Many years of prayers were answered when President Russell M. Nelson announced 15 new temples at the end of the Sunday afternoon session of April 2025 general conference.
“We are so excited. We have been praying for years in every meeting,” Rapid City South Dakota Stake President M. Troy Nesbit wrote, reacting to the news in a text message to the Church News.
“We are so happy to have a temple near us and to be able to share this blessing with our community. Our reactions at the time of the announcement [were] first screams, then tears of joy.”
In Rivera, Uruguay, Jorge Leal said members rejoiced upon learning of the new temple. The Montevideo Uruguay Temple is nearly 400 miles and more than a six-hour drive away, and his family has been able to attend only two or three times annually. The new house of the Lord will be within an hour of their home.
“We are thrilled and inexpressibly excited for such a marvelous and beautiful blessing that has finally come after many years of praying and hoping,” he said in an email to the Church News. “We are seeing the promises of the Lord fulfilled for our community and our region.”
Outside the Conference Center, Eduardo Vale, a convert from Porto, Portugal, was amazed to know a temple had been announced for his hometown.
“It’s so inspiring,” said Vale, the only Church member in his family. He said he faced difficult challenges in coming to America to study at BYU. “I could have gone anywhere, but I trusted the Lord, and here I am today, at general conference with the announcement of a temple in my hometown.”
With Sunday’s announcement, President Nelson, 100, has announced 200 new houses of the Lord since becoming President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 2018. This brings the total number of temples — operating, under construction or announced — to 382.
The 15 new temples will be built in the following locations:
- Reynosa, Mexico
- Chorrillos, Peru
- Rivera, Uruguay
- Campo Grande, Brazil
- Porto, Portugal
- Uyo, Nigeria
- San Jose del Monte, Philippines
- Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Liverpool, Australia
- Caldwell, Idaho
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- Rapid City, South Dakota
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Spanish Fork, Utah
Nesbit was among many Latter-day Saints who expressed deep feelings of joy and gratitude in response to the temple announcement.
Reynosa, Mexico
The Reynosa Mexico Temple will be the 27th house of the Lord in the country.
Sonia Cardenas, a Latter-day Saint from Madero, Mexico, who attended the Sunday afternoon session, said this new temple is the answer to many prayers, and it’s special because “the people need it.” This is evidence that God is watching over His children in these kinds of locations around the world.
“This is going to be a refuge for them because they have many problems there,” she said, standing outside the Conference Center. “They need something close so they can go to the temple and not be in danger. I am so happy for all the people there.”
There are 14 dedicated temples in Mexico: Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa.
Three temples under construction: Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Torreón.
Nine others have been announced: Cancún, Chihuahua, Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Mexico City Benemérito, Juchitán de Zaragoza, Pachuca, Toluca and Tula.
Mexico has more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in nearly 1,900 congregations, the second largest membership outside of the United States. Missionary work began in Mexico in 1875.
Chorrillos, Peru
Nancy Morales Van Empel is from Lima, Peru. Her family members were among the first Latter-day Saints in the country. She said the new Chorrillos temple will be “one more blessing.”
“Chorrillos is a beautiful area,” she said. “If there’s going to be a temple there, it’s going to be fantastic.”
The Chorrillos Peru Temple will be the 10th house of the Lord in the country.
There are four dedicated temples in Peru: Lima, Trujillo, Arequipa, Lima Peru Los Olivos.
Five additional temples have been announced for Cusco, Iquitos, Chiclayo, Huancayo and Piura.
There are nearly 650,000 Latter-day Saints attending 800 congregations in Peru. The first missionaries arrived in the country in 1956.
Rivera, Uruguay
The Rivera Uruguay Temple will be the second house of the Lord in the country, joining the Montevideo Uruguay Temple, which was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in March 2001.
President Fernando Oroná of the Rivera Uruguay Stake was overcome with feelings of “happiness” and “joy” after hearing the temple announcement Sunday.
“I have no words to express my gratitude for this great blessing and opportunity the Lord has given us,” he told the Church News. “And now let’s work, let’s work harder for the Lord. How wonderful. It’s a unique moment we’re experiencing here. The Lord is merciful and loves us. It’s a great opportunity to serve Him with even more strength, courage and gratitude.”
