On the first day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . renovation in Salt Lake City.
On the second day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . two vaporware ones1
and renovation in Salt Lake City.
On the third day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . three in the Congo
two vaporware ones
etc.
On the fourth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . four near Mexico City
three in the Congo
etc.
On the fifth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . five in Nigeria
four near Mexico City
etc.
On the sixth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . six in cities starting with I or J2
five in Nigeria
etc.
On the seventh day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . seven in Central America3
six in cities starting with I or J
etc.
On the eighth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . eight in Yellowstone states4
seven in Central America
etc.
On the ninth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . nine in the Philippines5
eight in Yellowstone states
etc.
On the tenth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . ten in Gulf Coast states6
nine in the Philippines
etc.
On the eleventh day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . eleven in Europe7
ten in Gulf Coast states
etc.
On the twelfth day of temples, my Nelson gave to me . . . a (baker’s) dozen in Utah
eleven in Europe
etc.
_____
1Russia, China
2Iloilo, Philippines; Iquitos, Peru; Jacksonville, Florida; Jakarta, Indonesia; João Pessoa, Brazil; Juchitán de Zaragoza, Mexico
3Guatemala 4, El Salvador 1, Honduras 1, Nicaragua 1
4Idaho 4, Montana 2, Wyoming 2
5Note: Overlaps with sixth day.
6Texas 6, Florida 3, Alabama 1; Note: Overlaps with sixth day.
7Austria, Belgium, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Spain; Note: Overlaps with second day.
Acknowledgement: I appreciate Scott Taylor’s article in the Church News where he breaks down the temples Russell M. Nelson has announced into a bunch of different categories for getting me started with putting this together.
There are so many interesting things out there about temple construction. I’ll try not to go on too long.
* Nelson has announced 11 temples in Europe, not a single one has broken ground yet.
* When Nelson assumed the presidency, the temple backlog was 23. Today it is 165. (Peaked at 169 after the last conference.) For comparison, the previous record was 55 back in August 1999, but by December of 2000 it was already down to 18.
* We have only exceeded 7 temples dedicated in a year 4 times: 1999 (15), 2000 (34), 2023 (11) and 2024 (16). 2016 was the most recent year that the number of temples completed exceeded the number announced (6 vs 4). The last time the backlog went down by more than 4 in any calendar year was in 2000 (6 announced, 34 dedicated)
* 4 Monson era temples have not been completed: Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire (dedication scheduled 5/1/25), Harare Zimbabwe, Alabang Philippines and Nairobi Kenya. The last 3 have been under construction for 3+ years.
* From the last 3 presidents, 37 temples broke ground within 6 months of their announcement. All but 2 of those were from Hinckley. It seems clear that Hinckley didn’t announce temples until they knew what they were going to build and where they were going to build it (in most cases).
* But also, the 34 fastest temples from ground breaking to dedication came from the Hinckley era.
I should stop there before my commenting privileges are revoked.
Great list, DaveW. Russell M. Nelson really does love to announce temples that are still in the “we’re thinking about it” stage, where Gordon B. Hinckley was more prone to only announce what was actually going to be built in short order. I think you’re spot on. I really am interested to see what Dallin H. Oaks, or whoever it is who comes next, chooses to do.
The Far West Temple has been under construction for 186 years.