Overview[]
Announcement (October 2021)[]
At the conclusion of the 191st Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (03-Oct-2021) President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to build 13 new temples. The prophet has now announced 82 new temples in the three years he has served as president of The Church.[1][2]
The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple will be the Church's second temple in Taiwan. The Church has maintained a presence in Taiwan for more than 60 years. The Church's first temple in Taiwan was dedicated in Taipei in 1984. The Church in Taiwan achieved significantly higher membership and congregational growth rates than other industrialized East Asian nations until the early 2010s.
The announcement of the temple in Kaohsiung is a significant development given returned missionary reports have noted significant long-term challenges with leadership development and church growth in southern Taiwan for decades. For example, the Church discontinued the Pingtung Taiwan Stake (located immediately east of Kaohsiung) in 2019 - the first time the Church had ever discontinued a stake in Taiwan.
The new temple in Kaohsiung will likely include at least four stakes in the new temple district (and perhaps as many as eight stakes if the four stakes in the Taichung area are included in the district). All of these stakes currently pertain to the Taipei Taiwan Temple district. Returned missionaries report that the greatest centers of strength of the Church in Taiwan are Taipei and Taichung. The Church organized its first stake in Kaohsiung in 1981, but it discontinued the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission in 2009. There are now two missions in Taiwan.
Temple District[]
Temple presidents[]
Notable temple presidents have included:
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 13 New Temples Announced - LDS Church Newsroom
- ↑ Analysis: 13 New Temples Announced - LDS Church Growth Blog