2 years after last new LDS temple was announced, construction rolls ahead

The Payson Utah Temple will be dedicated in 2015.

LDS Church

SALT LAKE CITY Last April, LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson opened general conference with unusual news: He would not announce any new temples that day or in the near future.

In fact, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathers for another general conference on Saturday and Sunday, two years have passed since the last announcement of a new temple, in April 2013, when President Monson revealed plans for temples in Cedar City, Utah, and Rio de Janeiro.

A two-year lag between temple announcements is rare for what President Monson has called a temple-building people.

The last time Latter-day Saints saw more time pass without a new temple announcement was the six years between 1984 and 1990, a span that straddled the church presidencies of Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson.

In the 25 years since 1990, the church's membership doubled from 7.7 million members to more than 15 million.

At the same time, the number of completed temples jumped from 44 to 144.

Many more will be built. President Monson suspended announcements of new temples to allow the church's temple department to concentrate efforts on a backlog of 28 previously announced temples.

Two of those 28 opened by the end of 2014 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Phoenix.

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2 years after last new LDS temple was announced, construction rolls ahead