The first temple in the former Soviet Union will be built in Kiev, Ukraine. The Kiev temple is one of four smaller temples announced this week by the First Presidency.
The other three will be built in Hermosillo, near the west coast of northern Mexico; in Tampico, a seaport on the eastern coast of Mexico; and in the east Australian coastal city of Brisbane.These new edifices, which will make the blessings of the temple more accessible to local members, bring to 82 the number of temples in operation, under construction or announced. The Church's 53rd operating temple began service when the first of the new generation of small temples was dedicated July 26 by President Gordon B. Hinckley in Monticello, Utah.
With the four new sites announced this week, 11 locations have been announced for the 30 smaller temples that President Hinckley said in last April general conference would be built. Other small temples have previously been announced for Anchorage, Alaska; Colonia Juarez, Mexico; Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Fukuoka, Japan; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Kona, Hawaii; Suva, Fiji; Columbus, Ohio; and Caracas, Venezuela.
The new temple in Ukraine will serve much of Eastern Europe. Missions to be included in the new temple district will be Bulgaria Sofia; Lithuania Vilnius, which also includes Latvia and Estonia; Romania Bucharest; Russia Moscow; Russia Moscow South; Russia Rostov; Russia St. Petersburg; Russia Samara; Ukraine Donetsk; and Ukraine Kiev. Some 15,000 members live in this temple district.
The Church was organized in Ukraine just six years ago in 1992, and now about 5,000 members live in the country. The first meetinghouse in Ukraine was dedicated in Donetsk June 28.
The new temple in Brisbane will be Australia's second, and will bring temple blessings more than 500 miles closer to members in that area. The first temple in Australia was dedicated in Sydney in 1984. Some 16,000 members live in the Brisbane Temple District, which will be comprised of the Australia Brisbane Mission, as well as six stakes and four districts.
The two new temples announced for Mexico will bring to six the number of temples in that country. The first temple in Mexico was the Mexico City Temple dedicated in 1983. The Colonia Juarez temple is under construction and is expected to be completed early in 1999. Temples in Monterrey and Ciudad Juarez are in the planning stages.
The Hermosillo Mexico Temple District will be comprised of two stakes and four districts and the Mexico Hermosillo Mission. Some 9,000 members live in this temple district.
Tampico has increased from one stake to four in about 25 years, with the most rapid growth coming in the most recent years. Within the temple district are some 18,000 members living in four stakes, three districts and the Mexico Tampico Mission.
A new temple in Tampico will substantially reduce the expense of traveling to Mexico City for members in the twin cities of Madero and Tampico. A high mountain range, the Sierra Madres, makes the first leg of the 500-mile trip between the coast and Mexico City a difficult endeavor.
