From one house in Kirtland to 222.

On March 27, 1836, the Saints dedicated the Kirtland Temple in Ohio with a prayer the Prophet Joseph Smith said was given to him by revelation. It is now Doctrine and Covenants 109.

A week later, on April 3, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw the Lord in the temple, followed by Moses, Elias and Elijah (Doctrine and Covenants 110).

Doctrine and Covenants chronology

Less than two years later, persecution drove Church leaders out of Kirtland. Three temples planned in Missouri were never finished. In Nauvoo, Illinois, the cornerstones of a new temple were laid on April 6, 1841, and while it was being built, Joseph Smith introduced baptisms for the dead, marriage for eternity and the endowment.

Church News, The path to 200 · Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual

The Nauvoo Temple was dedicated on April 30 and May 1, 1846, after most of the Saints had already left for the West. An arsonist burned it in 1848, and a tornado brought down the walls that were left.

Historic Nauvoo, Nauvoo Temple exhibit

On July 28, 1847, four days after the first pioneers arrived, Brigham Young drove his cane into the ground in the Salt Lake Valley.

“Here we will build a temple to our God.”Brigham Young, July 28, 1847

The cornerstones were laid on April 6, 1853.

Church News Almanac, Salt Lake Temple

The St. George Temple was finished first. On January 11, 1877, the first endowments for the dead were performed there, and the temple was dedicated on April 6, 1877. In the Church's official list, St. George is temple No. 1.

Church History in the Fulness of Times · Church News, Nos. 1 to 20

Logan followed in 1884 and Manti in 1888. Then, on April 6, 1893, forty years to the day after its cornerstones were laid, the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated.

Ensign, January 1978

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1919, President Heber J. Grant dedicated the temple at Laie, on Oahu's north shore: the first temple built outside the contiguous United States. Four years later the Cardston Alberta Temple became the first outside the United States and its territories.

• 1919Laie Hawaii, first outside the contiguous United States
• 1923Cardston Alberta, first outside the United States
• 1927Mesa Arizona
• 1945Idaho Falls Idaho

Church News, Building a temple in Laie

On September 11, 1955, President David O. McKay dedicated the Swiss Temple near Bern, the first temple in Europe and in the Eastern Hemisphere. Members came from many countries and spoke many languages, so the endowment was presented on film, which let one temple serve all of them.

Church News, Nos. 1 to 20 · Friend, July 2002

In 1958 President McKay dedicated two more temples: Hamilton, New Zealand, the first in the Southern Hemisphere, and London, England.

Church News, Nos. 1 to 20

When President Spencer W. Kimball announced a temple for São Paulo in 1975, the nearest temple for Brazilian members was 4,700 miles away in Washington, D.C. Members sold gold and jewelry to help pay for it and gave their time to help build it. It was dedicated on October 30, 1978, the first temple in South America. Tokyo followed in 1980, the first in Asia.

Church News, Nos. 1 to 20

On April 2, 1980, President Kimball announced seven smaller temples, and a year later he announced nine more. In 1985 came the Freiberg Germany Temple, the first behind the Iron Curtain, and the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, the first in Africa.

Church News, 1980 to 1989 · Church News, Nos. 21 to 40

In 1997, on a plane ride, President Gordon B. Hinckley sketched a floor plan that kept only what a house of the Lord needs and left out the rest. The first of these smaller temples, in Monticello, Utah, was dedicated on July 26, 1998.

Church News Almanac, Monticello Utah Temple

“I think we had better add two more to make it an even 100 by the end of this century.”President Gordon B. Hinckley, April 5, 1998

When he said it, 51 temples were in operation. The Boston Massachusetts Temple became No. 100 on October 1, 2000. That year the Church dedicated 34 temples, more than in any other year before or since.

Church News, Nos. 81 to 100

In 2002 a new Nauvoo Illinois Temple was dedicated on the original site, its exterior patterned after the first.

On March 10, 2019, President Russell M. Nelson dedicated the Rome Italy Temple. For the first time, the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gathered outside the United States. President Nelson called it a hinge point in the history of the Church.

Church News Almanac, Rome Italy Temple · Church News, President Nelson's temple contributions

President Nelson announced 200 temples, more than half of all temples dedicated or planned today. In 2024 the Church dedicated temples Nos. 181 to 200 in about 14 months. No. 200 was Deseret Peak Utah, on November 10, 2024.

KUTV · Church News, The path to 200

Since President Dallin H. Oaks became President of the Church in October 2025, new temples have not been announced in general conference. Leaders assigned by the First Presidency announce them at gatherings of members in those areas. Portland, Maine; Marysville, Washington; and Otavalo, Ecuador were the first three.

Deseret News, temples announced under President Oaks

The rings on the map are the 163 temples on the way: announced, under construction or scheduled for dedication.