Friday, March 31, 2023 | Deseret News Weekend
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E General Conference | E4
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10 quotes and invitations from President Nelson about temples
Temples dotting the earth, maps spanning 5 pages
A look at temples in Utah
Construction continues on the Layton Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints photographed on Tuesday, March 21.
In a state of 2.16 million members, the Church has 14 temples operating and another 14 under construction, under renovation or awaiting dedication
T By Scott Taylor Church News
o date, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has 300 temples — dedicated, operating, under renovation, under construction or announced and in planning and design — in 39 states and in 71 nations outside of the United States. Geographically, that’s from Alabama to Wyoming in the U.S., and from Argentina to Zimbabwe across the globe. And chronologically, that’s from the St. George Utah Temple — the Church’s longestoperating temple, dedicated in 1877 and under renovations to extend operations even longer — to the 18 new temple locations announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2022 general conference. Since the turn of the 21st century, Latter-day Saints have watched as temples went from the benchmark of 100 operating temples set by the late President Gordon B. Hinckley — and achieved — to the 176 and counting current total of dedicated temples and the aforementioned 300 overall. They’ve seen temples being dedicated over the
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
past 20 years — from Manhattan, Paris and Rome to Haiti, Guam and Cape Verde. They know of the ongoing construction of more than 50 new temples — from five on the African continent to seven on island nations in the Pacific, and from 14 throughout Latin America to more than 20 new U.S. temples just alone in or west of the Rocky Mountains. And Church members have heard announcements of new temple locations — nearly 70 still in planning and design — with future houses of the Lord projected for places such as United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Hungary to Kiribati, Madagascar and five in metro Mexico City. However, this focus instead is on temples close to home for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City since the mid1800s. Temples in Utah may seem like old news or nonnews, given the 28 temples in various stages of operation, renovation, construction or planning for the 2.16 million Latter-day Saints residing in the state. But there has been plenty of news with current, ongoing and upcoming temple developments in the Beehive State — from dedications to renovations and TEMPLES E4