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templestrivia ( ** )

Interesting facts, information, and data concerning the 
temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • On April 2, 2023, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Iquitos, Peru.  This is the largest city in the world that has no road or ground access.  It can only be reached by boat or by airplane!  It sits on the banks of the great Amazon River.  On that same day, President Nelson also announced that a temple would be built in Cusco, Peru.  This temple will be located at an elevation of 11,512 feet above sea level!
  • Two of our tallest temples are the Washington, D.C. Temple, reaching a height of 288 feet and the Cedar City Utah Temple at a height of 261 feet.  Click here for more information on the tallest temples.
  • One of our shortest temples is the Mesa Arizona Temple at 50 feet in height.  Heights of our latter-day temples can be found here.
  • For many years the Salt Lake Temple has been the temple with the most square feet of floor space, with 382,207 square feet.  This could change after the recent renovation.  The Los Angeles California Temple has 190,610 square feet and the Washington D.C. Temple has 160,000 square feet.  Click here for more information about square-footage of the larger temples.
  • Some of the smaller temples, with the fewest square feet of floor space, are the Colonia Juarez Mexico Temple with 6,800 square feet and the Yigo Guam Temple with a square-footage of 6,891 square feet.  Square footages of temples can be viewed here.
  • The temple with the longest name is the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, consisting of 42 letters.  Another temple which has been announced will become the temple with the longest name once it is dedicated.  That temple is the Brazzaville Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, with its 45 letters.
  • The distinction of being the temple with the shortest name is shared by five temples.  Those temples are Lima Peru Temple, Suva Fiji Temple, Salt Lake Temple, Yigo Guam Temple, and the Orem Utah Temple.  A temple has been announced for Lehi, Utah.  That temple will join the group of ‘shortest names’ when it is dedicated.
  • Two temples that are VERY close together are the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple and the Provo City Center Temple.  They are just 2.8 miles apart.  The Oquirrh Mountain Temple and the Jordan River Temple are also very close together.
  • As more temples are being dedicated, temples are being found closer together.  Two temples that are very close together, outside of the state of Utah, are the Meridian Idaho Temple and the Boise Idaho Temple.  They are just 11.8 miles apart.  Two dedicated temples are now found with the city limits of Lima, Peru.
  • The Anchorage Alaska Temple is located very far to the north, with a latitude of 61.1 degrees north.  The Helsinki Finland Temple is also northerly, with a latitude of 60 degrees north.  Click here to see more latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of our temples.
  • The Hamilton New Zealand Temple is located at latitude 37.8 degrees south, a very southerly latitude.   When the Wellington New Zealand Temple is dedicated, it will be located even further south.  Click here to see more latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of our temples.
  • The  Accra Ghana Temple is located very close to the Prime Meridian Line, with a longitude of -0.2 degrees.   Click here to see more latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of our temples.
  • The Suva Fiji Temple is very close to the International Date Line (IDL), located at a longitude of 178.4 degrees east.  The IDL is at 180 degrees longitude.  Click here to see more latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of our temples.
  • The Quito Ecuador Temple is very close to the equatorial line, with a latitude of 0.2 south.  Click here to see more latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of our temples.
  • A temple which had a very long span from announcement to the groundbreaking ceremony was the Los Angeles California temple, with a span of 14 years and 7 months.  Click here to see more details.  The Urdaneta Philippines Temple had a time span of 13 years and 06 months from announcement to groundbreaking.
  • A temple with a very short span from announcement to groundbreaking ceremony was the St. George Utah Temple, with just one day elapsing from announcement to breaking ground.  Click here to see more details.
  • The Salt Lake Temple had a very long span from groundbreaking to dedication was the Salt Lake Temple, with that time span being 40 years and 2 months.  The span for the Fortaleza Brazil Temple was 7 years and 6 months, and the time span for the Manti Utah Temple was over 11 years.  Click here for temple construction times.
  • A temple located at a very high elevation above sea level is the La Paz Bolivia Temple, with its elevation being 10,674 feet above sea level.  Click here for temple latitudes, longitudes, and elevations
  • A temple with a very low level of elevation is The Hague Netherlands Temple, with its elevation being 3.5 feet below sea level.  Click here for temple latitudes, longitudes, and elevations
  • The month with the most temple dedications is the month of August, with 23 temples having been dedicated in this month (as of March 2024).  Click here to see dedication months of our temples.  Also, look at the very bottom of this webpage for a complete listing.
  • The month with the fewest temple dedications is the month of February, with just 5 dedications occuring in that month (as of March 2024).  Click here to see dedication months of our temples.  Also, look at the very bottom of this webpage for a complete listing.
  • The general authority that dedicated the most temples is President Gordon B. Hinckley.  He dedicated 85 temples during his service.  Click here to see numbers of temples dedicated by various church leaders.
  • Many temples have been renovated and then rededicated.  Several temples have been rededicated twice.  The Laie Hawaii temple is an example of a temple that has been renovated and rededicated twice.  Click here for temple ‘rededication’ information
  • The weathervane atop the original Nauvoo Temple was unique.  It displayed an angel in a horizontal position, as if in flight, holding an open book in one hand and a horn to his lips with the other.
  • The most common first letter of the names of our temples is the letter S.  There are 38 temples (dedicated, announced, and under construction) that start with ‘S’.  Click here to see an alphabetical listing of all temples, either dedicated, announced, or under construction.
  • There are no temples, either dedicated, announced, or under construction, that begin with the letters X or Z.  All other letters are represented.  Click here to see an alphabetical listing of all temples, either dedicated, announced, or under construction.
  • The first year in which more than one temple was dedicated was the year 1958.  That year, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple (April 20) and the London England Temple (September 7) were both dedicated.  Click here to see the years in which our temples were dedicated.
  • Four former presidents of the Church did not have the opportunity of dedicating a temple during their service as President.  They are Brigham Young, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, and Harold B. Lee.  Click here for more temple dedication information regarding various church leaders.
  • One of our sacred temples was dedicated on the 158th anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, that being June 27, 2002.  That temple, fittingly, was the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.  Click here to see all temple dedication dates.
  • President and Sister Jeffrey R. Holland were the ones who suggested the name ‘Red Cliffs Utah Temple’.  It is apparent the Hollands were consulted, as Elder Holland was raised in St. George.
  • Click here to see interesting ‘first temple’ facts.
  • Two-temple cities:  Cities that currently have or soon will have two temples within the city limits includes:
    • South Jordan, Utah  (River Jordan and Oquirrh Mountain temples)
    • Provo, Utah  (Provo Rock Canyon and Provo City Center temples)
    • Lima, Peru  (Lima and Lima Los Olivos temples)
    • Guatemala City, Guatemala
    • Rexburg, Idaho
    • Mexico City, Mexico
    • Las Vegas, Nevada
    • Buenos Aires, Argentina

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  • Temples dedicated in given months:
    • January — 11
    • February —  5
    • March —  15
    • April —  17
    • May —  21
    • June —  21
    • July —  6
    • August —  23
    • September —  20
    • October —  20
    • November —  18
    • December — 13
    • Total dedicated — 190