When President Nelson announced temples in both Uruguay and Peru, Daniela Zacarias, who was in the Conference Center, sent text messages to family members in both countries.
Zacarias’ mother is from Uruguay — and her aunt lived in Rivera for several years — and her father is from Peru. Zacarias, who lives in Sandy, Utah, still has aunts, uncles and cousins in both countries.
“I’m excited for my family over there” to be closer to temples, Zacarias said. “They’re going to be so happy.”
There are close to 110,000 Latter-day Saints attending 130 congregations in Uruguay.
Campo Grande, Brazil
The Campo Grande Brazil Temple is the 24th announced temple in Brazil.
Outside the Conference Center moments after the announcement, Elder Ciro Schmeil, a General Authority Seventy who serves as first counselor in the Church’s Brazil Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Alessandra Schmeil, rejoiced at the news of a new temple in their native Brazil.
“It’s beautiful. It’s great to see President Nelson announcing all these temples from Brazil to Spanish Fork, all diverse geography,” Elder Schmeil said. “The Saints in Brazil will be very blessed to have a temple in Camp Grande. It’s exciting. The Lord is moving the work full speed, so we need to catch up with President Nelson.”
He continued: “It’s amazing. It will be a blessing to the Saints in Brazil, but with that comes a big responsibility. But we are looking forward to it.”
The country has 11 dedicated temples: Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo temples.
Three temples are under construction: Belo Horizonte, Londrina and Ribeirão Preto.
Nine others have been announced: Florianópolis, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Maceió, Natal, Santos, São Paulo East, Teresina and Vitória temples.
Brazil has more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints, the third-most outside the United States.
Porto, Portugal
The Porto temple will join the Lisbon Portugal Temple as the second house of the Lord in the country.
Sister Ines Azevedo from Porto — currently a missionary in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission — has prayed throughout her mission for a second temple in Portugal.
“My dream was to be here when the temple was announced,” she said. “I just thought of the people that are going to be so blessed when the temple is built.”
Attending the Sunday afternoon session in person, Sister Azevedo saw this announcement as a demonstration of God’s love for everyone in her home country and continent.
“I’m so excited to see how it’s going to bless Portuguese people, but also the whole of Europe and that side of the world.”
Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal with a population of more than 1.3 million. Portugal is home to 48,000 Latter-day Saints and more than 60 congregations, according to the latest statistics on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The first branch was organized in Lisbon in 1975.
Uyo, Nigeria
The Uyo Nigeria Temple will be the seventh temple in the country.
The Aba Nigeria Temple was dedicated in 2005. The Lagos Nigeria and Benin City Nigeria temple groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for May. Three additional temples — Eket, Calabar and Abuja — have been announced.
As they left the Conference Center, President Ebi-Williams Monkurai of the Warri Nigeria Stake, and his wife, Francis Monkurai, remembered how there were no temples in Nigeria 20 years ago. Members were required to travel great distances to attend the house of the Lord.
Now the temples are getting closer. Nigeria will soon have seven.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “We want to give thanks to Heavenly Father for being considerate to give His children in Nigeria the opportunity to visit Him in His holy house. ... We are really excited that the gospel is moving and the Lord is bringing [temples] to the doorsteps of his children.”
Added Francis Monkurai, “I never knew I would have this opportunity in my lifetime — the privilege of having temples around me to attend. So I am very grateful to my Heavenly Father that in my days I have the privilege of worshipping in the temple close to me every day."
Today, there are nearly 233,000 Latter-day Saints in 810 congregations in Nigeria. West Africa is one of the fastest growing areas of the Church in the world, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
San Jose del Monte, Philippines
When San Jose del Monte Philippines Stake President Marcos G. Alido heard the announcement he had “an unexplainable feeling of joy.”
“I feel so blessed that of all the places in the country, San Jose del Monte was one of the chosen areas to stand the holiest place in the world, the house of the Lord.”
Having a temple closer will allow more to serve in the temple. “It will serve as a spiritual booster to all of us.”
San Jose del Monte, Philippines, borders metro Manila on the northeast. While it’s roughly an hour and half drive (about 33 kilometers), it can take much longer than that with traffic.
San Jose del Monte Philippines North Stake President Rey A. Aganon said he cried with gratitude when he heard the announcement.
