The Door Thereof Towards the Temple

At the end of his first general conference as the prophet in April 2018, President Nelson announced seven new temples: “We want to bring temples closer to the expanding membership of the Church. So we are now pleased to announce plans to construct seven more temples. Those temples will be located in the following locations: Salta, Argentina; Bengaluru, India; Managua, Nicaragua; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Layton, Utah; Richmond, Virginia; and a major city yet to be determined in Russia.” My family was thrilled to hear of the temple in Layton in particular, especially when we found out how close it would be to our home. There is now an open house going on, and it will be dedicated on June 16^th of this year. I thought it would be interesting to find out the status of the other six temples which were the first for President Nelson to announce: 

·         Richmond, Virginia: This was dedicated in May 2023 and is the only one among the seven that is already in operation.

·         Salta, Argentina: It will begin its open house in May and will be dedicated the same day as the Layton Temple on June 16^th.

·         Managua, Nicaragua: The groundbreaking took place in November 2022 and it is still under construction. It will be the first temple in Nicaragua and is estimated to be completed in early 2026.

·         Bangaluru, India: The groundbreaking took place in December 2020 and it is still under construction. It will be the first temple in India and is estimated to be completed in late 2026 or early 2027.

·         Cagayan de Oro, Philippines: The groundbreaking has not yet taken place, but a site was announced in December 2023.

·         Russia: No city was announced with the temple originally and it still has not yet been announced. But there are only three cities where stakes have been organized: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Saratov so it is likely that the temple will be located in one of those. But since Russia is currently at war with Ukraine, it is unlikely that progress will be made on the temple any time soon.

So after June of this year that will make 3 dedicated, 2 under construction, and 2 still in the planning phases of President Nelson’s first temple announcements.  

                President Nelson also said this in that same address: “My dear brothers and sisters, construction of these temples may not change your life, but your time in the temple surely will. In that spirit, I bless you to identify those things you can set aside so you can spend more time in the temple. I bless you with greater harmony and love in your homes and a deeper desire to care for your eternal family relationships. I bless you with increased faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a greater ability to follow Him as His true disciples.” This of course has been a consistent theme of his ministry as the prophet since that time as he has urged us repeatedly to find more time to be in the house of the Lord. I like the symbol we find in the story of King Benjamin related to the temple, and it is in line with President Nelson’s invitation. The people of Zarahemla were invited to gather together to hear the words of their king and prophet, and Mormon recorded this: “And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, … And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them” (Mosiah 2:5-6). We should likewise symbolically turn our door towards the temple, focusing our lives that direction. That means not only that we strive to be in the temple more often as President Nelson encouraged us, but also that we see the events of our lives through the eternal lens of the temple and its covenants and the promises we find therein. Yesterday we went to part of a high school baseball game, and the field it was played at was right by the Ogden Temple. Where we sat, we were looking not just at the game but at the temple all lit up directly beyond it. As the team we had come to was down 21-2 (it doesn’t get much worse than that in baseball), someone else remarked that at least the temple was there to give us perspective. And so it should be for all the challenges we face in life—we can symbolically turn our doors to the temple so that everything we see in the world has the temple in view. Then all our struggles can be seen in light of the incredible promises the Lord has given us through the sealing power of the temple.