Temple Building Update

Six Small Temples Announced

The First Presidency has announced six more small temples to be built around the world. The new temple sites are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Kailua Kona, Hawaii; Fukuoka, Japan; Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; and Suva, Fiji. In addition, the temple originally announced in September 1995 for Caracas, Venezuela, was reannounced as a small temple.

The temple in Halifax will serve some 4,200 members in Nova Scotia and another 3,500 members in the Canadian maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. About 6,400 members will be served by the temple in Kailua Kona, a city located on Hawaii’s large island. The temple in Fukuoka, Japan, a city on the southern island of Kyushu, will serve about 7,700 members. More than 12,000 members will be served by the temple in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, located near the U.S. border at El Paso, Texas. The temple in Suva, Fiji, will serve some 12,000 members whose closest temple is currently in Tonga, 600 miles distant. The Caracas Venezuela Temple will serve about 80,000 members.

Groundbreaking for Anchorage Temple

“Perhaps the groundbreaking ceremony for a temple is to give the Saints a period for repentance, a period of inner cleansing, a period for greater sacrifice prior to the construction and ultimate dedication of the temple itself,” remarked Elder F. Melvin Hammond of the Seventy, First Counselor in the North America Northwest Area, at the 17 April groundbreaking for a small temple to be built in Anchorage, Alaska. Elder Hammond presided at the ceremony, which was attended by about 1,700 members who gathered in the Anchorage Alaska Stake Center and then at the temple site 50 yards away.

The temple will serve more than 24,000 members living in Alaska and Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Nashville Temple Plans Changed

The Church will move ahead with plans to build a temple in the area of Nashville, Tennessee, but not in the suburb of Forest Hills as originally intended. A court of law recently decided not to approve appropriate zoning for the temple, and an appeal will not be pursued. The Church had been trying for three years to gain approval to build a temple on one of two possible sites there.

“We were surprised at the opposition in Forest Hills,” said Allan Erb, second counselor in the Nashville stake presidency and chairman of the local temple-site committee. “Our experience has been that the temples have become attractive and appreciated assets to the communities wherever they’ve been built. We are disappointed that our temple will not be part of the Forest Hills religious community.”

When a new site is secured, the Nashville temple will be substantially smaller than originally planned. The Church has about 29,000 members in Tennessee.

Patron Housing Dedicated at Santiago Chile Temple

“This facility will provide a much-needed environment for rest and renewal for so many who travel long distances from the north and south of Chile to attend the temple,” said Elder Dallas N. Archibald of the Seventy, President of the Chile Area, about a new 168-unit housing building located near the Santiago Chile Temple. With about 600 people in attendance, he presided over dedication services held on 22 March for the new building. Elders Jerald L. Taylor and Eduardo A. Lamartine of the Seventy, counselors in the Chile Area Presidency, also spoke.

Called Hospedaje, which translates into English as “lodging,” the complex includes a playground and nursery for children. In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Archibald asked that lodging patrons may “have their eyes, ears, and hearts open to the whisperings of the Spirit and in their physical recuperation from their travels be spiritually prepared to work in the holy temple [and] reflect on the great plan of happiness.”

Temples in Progress

The Church currently has 51 temples operating in 23 countries worldwide, with 27 more temples in various stages of design or construction, for a total of 78 temples. When all announced temples are complete, eight more countries will have a temple for the first time: Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Spain, and Venezuela. Construction has started on 14 temples, and 13 are still in planning stages. Not counting the five newest sites listed at the beginning of this article, following is a temple-by-temple update for temples not yet operating:

Accra, Ghana—Announced February 1998.

Albuquerque, New Mexico—Announced April 1997.

Anchorage, Alaska—Ground broken April 1998.

Billings, Montana—Ground broken March 1998.

Bogotá, Colombia—Ground broken June 1993; construction about halfway completed.

Boston, Massachusetts—Ground broken June 1997.

Campinas, Brazil—Ground broken May 1998.

Caracas, Venezuela—Announced September 1995.

Cochabamba, Bolivia—Ground broken November 1996; foundation complete and structural work under way.

Colonia Juárez, Mexico—Ground broken March 1998.

Columbus, Ohio—Announced April 1998.

Guayaquil, Ecuador—Ground broken August 1996; construction about halfway completed.

Houston, Texas—Announced October 1997.

Madrid, Spain—Ground broken June 1996; construction about two-thirds completed.

Monterrey, Mexico—Announced December 1995.

Monticello, Utah—Ground broken November 1997; dedication planned for July 1998.

Nashville, Tennessee—Announced November 1994.

New York—Announced October 1995.

Pôrto Alegre, Brazil—Ground broken May 1998.

Preston, England—Ground broken June 1994; dedication planned for June 1998.

Recife, Brazil—Ground broken November 1996; foundation work has begun.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic—Ground broken August 1996; construction about 40 percent completed.

About 1,700 people attended the Anchorage Alaska Temple groundbreaking. (Photo by Ray Hafen.)

The new temple-patron lodging at the Santiago Chile Temple provides 168 units. (Courtesy of the Chile Area Presidency.)