At the close of the Sunday afternoon session of October 2023 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to build 20 new temples in new locations, increasing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ total temples — dedicated, under construction or in planning — to 335 worldwide.
And with those 20 new houses of the Lord identified Sunday, Oct. 1, President Nelson has announced 153 new temples in the five years and eight months he has served as President of the Church.
The 20 newly announced locations are:
- Savai’i, Samoa
- Cancún, Mexico
- Piura, Peru
- Huancayo, Peru
- Viña del Mar, Chile
- Goiãnia, Brazil
- João Pessoa, Brazil
- Calabar, Nigeria
- Cape Coast, Ghana
- Luanda, Angola
- Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Laoag, Philippines
- Osaka, Japan
- Kahului, Maui, Hawaii
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Vancouver, Washington
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Roanoke, Virginia
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
It marked the second time President Nelson has announced 20 temple locations — the most ever announced at one time. He announced 20 temple locations also during April 2021 general conference.
Spending more time in the temple builds faith, and service and worship in the temple will help one to “think celestial,” said President Nelson, underscoring the theme of his conference message.
In the temple Latter-day Saints are “shown how to progress toward a celestial life,” he said. “There you are drawn closer to the Savior and given greater access to His power. There you are guided in solving the problems in your life — even your most perplexing problems.”
The ordinances and covenants of the temple “are of eternal significance,” he added. “We continue to build more temples to make these sacred possibilities become a reality in each of your lives.”
Of that total number of 153 temples announced by President Nelson, seven houses of the Lord have already been dedicated, with four scheduled for dedication before mid-January 2024. Another 43 temples are under construction, with two additional temples scheduled for groundbreaking later this month.
And those 153 temples announced in less than six years make for nearly 46% of the Church’s 335 total temples — dedicated, under construction, under renovation or in planning and design.
President Nelson, age 99, participated remotely in October 2023 general conference, recuperating after a fall three weeks ago that injured the muscles in his lower back. He watched the sessions from home and prerecorded the temple announcements and his Sunday afternoon session remarks.
More on the new temple locations
The temples for Luanda, Angola, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, will be the first in the respective nations.
A temple in Savai’i, Samoa, will be that Pacific nation’s second house of the Lord, joining the Apia Samoa Temple, which was dedicated in 1983 and rededicated in 2005 following renovations. The Pago Pago American Samoa Temple is under construction on the nearby U.S. territory island.
A temple for Cancún will be the 24th overall in Mexico. The North American country has 13 dedicated and operating temples — the first being the Mexico City Mexico Temple, dedicated in 1983, with others f found in Ciudad Juarez, Colonia Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, and Villahermosa. Temples under construction are in Puebla, Querétaro and Torreón. And temples have been announced for Mexico City Benemérito, Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Pachuca, San Luis Potosí, Toluca and Tula.
With the announcement of temples for Piura and Huancayo, Peru will have nine total temples. Operating temples are the Lima Peru Temple (1986), Trujillo Peru Temple (2015) and Arequipa Peru Temple (2019), with the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple scheduled for a Jan. 14, 2024, dedication. Three other temples have been announced in the past 18 months — in Chiclayo, Cusco and Iquitos.
A temple in Viña del Mar will be Chile’s fifth overall. The Santiago Chile Temple (dedicated in 1983 and rededicated in 2006) and Concepción Chile Temple (2018) are operating, the Antofagasta Chile Temple is under construction, and a second temple for Santiago is in planning and design.
Brazil will count 22 total temples, following the announcement of temples for Goiãnia and João Pessoa. The South American nation has 10 operating temples in Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre,Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with two under construction in Belo Horizonte and Salvador. Temples are in planning for Londrina, Maceió, Natal, Ribeirão Preto, Santos, São Paulo East, Teresina and Vitória.
With a temple identified for Calabar, Nigeria now has five temples, with the Aba Nigeria Temple, dedicated in 2005, the first. Temples have been announced and are in planning for Benin City, Lagos and Eket.
The temple announced for Cape Coast, Ghana, will be the third in that West Africa nation. The Accra Ghana Temple, dedicated in 2004, was Ghana’s first and the second on the African continent. A temple for Kumasi was announced in 2021.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo now has four houses of the Lord, including the operating Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, dedicated in 2019. The Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is under construction, and a temple is in planning for Kanganga.
A temple in Laoag, Philippines, will be the 13th in that Southeastern Asian island nation. Two houses of the Lord — the Manila Philippines Temple (1984) and Cebu City Philippines Temple (2010) — are currently operating, with four temples under construction in Alabang, Bacolod, Davao and Urdaneta. Temples are also planned for Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Naga, Santiago, Tacloban City and Tuguegarao City.
Japan is now home to five temples, with the announcement for a new house of the Lord in Osaka. Operating are the Tokyo Japan Temple (dedicated in 1980 and rededicated last year), Fukuoka Japan Temple (2000) and Sapporo Japan Temple (2016). The Okinawa Japan Temple will be dedicated next month.
A house of the Lord for Kahului, Hawaii, will be on the island of Maui. Both the island and that specific city were in the news last month following wildfires that resulted in massive destruction and the deaths of nearly 100 people, including five Latter-day Saints. The Laie Hawaii Temple is in its second century of dedication, having been dedicated in 1919. The Kona Hawaii Temple (dedicated in 2000) just closed for scheduled renovations.
With a temple announced for Fairbanks, Alaska, that stake will have its second temple and a second house of the Lord under construction. That’s because of the recent announcement of the reconstruction of the Anchorage Alaska Temple, which was dedicated in 1999. That temple will remain in operation while a new temple is built adjacent on the temple grounds.
A temple for Vancouver, Washington, means the metro area of Portland, Oregon, will have a second house of the Lord, with Vancouver just 20 miles north of the Portland Oregon Temple, which was dedicated in 1989. A house of the Lord in Vancouver will be the sixth of the state of Washington, which has four operating temples — the Seattle Washington Temple (dedicated in 1980), the Spokane Washington Temple (1999), the Columbia River Washington Temple (2001) and the recently dedicated Moses Lake Washington Temple (2023). A temple for Tacoma was announced in 2022.
The state of Colorado will be home to four temples, following the announcement of a new house of the Lord in Colorado Springs. Currently operating are the Denver Colorado Temple (1986) and Fort Collins Colorado Temple (2016), with the Grand Junction Colorado Temple under construction.
A temple in Tulsa will make for two in the state, with the first being the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple, dedicated in 2000 and rededicated in 2019.
With Roanoke identified as a location for a new house of the Lord, the year of 2023 will be remembered as a “temple” year in the state of Virginia, given the dedication earlier this year of the Richmond Virginia Temple and the announcement of new temple for Winchester during the April 2023 general conference.
