List of temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Arizona Temple is one of three patterned after the Temple of Solomon

The Columbus Ohio Temple is an example of smaller temples built under Hinckley's direction.

This is a list of temples operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in chronological order. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the Mormon Church, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time (an "Open House"), and then they are dedicated as a "House of the Lord," after which only members in good standing are permitted entrance, thus they are not churches but rather places of worship. The LDS Church has 350 temples in various phases, which includes 195 dedicated temples (188 operating and 7 previously-dedicated, but closed for renovation^[1]), 7 scheduled for dedication, 43 under construction, 4 scheduled for groundbreaking, and 101 others announced (not yet under construction).^[2]

Within temples, members of the Church make covenants, receive instructions, and perform rituals and ordinances, such as: baptism for the dead, washing and anointing (or "initiatory" ordinances), the "endowment," and eternal marriage sealings. Ordinances are a vital part of the theology of the church, which teaches that they were practiced by the Lord's covenant people in all dispensations. Additionally, members consider the temple a place to commune with God, seek God’s aid, understand the will of God, and receive personal revelation.

History

In 1832, shortly after the formation of the Church, Joseph Smith, Jr. said that the Lord desired the saints build a temple;^[3] and they completed the Kirtland Temple in 1836. Initially, the Church constructed temples in areas where there were large concentrations of members: Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Hawai'i (all in the USA), and Alberta (Canada). In the mid 20th century, because of the importance of temples in the theology, the Church tried to balance density with the travel requirements that attending the temple imposed upon members. Thus, temples were built in Europe (Switzerland-1955 and England-1958); the Pacific Islands (New Zealand-1958); and Washington, D.C. (1974 - first American temple East of Utah since Nauvoo in 1846) when membership alone might not have justified the effort.

In the 1980s, Spencer W. Kimball directed the Church to build smaller temples according to standardized plans^[4] allowing temples to be built where there were fewer members. As a result the first temples in South America (Brazil-1978); Asia (Japan-1980); and Central America (Mexico City-1983) were built and the number of temples doubled from 15 to 36. Current church president and prophet Gordon B. Hinckley has also accelerated the construction of temples through the use of an even smaller standardized base design.^[5] In 1998 when there were only 51 temples, Hinckley set a goal to have 100 temples before 2001.^[6] The effort succeeded with 102 before 2001. During Hinckley's service as president, the number of temples has more than doubled from 47 to 124.^[7]

Statistics

List of temples

Destroyed or operated by others

Template:LDSTemple top Talk:Kirtland Temple/data Talk:Nauvoo Temple/data |-

|

File:Apia Samoa Temple-pre fire-crop.jpg

| align="right" | |Apia Samoa Temple | style="text-align: center;" |Destroyed | align="right" |14,560 sq ft (1,353 m²) | align="right" | | 1983-08-05 |Gordon B. Hinckley |edit |}

Operating

Footnotes

^ Hill, Victoria (January 23, 2023). "Plans announced to rebuild, relocate Anchorage Alaska Temple". KUTV. Retrieved July 6, 2024. (The Anchorage Alaska Temple is being relocated and resized. While the new temple is under construction, the existing temple is open and will be decommissioned and demolished after the new one is dedicated).
^ (Additionally, the church has 1 historic site temple). "Sacred Sites and Historic Documents Transfer to Church of Jesus Christ". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. March 5, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Smith wrote that the Lord commanded the Saints to "establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" (see D&C 88:119–120)
^ Before this time, all but the Switzerland temple were at least 45,000 sq ft (4,100 m²), and the average size of the first 20 temples was 103,000 sq ft (9,600 m²). The new temples varied in size but were generally less than 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m²). By comparison, the Nauvoo temple, built in the 1840s, was 54,000 sq ft (5,000 m²). Some of these temples have been remodeled since the original construction to provide additional rooms.
^ Hinckley announced the use of smaller standardized temples in 1997(Gordon B. Hinckley. "Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service". 167th Semiannual General Conference, October 1997. Retrieved 2006-10-30.). The base design is about 10,700 sq ft (1,000 m²), and temples built from the design are generally between 10,000 and 18,000 sq ft (900 and 1,700 m²). These temples generally do not include a large laundry facility, provide members with the ability to rent temple clothing, or provide a cafeteria for patrons (Almanac, 2000).
^ Gordon B. Hinckley. "New Temples to Provide "Crowning Blessings" of the Gospel". 168th Annual General Conference, April 1998. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
^ Because the two prior Presidents of the Church before Hinckley (Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson) had incapacitating illnesses during the latter part of their service as prophet, Hinckley has dedicated a total of 84 temples, even though, during his presidency, 14 temples were dedicated by others: James E. Faust (7), Thomas S. Monson (6), and Boyd K. Packer (1).

