An artist’s rendering of a recently completed Mormon temple in the Chicago area.
Aerial view of the Mormon temple near Pittsburgh, PA., completed in 2023 after two years of construction.Photo Credit: CHURCH of JESUS CHRIST of LATTER-DAY SAINTS
An artist’s rendering of a recently completed Mormon temple in the Chicago area.Photo Credit: CHURCH of JESUS CHRIST of LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Aerial view of the Mormon temple near Pittsburgh, PA., completed in 2023 after two years of construction.Photo Credit: CHURCH of JESUS CHRIST of LATTER-DAY SAINTS
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By Tony Gallotto
Published October 16, 2024 at 2:23 PM
Last updated October 16, 2024 at 2:23 PM
SUMMIT, NJ — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hopes to build 17 new Mormon temples in the United States and around the world, naming this Union County city among those locations. This news surprised officials in Summit, a six-square-mile city of 23,000 people. The city has not received plans or other information about a Mormon temple, city spokesperson Megan Trudell said in multiple published reports.
“If any permits or applications are submitted for this project, they will be handled in the same manner as any other application submitted to the city,” Trudell told The Star-Ledger.
Russell Nelson, president of the Latter-Day Saints – considered a prophet in the Salt Lake City-based church – announced plans for 17 new worldwide temples at the church's October 2024 general conference.
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Nelson’s prepared statement says the Latter-Day Saints have a 35,000-person following from 60 New Jersey congregations, on the rise here since its first missionaries arrived in 1832. The nearest large-scale temples to New Jersey are in Manhattan and Philadelphia, he said.
Nelson did not say where Summit’s temple would be built, or if the Mormons already own property in the city.
The Latter-Day Saints have roughly 350 temples worldwide. Its temples are larger and more grand than Mormon “meeting houses” or “chapels” found in many locales.
New Jersey has 40 Mormon “meeting houses,” including ones in Camden, Elizabeth, East Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Morristown, Newark and Scotch Plains, according to its website.
Here’s a rundown of the other proposed Latter-Day Saints temples: UNITED STATES TEMPLES? Huntsville, Alabama? Queen Creek, Arizona? Coeur d’Alene, Idaho? El Paso, Texas? Milwaukee, Wisconsin? Price, Utah
TEMPLES ELSEWHERE? Puerto Montt, Chile? Medellín, Colombia? Santiago, Dominican Republic? Santa Ana, El Salvador? Dublin, Ireland? Milan, Italy? Juchitán de Zaragoza, Mexico? Maputo, Mozambique? Abuja, Nigeria ? Kampala, Uganda