Temple sites in Austria, Virginia and Pennsylvania will bring blessings to Latter-day Saints
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The location for the historic first Latter-day Saint temple in Austria was revealed Monday by the First Presidency. The sites for planned new temples in Pennsylvania and Virginia were included in the news release announcing the Austria site, issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The announcements illustrate the emphasis President Russell M. Nelson has placed on temple-building and temple covenants during nearly six years as the church’s prophet-president.
“The Church of Jesus Christ was restored so that families could be sealed and exalted eternally,” President Nelson has said.
Temples are the holiest buildings in Latter-day Saint theology and differ from the meetinghouses were Sunday worship services take place each week. They are the only places where church members can be sealed together, participate in other ordinances and make important covenants with God. President Nelson said the church is trying to bring those ordinances closer to more people.
“Everything we believe and every promise God has made to his covenant people comes together in the temple,” President Nelson has said.
Here’s what you should know about Monday’s news:
Where will the Vienna Austria Temple be built?
Austria’s first temple will be constructed at Silbergasse 2 in Vienna, home to the Döbling Ward meetinghouse. The plan is to build a multistory temple on 0.80 acres. An exterior rendering of the expected 15,300-square-foot building will be released later, as will a date for the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Vienna temple was announced on April 4, 2021, by President Nelson.
Nearly 4,700 Latter-day Saints worship in 17 congregations in Austria.
Where will the Winchester Virginia Temple be built?
The announcement of the Winchester Virginia Temple site reflects the temple-building surge of President Nelson’s administration. When he became the church president in January 2018, the church had 159 operating temples and another 23 announced or under construction.
Since then he has announced 153 new temples.
Virginia illustrates the broader picture because:
President Nelson announced the state’s first temple as part of his first announcement of new temples, in April 2018. The Richmond Virginia Temple was dedicated in May of this year, the fourth temple announced by President Nelson to be constructed, dedicated and opened.
In April of this year, President Nelson announced the Winchester temple.
In October, President Nelson announced a third temple for the state, the Roanoke Virginia Temple.
The Winchester temple will be built on a 11.27-acre site at 200 Merrimans Lane. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet.
More than 97,000 Latter-day Saints worship in 215 congregations in Virginia.
Where will the Harrisburg Pennsylvania Temple be built?
The Harrisburg temple will be built on a 5.36-acre property located at 605 Rutherford Road in Harrisburg and become the third temple in Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple opened in September 2016. The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple is under construction.
Harrisburg temple plans anticipate a single-story building of approximately 20,000 square feet.
More than 52,000 Latter-day Saints worship in more than 100 congregations in Pennsylvania. The state was home to a dozen Latter-day Saint congregations in the first years after Joseph Smith organized the church in 1830 and before church members migrated to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Utah.
When was the groundbreaking ceremony for the Fort Worth Texas Temple?
The next step for the Vienna, Winchester and Harrisburg temples, after church representatives working with local governments on permits, is a groundbreaking ceremony.
Church leaders broke ground Saturday for the Fort Worth Texas Temple.
Elder Jose L. Alonso, a General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, presided at the event on Saturday, October 28, 2023, according to a news release.
President Nelson announced plans for the Fort Worth temple in October 2021. Construction on the single-story, 30,000-square-foot temple will begin now on a 9.37-acre site located north of Southwest Hulen Street and Greenridge Drive in Burleson, Texas.
Texas is home to 378,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 750 congregations. The state now has five operating temples. The Fort Worth temple will be the sixth. Two other temples have been announced for the state, in Austin and Prosper.
