The Church News is now publishing an online version of the Deseret News Church Almanac, showing the history of the Church in temples, leaders and countries around the world.
When the last print edition of the Church Almanac was published in 2013, it documented that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had only 140 temples in operation with another 26 announced.
Just over a decade later, the Church now has 202 houses of the Lord in operation, with another 165 announced or under construction. And readers can now digitally discover the lesser-known stories of each one on the Church News Almanac.
About the Church News Almanac
TheChurchNews.com/almanac/temples compiles comprehensive information about each house of the Lord, including photo galleries, stories, dedicatory prayer excerpts, timelines, architectural information and quick facts.
Yet more important, the Church News Almanac — updated regularly — chronicles the stories of houses of the Lord and faithful Latter-day Saints building up the Lord’s kingdom.
Read about the labor missionaries who built the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, how the Salt Lake Temple dedication calmed divisions among the Saints, and the sacrifices believers made to welcome the Santiago Chile Temple as the first temple in a Spanish-speaking country.
The almanac will also publish pages about the history of the Church in U.S. states and countries around the world. Readers can learn about the Church’s oldest continuously functioning unit in England, Ghana Saints who stayed strong through a government freeze on Church operations, and an earthquake that increased Church membership in Alaska.
History of the almanac
From 1974 to 2013, the Deseret News released a print Church Almanac containing biographical information about Church leaders, news, departments, temples and other statistical information from the year.
These almanacs were published once a year, except for 1984 to 2002, when they were released once every two years.
Former Church News reporter Shaun Stahle started working on the almanac for its 2004 edition and later became the almanac editor. Comparing Church statistics year after year shows the Lord’s Church “in motion,” he noted in 2012.
“You get a grand sense of the Church in motion, how it’s growing and gaining momentum,” said Stahle, according to an April 18, 2012, Deseret News article. “Every member in any part of the world is important; they’re part of the big picture. And where they are and how they live is part of this record.”
Questions or updates for the online almanac can be sent to ChurchNewsAlmanac@deseretnews.com.
