25 years ago
The planned construction of nine new temples was announced by President Spencer W. Kimball at a press conference on Temple Square on April 1, 1981, according to the April 4, 1981, Church News.
The temples were to be built in Chicago, Ill.; Dallas, Texas; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Lima, Peru; Frankfurt, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Seoul, Korea; Manila, Philippines; and Johannesburg, South Africa.
The article reported: "The announcement included both the largest number of temples ever proposed and the most international in setting, bringing the total number of temples scheduled or in operation to 37. Twenty-one of the 37 have been announced in the last seven years by President Kimball."
The article quoted President Kimball saying: "We hope that all Latter-day Saints of every nationality will eventually have a temple."
According to the article: "The first nine temples of the Church took 97 years to construct, the second nine 47 years. The third nine were announced within seven years, and the last nine in one news conference."
The Chicago and Dallas temples were to have 26,000 square feet, the Frankfurt 12,500 square feet, and the others 8,500 square feet.
