are:
-Xalapa, Mexico
-Zacatecas, Mexico
-Zamora, Mexico
-Zagreb, Croatia
-Zamboanga, Philippines
Additionally, the church operates in the following cities/neighborhoods that could provide future temples/temple names:
Brazil (Xanxerê, Xaxim)
China (Xi'an)
Guatemala (Xepón, Xeraxon)
Mexico (Xadani Santa Maria, Xalapa, Xalisco, Xalitzintla, Xalostoc, Xalpa, Xaltepetl, Xanath, Xico, Xicohzinco, Xicoténcatl, Xicotepec, Xilotzingo, Xochimilco, Xochistlán, Xochitenco, Xonacatepec, Xonacatlan, Xoxtla)
Mozambique (Xai-Xai)
Ohio (Xenia)
Utah (Xanadu)
Angola (Zango)
Argentina (Zapala, Zárate, Zeballos)
Chile (Zapahuira, Zeballos Cue, Zegers)
Colombia (Zarzamora, Zipaquirá)
Costa Rica (Zurqui)
Cote d'Ivoire (Zapata, Zoukougbeu)
Croatia (Zadar, Zagreb)
Czechia (Zlin)
DR Congo (Zambia)
Ecuador (Zamora)
El Salvador (Zacamil, Zacatecoluca, Zaragoza)
French Polynesia (Ziona)
Germany (Zwickau)
Ghana (Zenu)
Guatemala (Zacapa, Zaculeu, Zarahemla)
Honduras (Zambrano)
Indiana (Zionsville)
Japan (Zama)
Kenya (Zimmerman)
Louisiana (Zachary)
Malawi (Zingwangwa)
Mexico (Zacapu, Zacatecas, Zacatelco, Zacatenco, Zacatlán, Zacil Ha, Zamora, Zanatepec, Zapandú, Zapata, Zaragoza, Zarco, Zarzaparrillas, Zavaleta, Zicateca, Zihuatenejo, Zimatlán, Zinacantepec, Zitácuaro, Zuazua, Zumpango)
Mongolia (Zuun Kharaa)
Mozambique (Zimpeto)
Netherlands (Zwolle)
New Mexico (Zuni)
Nigeria (Zaakpo)
North Carolina (Zebulon)
Ohio (Zanesville)
Peru (Zamácola, Zapallal, Zárate, Zarumilla)
Philippines (Zamboanga)
Russia (Zapadny, Zarechny, Zavodskoy, Zelenogradsky)
South Africa (Zwide)
Spain (Zaragoza)
Switzerland (Zürich)
Texas (Zapata, Zilker Park)
Ukraine (Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyrs'ka)
Uruguay (Zorilla)
Utah (Zion)
Venezuela (Zamora, Zaraza)
Washington (Zillah, Zintel Canyon)
Zimbabwe (Zengeza)
People in Tijuana went to the San Diego Temple before that was built.
Amazed that there is a real Zarahemla in Guatemala
I believe it is not that difficult to get a border pass that allows for fairly easy crossing on short term movement.
The reality is that undocumented immigrants to the US now mainly come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador or further away. They are no longer in the main Mexican nationals. So allowing open crossing of the border for short trips to border cities makes sense. I am not sure of all the border pass logistics, so I am not sure how easy it is to obtain.
The incoming president and matron of the Tijuana Temple live in Mexicali. However there are lots of temple leaders who live in what will soon be another temple district. The president and matron of Hamilton Temple are from Aukland. The President and matron of Nashville Temple are from Knoxville. I am sure there are other cases. I am thinking though Lake Havasu City Arizona stake will also go to Yuma Temple. Are there no stakes west from Tucson and Phoenix before Yuma?
I thought El Centro stake was discontinued. Was that played in a San Diego based stake?
There are still wards in the Imperial Valley, so those will be assigned to Yuma Temple. Palm Desert Stake may have some area that gets assigned there.
Buckeye Stake may have some outlying units that will be assigned there.
There may also be a factor of the number of part time retiree residents in Yuma. Like Heber Valley with its visitors from the other side of the Wasatch front for Ling weekend who may chose to incorporate temple attendance, and Nauvoo Temple's summer visitors, you have to think not just of permanent residents when planning. However with 3stakes and a district close a Ross the international border they may be thinking of some visitors from there, even if for logistical reasons some from those stakes will continue to go to Tijuana, if they could get about half the temple attendance from those stakes, Yuma Stake, Lake Havasu City Stake and the Imperial Valley Wards, that will be enough. I believe Yuma is also a large Stake just a little short of splittable.
