200th LDS temple dedicated today

[I Have Questions]

The single-spired, three-story, 72,000-square-foot Deseret Peak Temple stands as one of 185 temples announced by Nelson during his nearly seven-year presidency. That accounts for more than half of the faith’s 367 planned or existing temples around the world.

“The Lord is truly hastening his work,” Nelson said. “I am filled with gratitude for the Lord’s mercy in guiding us to bring temples closer to members of the church throughout the world.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-100 ... r-AA1tR1Xc

Originally planned as the Tooele Valley Temple in 2019 and plotted for nearby Erda (along with a high-density housing project), the Deseret Peak edifice was renamed and relocated to Tooele City in response to grassroots opposition.

“Grassroots opposition” is an interesting way to label local residents. It’s also interesting that local resident objections also came from members, who said No to Church Leaders. That’s not a sustaining vote…

“Erda has always been looked at as a cash cow for these developers,” said Kathleen Mallis, a longtime resident and Latter-day Saint who, like many, opposed the high-density housing plans from Suburban Land Reserve, a real estate arm of the church, but not the temple.

“We’re just one little community that’s always been rural,” she said, “and we want to stay that way.”

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/02 ... community/

Yep, the temples are also high density housing projects, for-profit. Or maybe it’s the other way round, the Church wants to make money from high density housing projects and the new Temple is just the smokescreen.

[Fence Sitter]

Do you have any specific examples where a new temple has led to active membership net growth?

Like I said, "no data" but I have faith I am right.

I would expect there are areas where there isn't an increase in either membership or activity but based on how many they are trying to build I think the increase is the expectation. They don't have a great track record on making changes that retain members so maybe they are just wrong on this idea too. It's no big deal to them, what else are they going to do with billions and billions of dollars sitting in the bank?

[drumdude]

It’s a nice exotic destination (and sometimes free lodging) for rich jet-setting Mormons.

Free lodging? How?

In countries where people travel long distances to get to the temple there is often some sort of accomodation complex owned by the church nearby, sometimes it is onsite at the temple complex. If you look at the London temple on google maps you will see a building across the parking lot on the western side of the Temple, I believe that is the temple patrons accomodation. I think it was also once used as an MTC, although there is another building on the other side of the plot that may have been the one used as an MTC

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comme ... oon_suite/

[toon]

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/10/2 ... t-temples/

For comparison, Chuck-e-cheese has about 600 locations.

5 times more and they can be as ubiquitous as Olive Garden (around 1000 locations.)

It does seem to me that having so many temples makes them feel on the whole a bit… cheap? Mass produced? Imagine Islam making 200 clones of Mecca. Wouldn’t that make the pilgrimage a little less pilgrimage-y and special?

Surely faithful LDS don’t need a temple every 20 miles in order to fulfill their temple ordinances and covenants.

But there's only one Casa Bonita.

[drumdude]

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/10/2 ... t-temples/

For comparison, Chuck-e-cheese has about 600 locations.

5 times more and they can be as ubiquitous as Olive Garden (around 1000 locations.)

It does seem to me that having so many temples makes them feel on the whole a bit… cheap? Mass produced? Imagine Islam making 200 clones of Mecca. Wouldn’t that make the pilgrimage a little less pilgrimage-y and special?

Surely faithful LDS don’t need a temple every 20 miles in order to fulfill their temple ordinances and covenants.

But there's only one Casa Bonita.

I'm definitely going there when I'm in Colorado next.

[I Have Questions]

Do you have any specific examples where a new temple has led to active membership net growth?

Like I said, "no data" but I have faith I am right.

You might be seeing it with your spiritual eyes…

I would expect there are areas where there isn't an increase in either membership or activity but based on how many they are trying to build I think the increase is the expectation.

I agree that’s perhaps the stated expectation. Nelson may even believe it. But I just don’t see that temples have moved the needle on active membership. There’s been an exponential growth in temples. But not in congregations in well trodden areas. Growth seems to come now from newly opened territories rather than where new temples are plonked. It would be an interesting exercise to track the number of congregations in an area before and after a temple is built there.

They don't have a great track record on making changes that retain members so maybe they are just wrong on this idea too. It's no big deal to them, what else are they going to do with billions and billions of dollars sitting in the bank?

Temples are for show. They’re something Nelson can point to and say “Look at that growth! I did that!”