Temple milestones for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints included a little and a lot in the month of October 2022.
“The little?” A little bit of everything — announcements, site locations, exterior renderings, groundbreakings and open houses as well as a rededication and a reopening.
And “the lot?” Try 300 — as in the Church’s latest total number of worldwide temples announced, under construction or dedicated.
300 total temples for the Church
The status breakdown for the 300:
- 173 dedicated temples, including four that are under major renovations.
- 55 temples under construction, including three that are finished and scheduled for dedication.
- 72 announced temples, some with site locations identified, all in planning and development.
It was the second time in 2022 that temple milestones had hit a nice, even number.
100 + 18 = 118 for President Nelson
In April 2022, when President Russell M. Nelson announced 17 new temples, it made for an even 100 temple locations he had announced since becoming President of the Church in January 2018.
In the closing session of October 2022 general conference, President Nelson announced 18 new temple locations — 18 being another key number for last month. That upped the Church’s total of all temples from 282 to the 300 mark.
The 18 temple locations:
- Busan, Korea
- Naga, Philippines
- Santiago, Philippines
- Eket, Nigeria
- Chiclayo, Peru
- Buenos Aires City Center, Argentina
- Londrina, Brazil
- Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Huehuetenango, Guatemala
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Prosper, Texas
- Lone Mountain, Nevada
- Tacoma, Washington
- Cuernavaca, Mexico
- Pachuca, Mexico
- Toluca, Mexico
- Tula, Mexico
Add the 18 new temple locations from last month’s general conference to the President Nelson’s previous total of 100, and you get 118 total temple locations — another notable number for October 2022 — announced by the President of the Church in less than five years.
More milestone totals
Other notable numbers for temple milestones and First Presidency announcements in October 2022:
8 site announcements: On Oct. 10, temple site locations were announced for two temples — the Modesto California and Singapore temples. And on the final day of the month, another six locations were announced — for the Fort Worth Texas, Knoxville Tennessee, Tampa Florida, Mexico City Benemérito Mexico, San Luis Potosí Mexico and São Paulo East Brazil temples.
4 new temple locations in metro Mexico City: When President Nelson was announcing new temple locations in October 2022 general conference, he said: “We are also planning to build multiple temples in selected large metropolitan areas where travel time to an existing temple is a major challenge.”
He then announced four new locations near Mexico City — Cuernavaca, Pachuca, Toluca and Tula. The four new locations are the most announced in a metro area at one time.
4 groundbreakings announced: On Oct. 17, the First Presidency announced four upcoming groundbreakings, for the Managua Nicaragua Temple (on Nov. 26), the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (Dec. 3), the Torreón Mexico Temple (Dec. 10), and the Querétaro Mexico Temple (Jan. 7, 2023).
2 open houses conducted: In the month of October, open houses began for two South America temples — first for the Quito Ecuador Temple and later for the Belém Brazil Temple.
Both will be dedicated later this month on the same day — Sunday, Nov. 20 — with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to dedicate the Quito temple and Elder Dale G. Renlund, also of the Twelve, to dedicate the Belém temple.
2 groundbreakings conducted: On Oct. 8, less than a week after general conference, President Nelson presided at the Oct. 8, 2022, groundbreaking for the new Heber Valley Utah Temple. Three weeks later, ground was broken for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple in Springfield, Oregon, a suburb of Eugene.
2 exterior renderings released: During October, exterior renderings were published for the Fort Worth Texas and Managua Nicaragua temples.
And 2 for the 1’s
Two temples were the solitary ones in changing their respective statuses during the month of October 2022. And while 1 is a far cry from 300, 118 or even 18 in numerical comparisons, 1 is an important, noteworthy number when considering the impact of how a single temple blesses the lives of many Latter-day Saints in the area who are focused on covenants and ordinances for individuals on both sides of the veil.
1 temple rededicated: On Oct. 16, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles rededicated the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, after its four-year closure for seismic improvements and major renovations.
Built from the exhausting efforts of labor missionaries in the 1950s, the New Zealand Temple — as it was known then — was originally dedicated on April 20, 1958, by President David O. McKay. It was the Church’s first temple in the Southern Hemisphere and the first and only operating temple in the South Pacific for nearly a quarter century.
1 temple reopened: After nearly nine months of being closed because of armed conflict in Eastern Europe, the Kyiv Ukraine Temple reopened on Oct. 14 on a limited basis for temple ordinance work. Latter-day Saints were able to make appointments to participate in temple ordinances.
The temple was closed days before the First Presidency released a Feb. 25 statement on armed conflict, pleading that “peace will prevail among nations and within our own hearts.”
