Seventeen years ago, the LDS Church had 50 temples in 22 countries, but not enough for a global church whose members believe temples provide the "crowning blessings" of their faith. Some of those members saved money much of their lives and traveled for a week or more to finally attend a temple and receive those sacred blessings.
In October 1997, then-President Gordon B. Hinckley announced an aggressive program of construction, saying church leaders were determined "to take the temples to the people and afford them every opportunity for the very precious blessings that come of temple worship."