Temple Updates Span Three Countries and Three States

A bumper crop of temple news has brought developments across three countries and three U.S. states, including a groundbreaking in Idaho, a dedication in Cambodia and newly released plans for temples in Peru, Arizona and North Carolina. According to Church Newsroom releases, the updates unfolded from August 29 through the latest announcement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church of Jesus Christ now has 385 temples operating or in various stages of development worldwide. The latest news spans projects at very different points in that process, from selecting a site and releasing an initial rendering to opening a completed temple for worship.

Ground Broken for the Coeur d’Alene Idaho Temple

Elder Hutch U. Fale of the United States West Area Presidency presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for the Coeur d’Alene Idaho Temple on Saturday, August 29, 2026. He and other participants turned soil at the future temple site before Elder Fale offered a dedicatory prayer.

“God cares how we treat His children,” Elder Fale said. “Each and every meetinghouse, and especially each and every house of the Lord, is a reminder that we are all His children. The covenants we make are with Him, as our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Local Church members also spoke about their experiences with temple worship and the influence of covenants in their lives. Edyn Beesley, 17, of the Post Falls Idaho Stake shared her conversion story and recalled visiting a temple only a few months after her baptism at age 16.

“I told my dad after visiting that it felt like coming home,” Beesley said. “I felt the closest I’d felt with the Lord. Now I know I can feel my Savior’s peace, love and happiness when I make the effort to visit and receive the Lord’s blessings.”

Nile Shirley of the Hayden Lake Idaho Stake described the daily influence of the covenants he made in the temple. “My experience in the temple and the covenants made therein have taught and continue to teach me of the many blessings received by my Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, and that happens every single day of my life,” he said.

Isaac Jordan of the Sandpoint Idaho Stake spoke about relying on Jesus Christ while striving to keep his covenants. “I may not keep my covenants perfectly, but I can love Jesus Christ because I know that whatever mistakes I make, He can fix and heal because He’ll make it right in the end,” Jordan said.

Sulet Hiatt of the Bonners Ferry Idaho Stake remembered shouting for joy when Church leaders announced the Coeur d’Alene temple. She quoted President Dallin H. Oaks’ teaching that the doctrine of the Church centers on families and that temple ordinances allow families to return to Heavenly Father’s presence together.

“I know as we honor covenants we make in temples and strive to be Christlike, we will have this promise,” Hiatt said. Her remarks connected the future temple with the hopes local Latter-day Saints hold for their families.

Elder Fale concluded the event by asking God to bless Coeur d’Alene and its surrounding communities. He prayed that the temple would stand as “a symbol and source of peace” and that the beginning of construction would help soften hearts in preparation for priesthood ordinances and celestial blessings.

The Coeur d’Alene temple brings the number of Idaho temples announced, under construction or operating to 11. The other temples stand or are planned for Boise, Burley, Caldwell, Idaho Falls, Meridian, Montpelier, Pocatello, Rexburg, Teton River and Twin Falls.

More than 480,000 Latter-day Saints live in Idaho and meet in approximately 1,300 congregations. The groundbreaking formally began work on another house of the Lord for Church members in the state.

Elder Patrick Kearon Dedicates Cambodia’s First Temple

One day after the Idaho groundbreaking, Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple on Sunday, August 30. The dedication followed a public open house held from August 15 through August 22.

Elder Kearon attended the dedication with his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon. Elder I. Raymond Egbo, General Authority Seventy and Assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department, and Elder David L. Buckner, General Authority Seventy and member of the Asia Area Presidency, also attended with their wives, Sister Comfort Egbo and Sister Jennifer Buckner.

In his remarks, Elder Kearon acknowledged the hardship and loss woven into Cambodia’s history. “We are in a land that has known extraordinary pain, hardship, loss and despair,” he said.