The Taylorsville Utah Temple was built on an existing chaple site. I do not know West Jordan enough to know if that is doable. There are other options for building a temple in a built up irban setting, so I would not rule anything out until we actually see the site announced.
2/3 of the states in Brazil now have a temple, exactly 18 out of 27. In Mexico, 21 states out of 32 have a temple.
Laie is where the Temple is on Oahu.
Ohio has 3 temples. The 3 major cities that start with C, Cleveland, Columbus, and now Cincinnati.
Though it is Quezaltanango, Guatemala the locals call it Xela.
Wow
We visit the Yuma area several times a year. We cross into Mexico at Algodones and have also crossed at San Luis Rio Colorado. There is much traffic in both directions at both border crossings. Mexican nationals who are members of the Church should have no problem crossing the border to the Yuma AZ Temple. Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado have units. I would guess a significant number of temple patrons will come from Mexico.
Mexico:
3 temples: Chihuahua
2 temples: Mexico City (Federal District), Hidalgo
1 temple: Baja California, Chiapas, Durango, Jalisco, México, Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán
States without temples: Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Nayarit, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas
Have: 21
Not have: 11
%: 0.66
Brazil:
5 temples: São Paulo
2 temples: Paraná
1 temple: Alagoas, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Federal District, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina
States without temples: Acre, Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Sergipe, Tocantins
Have: 18
Not have: 9
%: 0.67
Im curious about the site of the Florianopolis temple. Because some people are talking being in Sao Jose but is not Florianopolis (island). Anyone knows about some site the church owns in the island?
For what it is worth Elder Dube's Wikipedia article does not yet reflect his call to the presidency of the 70. actually the article still does not reflect his call as president of the Africa South Area either, and I think he has been in that position nearly 2 years.
I think in october a temple in Rio Grande do Sul (probably in Santa Maria) may be annouced...
The state of Coahuila in Mexico barely misses the cut for not having a temple. The Torreon Temple is being built in Gomez Palacios, which is in Durango, even though Torreon is in Coahuila. The two cities are connected.
I was glad to hear of the announcement for Maracaibo.
I got to teach some Venezolanos on the mission (and baptize one), and there were several elders in my mission who were visa-waiters, who ended up going to Venezuela, some to Maracaibo. Two of them were companions of mine. Glad to see their efforts 20 years ago are bearing present-day fruit.
(Speaking of Torreón, Coahuila, I had another companion who was a visa-waiter to there, too.)
I wonder if the Honolulu Temple will be built near or next to the Historic Honolulu Tabernacle?
Checking "lds.org/news/resources/factsandstatistics" today, I was surprised to find that the membership and congregational totals for year-end 2023 are already up to date. In past years we have had to wait some time to have all this information.
This is for almost all nations as well as US states and Canadian provinces. We'll watch for Matt's analysis in the weeks to come. Thank you, Matt, as always.
With El Centro Stake recently merged with El Cajon Stake, I wonder if El Centro and rest of the Imperial Valley gets reorganized again as a district, so that it can join the new Yuma Temple District, with El Cajon Stake of course remaining in the San Diego Temple District.
I'm sure the Mexicali Stakes and Sun Luis Stake in Mexico will join this new Yuma Arizona Temple District along with Lake Havasu City Stake. So 5 Stakes and a potential El Centro District in total. I wouldn't surprise if the Yuma Stake gets split at some point with more growth and more retirees moving in, to be near the Yuma Temple.
I found this article that seems to indicate a likely site for the Cincinnati Ohio Temple:
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/04/08/jana-riess-my-hometown-is-getting/
It speaks of a rather large property in the city of Mason, to the north of Cincinnati that was purchased in September. The property mentioned is located at Mason-Montgomery Rd and Cedar Village Dr.
With the announcement of the Victoria, BC temple, I believe the next temple for Canada will be in the Thompson-Okanagan region of BC (most likely Kelowna, but maybe Vernon or Kamloops) with the announcement being in 3 to 5 years from now. After Alberta, BC is the province with the second largest LDS population by percentage and the Okanagan has been seeing a massive population boom in the last 4 years. Projections indicate Kelowna alone will grow over 60% in the next 20 years (153,000 to 247,000) with an estimated total population of just under 400,000 for the greater Kelowna area.
Hope to see a temple announced in New Hampshire in the near future! It's not too far from the Boston temple (~ 2 hours one way driving) but many Saints further into Vermont and Maine have to drive sometimes up to 6 hours one way for a temple visit. However as someone who grew up and joined the church there I know the membership growth has been quite slow relative to other more needy parts of the world. Maybe one day there will be a boom in membership and temple worthy members that will bring forth a temple in my old childhood home.
