List_of_temples_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints

List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This is a list of temples operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in chronological order. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the Mormon Church, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time (an "Open House"). During the Open House, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public. The temple is then dedicated as a "House of the Lord," after which only members in good standing are permitted entrance, thus they are not churches but rather places of worship.

Within temples, members of the Church make covenants, receive instructions, and perform sacred ordinances, such as: baptism for the dead, washing and anointing (or "initiatory" ordinances), the "endowment," and eternal marriage sealings. Ordinances are a vital part of the theology of the church, which teaches that they were practiced by the Lord's covenant people in all dispensations. Additionally, members consider the temple a place to commune with God, seek God’s aid, understand the will of God, and receive personal revelation.

History

In 1832, shortly after the formation of the Church, Joseph Smith, Jr. said that the Lord desired the saints build a temple; and they completed the Kirtland Temple in 1836. Initially, the Church constructed temples in areas where there were large concentrations of members: Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Hawai'i (all in the USA), and Alberta (Canada). In the mid 20th century, because of the importance of temples in the theology, the Church tried to balance density with the travel requirements that attending the temple imposed upon members. Thus, temples were built in Europe (Switzerland-1955 and England-1958); the Pacific Islands (New Zealand-1958); and Washington, D.C. (1974 - first American temple East of Utah since Nauvoo in 1846) when membership alone might not have justified the effort.

In the 1980s, Spencer W. Kimball directed the Church to build smaller temples with similar designs allowing temples to be built where there were fewer members. As a result the first temples in South America (Brazil-1978); Asia (Japan-1980); and Central America (Mexico City-1983) were built and the number of temples doubled from 15 to 36.

Church president and prophet Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) also accelerated the construction of temples through the use of an even smaller standardized base design. In 1998 when there were only 51 temples, Hinckley set a goal to have 100 temples before 2001. Between the brief building period from 1998 to 2001, 38 of these standardized temples were constructed and dedicated, meeting Hinckley's goal by having 102 dedicated temples before 2001. During Hinckley's service as president, the number of temples more than doubled from 47 to 124.

Statistics

List of temples

Destroyed or operated by others

Operating

Dedicated: 19th century

Dedicated: early 20th century

Dedicated: 1950s & '60s

Dedicated: 1970s

Dedicated: 1980s

First smaller temples dedicated

Dedicated: 1990s

Standardized temple building period begins

Dedicated: 2000s

Hinckley's goal to reach 100 temples by end of 2000 reached

Under construction or announced

Note: Numbering of temples announced or under construction is tentative (which is indicated by placing the numbers in italics) pending the dedication of the temple.

Efforts suspended

Footnotes

References

Avant, Gerry Deseret Morning News 2005 Church Almanac (200th Anniversary, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Salt Lake City: Deseret News. ISBN 1-59038-422-9.
Deseret Morning News 2007 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret Morning News. ISBN 1-59038-734-1. (Almanac)
Deseret News 2001-2002 Deseret News Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret News. ISBN 1-57345-933-X. (Almanac)
Hawkins, Chad. The First 100 Temples. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Official Temple List. Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.. (Official List)
Packer, Boyd K. The Holy Temple. Bookcraft Pubs. ISBN 0-88494-411-5.
Satterfield, Rick Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDSChurchTemples.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-07..