The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will soon have all but one of its 170 temples worldwide offering all living ordinances and at least some proxy ordinances.
After closing all of its temples by late March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church began to reopen its temples seven weeks later, advancing their operations in a careful and cautious four-phase plan that has continued since.
The sole temple update published Tuesday, Dec. 7, is the following change: the Montevideo Uruguay Temple will be moving to Phase 2-B — with operations including all living ordinances and proxy baptisms and confirmations— beginning as early as Dec. 14.
Counting all the current and projected temples and districts operating in Phase 3, including several that have temporarily paused operations because of local COVID-19 conditions, 164 of the Church’s 170 temples — or 96.5% — are designated now to be offering all living and proxy ordinances.
Add in the additional temples operating or projected to be operating in Phase 2-B and offering proxy baptisms and confirmations, and that makes 169 of the Church’s 170 temples — or 99.4% — offering at least some proxy ordinances in addition to all living ordinances.
Phase 1 allows for limited living husband-and-wife sealings by appointment, while Phase 2 allows for those sealing as well as all other living ordinances, also by appointment. Phase 2-B offers all living ordinances and proxy baptisms, by appointment. Phase 3 includes everything from the first two phases and the performance of temple ordinances for deceased individuals.
Temples that are “paused” have stopped operations temporarily because of local COVID-19 conditions and precautions. Other temples may be temporarily closed for several weeks for routine maintenance and cleaning.
To date, just one temple is in either Phase 1 or 2:
- San José Costa Rica Temple, in Phase 1
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
