SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 1, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — President Russell M. Nelson announced in a pre-recorded message Sunday that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will build 20 temples in coming years.
Nelson’s recording announced the news Sunday, in the final session of the semiannual general conference. The Church earlier announced that Nelson, 99, would not be present due to a back injury.
The temples will be built in the following locations:
- Savai’i, Samoa
- Kahului, Hawaii
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Vancouver, Washington
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Roanoke, Virginia
- Cancún, Mexico
- Piura, Peru
- Huancayo, Peru
- Viña del Mar, Chile
- Goiânia, Brazil
- João Pessoa, Brazil
- Cape Coast, Ghana
- Calabar, Nigeria
- Luanda, Angola
- Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Laoag, Philippines
- Osaka, Japan
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
“Spending more time in the temple builds faith. And your service and worship in the temple will help you to think celestial,” said Nelson, who has announced 153 new temples since 2018.
“The temple is a place of revelation. There you are shown how to progress toward a celestial life. 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. … The Lord is directing us to build these temples to help us think celestial.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently has 177 temples in operation, 59 under construction or renovation and 99 in planning and design.
In a news release quoted below, Church officials provided more information about the locations:
Savai’i, Samoa
The Savaiʻi Samoa Temple will be the second house of the Lord built in Samoa. The Apia Samoa Temple was first dedicated in 1983. The temple was rebuilt after a fire in 2003 and rededicated in 2005. More than 85,000 Latter-day Saints live in Samoa. The Pago Pago American Samoa Temple is currently under construction in neighboring American Samoa. The Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa, visited Salt Lake City and met with The First Presidency in late September 2023.
Kahului, Hawaii
This will be the first temple on Maui’s shores. Hawaii is home to a Church-owned school (BYU–Hawaii), two other temples and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Kona Hawaii Temple, which is currently undergoing a major renovation was dedicated in 2000, and the Laie Hawaii Temple was dedicated in 1919. Latter-day Saint missionaries first arrived in Hawaii in 1850. Today, nearly 75,000 church members make up around 145 congregations with more than 4,500 on the island of Maui. Kahului is located about 25 miles east of Lahaina, where a devastating wildfire consumed communities and took dozens of lives in August. The Church has provided substantial aid in support of relief efforts.
Fairbanks, Alaska
This will be the second temple in Alaska after the Anchorage Alaska Temple. The east-central city of Fairbanks has the second-largest population in the state. Alaska is home to approximately 35,000 Latter-day Saints across more than 80 congregations. In January, the First Presidency of the Church announced that the Anchorage Alaska Temple would be reconstructed beginning in early 2024. A significantly larger temple will be built on the same property where a meetinghouse is currently in use. The existing Anchorage Alaska Temple is staying open during construction.
Vancouver, Washington
This will be the sixth temple in Washington state, located in the Pacific Northwestern United States, and the second in the Portland metropolitan area. Temples in operation include the Columbia River Washington Temple, the Seattle Washington Temple, the Spokane Washington Temple, and the recently dedicated Moses Lake Washington Temple in September. The Tacoma Washington Temple was announced in October 2022. Washington is home to more than 280,000 Latter-day Saints across 489 congregations.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
This will be the fourth temple in Colorado. Colorado Springs has the second-largest population in the state. Temples in operation in Colorado are the Denver Colorado Temple and the Fort Collins Colorado Temple. The Grand Junction Colorado Temple is under construction. Colorado, in the Intermountain West of the United States, is home to nearly 150,000 Latter-day Saints in 310 congregations. The first congregation of the Church in Colorado was organized in January 1897, one year after a mission was established in the area.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Tulsa Oklahoma Temple will be the state’s second temple. The Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple was dedicated in 2000 and rededicated in 2019. Oklahoma, situated in the Great Plains of the United States, is home to more than 50,000 Latter-day Saints in about 90 congregations. The first meetinghouse in Oklahoma was constructed in 1892. Tulsa is in northeast Oklahoma and is the second-largest city in the state.
Roanoke, Virginia
The Roanoke Virginia Temple will be the third temple in the state. The Richmond Virginia Temple was dedicated on May 7, 2023, by President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency. Virginia, part of the East Coast of the United States, is home to more than 97,000 Latter-day Saints in over 210 congregations. Roanoke is a city in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia in the United States. The Winchester Virginia temple was announced in April 2023.
Cancún, Mexico
Cancún is located on the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and has a metro population of more than 1 million people. This will be the first temple built in the state of Quintana Roo. The Cancún Mexico Temple will be the 24th house of the Lord in the country. Dedicated temples in Mexico are found in Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa. There are also temples under construction or announced in Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Mexico City Benemérito, Pachuca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Toluca, Torreón and Tula. Mexico is home to nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in more than 1,800 congregations. Missionary work began in Mexico in 1875.
Piura, Peru
Piura is the capital of the Piura Region in northwestern Peru. The Piura Peru Temple will be the first house of the Lord in that region. Peru is home to around 630,000 Latter-day Saints and more than 775 congregations. The Piura Peru Temple will be the eighth House of the Lord in Peru. Other temples announced, under construction or in operation in the country include the Arequipa Peru Temple, Chiclayo Peru Temple, Cusco Peru Temple, Iquitos Peru Temple, Lima Peru Temple, Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple and Trujillo Peru Temple.
