As a follow-up to the March 13 letter regarding temple worship, the Church released frequently asked questions on March 16 further explaining temporary temple adjustments due to continued COVID-19 concerns.
Also, as of Wednesday afternoon, March 18, the number of the Church’s operating temples temporarily closed stands at 44.
The information regarding temple adjustments answers questions regarding permitted group size for living ordinances, missionaries receiving their endowments, distribution center operations and names on the prayer roll.
Church leaders announce additional adjustments relating to temple work
For temples that are open, living endowment and sealing ordinances will be scheduled for one family or one group at a time. A limit of eight guests may be invited (in addition to the patrons receiving the ordinance).
Missionaries who do not have the opportunity to receive their own endowment before entering the field (due to a temple closure in their area) will do so as soon as possible at a later date. They may still enter the field.
Distribution centers will continue to operate with reduced staff and limited hours where temples are open. Patrons attending the temple for living ordinances are encouraged to bring their own temple clothing, when possible.
Names for the prayer roll will continue to be collected as long as the specific temple is open for living ordinances. Church members are invited to email the names or leave them on the message machine, if possible. Read the entire frequently asked questions here.
Temple closures
As the Church continues to take precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19, the list of temple closures on Newsroom is frequently being updated.
As of Wednesday afternoon, March 18, the following 44 temples are temporarily closed:
United States and Canada
- Detroit Michigan Temple
- Fresno California Temple
- Hartford Connecticut Temple
- Los Angeles California Temple
- Louisville Kentucky Temple
- Manhattan New York Temple
- Newport Beach California Temple
- Oakland California Temple
- Portland Oregon Temple
- Redlands California Temple
- Sacramento California Temple
- San Diego California Temple
- Seattle Washington Temple
- Toronto Ontario Temple
Latin America
- Arequipa Peru Temple
- Asunción Paraguay Temple
- Caracas Venezuela Temple
- Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
- Guayaquil Ecuador Temple
- Lima Peru Temple
- Panama City Panama Temple
- Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple
- San Salvador El Salvador Temple
- Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple
- Trujillo Peru Temple
Caribbean
- Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
Europe
- Bern Switzerland Temple
- Copenhagen Denmark Temple
- Frankfurt Germany Temple
- Freiberg Germany Temple
- Helsinki Finland Temple
- Kyiv Ukraine Temple
- Lisbon Portugal Temple
- Madrid Spain Temple
- Paris France Temple
- Rome Italy Temple
- The Hague Netherlands Temple
Asia
- Cebu City Philippines Temple
- Fukuoka Japan Temple
- Manila Philippines Temple
- Sapporo Japan Temple
- Seoul Korea Temple
- Taipei Taiwan Temple
Africa
- Accra Ghana Temple
The Hong Kong China Temple, Tokyo Japan Temple, Hamilton New Zealand Temple, Mesa Arizona Temple, Washington D.C. Temple, Salt Lake Temple and St. George Temple continue to remain closed for renovation. The current status of each temple can be found on the individual temple pages.
On Friday, March 13, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles announced temporary adjustments to temple work.
According to the letter, the following is effective March 16:
- Where government or other restrictions on public and/or religious gatherings would preclude temple activity, proxy and living ordinances will temporarily be suspended.
- Where government or other restrictions do not preclude all temple activity, the following temple ordinances for living persons will be accommodated as capacity permits by appointment only: husband-and-wife and child-to-parents sealing ordinances and living initiatory and endowment ordinances. On a temporary basis, proxy temple ordinances will not be performed.
- All patron housing will be closed.
Read more news about how the COVID-19 outbreak has affected the Church at TheChurchNews.com/category/coronavirus.
