Editor’s note: This is the final article of a three-part series on temple milestones during 2023. Part 1 looked at announcement of new temples and site locations; Part 2 dealt with dedications and rededications.
In 2023, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added 35 new temple locations announced by President Russell M. Nelson in the April and October general conferences — the most ever for the second straight year, following President Nelson’s announcement of 35 new locations in 2022.
Also in 2023, the Church’s 11 temple dedications were the most in a calendar year in more than 20 years.
By comparison, the eight temple groundbreakings conducted by the Church in 2023 were the fewest in five years, following 16 in 2022, 12 in 2021 and 21 in 2020, the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when construction was considered “critical trade” and “essential work” and didn’t fall under lockdowns, extreme social distancing or other pandemic restrictions.
In fact, the eight groundbreakings this year are the fewest since 2018, where the Church had just one.
But before hands start wringing that low number of groundbreakings may suggest a drop in building of new temples, look at the breakdown of the Church’s total 335 temples and see how many are already under construction, how many have sites released and are awaiting the next milestone of groundbreaking, and how many temples are announced and in planning but still without sites.
The breakdown by status of those 335 temples, as of the end of 2023, is:
- 186 dedicated temples.
- 6 temples scheduled for dedication.
- 47 temples under construction.
- 1 temple scheduled for groundbreaking.
- 47 temples with published site locations.
- 48 temples announced but without sites.
The 186 dedicated temples include one renovated temple scheduled for rededication, four temples under renovation and four more temples scheduled to begin renovations in 2024.
Groundbreakings in 2023
Groundbreaking services were held for the following eight temples in 2023, including two on the same day:
- Querétaro Mexico — Jan. 7
- Port Vila Vanuatu — April 8
- Port Moresby Papua New Guinea — April 22
- Belo Horizonte Brazil — June 17
- Montpelier Idaho — June 17
- Modesto California — Oct. 7
- Fort Worth Texas — Oct. 28
- Kaohsiung Taiwan — Nov. 25
One groundbreaking for a new house of the Lord has already been scheduled for next year — the Knoxville Tennessee Temple on Jan. 27, 2024.
Temples under construction
As of the end of December 2023, the Church has 47 temples under construction, not including the six that already have been announced for dedication in 2024. Listed by chronological order of groundbreaking dates, the 47 are:
- Abidjan Ivory Coast — Nov. 8, 2018
- Alabang Philippines — June 4, 2020
- Burley Idaho — June 4, 2020
- Auckland New Zealand — June 13, 2020
- San Pedro Sula Honduras — Sept. 5, 2020
- Taylorsville Utah — Oct. 31, 2020
- Salta Argentina — Nov. 4, 2020
- Cobán Guatemala — Nov. 14, 2020
- Davao Philippines — Nov. 14, 2020
- Antofagasta Chile — Nov. 27, 2020
- Bengaluru India — Dec. 2, 2020
- Harare Zimbabwe — Dec. 12, 2020
- Mendoza Argentina — Dec. 17, 2020
- Deseret Peak Utah — May 15, 2021
- Tallahassee Florida — June 5, 2021
- Syracuse Utah — June 12, 2021
- Salvador Brazil — Aug. 7, 2021
- Pittsburgh Pennsylvania — Aug. 21, 2021
- Nairobi Kenya — Sept. 11, 2021
- Neiafu Tonga — Sept. 11, 2021
- Phnom Penh Cambodia — Sept. 18, 2021
- Casper Wyoming — Oct. 9, 2021
- Pago Pago American Samoa — Oct. 30, 2021
- Bacolod Philippines — Dec. 11, 2021
- Freetown Sierra Leone — March 19, 2022
- Bahía Blanca Argentina — April 9, 2022
- Grand Junction Colorado — April 16, 2022
- Lindon Utah — April 23, 2022
- Farmington New Mexico — April 30, 2022
- Elko Nevada — May 7, 2022
- Smithfield Utah — June 18, 2022
- Yorba Linda California — June 18, 2022
- Ephraim Utah — Aug. 7, 2022
- Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo — Aug. 20, 2022
- Heber Valley Utah — Oct. 8, 2022
- Willamette Valley Oregon — Oct. 29, 2022
- Managua Nicaragua — Nov. 26, 2022
- Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala — Dec. 3, 2022
- Torreón Mexico — Dec. 10, 2022
- Querétaro Mexico — Jan. 7, 2023
- Port Vila Vanuatu — April 8, 2023
- Port Moresby Papua New Guinea — April 22, 2023
- Montpelier Idaho — June 17, 2023
- Belo Horizonte Brazil — June 17, 2023
- Modesto California — Oct. 7, 2023
- Fort Worth Texas — Oct. 28, 2023
- Kaohsiung Taiwan — Nov. 25, 2023
Temples being renovated
Besides temples under construction, the Church of Jesus Christ has five previously dedicated and operating temples under extensive renovation, with three more houses of the Lord scheduled to close and begin renovations in 2024.
The Manti Utah Temple, which has been under renovation since October 2021 is scheduled for rededication on April 21, 2024.
Listed chronologically by month of closure date, the five temples currently under renovation are:
- Salt Lake — December 2019
- Stockholm Sweden — March 2023
- San Diego California — July 2023
- Kona Hawaii — October 2023
- Toronto Ontario — October 2023
And the three additional temples scheduled for renovations, with their closures announced during the past year, are:
- Anchorage Alaska — early 2024
- Provo Utah — February 2024
- Manhattan New York — TBD 2024