“It is so fitting that the Lord has seen to provide a house here which will draw our hands and hearts far beyond the trials of mortality and into eternity,” Elder Kearon continued. He also spoke about healing through the ordinances performed within the temple.

“Through these sacred ordinances made possible through the atoning gift of our Redeemer, old wounds can be healed and broken hearts can be mended, on both sides of the veil,” he said. “This is a house of miracles.”

The temple occupies 3.16 acres along Russian Federation Boulevard in Phnom Penh. The nearly 10,000-square-foot building rises approximately 115 feet to the top of its spire.

Architects and designers drew from Cambodian artistic and cultural traditions throughout the building. The exterior incorporates elements associated with traditional Cambodian religious structures, while the interior features motifs inspired by kbach patterns found in local silverwork, furniture, murals and pottery.

Colors throughout the temple reflect Cambodian textiles, native plants and cultural symbolism. Original artwork depicts local landscapes and scenes connected with the faith and heritage of the Cambodian people.

The Church’s presence in Cambodia also includes decades of humanitarian and community service. Since the mid-1980s, the Church has supported hundreds of projects involving schools, hospitals, health centers, sanitation, emergency relief and education.

Iquitos Peru Temple Groundbreaking Set for October

The First Presidency released an exterior rendering of the Iquitos Peru Temple and scheduled its groundbreaking for Saturday, October 10, 2026. Elder Sandino Roman of the South America Northwest Area Presidency will preside over the services.

The Church plans to construct the approximately 20,000-square-foot temple on a 1.75-acre property at Calle San Marcos 117-137 in San Juan Bautista, Maynas, Loreto. President Russell M. Nelson announced the temple in April 2023.

The Iquitos temple will become the 10th house of the Lord in Peru. More than 667,000 Church members live in the country and worship in over 800 congregations.

Peru currently has dedicated temples in Arequipa, Lima, Lima Peru Los Olivos and Trujillo. The Church has also announced or begun construction on temples in Chiclayo, Chorrillos, Cusco, Huancayo and Piura.

Queen Creek Arizona Temple Site Identified

The First Presidency also identified the future location of the Queen Creek Arizona Temple. The 15.5-acre site sits at the southeast corner of Ryan Road and Euell Drive, between Meridian Road and Ironwood Road in Queen Creek.

Plans call for an 82,000-square-foot temple, a meetinghouse and an ancillary building. The Church announced the Queen Creek temple in 2024.

More than 442,000 Church members live in Arizona and meet in nearly 900 congregations. Six temples currently operate in Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Snowflake, the Gila Valley and Tucson.

The Church has also announced temples for Yuma and Flagstaff. With the Queen Creek project, those three planned houses of the Lord will join the six already serving Latter-day Saints across Arizona.

Rendering Released for the Charlotte North Carolina Temple

The First Presidency completed the latest group of updates by releasing an exterior rendering of the Charlotte North Carolina Temple. The Church plans to construct the single-story, approximately 30,700-square-foot building on 7.7 acres at 5926 Mathews-Mint Hill Road in Mint Hill, Mecklenburg County.

Church leaders announced the Charlotte temple in 2023. It will become North Carolina’s second house of the Lord, joining the Raleigh North Carolina Temple.

More than 98,000 Church members live in North Carolina and worship in approximately 190 congregations. The newly released rendering offers the first exterior view of the temple planned for the Charlotte area.

A Rapid Season of Temple Development

Together, these updates trace the course of temple development from identifying locations and releasing designs to breaking ground and dedicating completed houses of the Lord. The range of developments also captures the unusually concentrated stream of temple news arriving from communities in the United States, South America and Southeast Asia.

Each project ultimately serves the same purpose for Latter-day Saints: providing a sacred place to worship Jesus Christ, make covenants with God and receive ordinances that unite families eternally. This bumper crop of temple news gives Church members much to celebrate as the Lord’s work moves forward rapidly around the world.

Which of these temple updates are you most excited about? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Holly Wallace

Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.