The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the location and name change for a temple to be built in the North Dallas, Texas area. This temple was first announced on October 2, 2022, by Church President Russell M. Nelson as the Prosper Texas Temple. The name has been changed to the McKinney Texas Temple.
This temple will be built on an 8.16-acre site located along Stacy Road adjacent to and east of an existing meetinghouse at 651 East Stacy Road, in Fairview, Texas. Plans call for a multi-story temple of approximately 44,000 square feet. This will be the city’s first temple.
In addition to the McKinney Texas Temple, the Lone Star State has seven other houses of the Lord in operation, under construction, or announced. These are the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and the McAllen Texas temples.
Located in the south-central United States, Texas was first visited by missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ in 1843. In 1898, about 300 Church members settled on land purchased by the Church in northeast Texas that would become the colony of Kelsey.
Church growth in Texas has been rapid in recent decades, with more than 132,000 Latter-day Saints in 1985 growing to just over 210,000 in 2000. Today, Texas is home to more than 378,000 members in nearly 750 congregations.
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities in local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.