In 2024, members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated 16 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the most in more than two decades and the second-most dedications of new houses of the Lord in Church history.
During the past year, the Church also noted the milestone dedication of its 200th operating temple — the Deseret Peak Utah Temple — which was dedicated by President Russell M. Nelson, the 100-year-old President of the Church — on Nov. 10 in Tooele, Utah.
Earlier in the year, President Nelson also rededicated the Manti Utah Temple — the only rededication done in 2024 — on April 21. It became the Church’s second pioneer-era temple to recently finish major restorations.
Second-most dedications in a year
The top yearly totals for the most temple dedications in a calendar year are:
- 34 — 2000
- 16 — 2024
- 15 — 1999
- 11 — 2023
- 7 — 2002
- 6 — 1984, 2016 and 2019
- 5 — 1983, 1985, 2001 and 2022
The 16 temple dedications are fewer than half of the 34 dedications done in 2000, when the late President Gordon B. Hinckley was making his 100-by-the-end-of-the century push. That helped account for the 61 houses of the Lord dedicated from 1999 through 2002.
The above totals also reflect the small, early surge of dedications in the mid-1980s, with 19 temples dedicated from 1983 through 1986.
The 32 total dedications over the past three years — five in 2022, 11 in 2023 and the 16 in 2024 — are evidence of President Nelson’s increased emphasis on building houses of the Lord worldwide to help Latter-day Saints have greater opportunities to participate in temple worship and to make temple covenants for themselves and their deceased ancestors.
The 32 dedications from 2022 through 2024 also represent the Church moving out from a nearly two-year moratorium on dedications during the COVID-19 pandemic, from early 2020 to late 2021. However, temple announcements, groundbreakings and construction continued during that time.
Apostolic involvement
But as has been the Prophet’s pattern with temple dedications and rededications during his seven-year tenure of leading the Church, President Nelson involved both of his First Presidency counselors and nine of the 12 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the other 15 dedications in 2024.
And the three Apostles who did not preside at dedications this past year were involved in three of the four similar events last year. President Jeffrey R. Holland, the quorum’s acting president, rededicated the St. George Utah Temple in December 2023; Elder Gary E. Stevenson — who accompanied President Nelson for the Deseret Peak dedication this year — dedicated the Okinawa Japan Temple in November 2023; and Elder Ulisses Soares dedicated the Feather River California Temple in October 2023.
Following is a brief look at each of the temple dedications and temple rededication held in 2024:
Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
On the Jan. 14 dedication day of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was mindful of Church history moments in the South America country.
Sailing past Peru en route to Chile in the 1850s, early Latter-day Saint Apostle Parley P. Pratt prophesized of the future influences of Lima and Peru “for the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the fullness of the gospel to be introduced.” Elder Christofferson cited several of the country’s firsts — branch in 1956, stake in 1970, temple in 1986 — and noted he organized Peru’s 100th stake in 2013 and that Lima would be the first city outside the United States to have two dedicated temples.
Orem Utah Temple
A week after dedicating the Los Olivos temple in west-central South America, Elder Christofferson led a similar event more than 4,200 miles away in the Rocky Mountains of North America for the Jan. 21 dedication of the Orem Utah Temple — one Utah’s total 31 temples dedicated, under construction or announced and in planning.
The dedication “marks a milestone in the progress of the kingdom of God on the earth, and particularly in this vital part of His vineyard,” said Elder Christofferson, later adding, “Today we dedicate this magnificent temple, a testament to the faith of many generations, with the promise of more faithful, covenant-keeping generations to come.”
Red Cliffs Utah Temple
Just 3.5 miles northwest of the new Red Cliffs Utah Temple stands the St. George Utah Temple, dedicated in 1877 as a testament to the faith and consecration of the early Latter-day Saints who sacrificed to build a house of the Lord in their desert wilderness.
President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, who dedicated the Red Cliffs temple on March 24, had a great-grandfather among the region’s original settlers. “My faith is strengthened whenever I come to this area. This ground was made sacred to my family and to me by the faith of ancestors now in the spirit world,” he said of St. George, which for about a month held claim to having the Church’s oldest and newest temples.
Manti Utah Temple (rededication)
President Nelson rededicated the Manti Utah Temple on April 21, as “a house of peace, a house of comfort and a house of personal revelation.” It was the second of Utah’s four pioneer-era temples to undergo extensive renovations and be rededicated, following the Prophet’s April 2019 charge to renovate them.
“We build temples to honor the Lord,” said President Nelson, whose eight great-grandparents called Sanpete County home. “They are built for worship and not for show. We make sacred covenants of eternal significance inside these sacred walls.”
Urdaneta Philippines Temple
On April 28, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the Urdaneta Philippines Temple — the Church’s 190th worldwide and its third in the Philippines — two decades after he served there on a special assignment as area president during his service as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
When he arrived in 2002, the Philippines was experiencing rapid growth with some 600,000 members, but it did not have enough Latter-day Saints with current temple recommends for President Oaks to recommend a second temple for the nation. For the next two years, he taught Filipino Latter-day Saints to perform the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ with greater effectiveness.
Puebla Mexico Temple
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Puebla Mexico Temple on May 19, with an emphasis on how temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are centered on the Savior and how the blessings of covenants are coming closer to families and individuals with an increase of temples worldwide.
Drawing on the theme of the “Holiness to the Lord, the house of the Lord” inscription found on the front exterior of the Puebla temple, Elder Gong said, “I truly believe ‘holiness’ is both an invitation and a declaration.”