References

Avant, Gerry (2004). Deseret Morning News 2005 Church Almanac (200th Anniversary, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Salt Lake City: Deseret News. ISBN 1-59038-422-9.
Deseret Morning News (2006). 2007 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret Morning News. ISBN 1-59038-734-1. (Almanac)
Deseret News (2000). 2001-2002 Deseret News Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret News. ISBN 1-57345-933-X. (Almanac)
Hawkins, Chad. (2001). The First 100 Temples. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
"Official Temple List". Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2006-08-12. (Official List)
Packer, Boyd K. (June 1980). The Holy Temple. Bookcraft Pubs. ISBN 0-88494-411-5.
Satterfield, Rick. "Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". LDSChurchTemples.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.

External links

[1] Hill, Victoria (January 23, 2023). "Plans announced to rebuild, relocate Anchorage Alaska Temple". KUTV. Retrieved July 6, 2024. (The Anchorage Alaska Temple is being relocated and resized. While the new temple is under construction, the existing temple is open and will be decommissioned and demolished after the new one is dedicated).

[2] (Additionally, the church has 1 historic site temple). "Sacred Sites and Historic Documents Transfer to Church of Jesus Christ". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. March 5, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.

[3] Recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Smith wrote that the Lord commanded the Saints to "establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" (see D&C 88:119–120)

[4] Before this time, all but the Switzerland temple were at least 45,000 sq ft (4,100 m²), and the average size of the first 20 temples was 103,000 sq ft (9,600 m²). The new temples varied in size but were generally less than 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m²). By comparison, the Nauvoo temple, built in the 1840s, was 54,000 sq ft (5,000 m²). Some of these temples have been remodeled since the original construction to provide additional rooms.

[5] Hinckley announced the use of smaller standardized temples in 1997(Gordon B. Hinckley. "Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service". 167th Semiannual General Conference, October 1997. Retrieved 2006-10-30.). The base design is about 10,700 sq ft (1,000 m²), and temples built from the design are generally between 10,000 and 18,000 sq ft (900 and 1,700 m²). These temples generally do not include a large laundry facility, provide members with the ability to rent temple clothing, or provide a cafeteria for patrons (Almanac, 2000).

[6] Gordon B. Hinckley. "New Temples to Provide "Crowning Blessings" of the Gospel". 168th Annual General Conference, April 1998. Retrieved 2006-10-30.

[7] Because the two prior Presidents of the Church before Hinckley (Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson) had incapacitating illnesses during the latter part of their service as prophet, Hinckley has dedicated a total of 84 temples, even though, during his presidency, 14 temples were dedicated by others: James E. Faust (7), Thomas S. Monson (6), and Boyd K. Packer (1).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

History

Statistics

List of temples

Destroyed or operated by others

Operating

Dedicated: 1877-1949

Dedicated: 1950-1978

Dedicated: 1979-1983

Dedicated: 1984-1985

Dedicated: 1986-1992

Dedicated: 1993-1998

Dedicated: 1999

Dedicated: Jan-May 2000

Dedicated: Jun-Dec 2000

Dedicated: 2001-2002

Dedicated: 2003-2006

Under construction

Announced

Efforts suspended

Footnotes

See also

References

External links