Pres. Nelson announces 15 new temples during April 2025 general conference

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Russell M. Nelson, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced 15 new temples on Sunday, April 6.

The announcement of the new temples came during the Sunday afternoon session of the religion’s 195th annual general conference. Nelson announced the new temples in a prerecorded video message, with the temples being announced for the following locations:

• Reynosa, Mexico
• Chorrillos, Peru
• Rivera, Uruguay
• Campo Grande, Brazil
• Porto, Portugal
• Uyo, Nigeria
• San Jose del Monte, Philippines
• Nouméa, New Caledonia
• Liverpool, Australia
• Caldwell, Idaho
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• Rapid City, South Dakota
• Greenville, South Carolina
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Spanish Fork, Utah

The temple in Spanish Fork will be Utah’s 31st Latter-day Saint temple, and the temple in Rapid City will be the first in South Dakota. The temple that was announced for New Caledonia will be the first in the islands. You can learn more about each of the newly announced temples on the church’s website.

Since becoming the faith’s leader in 2018, the church says Nelson has announced a total of 200 new temples. Last year, Nelson announced 15 new temples in April 2024 and another 17 new temples in October 2024.

Also last year, the church dedicated 16 temples, bringing the total number of operating temples for the religion to 194, according to the church’s statistics from the end of 2024. The church also reports that 59 temples were under construction as of December 2024, and 114 new temples had been announced.

In the Church of Jesus Christ, temples differ from chapels, where members regularly meet. While members of the faith (and guests who aren’t members) can enter chapels for weekly services on Sundays, temples are considered “the most sacred places on earth” and are not completely open to the public, the church explains.

New temples are typically announced during the church’s worldwide general conference, which is held twice each year: First in April and then in October. The individual sessions of the conference are each about two hours long and take place at various times during the weekend gathering.

According to its statistics, the church had a reported membership of more than 17.5 million people worldwide, with more than 31,600 congregations, as of December 2024.