Huancayo, Peru
The Huancayo Peru Temple will be the first house of the Lord in the region and the ninth in the country. The city of Huancayo’s name means “place of the rock” in the Quechua language. Huancayo is located in the Peruvian highlands about 190 miles east of Lima and is the capital of the Junín Region. The first missionaries arrived in the country in 1956.
Viña del Mar, Chile
Viña del Mar is the fourth-largest city in Chile, with around 300,000 residents. It is part of the Valparaíso metropolitan area on the central coast of Chile. This will be the first temple in the region of Valparaíso. The temple in Viña del Mar will be the fifth house of the Lord in the country. The first temple in Spanish-speaking South America was dedicated in Santiago in 1983. The other three temples in operation, under construction or announced in Chile are found in Antofagasta, Concepción and Santiago West.
Since one of the Church’s earliest leaders served a mission there in 1851, Chile has become home to more than 600,000 Latter-day Saints in around 575 congregations. Since the 1960 earthquakes in Concepción and Valdivia, Church members have provided humanitarian assistance to help the country recover from these natural disasters. In 2004, the Chilean government recognized the Church for its role in fighting poverty.
Goiânia, Brazil
Goiânia, which has a population of around 2.9 million people, is the capital and largest city of Goiás, a state in the central-west region of Brazil. This will be the 21st temple in the country. Prior to today’s announcement, eight temples have been announced in Brazil. They are the Londrina, Maceió, Natal, Ribeirão Prêto, Santos, São Paulo East, Teresina and Vitória temples. Ten temples are in operation in the country: Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Brazil temples. Two temples under construction are the Belo Horizonte Temple and the Salvador Brazil Temple.
João Pessoa, Brazil
João Pessoa is a port city in northeastern Brazil and the largest city in Paraíba state. The João Pessoa Brazil Temple will be the 22nd temple in Brazil. The first known members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to live in Brazil immigrated from Germany in 1913. In 1988, Brazil became just the third country outside the United States to have 50 organized stakes (a group of congregations, similar to a diocese). Today, there are nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in Brazil in approximately 2,175 congregations.
Cape Coast, Ghana
Cape Coast is in the south-central region of Ghana and is one of the country’s most historic sites. The Cape Coast Ghana Temple will be the third house of the Lord in the country. The Accra Ghana Temple, dedicated in 2004, was the first temple built in West Africa and the second built on the continent. The Kumasi Ghana Temple was announced in April 2021. There are more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 350 congregations in the country.
Calabar, Nigeria
Calabar, a port city in southern Nigeria, located in West Africa, is home to more than 657,000 residents. The Calabar Nigeria Temple will be the fifth temple in the country, joining the Aba, Benin City, Eket and Lagos temples. There are around 225,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 770 congregations in Nigeria, which organized its first stake in 1988, ten years after the Church’s presence was established in the country. The first temple in Nigeria, the Aba Nigeria Temple, was dedicated in 2005.
Luanda, Angola
The Luanda Angola Temple will be the first in this Portuguese-speaking nation located in southwestern Africa. The port city of Luanda is the nation’s capital and largest metropolitan area, with an estimated 9.3 million residents. Currently, the nearest temple for most Angolan Latter-day Saints is the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. Latter-day Saints have been present in Angola since 1985. The first congregation was organized in 1996 in Luanda. Today, Angola is home to nearly 5,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 20 congregations.
Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mbuji-Mayi, the second largest city in the country, is the capital city of Kasai-Oriental Province, which is in the south-central area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Mubuji-Mayi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple will be the fourth house of the Lord in the country. The temple in Kinshasa was dedicated in 2019, and the temple in Lubumbashi is currently under construction. The Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple was announced in October 2021. The country, dedicated for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1987, is home to more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints in around 270 congregations. The first Congolese people to join the Church of Jesus Christ did so in Europe in the 1960s. Many of them met in small groups upon returning home.
Laoag, Philippines
Laoag City is in the western part of the nation with a population of more than 110,000 residents. The Laoag Philippines Temple will be the 13th in the country. There are more than 850,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 1,275 congregations in the Philippines. The other 12 temples that are announced, under construction or in operation in the country are in Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao, Iloilo, Manila, Naga, Santiago, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Urdaneta. Since the country officially opened for missionary work in 1961, Church growth has been among the fastest in the world.
Osaka, Japan
With a metro area population of 19 million people, the Osaka Japan Temple will be the fifth temple in Japan. Osaka is a large port city in the heart of the main island of Honshu. More than 130,000 Latter-day Saints reside in Japan in about 230 congregations. Other temples in Japan include the Fukuoka Japan Temple, Sapporo Japan Temple and Tokyo Japan Temple. The Okinawa Japan Temple will be dedicated by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Landlocked between China and Russia in East Asia, Ulaanbaatar, with a population of 1.7 million people, is known as the coldest capital city in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ has seen rapid growth in Mongolia since missionaries arrived in 1992. The first mission of the Church was established in 1995. The country has more than 12,000 Latter-day Saints in approximately 25 congregations. This will be the first temple in the country. Presently, the closest temple is Hong Kong, more than 1,800 miles away.
