The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the open house and dedication dates for the Deseret Peak Utah Temple. The artistic rendering for the Wellington New Zealand Temple has been announced, as well as the site location for the Brussels Belgium Temple.
Deseret Peak Utah Temple
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple will be dedicated on Sunday, November 10, 2024. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all units in the Deseret Peak Utah Temple district. More details about the temple dedication will be announced later.
Prior to the dedication, a public open house will be held Thursday, September 26, through Saturday, October 19, 2024, excluding Sundays and Saturday, October 5, for general conference. A media day will be held on Monday, September 23, 2024, while invited guests will tour the temple Tuesday, September 24, through Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
The Deseret Peak Utah Temple was originally announced as the Tooele Valley Utah Temple in April 2019 by Church President Russell M. Nelson. “As we speak of our temples old and new, may each of us signify by our actions that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we renovate our lives through our faith and trust in Him,” he said. President Nelson concluded the April 2019 general conference by announcing eight new temples and the restoration of four pioneer-era temples, including more details about the restoration of the Salt Lake Temple.
The name of the temple (originally the Tooele Valley Utah Temple) was changed to its current name on January 19, 2021. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony, held on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Utah, the Church’s world headquarters, is home to nearly 2.2 million Latter-day Saints, approximately two-thirds of the state’s population of 3.4 million people. Utah has a total of 30 houses of the Lord in operation, under construction or announced: the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Jordan River, Lehi, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo Utah Rock Canyon, Red Cliffs, Salt Lake, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, St. George, Syracuse, Taylorsville, Vernal, and West Jordan temples.
Wellington New Zealand Temple
The artistic rendering for the Wellington New Zealand Temple has been published.
The Wellington New Zealand Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in April 2022, along with 17 new temples. Plans call for a two-story temple of approximately 14,900 square feet, as well as an ancillary building with arrival facilities and patron housing.
The location of the temple — in the Porirua suburb of Aotea — was released by the Church in November 2022.
The historic Hamilton New Zealand Temple, the first house of the Lord built in the southern hemisphere, was dedicated in 1958. The Auckland New Zealand Temple is currently under construction, and the Wellington New Zealand Temple was announced in April 2022. More than 108,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 210 congregations call New Zealand home. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island and the second largest in the country.
Missionary work began in New Zealand in 1853 and included the native Māori people. The first congregation in New Zealand was organized in 1855.
The Brussels Belgium Temple
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the location of the Brussels Belgium Temple.
The temple will be built within an existing building at Ave des Arts 52, Brussels, Belgium. Plans call for a multistory temple of approximately 25,500 square feet, a meetinghouse, and arrival facilities. This will be the city’s first temple.
Church President Russell M. Nelson announced the temple during the Church’s general conference in April 2021. “Temples are a vital part of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. Ordinances [ceremonies] of the temple fill our lives with power and strength available in no other way. We thank God for those blessings,” the Prophet said as 20 new temples were announced, including the Belgium Brussels Temple.
Brussels is in the north central portion of Belgium, approximately 70 miles (110 km) from the Belgian coast and 100 miles (180 km) from Belgium’s southern tip.
Detailed design plans for the temple are still under development. Further information — including exterior renderings — will be made public later. A groundbreaking date will be announced in the future. Project leaders will work with city officials on plans and permits for the temple in preparation for future construction activities.
Brussels is a major international center and the European country’s capital. Nearly 7,000 Latter-day Saints in 12 congregations reside in Belgium. The Brussels Belgium Temple will be the Church’s first temple in the country. The preaching of the restored gospel began in Belgium when the first missionary arrived in 1888. Missionaries laboring in Switzerland and Germany were also sent to Belgium.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on the earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses or chapels. All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for faithful members of the Church to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages that unite families forever.