“I was amazed that our place was one of the announced temples to be built,” he wrote in an email to the Church News. “Personally, I felt deep gratitude … and heartfelt appreciation, from the Lord for bestowing us the so-called bit of heaven, the house of the Lord.”
Mary Ann Ortega, a Latter-day Saint in the San Jose del Monte area, is currently serving as a temple worker in Manila, two hours away.
“It will be easier for me to go,” she said. “I will go more.”
The San Jose del Monte Philippines Temple will be the 14th in the country, where there are more than 880,000 Latter-day Saints and 1,325 congregations.
There are three dedicated temples: Manila, Cebu City and Urdaneta.
Temples are under construction in Alabang, Davao, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Tacloban City.
Five additional temples have been announced for Tuguegarao City, Naga, Santiago, Iloilo and Laoag.
Since the country officially opened for missionary work in 1961, the rate of Church growth in the Philippines continues to be among the fastest in the world.
Nouméa, New Caledonia
President Ben Ball of the Vanuatu Port Vila Mission was listening to general conference in the mission home with 40 full-time missionaries when President Nelson announced a temple within their mission boundaries.
“The room erupted in simultaneous shouts of adulation,” President Ball reported in an email to the Church News. The new temple “will be a beacon of light, hope and truth for all to see.”
Since the news dropped, Jean-Olivier Smatti, president of the Nouméa New Caledonia Stake, said he has received a flood of messages from members, which have included praise to Heavenly Father and many expressions of “Hurrah for Israel!”
New Caledonia, a collectivity of overseas France, is an archipelago located roughly 750 miles east of Australia and about 400 miles south of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The Church in Nouméa, the capital of the South Province, is well established, President Ball said, while branches in the northern cities are supported by a handful of “very faithful Saints and our full-time missionaries.”
President Smatti noted that it is difficult and expensive for members there to go to the temple. “Some members can only go to the temple once or twice in their lives.”
The Nouméa stake, however, retains a high percentage of active Latter-day Saints who hold a current temple recommend, despite the nearest temple being a costly international plane ride away.
“The Noumea stake members’ sacrifices have been accepted by the Lord with the coming of this new temple,” President Ball said. “This will change the lives of the rising generation and their posterity.”
2024 was a trying year for many throughout New Caledonia, President Smatti said. The territory experienced civil unrest resulting in violent riots, destruction of property and the deployment of the French army. “When the future is uncertain, the temple announcement is a beacon that gives confidence in the future. The Lord knows us and loves us,” President Smatti said.
This will be the first temple in New Caledonia, which is home to more than 2,500 Latter-day Saints. Nouméa, the country’s capital, has a population of about 100,000.
The first Latter-day Saints moved to New Caledonia from Tahiti. The first stake was organized in 2012, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Liverpool, Australia
Elder Philip J. Barton, Area Seventy in the Pacific Area, and his wife, Sister Kieryn Barton, attended the Sunday afternoon session of general conference along with their family.
They were visiting from southern Sydney, Australia, and shared how surprised and grateful they felt knowing the newly announced house of the Lord in Liverpool, Australia, would allow them to have a temple approximately 15 to 20 minutes away from their home.
“We were just shocked,” Sister Barton said, adding that she and her husband spent the session’s last hymn in tears realizing what a “massive blessing” it will be to them and the members in the area to have a temple so close.
Said Elder Barton, “There’s a lot of stakes and members that are around that location, and I think that they will be able to make the temple much more a part of their daily lives, because it’s just going to be so close to them.”
Elder and Sister Barton also expressed excitement to return home and prepare “a people that are ready for the temple.” No matter how long having the temple completed takes, Sister Barton said, “we get to prepare the people, prepare our hearts to be temple going, temple focused, temple ready.”
The Liverpool Australia Temple will be the second temple in the greater Sydney area, and become the country’s seventh temple.
There are five dedicated temples in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The Brisbane Australia South Temple is in planning.
The Church was introduced in Australia in 1840 when a British convert immigrated to the country. The first branch was organized in 1844, and a mission was established in 1851. Stakes in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, each organized in 1960, were among the first stakes established outside of North America.
Today there are nearly 160,000 Latter-day Saints and 300 congregations in Australia.