I wonder of a Maine Temple will come before a New Hampshire one though.
Stakes can and do split what temple they are assigned to. For years we have had temple workers in Detroit Temple from Windsor Ward in London Ontario Stake, while London itself was assigned to Toronto Temple. There is no reason that the El Cajon stake can not be split assigned as well.
I believe the number of stakes in Massachusetts have doubled since the Boston Temple was dedicated. The number of stakes in New Hampshire, Ver.ont and Maine has remained the same, although some units in New Hampshire stakes have been shifted to Massachusetts ones. So I think there is clearly e ought Church membership to support at least 1 more New England Temple.
There are aces like Togo and Benin that have seen more growth in much less time. You also have the issue in northern New England that 1 temple placed anywhere would still leave people far from the temple. For distances giving Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine their own temples, or at least New Gampshire one and Maine one would help a lot more than just 1 for the whole area. I am not sure logistically how doable that would be.
I had forgotten Elder Valenzuela was also called to the Presidency of the 70. He was born in Nueva Casas Grandes, Mexico. That is right next to Colonia Juarez. So he is from the colonies, although he is fully Mexican.
These changes will give us if I am counting right 3 Americans and 4 non-Americans in the Presidency of the Seventy.
I was looking at google maps locations on Ricks temple site at stake locations in the Southern Brisbane Australia area for possible temple locations adjacent to existing church property. I found three stake center locations that appear to have large enough properties to add a small or medium size temple. The Brisbane Centenary Stake in the South West, The Brisbane Logan Stake Center, and the 8 Mile Plains stake center.
The Houston Texas South Stake center appears to have land next to it, but I do not know if it is church owned. Since the church likes to build next to existing meetinghouses when feasible I was looking at maps of stake center locations.
The Mount Pisgah Iowa Stake has a large lawn or ball field next to it. Could this be a possible location?
I have only looked at stake center locations not all meetinghouses.
As far as speculation for a temple in Henderson NV goes, the church does own a 5-acre parcel in the southeast part of the city (575 E HORIZON RIDGE PKWY), in an area that is already saturated with meetinghouses. Distance-wise, it is further from the Las Vegas temple than the Lone Mountain temple site, though the drive time might be shorter. The parcel seems a little small, especially since there is not an adjacent meetinghouse to share parking with. It is well situated near the freeway, which cannot be said about the other 2 Las Vegas temple sites. It could serve the Kingman stake as well as the many stakes in Henderson.
While a Henderson Temple would serve 9-11 stakes, adding it along with Lone Mountain Temple would make the original Las Vegas Temple obsolete. It would only serve around 6-7 stakes at best. Lone Mountain, btw, is located not far off the 215 freeway if exiting Cheyenne or Lone Mtn. Road.
Back in October 2023, the Church purchased adjacent lots at 9050 NW 62nd Avenue and 8950 NW 62nd Avenue in Johnston, Iowa. Total acreage is approximately 20 acres. Though it hasn't been formally announced this is almost certainly where the Des Moines Temple will be constructed.
The Church recently purchased an at least fairly expensive piece of property in the Des Moines area, that might end up being the temple site. The Grand Rapids Temple is planned for a property our church bought from another church, I think the sale finalized after the temple was announced, but was in process before the temple was announced. So not all temples are connected with previous chapels of the Church.
Temple Baptistry font question:
In the last year or so I did baptisms with my kids at a temple where font just had 1 set of stairs and a temple with 2 sets of stairs. It occurred to me that the flow of people being baptized and the baptizers was much smoother and faster and less rushed with two sets of stairs.
Why do you think some temples are still being built with fonts with 1 set of stairs? a 2nd set of stairs doesn't seem to take much extra space. Even in areas with few members now, why not have two sets of stairs with a view towards the future?
Other Matt here...
Sidenote to new growth in Southern California.
The newly created Temecula California South Stake recently organized a new Mandarin speaking Branch (Rose Haven Branch) and a Tagalog speaking branch (Temecula Valley Branch) .
This new Mandarin Branch becomes the 4th new Mandarin Speaking Branch created in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) in past couple of years.
I definitely foresee Temecula or Murrieta having the next Southern California Temple. The Church is pretty strong out there, for California standards. 5+ % LDS.
Great news continues in the Philippines, a people of great faith in Jesus. What a place it shall be in the Millenium! I have been interested in the westward island of Palawan after reading about it some literature. It looks to me like there are no Church of Jesus Christ units there? Do we have any groups or missionaries there? What language[s] do they speak?
