Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Proposed Temples

General Authorities have often prophecied or proposed the future construction of temples to members in areas of the world where a temple was not conveniently located. Following are some temples that have been publicly proposed but not yet announced or constructed.

Maracaibo Venezuela Temple

At a special fireside held August 3, 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed approximately 5,000 Venezuelan members who had gathered in the city of Maracaibo to hear the prophet of the Lord. He encouraged members in their missionary work, noting that as membership increases, so does the possibility of new temples in the land. He foresaw the growth of the Church in South America declaring, "Where there are now hundreds of thousands, there will be millions and our people will be recognized for the goodness of their lives and they will be respected and honored and upheld. We shall build meetinghouses, more and more of them to accommodate their needs, and we shall build temples in which they may receive their sacred ordinances and extend those blessings to those who have gone beyond the veil of death."

President Hinckley pointed out the construction of the temple in Caracas, an eight-hour drive from Maracaibo. "You really need a temple over here," he said. "I am not making any promises, but I feel satisfied the time will come when we will have a temple in this part of Venezuela. Make your plans to drive that eight hours to Caracas and eight hours back and then look forward to the time when you won't have to drive so far."¹

New Delhi India Temple

In June 1992, Elder Neal A. Maxwell visited the Saints of New Delhi where "prophecies were given (conditional upon member sharing [the term used by Elder Maxwell to mean fellowshipping and teaching friends about the gospel]) that Delhi would have a [Latter-day Saint] temple and great expansion of the work." At the time, there were fewer than a thousand members in India. But despite the great cost in time and money to travel to the closest temples in Hong Kong, China and Manila, Philippines, the Indian Saints began to go.

President Gurcharan Singh Gill, a native Indian and professor of mathematics at BYU who had been called to serve as the first president of the India Bangalore Mission, made it his goal to assist more members to become worthy to attend the temple. He reported, "We had thirty-seven people go to the temple, and fifteen families were sealed together with their parents and children….That has really been a spark. Now the people know what being married forever means, what we have that other people don't have, how our temple marriages are so sacred and different than their marriages from the other churches, and so forth….Those people have come back and really stirred the members into doing family history work, genealogy work, and beginning to pay tithes so they can go to the temple someday. It has really spurred a lot of enthusiasm."²

Tirana Albania Temple

On October 11, 2022, Elder David A. Bednar visited the Saints of Albania during a five-country ministry tour of Central Europe. He testified that the Church is restored, priesthood authority is on earth, and God's plan of happiness is for everyone. "When we are yoked with the Savior through our covenants, we are never alone. And we will have strength beyond our own," he said. "It is not about the covenants alone, it is about the living Christ and how His power comes into our life."

Elder Massimo De Feo, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Central Europe Area, was also in attendance at the member devotional. He said the Albanian Saints are some of the most faithful in attending the temple. "There is a bright future for the Church here," he said. "As you become a true covenant people, there will be nothing in this world that will be an obstacle for the growth of the Church for generations to come in Albania, even to worship in the temple even closer to you."³

Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple

In the 30th anniversary year of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mongolia, some 700 members and friends gathered in Ulaanbaatar for a family-focused devotional with Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His visit to Mongolia was part of a ministry tour to the Asia North Area in September 2023.

In his remarks, Elder Andersen said that the members in Mongolia are pioneers of the gospel. "Don’t be afraid to tell your friends, 'I believe in Jesus Christ,' he said. "When you do, you will feel His love and acceptance." He encouraged the Latter-day Saints that the Church would continue to grow as they keep the commandments, pay tithing, and share the gospel.

He asked the Saints to prepare themselves for the House of the Lord, saying that someday soon a temple would be constructed in Mongolia.⁴

Vilnius Lithuania Temple

On a beautiful spring morning in May 1993 from atop Gedimino Hill, overlooking the Old Town of Vilnius, Elder M. Russell Ballard dedicated the land of Lithuania for the preaching of the gospel. Standing near a partially renovated castle at the top of the hill, he was joined by 27 others including his wife, Barbara; Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Seventy and first counselor in the Europe Area presidency and his wife, LeAnn; and Pres. Charles Creel of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission and his wife, Susann.

Before uttering his prayer of dedication, Elder Ballard addressed the humble gathering: "From this small beginning, you will see the Church grow and prosper here. There will be many branches and then a district and, in the Lord's due time, there will be stakes. Who knows, if we could look out 50 years, perhaps a small temple. That all depends on us, really, and how diligent we are willing to be, and how wise and prudent we are willing to be as we proceed to establish the kingdom of God in Lithuania."

In his prayer, Elder Ballard asked that people of Lithuania be granted peace and prosperity. "Help them, Heavenly Father," he asked, "as they make this great transition to freedom, which freedom has brought to the people the privilege of missionaries of thy Church to be here to teach the gospel of thy Son Jesus Christ to the people." He prayed that "they may put aside tradition and forget the past repression. Give them the vision of the blessing of freedom so in the future they may prosper in this land. Lift this people so they can receive all of the blessings that thou wouldst have them receive." He further stated: "The people of this land have a goodness and many of them have righteousness in their hearts. Let that be touched by the missionaries so thy work may move forward."⁵