Caldwell, Idaho
Bishop Duane Call of the Caldwell 5th Ward in the Caldwell Idaho East Stake was “pleasantly surprised” to hear the announcement.
“I thought we might have one someday but figured we were still a few years away. We are already so blessed to have temples nearby in Boise and Meridian, and the addition of one in Caldwell will make it even easier for members in our ward and stake to attend more regularly.”
The bishop continued: “I feel so privileged to live in this time and witness the hastening of the Lord’s work in this area and throughout the world. For me, this new temple can’t get built fast enough, and I can’t wait to follow the updates through to its completion and dedication.”
When built, the Caldwell Idaho Temple will be the third in the Boise, Idaho, metropolitan area. It will join the Boise Idaho Temple, dedicated in 1984, and the Meridian Idaho Temple, dedicated in 2017.
When they heard the words, “Caldwell, Idaho,” members of Kristi Walker’s family in Fruitland, Idaho, looked around at each other with expressions of shock on their faces.
“Growing up in the Treasure Valley, I could never imagine another temple in our area, and one even closer to where we live. How excited were we as a family to hear the announcement,”she said. “We know the Lord is truly hastening his work and we can’t wait to see it unfold in our area.”
There are six dedicated temples in the state of Idaho: Boise, Idaho Falls, Meridian, Pocatello, Rexburg and Twin Falls.
Three temples are under construction in Idaho: Burley, Montpelier and Teton River. A temple has also been announced for Coeur d’Alene.
Idaho has more than 475,000 members and 1,225 congregations. Early Church pioneers settled in Idaho in 1855. Several Church presidents are natives of Idaho, including Presidents Harold B. Lee, Ezra Taft Benson and Howard W. Hunter.
Flagstaff, Arizona
Located 150 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona, the Flagstaff Arizona Temple will be the ninth in the state.
Abby Fernandez was in the Conference Center and got goosebumps on her arms when the temple in Flagstaff, Arizona, was announced. Fernandez was a student at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff from 2016 to 2018. While the closest temple was in Snowflake, Arizona, it was easier to go to the Mesa Arizona Temple when she visited her parents in Mesa.
With so many college students in Flagstaff, “it’s going to be a great opportunity to have a temple close by,” said Fernandez, who now lives in Provo, Utah.
Mark Moore, a Latter-day Saint and director for the Flagstaff Institute of Religion at Northern Arizona University, said a group of young adults saw the announcement and began jumping up and down with excitement. Phones began to light up with messages.
Most of his students are from Phoenix and Mesa and have missed attending the temple as often as they once did due to the distance.
“What a fantastic announcement,” Moore said. “The kids are in tears, they are just excited. They are excited to take their friends to an open house.”
Right after the announcement, Moore said one of the local bishops sent a text encouraging the young adults to prepare for the temple by engaging in family history.
“Isn’t that what it is all about?” Moore said.
There are six dedicated temples in Arizona: Phoenix, Mesa, Snowflake, The Gila Valley, Gilbert and Tucson.
Temples have also been announced for Yuma and Queen Creek.
There are 450,000 Latter-day Saints and 925 congregations. The first Latter-day Saints arrived in Arizona in the winter of 1846.
Rapid City, South Dakota
The Rapid City South Dakota Temple will be the first house of the Lord in the state, where there are more than 11,500 Latter-day Saints and 30 congregations.
President Nesbit said having a temple in Rapid City will significantly reduce travel times and allow more members to serve in the temple more frequently.
In recent years, Latter-day Saints have set goals to index more than 250,000 names for FamilySearch, and members have organized quarterly bus trips to serve in the Bismarck North Dakota Temple, a five-hour ride. Other members have consistently traveled to temples in neighboring states.
“The bus leaves the stake center at 3:30 in the morning. The bus is full and has been for years,” President Nesbit said.
Joshua Cooke said his “heart was overjoyed” after the announcement. He served a full-time mission in South Dakota two decades ago and has been praying for Saints in that state for many years.
“It feels like my missionary service has come full circle,” he said. “Seeing the reactions of people I have served among has lifted my soul. The people are so excited, some of them who, when the temple is built, will still be 90 miles away. Now, every state that was in my mission will have a temple.”
