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The templeless in the U.S.
With President Russell Nelson announcing South Dakota’s first Latter-day Saint temple (pegged for Rapid City) at last month’s General Conference, members may think that every U.S. state by now either has a temple or has one in the works.
Alas, that’s not the case. So which states remain templeless? We started undertaking the task of researching that question and then turned to Latter-day Saint statistical guru Matt Martinich, who quickly supplied the answer.
It turns out that 14% of U.S. states do not have an existing or planned Latter-day Saint temple. Here are the unlucky seven:
• Delaware.
• Maine.
• Mississippi.
• New Hampshire.
• Rhode Island.
• Vermont.
• West Virginia.
It seems likely this list will continue to shrink, with Martinich seeing Maine, New Hampshire and West Virginia as the most likely to join the temple tally.
The top nations without temples
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) A young man in Lusaka, Zambia, watches General Conference on his phone in 2021. This African nation has no Latter-day Saint temple.
The Nelson-era building blitz continues to chip away at the number of countries without a Latter-day Saint temple. The 382 existing or announced temples — 200 coming under his presidency — cover more than 70 of the world’s roughly 200 nations.
The latest newcomer is the French territory of New Caledonia. Last month, Nelson added Nouméa, the capital, to the temple ranks.
Even as the church erects more of these sacred structures across the globe, nations with significant Latter-day Saint populations still lack temples.
At his ldschurch.blogspot.com website, Martinich recently revealed the countries with the most members and nary a temple in sight.
The top five are Malaysia, Togo, Zambia, Benin and Guyana. (See Martinich’s blog for the next five.)
Malaysia, for one, has more than 11,000 Latter-day Saints and 24 congregations, while Togo is home to 7,600-plus members and 28 congregations (including three stakes, or regional clusters of wards and branches).
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Faith and fandom
("Mormons in Media" and The Salt Lake Tribune) Logos for the podcasts "Mormons in Media" and "Mormon Land." The two are teaming up on a new monthly show.
From “Under the Banner of Heaven” to “Heretic” to “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” Latter-day Saints are becoming ever more visible and, frankly, marketable in the media. So “Mormon Land” is launching a monthly bonus podcast — in a partnership with “Mormons in Media” — dedicated to this phenomenon.
On this week’s show, co-hosts Rebbie Brassfield, the creator of “Mormons in Media” and a Tribune guest columnist, along with Nicole Weaver, a Tribune audience team manager and a co-producer of our “Mormon Land” podcast, discuss their new venture.
Listen to the podcast.
Pulling back in two states
• The church apparently has abandoned plans to build a meetinghouse in a Queens, N.Y., neighborhood.
Queens News Service reports that the Utah-based faith is selling a 44,000-square-foot parcel for $8 million to a Brooklyn real estate investor.
The church bought the site in 2002 and filed plans to put up a one-story, 6,000-square-foot meetinghouse. “The project was never permitted,” the news service notes, “and construction never began.”
• The church is also walking away from a controversial agreement with an Arizona public school district that would have located a seminary on a high school campus near Tucson.
The plan called for the Vail School District to construct a 1,300-square-foot building, with a $500,000 assist from the church, and then rent the facility to the faith for weekday use as a seminary.
The accord drew flak, Yahoo News reports, from secular organizations for “blurring” the lines between church and state.
“We recognize our right to practice our religion in public spaces,” Latter-day Saint officials stated, “but do not want our efforts to be a distraction to the community and district.”
From The Tribune
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ammon Bundy, at his workshop, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
• In an exclusive interview, fed-fighting fugitive Ammon Bundy talks about his life in Utah as a wanted man and being back in good standing with the church.
• Can bishops ask members about their immigration status in temple recommend interviews? A new First Presidency letter makes it clear: no.
• The church wins a bitter Texas temple fight but loses some ground on the public relations front.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering for the newly proposed Fairview Texas Temple, with its shorter steeple and new name.
• Popular podcasters of “Latter Day Struggles” explain why they left a church they love. Listen to the recent “Mormon Land” episode. Read the excerpts.
• A Latter-day Saint laments her all too often lonely life in the church since her divorce.
• Serve a mission. Get college credit. Utah’s flagship public university is offering just that, a perk the church’s flagship school doesn’t even provide.
• In his new book, biblical scholar Dan McClellan examines what Holy Writ really says about hot-button topics — from abortion to the virgin birth and child discipline. You can also revisit a “Mormon Land” podcast with him to learn about the real Christmas story.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Claire Forste talks about her watercolor and ink artwork displayed in the 13th International Art Competition exhibition at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.
• The church’s 13th International Art Competition is now on display in Salt Lake City.
• A new statue — depicting church founder Joseph Smith receiving the gold plates from which he said he translated the Book of Mormon — has been placed on Salt Lake City’s Temple Square.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) “Joseph Smith Receives the Plates,” created by Leroy Transfield, on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
