Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are buildings 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; temples are not churches but are places of worship. There are 159 operating temples (which includes 9 previously dedicated, but closed for renovation), 11 under construction, and 12 announced (not yet under construction).
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 His aid, understand His will, and receive personal revelation.
History
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In 1832, shortly after the formation of the church, Joseph Smith 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, Hawaii (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 attending the temple imposed upon members. Thus, temples were built in Europe (namely, Switzerland dedicated in 1955 and England dedicated in 1958); the Pacific Islands (namely, New Zealand dedicated in 1958); and Washington, D.C. (dedicated in 1974, the first American temple East of Utah since Nauvoo in 1846). All were dedicated at a time when membership in the region 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 dedicated in 1978); Asia (Japan dedicated in 1980); and Mexico (Mexico City dedicated in 1983) were built and the number of temples doubled from 15 to 36.
Church president Gordon B. Hinckley (1910â€"2008) also accelerated the construction of temples through the use of an even smaller standardized base design. In 1998, when there were 51 temples, Hinckley set a goal to have 100 temples in place before the end of 2000. 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 2000 closed. 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 of small temples under Kimball dedicated
Dedicated: 1990s
- Standardized smaller temple building period begins
Dedicated: 2000s
- LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley's goal to reach 100 temples by end of 2000 reached
Dedicated: 2010s
Under construction
Note: Numbering of temples announced or under construction is tentative (which is indicated by placing the numbers in italics) and based upon the groundbreaking date, or the date of announcement if no groundbreaking has taken place. Permanent numbering may change depending upon the date of dedication.
Announced
Efforts suspended
The following is a list of temples that had been announced and in some stage of development, but whose construction is no longer being pursued.
See also
- Council House (Salt Lake City)
- Red Brick Store
- Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
References
Sources
- Satterfield, Rick. "Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". LDSChurchTemples.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.Â
- "Newsroom: Official Temple List". LDS.org. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved August 8, 2014. (official list)
- Avant, Gerry (2013). Deseret News 2013 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret Management Corporation. ISBN 978-1-60907-420-3. (Almanac)
- Hawkins, Chad (2001). The First 100 Temples. Deseret Management Corp.Â
- Packer, Boyd K. (June 1980). The Holy Temple. Bookcraft Publications. ISBNÂ 0-88494-411-5.Â
External links
- Official Church Temples Site
- List of leaders that dedicated each temple
- Temple Geography Links
