SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to build 20 temples in the coming years.
President Nelson made this announcement in prerecorded remarks on Sunday, Oct. 1, in the final session of the 193rd Semiannual General Conference.
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
According to President Nelson, spending more time in the temple builds faith.
“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,” President Nelson said.
President Nelson has announced 153 new temples since 2018, according to the Church.
This is reportedly the second-highest number of temples announced at one time in the history of the Church. At the April 1998 general conference, former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans to construct 32 new temples, though he did not list specific locations. In April 2021, President Nelson announced 20 new temples.
The Church of Jesus Christ currently has 177 temples in operation, 59 under construction or renovation, and 99 in planning and design for a total of 335 temples.
