President Russell M. Nelson, the 100-year-old leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, may not know when Jesus is coming.
“But I do know,” he said in a recorded talk shown during Sunday’s afternoon session of General Conference, “that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that ‘great and dreadful day.’”
On this hair-raising note, the centenarian announced 15 locales for new temples:
• 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.
The list is noteworthy for including more cities outside of the United States than within — a reflection, at least in part, of the Utah-based faith’s ongoing globalization.
The new additions propel the number of Latter-day Saint temples announced by Nelson to an even and historic 200 — and the total tally of such existing and planned edifices to 382. Nearly 53% of these temples have been named during his presidency.
From Sunday’s announcement, New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, will be getting its first Latter-day Saint temple.
The same goes for South Dakota.
(The Salt Lake Tribune; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Church President Russell M. Nelson, center, surrounded by recently constructed temples in Utah, Wyoming, and Argentina. He has announced 200 temples during his presidency.
In contrast, the Spanish Fork Temple will be the ninth for Utah County alone.
The Beehive State currently has 21 temples in operation, five under construction, two under renovation (including the historic Salt Lake Temple) and now four that have been announced and await a groundbreaking — or 32 in all.
Of the all the newly announced temples, one — Spanish Fork — was foretold by independent researcher Matt Martinich, who tracks global membership trends at ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com. Others Martinich got within striking distance included Uyo, Nigeria, and San Jose del Monte, Philippines.
Besides announcing those 200 temples, the centenarian prophet-president dedicated the church’s 200th operating temple last November in Tooele.
For members, these sacred buildings represent Houses of the Lord and, unlike their more common meetinghouses, places where devout members participate in their highest religious rites such as eternal marriage.