Taylorsville Utah Temple
Two weeks after dedicating the Puebla temple, Elder Gong dedicated the Taylorsville Utah Temple on June 2, inviting members to enjoy the blessings of making sacred covenants as they “come to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
Elder Gong told the Church News the way he describes for himself temple worship and service is changing. “I used to describe what I was doing as going to the temple. Now I think less in terms of going to a place and more in terms of coming to the Lord through sacred covenants with Him in the house of the Lord,” Elder Gong said.
Cobán Guatemala Temple
In preparing to dedicate the Cobán Guatemala Temple, Elder Dale G. Renlund — a cardiologist and heart specialist by profession — was delighted to learn that the standard Q’eqchi’ greeting in Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz region is “Ma sa laa ch’ ool,” meaning “How is your heart?”
Said Elder Renlund: “On this day of temple dedication, a great question for all of us to ask ourselves is, ‘How is my heart?’ If we let Him, God can and will change our hearts.”
Salta Argentina Temple
Dedicating the Salta Argentina Temple on June 16 meant a welcome return for Elder Christofferson, who served as a full-time missionary in the Argentina North Mission from 1964 to 1966. Salta was his second assigned area.
“I never dreamed that there would be a temple here or that I would have the privilege of participating in its dedication,” Elder Christofferson told the Church News. “This temple is a testament to me that the Lord has been doing His work here for many years and that He is now hastening His work.”
Layton Utah Temple
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Layton Utah Temple on June 16 — the second dedication of a house of the Lord on the same day — and encouraged those who will worship and serve in it to establish and strengthen a “covenant connection” with Heavenly Father and His Son through what they learn there.
Said Elder Bednar: “We do not come to the house of the Lord simply to enjoy the beauty of the structure. We come here to learn about the Father’s plan, the Savior’s Atonement, and to establish and strengthen a covenant connection with the Father and the Son,” he said.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple
Because Pittsburgh is known as the City of Bridges, a granite bridge was incorporated into the landscaping design of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple grounds. The day before he dedicated the temple on Sept. 15, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf stood on the bridge and acknowledged a deeper meaning.
“We are standing on a bridge here, right next to the temple, which is a wonderful symbol. This is a place where earth is connected to heaven and the other way around. It is a flow of information and of wonderful inspiration and revelation,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “The house of the Lord is here to make covenants which connect us to heaven. These bridges, from one side to the other, from earth to heaven, are real.”
Mendoza Argentina Temple
In dedicating the Mendoza Argentina Temple on Sept. 22, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles underscored the spiritual significance of the new house of the Lord, with its relevance to the Church’s century of growth in South America.
Mendoza, said Elder Rasband, “once a small acorn, has become a mighty oak,” referencing an apostolic prophecy pronounced on South America in the Argentine capital city of Buenos Aires nearly 100 years earlier.
San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple
In preparing for the Oct. 13 dedication of the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple, Elder Renlund learned that when Christopher Columbus arrived on what is today the coast of Honduras, he so named it because “hondo” in Spanish means “deep” or “depths,” as in the deep water of the natural harbor.
Saying the Spanish term also reflects the “deep, wholehearted” faith of the Honduran Saints, Elder Renlund added: “The testimonies of the members in Honduras run deep. This depth of faith and faithfulness is the reason the Lord directed His Prophet to build another beautiful temple in the wonderful country of Honduras.”
Salvador Brazil Temple
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Salvador Brazil Temple on Oct. 21, mindful that the name of the coastal city — Salvador — translates in English to “Savior.”
However, Elder Andersen said the significance of having a temple in a city named for the Savior is less important than having the temple dedicated in a place where “so many wonderful people have the Savior — ‘Salvador’ — written in their hearts.”
Deseret Peak Utah Temple
When he dedicated the Deseret Peak Utah Temple on Nov. 10 as a “beacon of hope to all who see it,” President Nelson emphasized the house of the Lord’s sacred purpose rather than its scenic location or impressive architecture.
“I hope that our members in the Deseret Peak temple district will not just treasure the addition of a beautiful building to their community but will arrange their lives so that they worship and serve in the house of the Lord as regularly as possible,” President Nelson told the Church News, promising, “The temple is a place of peace and power, and spending time there will literally change a person’s life.”
Casper Wyoming Temple
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the Casper Wyoming Temple on Nov. 24, was mindful of region’s role in the history of the Church as Latter-day Saint pioneers passed through Wyoming as part of the mid-1800s overland trek to the Salt Lake Valley. Elder Cook’s great-grandfather was among those providing relief at the 1856 Sweetwater rescue some 65 miles southwest of the temple site.
Now, Latter-day Saints in Casper will participate in that kind of heroism by rescuing their ancestors through temple work. “Here in mortality, we have the privilege of being the congregation of the righteous to find our ancestors and, by proxy, perform sacred ordinances for those who are in spirit prison,” said Elder Cook. “As we do so, we do for them what they cannot do for themselves.”
Tallahassee Florida Temple
The Hill City of Florida has a new light upon the hill: the state’s third house of the Lord. And central to this shining beacon is the Light of the World Himself, said Elder Patrick Kearon, who dedicated the Tallahassee Florida Temple on Dec. 8.
“Our Savior can be found everywhere in the temple,” said the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “In every ordinance, in every covenant, in every promised blessing and particularly in the power and grace we receive as we shed the practices and priorities of the world in favor of pursuing our relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Looking ahead to 2025
Already announced for 2025 are the following:
- Rededication of the Toronto Ontario Temple, March 23, with President Jeffrey R. Holland presiding.
- Dedication of the Auckland New Zealand Temple, April 13, with Elder Patrick Kearon presiding.
- Dedication of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple, May 25, with Elder Ronald A. Rasband presiding.