Close enough to the Spratlys that they might be Chinese-speaking someday. Have to slow down the Han juggernaut. As I have said repeatedly, we need more missionaries, and we need to get them more places. All of us have to represent the Lord in all places. The time is coming, the harvest.
Love to see the temples growing, and converts and active units and families.
God bless us all.
My brother who lives in New Hampshire said that his stake used to have multiple units in Massachusetts and now they only have one.
If we had separate temples for Maine and New Hampshire they would probably both be small ones. I believe there are two stakes in Maine and 3 in NH, but there are certainly other places that have or are getting temples with similar numbers.
The Presidency of the 70 also had 3 US and 4 non-US members before Elder Kearon was called to the Twelve and was then replaced by Elder Nash. I haven't been actively keeping track but it seems like that ratio has become at least somewhat normal.
The transcripts of the General Conference talks are now available online:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/04?lang=eng
My thanks once again to you all.
Eduardo, The island of Palawan has one stake and two districts. The Sparty Islands have no permanent population. Other islands northwest of the Sparty Islands are the Parcel Islands and are administered by China (also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam and therefore ownership is hotly contested). They have a population of about 1000.
James, thank you for giving us the link to download the Conference talks. This helps us reinforce the teachings provided in the various talks of all 5 sessions. I thought that we would have to wait for the full coverage when it will come out in the next issue of the Liahona, so it's wonderful to access them so quickly.
The biggest surprise for temples that were
Announced: Yuma Arizona Temple will only significantly save commuting time for one stake. This is the first time I'm aware of that a temple that's announced would have a 1-2 stake temple district other than those that can't be.
Unannounced: No temples announced for Asia or Africa. The church is growing faster in Africa than any other continent. With the Philippines making up the majority of members in Asia, Asia is also one of the fastest growing continents for the church. Yet, neither got a temple this conference. That being said, they both had their share of announcements in recent years.
No problem, Ray! For future reference, the talk transcripts are almost always made available online within 2-3 days of General Conference.
I think the next city to get 2 temples would probably be Mesa Arizona. The Mesa Arizona East Temple and it could serve at least 9 Stakes. (I can also see Flagstaff, Queen Creek, and Tempe getting temples as well) Flagstaff with 5 stakes, Queen Creek with 9 and Tempe with 7 at least.
The Des Moines Register ran its story on the Des Moines Temple announcement today (between the Iowa women's basketball tournament run, the partial eclipse, and recent legislative action in the state, it managed to stay out of the news for a few days). It can be found here: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/2024/04/10/iowa-will-get-its-first-mormon-temple-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-des-moines/73249227007.
The article references the recent purchase of the 19.6 acres along NW 62nd Avenue in Johnston (a northwestern-ish suburb) but also quotes the communications director for Iowa/Western Illinois saying that "they don't have a location picked out" and "We might not have the land, but this is our plan." I still take this to mean they just haven't formally announced the site--it's hard to think of another use for the site purchased in Johnston.
When are you going to post analysis of each temple announcement?
Okinawa Japão Temple serves Just a Atake and a district.
Gabe, I'm not Matt, but he mentioned previously that with a new job and his calling in his ward's bishopric, he has had to space out content here. Last October, he analyzed 20 new temples over four new posts (one each for four consecutive Sundays). So he'll probably do something similar this go-round. The first post could come this Sunday or next week, whenever he had time to do that.
JPL, in an earlier thread, you made a comment about President Eyring having health issues when he was first called to the First Presidency. I tried to respond to that comment there, but it wasn't approved. What I tried to say was that assessing President Eyring 's current prognosis by his situation 17 years ago may be short-sighted. He is over 90, and is looking considerably worse now than he was in the 2007 example you cited. As President Nelson has observed, it's harder for older people to recover than it is for younger people. Could President Eyring bounce back? Anything is possible, and he has had good and bad days. But I still think he may not have long. I hope I'm wrong on that, but I had the same feeling this conference about President Eyring that I did in October about President Ballard, and we know what happened there. I hope he bounces back, but as a nonagenarian widower who has health challenges now, assessing his current situation using his 2007 situation may be a flawed analysis. No offense intended, and I hope none is taken.
A Yuma Temple does not seem all that surprising given how isolated the stake is from San Diego and Phoenix. The Church seems to always announce one temple in a location that's somewhat remote and would only serve one or two stakes. As far as Arizona is concerned, I think the next two temples will be Flagstaff and Queen Creek. There's no need for another temple in Mesa given the size of the Mesa Temple and that some Mesa stakes are assigned to the Gilbert Temple, at least not any time soon. Queen Creek and San Tan Valley continue to grow and grow, while Gilbert is serving 37 stakes.
My main take from the Iowa communications director statements is that person does not know where the temple will be and is not authorized to say what is not known officially. Some people may know officially, but they have not been authorized to announce it officially yet.
I am wondering of the Church ever buys multiple sites for a potential temple, narrows it down and sells off the other sites. I doubt it. More often the Church buys lands for other purposes and then changes it to a temple.
A few of these announcements like Houston South and Brisbane South it will be hard to say how many stakes might be assigned until we have a more definite location.
Actually with it only being 8 to 10 miles from the Taylorsville Temple to the ones in South Jordan what the West Jordan Utah Temple will cover will depend a lot on where the temple is positioned in the city.
It just dawnee on my we could oddly claim that Elder Valenzuela is replacing Elder Godoy as the Latin American in the Presidency of the 70, and Elder Dube is replacing Elder Johnson as the long-time Church Educational System employee in that body. I know this is too simplistic of an analysis. My way to remember Elder Ringwood is we have some Nielson replaced by a Nelson son-in-law. Odd memory devices, but it allows me to remember.
In Sister Browning's remarks at the Taylorville Utah Temple media days she mentioned she passes the temple every day on her way downtown. For a moment I thought "I did not know primary duties took someone down-toen evrty day", but then I remembered she also works as the liason of the publishing department to other Churcb departments. This is a role similar to what President Monson's job was in the early 1950s. Well, sort of. President Monson worked for the Deseret News Press, which was later converted to only do print jobs for the Church itself, when he worked there they did that but more, but no Church department printing consumes everything.
Fredrick,
Yes, isolated temples with 1-2 stakes have been announced in recent conferences, but this is the first I'm aware of that can make a days trip to its nearest temple. For example, last conference a temple was announced in Angola when it had one stake. Members there have to fly to South Africa to get to their nearest temple.
Yuma wasn't the only one to break that trend. Victoria British Columbia is across the inlet from Vancouver which while by ferry, can still be done in a day's commute. But that one significantly reduces time for two stakes and saves on a ferry toll.
I am still working on the posts to provide an analysis of the new temple announcements. There will be two posts - one for North America and one for outside of North America. The first post is nearly done, but I will likely not publish it until the weekend. I have used my time to write about the year-end 2023 country-by-country statistics that were just released.
Doesn't Yuma get a lot of snowbird members in the winter?
@Gnesileah
¡Chevere y chido!
This is an intriguing idea. A temple in southeast Mesa near the Eastmark development or south or east of there would probably be quite busy, but it wouldn't necessarily be a significantly shorter commute than Gilbert for the stakes in Queen Creek or San Tan Valley. Would the Church put in two new temples in the region? There are certainly enough members to support it (and with strong membership growth) but it's hard for me to imagine when there are other areas even within the state that are so far from any temple.
How can one lookup ownership of land parcels?
Zach,
Manytimes the county assessor's office website.
Yuma also very much reduces commute times for 3 stakes in Mexico. It also reduces commutes for those in Imperial Valley and at least the southern part of Lake Havasu City stake. There is another district that is helped as well.
The Swiss temple is in Münchenbuchsee, not Zollikofen.
The “Xanadu” in Utah is an obscure subdivision in Taylorsville – which already has a temple.
@Gnesileah
A lot of those "X" names in Mexico come from Nahuatl. I guess the Aztecs really liked the letter X! ;)
JPL, You make a case for why it would have been better announced in Mexicali. After all, * there's three stakes on that side of the border and one on the US side.
* It's easier for an American to cross than a Mexican.
* Americans are more likely to have their own reliable transportation.
I'm not against the revelation, but just surprised as it doesn't adhere to many of our predictions that are based off of general demographics and customs.
However demographically, I would have assumed the next AZ temple would have been Flagstaff (7 stakes and district) or another Phoenix Metro Temple. But there are things that church leaders know that's beyond general demographics.
Yuma is a stake virtually ready to split. The stakes in Mexico were created under different rules. Still, there is a reason I had Mexicdli on my list, but not Yuma. I actually think I will have Mexicali in my list for October. Some of the statements in the Church News article on Elder Casillas make it clear that traveling from Mexicali to Tijuana is no easy task.
@Daniel Moretti
Thanks for posting the breakdowns of the Mexico & Brazil states and their temples! It helped me fill out my lists.
@Anonymous
I noticed Cardston also had two sets of stairs in the baptistry when we went there a few weeks ago. I don't know why they build some with only one set, but I agree it was a more streamlined experience.
I wonder sometimes if Prince George is higher on the list... It doesn't have the population, but it's twice as far from an existing temple.
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