Speakers at temple groundbreakings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are quick to point out similarities between discipleship and building houses of the Lord.
As soil is turned at a groundbreaking, for example, it’s a reminder for Latter-day Saints to turn their hearts to Jesus Christ. They can spiritually prepare themselves to receive the Lord as the ground is prepared to receive a temple.
Six temple groundbreakings are planned for this month of August:
- Aug. 1 — Santos Brazil Temple
- Aug. 8 — Naga Philippines Temple
- Aug. 15 — Huntsville Alabama Temple
- Aug. 22 — Tulsa Oklahoma Temple
- Aug. 22 — Victoria British Columbia Temple
- Aug. 29 — Coeur d’Alene Idaho Temple
That’s at least one groundbreaking for five consecutive weeks.
Yet it’s not the most groundbreakings the Church has held in a single month — seven. A seven-groundbreaking month occurred three times, actually: March 1999, May 1999 and November 2020.
Read below about the first same-year, same-month and same-day groundbreakings, along with which months saw ground broken for more than one temple.
First cases of multiple groundbreakings
The first instance of same-year temple groundbreakings happened sooner than one might think. The Logan Utah Temple and Manti Utah Temple — the Church’s second and third temples still in operation — entered their construction phase in 1877, only 23 days apart. The Manti temple was on April 25 and the Logan temple on May 18, 1877.
The first case of same-month groundbreakings also happened with two Utah temples. In September 1969, the Ogden Utah Temple and Provo Utah Temple — the Church’s 14th and 15th temples — entered their construction phase only seven days apart.
The first two groundbreakings on the same day happened Oct. 10, 1998. The Spokane Washington Temple and Detroit Michigan Temple — the Church’s 59th and 63rd houses of the Lord — entered their construction phase just hours apart.
What’s the most temple groundbreakings in a single day? On March 20, 1999, four houses of the Lord entered their construction phase — the Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple, Fresno California Temple, Fukuoka Japan Temple and Melbourne Australia Temple.
Months with the most temple groundbreakings
As mentioned earlier, the largest number of groundbreakings in a single month was seven, happening three times. Here are the months in Church history that had more than four groundbreakings:
March 1999 — 7 groundbreakings
- March 13 — Kona Hawaii Temple
- March 13 — Oaxaca Mexico Temple
- March 13 — Nashville Tennessee Temple
- March 20 — Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple
- March 20 — Fresno California Temple
- March 20 — Fukuoka Japan Temple
- March 20 — Melbourne Australia Temple
May 1999 — 7 groundbreakings
- May 8 — Suva Fiji Temple
- May 8 — Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple
- May 20 — Medford Oregon Temple
- May 25 — Palmyra New York Temple
- May 29 — Louisville Kentucky Temple
- May 29 — Adelaide Australia Temple
- May 29 — Veracruz Mexico Temple
November 2020 — 7 groundbreakings
- Nov. 4 — Salta Argentina Temple
- Nov. 7 — Bentonville Arkansas Temple
- Nov. 7 — Red Cliffs Utah Temple
- Nov. 14 — Cobán Guatemala Temple
- Nov. 14 — Davao Philippines Temple
- Nov. 21 — McAllen Texas Temple
- Nov. 27 — Antofagasta Chile Temple
August 2026 — 6 upcoming groundbreakings
- Aug. 1 — Santos Brazil Temple
- Aug. 8 — Naga Philippines Temple
- Aug. 15 — Huntsville Alabama Temple
- Aug. 22 — Tulsa Oklahoma Temple
- Aug. 22 — Victoria British Columbia Temple
- Aug. 29 — Coeur d’Alene Idaho Temple
January 1999 — 5 groundbreakings
- Jan. 9 — Ciudad Juárez Mexico Temple
- Jan. 9 — Villahermosa Mexico Temple
- Jan. 10 — Caracas Venezuela Temple
- Jan. 16 — Memphis Tennessee Temple
- Jan. 16 — Mérida Mexico Temple
August 2025 — 5 groundbreakings
- Aug. 2 — Wellington New Zealand Temple
- Aug. 9 — Winchester Virginia Temple
- Aug. 23 — Tampa Florida Temple
- Aug. 23 — Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple
- Aug. 23 — Vancouver Washington Temple
Other months with multiple groundbreakings
Dozens of other temples entered their construction phase in the same month as another. Here’s when four, three or two groundbreakings happened in the same month, in chronological order:
4 groundbreakings
- October 1998
- April 1999
- May 2019
- December 2020
- April 2022
- June 2024
- August 2024
3 groundbreakings
- February 1981
- August 1982
- June 2020
- September 2020
- September 2021
- June 2022
- March 2025
- May 2025
2 groundbreakings
- September 1969
- September 1982
- April 1983
- October 1993
- August 1996
- November 1996
- March 1998
- May 1998
- June 1998
- September 1998
- November 1998
- December 1998
- February 1999
- July 1999
- October 1999
- November 1999
- November 2000
- March 2003
- May 2010
- October 2010
- June 2011
- September 2011
- October 2011
- August 2013
- April 2015
- October 2015
- February 2016
- March 2017
- January 2019
- October 2020
- June 2021
- August 2021
- October 2021
- August 2022
- October 2022
- December 2022
- April 2023
- June 2023
- October 2023
- September 2024
- June 2025
- September 2025
- October 2025
- January 2026
- June 2026
‘A reason for all of us to rejoice’
In total, the Church has 385 houses of the Lord in various stages of operation, renovation, construction and planning. Of those, 219 are dedicated, while 12 are scheduled for dedication and an additional 49 are under construction.
When the most recently planned temple was announced for Otavalo, Ecuador, in a May devotional, Elder Juan Pablo Villar, the attending General Authority Seventy, read a letter from the First Presidency.
“This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing,” said the letter, “one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”
Because for Latter-day Saints, temple building is more than a new shape in the skyline; it’s an invitation to prepare their hearts to receive the Lord through covenant.
