15 temple announcements and milestones in October

New temples are beginning construction or being dedicated at a rapid pace. More than 50 temples around the world are currently under construction or renovation, and in the month of October, the Church rededicated one temple, began two public open houses, announced four temple groundbreaking dates, published eight new temple locations, held three new temple groundbreaking ceremonies, and continued work on countless other construction projects.

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Here are a few highlights from those special occasions and announcements.

President Russell M. Nelson presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Heber Valley Utah Temple, held on Saturday, October 8, 2022.

In his opening remarks, President Nelson said, “Today, we will begin the work by breaking ground for a temple in this unique and wonderful valley. I love you all and whole-heartedly rejoice with you.”

The new temple will be built on a 17.9-acre site in Heber City, Utah. Construction plans call for a three-story temple approximately 88,000 square feet in size.  This will be the 28th in the state of Utah.

You can watch highlights from groundbreaking ceremony in the player above and read more about the groundbreaking on Church Newsroom.

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On October 10, 2022, the Church announced that the new Singapore Temple will be built on a one-acre site located at 233 Pasir Panjang Road in Singapore. Construction plans include a 18,000-square-foot, two-story temple and a meetinghouse with an arrival center adjacent to the temple. Detailed design plans are still being developed, and exterior renderings and groundbreaking dates will be announced in the future.

This will be the first temple constructed by the Church in Singapore. According to Newsroom, on a visit to Singapore in November 2019, President Nelson said that he prayed for a day when the Saints living there would have a temple.

Find out more about construction plans for the new temple on Church Newsroom.

The Church also announced on October 10, 2022, that the Modesto California Temple will be built next to an existing meetinghouse at 4300 Dale Rd. in Modesto, California. The temple’s construction plans include a single-story temple roughly 30,000 square feet in size. Design plans are still being developed, and exterior renderings and groundbreaking dates will be announced in the future.

This new temple in California will be the Golden State’s ninth temple in operation, under construction or announced, following temples in Feather River, Fresno, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Oakland, Redlands, Sacramento, San Diego, and Yorba Linda.

Read more about the new California temple and its construction plans on Church Newsroom.

The public open house for the Quito Ecuador Temple began on Friday, October 14, 2022. The open house runs through Saturday, October 29, 2022 (excluding Sundays), and Elder Quentin L. Cook  will preside at the temple’s dedication on Sunday, November 20, 2022.

In a special media day prior to the open house’s commencement, Elder Jorge Zeballos of the South America Northwest Area Presidency said, “We are honored to present a work with these characteristics and purpose.”

According to Newsroom, the beautiful temple includes exterior artistic stained glass windows crafted by local Ecuadorian artisans. These windows feature abstract floral patterns colored in blue, dark green, light green, red, yellow, and white, to represent the tones of local flora found in the region. Inside, the decor features a floral motif with a geranium—a flower representative of the city of Quito—at its center.

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Templodequito.org includes information about the open house hours, a map of the temple’s location, a virtual tour of the temple’s surroundings, and a video from the Church explaining the purpose of temples. You can read more about the new temple and its open house on Church Newsroom.

For the first time in more than four years, members of the Church in New Zealand have an operating temple. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf rededicated the Hamilton New Zealand Temple on Sunday, October 16, 2022.

The temple in Hamilton was the first Latter-day Saint temple built in the Southern Hemisphere and the 11th temple built in this dispensation. The temple has been closed for renovations since July 2018.

“This temple of God will bless this country and people,” Elder Uchtdorf said at the rededication. “It will be a light to the nations. It will lessen the influence of the evil one. It will be a beacon of light and a place of hope.”

Teotiana Gerrard, a 16-year-old who attended one of the rededication sessions on Sunday, told Church News, “I felt a lot of joy and a lot of peace. And I learned that anyone can make mistakes, but as long as you come back to the Savior at the end of the day, that’s what matters—He just loves you for you.”

The temple features a new layout, reconfigured for better flow and efficiency. Parts of the temple’s original design and historic murals have been restored, and design elements have been incorporated to feature the work of the original temple builders and local Māori craftwork and traditions.

You can read more stories about the Hamilton New Zealand open house and rededication ceremony on Church News.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the first temple of the Church in Nicaragua, the Managua Nicaragua Temple, will be held on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Elder Taylor G. Godoy, First Counselor in the Central America Area Presidency, will preside at the event.

