Last year was filled with historic temple announcements and updates. As we prepare for a new year of temple worship, let’s look back at some of the momentous firsts from 2025.
1. The Church announced 16 new temple locations, including firsts in three locations.
These announcements marked the first temples for two of the United States (South Dakota and Maine) and one French territory (New Caledonia). Find a quick summary of all the new locations below.
2. An Area Presidency member announced a temple for the first time.
On December 14, 2025, Elder Allen D. Haynie announced the Portland Maine Temple during a stake Christmas devotional.
Elder Haynie shared a recent Church leadership decision “that, when directed by the First Presidency, the announcement of the construction of a new temple should be made on location by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or a member of an Area Presidency.”
This announcement aligns with a comment by President Oaks during the most recent general conference: “We will now move forward in providing the ordinances of the temple to members of the Church throughout the world, including when and where to announce the construction of temples” (emphasis added).
3. The Church opened 10 new or renovated temples.
These temples all opened for the first time, except for the renovated Toronto Ontario Temple. See a chart of the locations below.
4. Church leaders broke ground for the first temple in Singapore.
Elder Kelly R. Johnson dedicated the construction site on June 28, 2025, almost six weeks before the 50th anniversary of Asia’s first temple (the Tokyo Japan Temple). Singapore has six congregations and over 3,200 Latter-day Saints in total.
5. The Church released an artist’s rendering for the first temple in Indonesia.
The Jakarta Indonesia Temple will be a three-story temple of nearly 50,000 square feet. Nearly 8,000 Latter-day Saints live in Indonesia, and there are about 25 congregations.
6. It also shared an exterior rendering for Mongolia’s first temple.
Mongolia is home to more than 12,500 members. Its temple in Ulaanbaatar will be a single-story structure of approximately 18,850 square feet.
7. The Church dedicated its first temple in Kenya.
On May 18, 2025, Elder Ulisses Soares dedicated the first temple in East Africa. The Nairobi Kenya Temple currently serves members in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
8. The Syracuse Utah Temple became the first temple to have two baptismal fonts.
On June 8, 2025, President Russell M. Nelson dedicated the Syracuse Utah Temple.
The baptistry is the first to feature two fonts. “The reason for that is the high concentration of members and especially high concentration of youth,” Elder Kevin R. Duncan told Church Newsroom. “Now they can come more frequently.”
9. The Church announced plans for the longest temple open house in its history.
On February 14, 2025, President Russell M. Nelson announced that the Salt Lake Temple would be available for public tours for six months, from April 2027 to October 2027. The announcement marked the 172nd anniversary of the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony.
“I expect this will be the largest and most heavily attended open house in the history of the church,” Elder Larry Y. Wilson told the Deseret News.
As of January 2026, there are currently 383 temples operating, under construction, or announced. This total includes temples in 44 of the United States and 78 other countries and territories.
Visit Church Newsroom to read more about the latest temple news.
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