Mormon church president Thomas Monson on Saturday announced plans to build five new temples in Fortaleza, Brazil; Concepcion, Chile; Sapporo, Japan; Brigham City, Utah; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The temple in Concepcion will be the second in Chile and the 15th in Latin America. In Brazil, where the church has more than 1 million members, the Fortaleza temple will be the country’s seventh.
Japan’s Sapporo temple will be the third in that country and the sixth in Asia.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints already has 130 temples worldwide, most in the US. Another 16 are either planned or already under construction.
Monson has announced plans for at least 10 new temples since he became the church’s 16th president in February last year. His announcement came during the opening session of the church’s two-day semiannual general conference in Salt Lake City.
The locations selected for new temples reflect the growth of the church, which according to statistics released in April has grown to 13.8 million members.
“We desire that as many members as possible have an opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances,” Monson said. “Worldwide, 83 percent of our members live within 200 miles of a temple.”
Temples are used for religious rituals including proxy baptisms, marriage ceremonies known as sealings and other ceremonies designed to strengthen church teachings.
Architecturally, temples are towering white buildings with tall steeples. Many are topped with a trumpet-blowing golden angel draped in flowing robes. The figure represents the angel Moroni, who Mormons believe led church founder Joseph Smith to a set of buried golden plates that, when translated, became known as the Book of Mormon, the faith’s central text.
The Brigham City temple will be the 14th in Utah, the church’s international home base. The Fort Lauderdale temple will be Florida’s second and the first since the Orlando temple opened in 1994. That temple is expected to serve US Mormons as well as those from the Bahamas, a church news release said.
The two-day general conference draws an international audience.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
RSS