Church leaders and local members broke ground for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple on Saturday, September 12, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also announced upcoming milestones for temples in Tennessee, Utah, Bolivia and Ohio. The separate developments include open house and dedication dates for the Knoxville Tennessee and Smithfield Utah Temples and groundbreaking dates for the La Paz Bolivia and Cincinnati Ohio Temples, according to two Church Newsroom releases.
Elder Karl D. Hirst of the United States Central Area Presidency presided over the Colorado Springs ceremony and offered a dedicatory prayer on the future temple site. The First Presidency announced the dates and presiding leaders for the four additional temples.
Ground Broken in Colorado Springs
During the Colorado Springs ceremony, Elder Hirst described the spiritual purposes Latter-day Saints associate with temples. “The temple is a place of spiritual guidance, peace, hope and revelation,” he said.
“For us, temples are literally the house of the Lord,” Elder Hirst continued. “The Lord visits His temples, and they are the most precious and sacred of all our places of worship.”
Several other speakers also shared their testimonies about the sacred nature of temples during the program. Sandy Gardner of the Colorado Springs North Stake drew on nearly 18 years of service as an ordinance worker in the Denver Colorado Temple.
“Temples are the bridge between mortality and immortality, a place where we receive comfort, peace, vision, hope and promise,” Gardner said. Her husband, Rich Gardner, focused on the covenants Church members make inside temples.
“We are promised that honoring temple covenants binds us to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and we can become like Him,” Rich Gardner said. “What a magnificent prospect.”
Elder Hirst concluded his participation by dedicating the site and praying for those who would encounter it while construction proceeds. “Please bless us as we wait upon Thee here, that we will receive all that we need from Thy hand and that the sacredness of this site will be experienced more broadly by those who work or pass by here,” he prayed.
The Colorado Springs Colorado Temple will become Colorado’s fourth house of the Lord when completed. The state’s other temples stand in Denver, Fort Collins and Grand Junction.
Knoxville and Smithfield Temples Prepare to Open
The Church of Jesus Christ will begin welcoming visitors to the Knoxville Tennessee Temple in January 2027. The Church will host a media day on Monday, January 25, followed by tours for invited guests on January 26.
A public open house will run from Wednesday, January 27, through Saturday, February 13, excluding Sundays. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, March 7, and the Church will broadcast the ceremony to congregations throughout the temple district.
Church leaders announced the Knoxville Tennessee Temple in April 2022 and broke ground for the building in January 2024. It will join dedicated temples in Memphis and Nashville as Tennessee’s third dedicated temple.
Nearly 62,000 Latter-day Saints live in Tennessee and worship in more than 120 congregations. The Knoxville dedication will take place approximately five years after the Church first announced the temple.
The Smithfield Utah Temple will follow a similar schedule beginning the next month. The Church will hold a media day on Monday, February 22, 2027, and conduct tours for invited guests on February 23 and 24.
The public may tour the temple from Thursday, February 25, through Saturday, March 27, excluding Sundays. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, April 18, and the Church will broadcast the ceremony to congregations in the temple district.
Church leaders announced the Smithfield Utah Temple in April 2021. Elder Cook and Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided when participants broke ground in June 2022.
Utah has more than 2.2 million Latter-day Saints in nearly 5,400 congregations and serves as the Church’s global headquarters. The state has 32 temples in operation, under construction, under renovation or announced.
Twenty-three dedicated temples currently serve communities in Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Tooele’s Deseret Peak area, Draper, South Jordan’s Jordan River area, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, American Fork’s Mount Timpanogos area, Ogden, South Jordan’s Oquirrh Mountain area, Orem, Payson, Provo, St. George’s Red Cliffs area, Saratoga Springs, St. George, Syracuse, Taylorsville and Vernal. Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Ephraim Utah Temple on Sunday, October 11, 2026.
The Church is constructing or renovating temples in the Heber Valley, Provo’s Rock Canyon area and Salt Lake City. Church leaders have also announced temples in Lehi, Price, Spanish Fork and West Jordan.
Groundbreakings Scheduled in Bolivia and Ohio
Church leaders will break ground for the La Paz Bolivia Temple on Saturday, November 21, 2026. Elder Juan Pablo Villar, President of the South America Northwest Area, will preside over the services.
The Church plans to construct an approximately 18,850-square-foot temple on 3.8 acres near Avenida Los Sauces and Calle 8 de Calacoto in Calacoto, La Paz. The temple will become Bolivia’s third house of the Lord.
More than 223,000 Latter-day Saints worship in 260 congregations across Bolivia. The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple has served Church members since its April 2000 dedication, while crews continue work on the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple, which Church leaders announced in October 2020.
The Cincinnati Ohio Temple groundbreaking will take place two weeks earlier on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Elder Alan T. Phillips of the United States Northeast Area Presidency will preside over the event.
The Church plans to construct the single-story, approximately 29,630-square-foot temple on a 35-acre property at the intersection of Mason-Montgomery Road and Cedar Village Drive in Mason. The Cincinnati temple will become Ohio’s third house of the Lord.
Elder Bednar recently dedicated the Cleveland Ohio Temple, while the Columbus Ohio Temple dates to September 1999 and received a rededication in June 2023. The Kirtland Temple, the first temple the Church built, now operates as a historic site.
More than 65,000 Latter-day Saints live in Ohio and attend over 130 congregations. These congregations use meetinghouses for Sunday services, while temples provide spaces where faithful Church members participate in sacred ceremonies, including eternal marriages and proxy baptisms for deceased ancestors.
Which of these five temples are you most excited to see completed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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.
I lived in East Tennessee for 35 years, dreaming of a temple in Knoxville, even as we attended the Atlanta Temple or later the Nashville temple. I am so happy for my friends in Athens, Etowah, and Cleveland, Tennessee.