The Church’s new temple in Managua will be built on a 8.9-acre site located at km 9.3 Carretera Masaya in Managua. The temple construction plans include a single-story temple approximately 25,000 square feet in size.

You can read more about the Church’s construction plans on Church Newsroom.

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The Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple will have its groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, December 3, 2022. Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, Second Counselor in the Central America Area Presidency, will preside at the event.

Originally announced in general conference as the Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temple, the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple will be one of five temples in Guatemala, which is home to nearly 285,000 Latter-day Saints.

Learn more about construction plans on Church Newsroom.

On Saturday, December 10, 2022, ground will be broken for the Torreón Mexico Temple. Elder Hugo Montoya, Mexico Area President, will preside at the event. Attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony will be by invitation only.

The new temple will be built on the corner of Paris and Amsterdam Streets in the city of Gomez Palacio, Mexico, and will be roughly 10,000 square feet in size.

Read more about plans and see a map of the new temple site on Church Newsroom.

Groundbreaking services for the Querétaro Mexico Temple will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2023. Elder Adrián Ochoa, First Counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency, who was raised and educated in Mexico, will preside at the event.

The new temple in Querétaro will be approximately 27,500 square feet and located at Prolongación Tecnológico Norte 150 Col San Pablo, Querétaro Mexico.

There are nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints living in Mexico, and with the new temples in Torreón and Querétaro, Mexico will have 23 temples operating, under construction, or announced—more than any other country outside of the United States.

The Church’s 174th operating temple is now open to the public in Belém, Brazil.

The open house began on Saturday, October 22, 2022, and will run through Saturday, November 5, 2022, every day except for Sundays. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication on Sunday, November 20, 2022, and dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all units in the Belém Brazil Temple district. This will be one of thirteen temples in operation, under construction, or announced in Brazil.

The new temple features exterior Brazilian granite, and a stylized motif inspired by local Marajoara indigenous pottery with the native water lily, the Victoria amazonica.

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Read more about the open house on Church Newsroom.

On Saturday, October 29, 2022, Elder Valeri V. Cordón presided over the dedication for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple groundbreaking ceremony.

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“We pray that the temple will be a beacon of hope and peace that inspires this community to come unto Christ even in its construction phase,” Elder Cordón said in the dedicatory prayer.

The new temple will be built on a 10.5-acre site in Springfield, a suburb of Eugene, Oregon. Construction plans include a single-story temple roughly 30,000 square feet in size.

You can read more about the Oregon temple groundbreaking on Church Newsroom.

On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Church announced that the Mexico City Benemérito Temple will be build near the Mexico City Missionary Training Center at Tenayuca-Chalmita 828, Col. Zona Escolar, Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de México. The new temple will be two stories and roughly 29,000 square feet in size.

Learn more at Church Newsroom.

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The Church announced on Monday, October 31, 2022 that the San Luis Potosí Mexico Temple will be a single-story temple of approximately 9,300 square feet. It will be built at Arboleda 100, Fraccionamiento del Parque, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Read more at Church Newsroom.

On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Church announced that the second temple in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, will be constructed on a 10.7-acre site located at Av. Guilherme Giorgi, 1091, Vila Carrão São Paulo, Brazil. Plans include a two-story temple of approximately 46,050 square feet.

Learn more at Church Newsroom.

The Fort Worth Texas Temple is the eighth temple in the state of Texas announced, under construction, or in operation. On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Church announced that the new temple in Fort Worth will be a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet built on a piece of property north of SW Hulen Street and Greenridge Drive, Burleson, Texas.

Read more on Church Newsroom.

The Church announced on October, 31, 2022, that the third temple in the state of Tennessee—the Knoxville Tennessee Temple—will be built at 13001 Kingston Pike, Farragut, Tennessee. Plans call for a single-story temple roughly 30,000 square feet built on a 4.99-acre site.

Learn more at Church Newsroom.

On October 31, 2022, the Church announced that its new temple in Tampa, Florida, will be a 30,000 square foot structure built on a 16.2-acre site next to an existing Latter-day Saint meetinghouse at 4806 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico, Florida. The state of Florida also has Latter-day Saint temples announced, under construction, or in operation in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tallahassee.

Read more at Church Newsroom.