New Apostles, New Temples Announced

One loved to fly, the other to teach—vocations not far removed from their new callings to uplift and inspire. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder David A. Bednar have been called to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles left by the recent deaths of Elder David B. Haight and Elder Neal A. Maxwell. (See the following pages for more on the new Apostles.)

Elder Robert C. Oaks, a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, was called to fill the vacancy in the Presidency of the Seventy created by Elder Uchtdorf’s call to the Twelve.

The announcement of the two new Apostles took place at the beginning of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s opening remarks during the Saturday morning session of the 174th Semiannual General Conference of the Church, held 2–3 October 2004. It was just one of several announcements significant to Church members.

President Hinckley also announced plans for two new temples to be constructed to meet the needs of steadily swelling membership in Idaho and in the Salt Lake Valley.

The Twin Falls Idaho Temple will be the fourth temple in Idaho and follows the announcement earlier this year that a temple will be built in Rexburg, Idaho, near the campus of BYU–Idaho. Idaho is home to more than 366,000 Latter-day Saints.

A site has yet to be named for the new temple in the Salt Lake Valley, which will be the 12th in Utah to serve the state’s more than 1.7 million members and the third in the Salt Lake Valley. President Hinckley indicated that if membership in the state continues to grow as predicted, a fourth temple may be needed in the valley.

With these new temples added to others previously announced or now under construction, within a few years the Church will have 130 working temples.

“Others will be constructed as the Church continues to grow,” President Hinckley promised.

The temples are part of an unparalleled building program undertaken by the Church to meet the rapid growth of membership worldwide. President Hinckley told members that there are currently 451 meetinghouses around the world in one stage of construction or another.

“This tremendous building program is phenomenal. I know of nothing to equal it.”

Included among all of that construction will soon be the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square, one of the “unique architectural masterpieces in the entire world,” President Hinckley said. Beginning in January, the 137-year-old structure will close to undergo an 18-month seismic renovation to strengthen the 44 sandstone pillars and foundation and to attach the famous adapted bridgework roof more securely.

Released during the conference were six members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and 17 Area Authority Seventies. (See “The Sustaining of Church Officers,” p. 22.)