Latter-day Saint Life

New Temples Aren't Always Announced in Conference. Here's a Breakdown of How That's Changed.

51564.jpg

If it seems like general conference and the announcement of new temple locations go hand-in-hand in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are plenty of reasons to think so.

The last 31 temple announcements have come in a conference session, with all but two of the 56 announced over the past decade done so from the Conference Center pulpit.

But temple announcements by the president of the Church during general conference have not always been a given. Consider that less than half of the 201 temples — operating, under construction or formally being planned — were announced in conference.

Also, while 96 percent of the past decade’s temple announcements were done during a conference session, only 15 of the 48 in the previous decade — or less than a third — were publicized in similar fashion.
While this may make temple announcements in conference seem like a more recent trend, three of the seven oldest operating temples were announced during general conference — the first nearly a century and a half ago.

The Church’s temple announcements during general conference have a varied history — from in-session statements to pre-conference press conferences, and from the naming of specific cities to a more-general identification by county, country or even property-development name.

Story by Scott Taylor, lead image from Church News.
Share
Stay in the loop!
Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content