Crowds emerge following the first session of the dedication for the Provo City Center Temple Sunday, March 20, 2016. ©Scott G Winterton/Deseret News 2016
SALT LAKE CITY — All of the active and open temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah will move into the church’s 2-B phase of reopening by the end of the month.
All of the more than 200 Latter-day Saint temples were closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. They began a four-part phased reopening in early May 2020.
As part of the second phase of opening, the church says a temple may “Perform all temple ordinances for living individuals, with priority given for those who will be sealed. The next priority will be endowments for in-field missionaries (who left home prior to receiving their endowment), then followed by those departing for missionary service in the near future. These priorities will be addressed according to the capacity and scheduling ability of each temple.”
Phase 2-B adds an allowance for temple baptistries to be opened to small groups of members to perform proxy ordinances for their ancestors.
“We look forward to this phase and every phase of temple reopening with great anticipation,” Elder Bednar, a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said. “We also want to be sure that we continue to open temples in a careful, responsible way. For this reason, temple openings in some areas may continue to lag behind the opening of public or community facilities.”
Church leaders said they expect a large number of reservations and calls. They urged patience as temples work to schedule groups and meet demand.
In an announcement on Monday, the church said all of Utah’s operational temples will enter phase 2-B by the end of the month. Eight of them will begin that operation on Monday, and the rest will follow suit on April 26.
Monday, April 12
Monday, April 26
Last week, during the faith’s worldwide General Conference, Church president and prophet President Russell M. Nelson announced 20 new temple locations worldwide. That brought the total number of temples announced, under construction or operating, to 251.
“Each temple is considered a ‘house of the Lord’ where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity,” the church states on their website. “In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man.”
The 25 temples currently announced, under construction or in operation in Utah include: