In the closing moments of Sunday afternoon session of April 2023 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced the locations of the 15 newest temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The 15 new temple locations announced Sunday, April 2, are:
- Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- Iquitos, Peru
- Teresina, Brazil
- Natal, Brazil
- Tuguegarao City, Philippines
- Iloilo, Philippines
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Hamburg, Germany
- Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
- San Jose, California
- Bakersfield, California
- Springfield, Missouri
- Winchester, Virginia
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
“Jesus Christ is the reason we build temples,” President Nelson said just before listing the new locations. “Each is His holy house.”
Similar to what he has done in previous general conferences, the Prophet then offered an invitation with promised blessings about temple participation. “Making covenants and receiving essential ordinances in the temple, as well as seeking to draw closer to Him there, will bless your life in ways no other kind of worship can.”
For that reason, he added, the Church and its leaders “are doing all within our power to make the blessings of the temple more accessible to our members around the world.
With the addition of 15 new temple locations announced, the Church now has 315 total temples — dedicated, under construction or announced and in planning and design.
A simple breakdown of that number:
- 176 temples are dedicated, with three undergoing renovations and four more announced for renovation.
- 56 temples under construction or recently completed, including eight scheduled to be dedicated.
- 83 temples announced in planning and design.
Also, in a little more than five years as President of the Church of Jesus Christ, President Nelson has announced a total of 133 temples — or 42% of the Church’s 315.
Of that number:
- 3 temples have been dedicated.
- 5 temples are scheduled for dedication.
- 42 temples are under construction.
- 4 temples are scheduled for groundbreaking.
- 28 temples have site locations identified.
