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At the end of the 188th Semiannual General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to build 12 new temples. In addition to this being the largest number of temples ever announced on the same day, the news brings the total number of Latter-day Saint temples operating, announced or under construction to 201. This comes exactly 18 years to the week since the Church completed its 100th temple.

The new temples will be in the following locations:

Mendoza, Argentina
Salvador, Brazil
Yuba City, California
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Praia, Cape Verde
Yigo, Guam
Puebla, Mexico
Auckland, New Zealand
Lagos, Nigeria
Davao, Philippines
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Washington County, Utah

These 12 announced temples bring the total number of operating temples (159) and temples announced or under construction (42) to 201 worldwide. The Concepción Chile Temple (October 28) and the Barranquilla Colombia Temple (December 9) are scheduled for dedication later this year. Eleven temples are being renovated, including the Asunción Paraguay TempleBaton Rouge Louisiana TempleFrankfurt Germany Temple, Hamilton New Zealand Temple, Memphis Tennessee Temple, Mesa Arizona Temple, Oakland California TempleOklahoma City Oklahoma TempleRaleigh North Carolina TempleTokyo Japan Temple and Washington D.C. Temple. (Temples under renovation are considered operating temples.) The previous largest number of temples announced on a single day was April 1, 1981, when nine temples were announced. With seven temples announced during the April 2018 general conference, a total of 19 temples have been announced this year.

“Building and maintaining temples may not change your life, but spending your time in the temple surely will,” President Nelson said. “To those who have long been absent from the temple, I encourage you to prepare and return as soon as possible. Then I invite you to worship in the temple and pray to feel deeply the Savior’s infinite love for you, that each of you may gain your own testimony that He continues to direct this sacred and ageless work.”

Mendoza, Argentina

When the Mendoza Argentina Temple is built and dedicated, Argentina will have four temples. The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple was dedicated in 1986, while the Córdoba Argentina Templewas dedicated in 2015. The Salta Argentina Temple was announced by President Nelson in April 2018. Argentina, a country of nearly 45 million residents, is home to nearly 459,000 Latter-day Saints.

Salvador, Brazil

After the United States (6.7 million Latter-day Saints) and Mexico (1.45 million), Brazil is home to more members (1.39 million) of the Church than any other country. There are six operating temples in Brazil, located in CampinasCuritibaManausPorto AlegreRecife and São Paulo. Two temples are under construction (Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro), and two others have been announced — in Belém and now Salvador.

Yuba City, California

The Yuba City California Temple will be California’s eighth temple. The state’s other seven temples are in FresnoLos AngelesNewport BeachOakland (under renovation), RedlandsSacramentoand San Diego. California is home to more than 760,000 Latter-day Saints and nearly 1,300 congregations.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

This will be Cambodia’s first Latter-day Saint temple and the ninth temple in Asia. More than 14,600 Latter-day Saints live in the Southeast Asian nation of more than 16 million people.

In addition to the announcement of 12 new temples, President Nelson said pioneer generation temples would be renovated. “With the passage of time, temples are inevitably in need of refreshing and renewal. To that end, plans are now being made to renovate and update the Salt Lake Temple and other pioneer generation temples,” he said. “Details on these projects will be shared as they are developed.”

Praia, Cape Verde

This will be the first temple in Cape Verde, a set of islands located about 350 miles off the northwest coast of Africa. Some 14,700 Latter-day Saints live in this island nation of 539,000 people.

Yigo, Guam

This small island territory in the Western Pacific is less than half the size of the Salt Lake Valley and has a population of 166,000 people. Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ first arrived in 1957, and today there are more than 2,500 Latter-day Saints in Guam. This will be the territory’s first Latter-day Saint temple.

Puebla, Mexico

This will be Mexico’s 14th temple. The country’s other 13 temples are in Ciudad JuárezColonia JuárezZapopanHermosilloMéridaMexico CityMonterreyOaxacaCiudad MaderoTijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Boca del Rio and Villahermosa. The country is home to nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints spread throughout almost 2,000 congregations.

Auckland, New Zealand

The Auckland New Zealand Temple will be the country’s second Latter-day Saint temple. The first temple, built in 1958 in Hamilton, closed in August 2018 for renovations. The Church has had a presence in New Zealand since the 1850s. Today, more than 114,000 Latter-day Saints live in the country.

Lagos, Nigeria

The Lagos Nigeria Temple will be the second temple in Nigeria and the ninth in Africa. There are temples currently operating in Aba, NigeriaJohannesburg, South Africa; and Accra, GhanaThe Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is scheduled to be dedicated April 14, 2019. The Durban South Africa Temple is under construction. Plans have been announced to build temples in Harare, ZimbabweNairobi, Kenya; and Abidjan Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire). Church membership in Africa has grown from a handful of members in the late 1970s to more than 611,000 Latter-day Saints today (including nearly 174,000 in Nigeria) in more than 2,000 congregations.

Davao, Philippines

With this announcement, the Philippines has six temples announced or dedicated, includingCebu CityManila (2)Urdaneta and Cagayan de Oro. There are more than 780,000 Latter-day Saints in this country of more than 107 million people.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

This will be the first temple in Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island of more than 3 million residents and over 23,000 Latter-day Saints. The nearest temple to Puerto Rico is the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple.

Washington County, Utah

This will be Washington County’s second temple; the other is in St. George, Utah. As the Church’s world headquarters, Utah has 2.1 million members of the Church in a state of 3.2 million people. There are 17 operating temples in the state, including BountifulBrigham CityCedar CityDraper,LoganJordan RiverMantiMonticelloMount TimpanogosOgdenOquirrh MountainPayson,Provo City CenterProvoSt. GeorgeSalt Lake and Vernal. The Saratoga Springs Temple was announced at the April 2017 general conference, and the Layton Utah Temple was announced in April 2018. The new temple in Washington County will be Utah’s 20th Latter-day Saint temple.

In addition to the announcement of 12 new temples, President Nelson said pioneer generation temples would be renovated. “With the passage of time, temples are inevitably in need of refreshing and renewal. To that end, plans are now being made to renovate and update the Salt Lake Temple and other pioneer generation temples,” he said. “Details on these projects will be shared as they are developed.”

About Temples

Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the Lord,” the most sacred places on the earth. Temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where all are welcome to attend Sunday worship services. In the temple, the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed throughmarriagebaptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity.