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A midyear look at temple milestones for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In 2024, 9 houses of the Lord dedicated and 7 more scheduled, 6 groundbreakings and 5 more scheduled and 15 new temples announced so far

Just a little past the midpoint of 2024, now is a good time to look at this year’s past and upcoming milestone events for the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That includes nine houses of the Lord dedicated in the first half of 2024 and at least seven more to be dedicated in the year’s second half. That includes six temple groundbreakings in the first half and another five in the next two months alone. And that includes 15 new temple locations announced at April 2024 general conference and possible additional new locations later this year.

And it all starts in August and September — the first four of seven temple media days and public open houses begin in August, five temple groundbreakings will be held in a three-week period between mid-August and early September, and the first two temple dedications follow in the second half of September.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at temple events in 2024.
The First Presidency at recent temple events in 2024— clockwise from left: President Russell M. Nelson, fourth from left, before the Manti Utah Temple rededication on April 21; President Dallin H. Oaks, third from left, at the Urdaneta Philippines Temple the day before its April 28 dedication; and President Henry B. Eyring, third from right, at the Red Cliffs Utah Temple the day before its March 24 dedication. | Jeffrey D. Allred and Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

As of July 28, 2024, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has:

  • 350 total temples.
  • 195 dedicated temples (through Layton).
  • 7 temples scheduled for dedication.
  • 43 temples under construction (through Santa Cruz groundbreaking).
  • 5 temples scheduled for groundbreaking.
  • 53 temples with published site locations.
  • 47 temples announced but without sites.

Dedications, open houses and media days

To date, nine new houses of the Lord have been dedicated so far in 2024. They are:

Elder Todd Christofferson and Sister Kathy Christofferson arrive for the dedication of the Salta Argentina Temple.
Elder Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, arrive for the dedication of the Salta Argentina Temple in Salta, Argentina, on Sunday, June 16, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, greet members after the dedication of the Layton Utah Temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

For the second half of the year, seven temple dedications have been scheduled, with the first two coming in September. Each of the seven dedications will be preceded by media days and public open houses.

The seven houses of the Lord scheduled for dedication over the next five months are:

The Casper Wyoming Temple.
The Casper Wyoming Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple, as seen on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple in Tooele, Utah, as seen on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

With 195 dedicated temples to date, the Church will reach the No. 200 benchmark this fall. Following the current schedule, the 200th dedicated house of the Lord will be the Salvador Brazil Temple, as of Oct. 20.

The First Presidency could add additional temple dedications either before or after the Salvador dedication, but time is short for the announcement, preparations and then the media day, open house and dedication events.

Groundbreakings and construction

Groundbreaking ceremonies have been held for six Latter-day Saint temples already in 2024, with another five scheduled from mid-August through early September.

The six temples that had groundbreaking ceremonies held already this year from late January through late June are:

Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, his wife and local youth lift shovelfuls of soil.
Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency, is joined by his wife, Sister Keala Sikahema, and local youth in breaking ground for the Cleveland Ohio Temple on June 1, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A line of people in formal attire holding shovels into the dirt.
Local leaders and members break ground for the Teton River Idaho Temple in North Rexburg, Idaho, on June 1, 2024. Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, fourth from right, presided over the ceremony and offered the dedicatory prayer on the site. | Michael Lewis

So far, the five scheduled groundbreakings are:

Exterior rendering of the Austin Texas Temple.
Exterior rendering of the Austin Texas Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Three-plus months remain after the Wichita groundbreaking for the possible scheduling of additional temple groundbreakings.

At present, 43 temples are considered under construction. Every effort is made to construct temples in an expeditious manner. At times, various reasons may delay a temple’s completion and dedication.

Renovations, rededications and a reopening

Presently, the Church has eight temples closed for renovations — the Salt Lake, San Diego California, Stockholm Sweden, Toronto Ontario, Kona Hawaii, Provo Utah Rock Canyon, Manhattan New York and Orlando Florida temples. The last three all closed earlier this year; the others closed prior to 2024.