Greenville, South Carolina
The Greenville South Carolina Temple will be the second temple in the state. It will join the Columbia South Carolina Temple, which was dedicated in 1999.
After the announcement, the 13-member family of Julia and Russell Jones chanted “Hurrah for Israel” from the front porch of their home. They were “beyond excited” for the opportunity to spend more time in the house of the Lord. Jones said she has already invited a friend to attend the open house.
“I can take my kids to the temple grounds on a regular basis. They have so many questions about the temple and love being there,” she said. “As a mom of young children, I can finally have the opportunity to work in the temple.”
Daughter Kylee Jones, 23, has always dreamed of being able to attend the temple without setting apart an entire day to do so. Due to recent medical complications, she has not been able to attend in Columbia, which “feels crushing.”
“Knowing there will be a temple close to home feels like my Savior personally brought His home to mine,” she said. “Greenville is already bursting with missionary opportunities, and our friends are already so curious about the temple. Surely, all here will come closer to our Savior with His house here.”
There are close to 46,000 Latter-day Saints and 85 congregations in South Carolina.
Norfolk, Virginia
The Norfolk Virginia Temple will be the fourth in the state. It will join the Richmond Virginia Temple, which was dedicated in 2023. Two other temples are in planning for Roanoke and Winchester.
President Mark E. Smith of the Chesapeake Virginia Stake said tears flowed when they heard the announcement. It was completely unexpected since the Richmond temple is within a two-to-four-hour drive for many of their members.
“The distance was a limiting factor for many of our well-experienced members to get to the temple. A temple in Norfolk will change that for many,” he said.
A new house of the Lord in Norfolk will be a blessing for many stakes in the area.
“I envision more temple workers, easy day trips for the youth and more work being done in the temple by the faithful coastal Saints in this area,” he said. “It may also make it easier for all of the faithful Saints serving in the U.S. military who come through this area, to add a temple trip to their visit. We could not be happier, and it brings joy to the lives of many.”
Newport News Virginia Stake President Evan Criddle remembers when the Richmond Virginia Temple was announced. “The excitement and outpouring of the Spirit were unforgettable.”
With four houses of the Lord dedicated or in planning for the state, it’s bringing temple experiences closer to the members there. “Our more seasoned members remember having to travel to Utah to receive temple ordinances before the Washington D.C. Temple was dedicated in 1974,” President Criddle said. Now, those members are serving as temple workers and patrons in much closer temples and it’s “been a breathtaking, life-changing blessing.”
“Temple construction throughout the East Coast has enabled our youth to have more regular experiences in the temple, developing love for the temple earlier in life and better preparing them for a lifetime of temple worship,” President Criddle wrote in an email to the Church News
There are 100,000 Latter-day Saints and 210 congregations in Virginia.
Spanish Fork, Utah
The Spanish Fork Utah Temple will be the ninth temple in Utah County and the 32nd house of the Lord in Utah.
President Sean R. Dixon of the Spanish Fork East Stake, newly called as second counselor in the Young Men general presidency, was “thrilled” by the announcement and said there is a need for more temples in Utah, as incredible as that may sound.
“I know [the new temple] will bring an incredible spirit to the Spanish Fork area,” said Dixon, who has lived in the area for nearly 30 years. “From when we arrived to what is now, it has changed so much. We have enjoyed going to the Payson temple, but to have one literally in our backyard, it is going to be a huge blessing.”
There are 21 dedicated temples in the state: Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Jordan River, Layton, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Red Cliffs, Saratoga Springs, St. George, Taylorsville and Vernal.
Seven temples are under construction or renovation: Ephraim, Heber Valley, Lindon, Provo Rock Canyon, Smithfield, Salt Lake, Syracuse.
Three additional temples — besides the newly announced one in Spanish Fork — are in planning for Lehi, Price and West Jordan.
President Nelson dedicated the Church’s 200th temple — the Deseret Peak Utah Temple — on Nov. 10, 2024.
There are more than 2.2 million Latter-day Saints residing in Utah.
— Christine Rappleye, Aimee Cobabe, Mary Richards, Lynnette McConkie, Amy Ortiz, Nadia Gavarret, Joel Randall and Rachel Sterzer Gibson contributed to this article.