In this aerial view looking down at the west tower of the Manti Utah Temple, the line of people waiting to enter the temple for the April 21, 2024, rededication follows the curve of the road around the west tower.
Attendees line up outside the Manti Utah Temple prior to its rededication in Manti, Utah, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

In the first half of this year, one historic house of the Lord — the Manti Utah Temple — was rededicated after extensive renovations, with President Russell M. Nelson presiding and offering the rededicatory prayer.

No rededications are scheduled through the end of 2024; the Toronto Ontario Temple will reopen in December later this year.

Sites and renderings

So far in 2024, the First Presidency has made 17 site announcements for new temples worldwide, including a second, updated site for the Tampa Florida Temple that replaces a first site released in October 2022.

The site location map for the Lehi Utah Temple.
The site location map for the Lehi Utah Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Announcements made in the first half of 2024 for other temples were for the following:

A southeasterly view across Cusco, Peru, with the announced Cusco Peru Temple site at the bottom of the photo. | Scott Taylor, Church News

As for exterior renderings, 17 is also the number of temples having an exterior rendering released so far in 2024, although no temple had its site and rendering both released in the first half of the year.

Exterior rendering of the Budapest Hungary Temple.
Exterior rendering of the Budapest Hungary Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sites are usually released prior to exterior renderings, which can come later — sometimes at the same time a temple’s groundbreaking date is announced.

Exterior renderings released this year were for the following temples:

Exterior rendering of the Wellington New Zealand Temple.
Exterior rendering of the Wellington New Zealand Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Temple announcements

Already in 2024, President Nelson has announced 15 new temples, identifying their locations at the conclusion of the April 2024 general conference.

President Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church, speaks in a recorded message shown during the Sunday afternoon session of the 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 7, 2024.
President Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church, speaks in a recorded message shown during the Sunday afternoon session of the 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 7, 2024. | Screenshot from ChurchofJesusChrist.org

The 15 new temple locations are:

  • Uturoa, French Polynesia
  • Chihuahua, Mexico
  • Florianópolis, Brazil
  • Rosario, Argentina
  • Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Brisbane, Australia (south area)
  • Victoria, British Columbia
  • Yuma, Arizona
  • Houston, Texas (south area)
  • Des Moines, Iowa
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Honolulu, Hawaii
  • West Jordan, Utah
  • Lehi, Utah
  • Maracaibo, Venezuela
A world map showing the 15 locations for news temples, with each country highlighted in blue:
Uturoa, French Polynesia; Chihuahua, Mexico; Florianópolis, Brazil; Rosario, Argentina; Edinburgh, Scotland; Brisbane, Australia (south area); Victoria, British Columbia; Yuma, Arizona; Houston, Texas (south area); Des Moines, Iowa; Cincinnati, Ohio; Honolulu, Hawaii; West Jordan, Utah; Lehi, Utah; Maracaibo, Venezuela.
President Russell M. Nelson announced 15 new locations for temples during the April 2024 general conference on Sunday, April 7, 2024. The locations are in: Uturoa, French Polynesia; Chihuahua, Mexico; Florianópolis, Brazil; Rosario, Argentina; Edinburgh, Scotland; Brisbane, Australia (south area); Victoria, British Columbia; Yuma, Arizona; Houston, Texas (south area); Des Moines, Iowa; Cincinnati, Ohio; Honolulu, Hawaii; West Jordan, Utah; Lehi, Utah; Maracaibo, Venezuela. | Church News graphic

Sites have already been announced for four of the 15 just-announced houses of the Lord — the Lehi, West Jordan, Des Moines and Cincinnati temples.

If recent patterns continue, additional temple locations will likely be announced later this year at the October 2024 general conference. President Nelson has announced new temples at each of the 13 general conferences since he became President of the Church in January 2018 — all but one of the 168 temples he has announced have come in a conference setting.

The last time temples were not announced in general conference happened in October 2017, nearly seven years ago.

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clasps his hands and gestures toward the audience as he and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, left, and President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, take their seats prior to the afternoon session of the 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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