Stokes Sounds Off: Redone List of cities that are most likely to get a temple in the near future (based on data from the LDS Church Growth Blog and the LDS Church Temples Website)

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Friday, June 17, 2016

Redone List of cities that are most likely to get a temple in the near future (based on data from the LDS Church Growth Blog and the LDS Church Temples Website)

Because I'm somewhat of a perfectionist (but only in certain ways; also slightly obsessive/compulsive, but that's a detail better discussed at a later time) and there were so many problems with the formatting of the list I previously posted, and because new information has come to light, I am redoing the list of locations that are most likely to get either a first or, in several cases, a second temple. To revisit the comments on the previous list, please see this link,

1.      New Dehli India (proposed in 1992 by Elder Neal A. Maxwell)
2.      Vilnius Lithuania Temple (proposed in 1993 by Elder M. Russell Ballard
3.      Nairobi Kenya Temple (proposed in 1998 by President Gordon B. Hinckley
4.      Maracaibo Venezuela Temple (proposed in 1999 by President Gordon B. Hinckley)
5.      Singapore Temple (proposed in 2000 by President Gordon B. Hinckley)
6.      Southwest Salt Lake Valley Temple (proposed in 2005 by President Gordon B. Hinckley)
7.      Managua Nicaragua Temple (proposed in 2012 by Elder Russell M. Nelson)
8.      Kasai Region Democratic Republic of the Congo (proposed in 2016 by Elder Neil L. Andersen)
9.      Lehi Utah (I favor this location because my wife grew up there and it seems to be expanding at an astonishing rate, including the LDS presence)
10.  Layton Utah
11.  Orem Utah (I favor this location because it's my current city of residence)
12.  Taylorsville Utah
13.  Sandy Utah
14.  Tooele, Utah
15.  Bentonville Arkansas (According to my team leader at work, such a temple lot has already been purchased and an announcement of that temple seems to be imminent)
16.  Virginia (Richmond or Buena Vista)
17.  Kansas (Wichita or Topeka)
18.  Sierra Leone (Freetown; may be announced due to extreme Church growth in Africa)
19.  Uganda (Kampala; may be announced due to extreme growth in Africa)
20.  Cambodia (Phnom Penh; I favor this location because my brother-in-law served his mission there)
21.  Wyoming (Cheyenne or Evanson)
22.  South Dakota (Rapid City; I favor this location because my dad served his mission there)
23.  Bolivia (Santa Cruz or La Paz; of the two, I favor La Paz because my favorite bishop, a close friend, served his mission there. He brought a little bit of Bolivia with him during his service as bishop because, in addition to giving each returning missionary their plaque, at the conclusion of their service, he also gave them a Bolivian abrasso )
24.  Arizona (Safford or Thatcher)
25.  Texas (Katy or Austin)
26.  Nigeria (Lagos or Benin City; is likely due to growth in Africa)
27.  Idaho (Pocatello)
28.  Philippines (Quezon City)
29.  England (Birmingham)
30.  Spain (Barcelona or Malaga)
31.  California (San Bernardino)
32.  Guatemala (Guatemala City; 2nd temple; very likely due to growth in Guatemala and the reported temple activity)
33.  Mexico (Mexico City; 2nd temple; very likely due to growth in Mexico and the reported temple activity)
34.  Chile (Santiago; 2nd temple; very likely due to growth in Chile and the reported temple activity)
35.  Argentina (Buenos Aires; 2nd temple; very likely due to growth in Argentina and the reported temple activity)
NOTE: The following potential temples were added to my list after it was brought to my attention that I missed some important information.
36. Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby or Daru)
37. Puerto Rico (San Juan)
38. Russia (Moscow or St. Petersburg)
39. Kiribati (Tarawa)
40. American Samoa (Pago Pago)
41. Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar)
42. Czech Republic (Ostrava)
43. Brazil (Belo Horizonte or Brasillia)
44. Austria (Vienna; I favor this location because my wife served her mission there)
45. Samoa (Savaii or Upolu)
46. Scotland or Ireland

More may be added to this list over the weekend as I search more diligently. Then if I feel the list is too cumbersome, I will cut back the less likely.
Thoughts?
By at

7 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 18, 2016 at 5:54 AM

    Good list. I think that most of these locations will eventually get temples, but what the time frame will be I don't know. 20 years? However, I don't see another temple in Arizona anytime soon. Safford and Thatcher are already close to the Gila Valley Temple. As a former missionary in La Paz, I would love to see a temple there (and I wonder if I served with your former bishop). Almost any spot in Wyoming (and Rapid City) would decrease travel distance for some people, but I think that the Star Valley and Fort Collins temples make it unlikely to happen in the near future.

    Some that I think you missed are Mongolia, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. James G. StokesJune 18, 2016 at 7:07 AM

    Well, if there's one thing I've learned from observation, it's the truth that the Lord's ways are not our ways. So it could be 20 years before any or all of these happen, but for all we know, several of these could be announced next conference. As to Arizona, I see your point. But the first three temple President Monson ever announced as prophet were for Arizona, and we have two Utah cities that each have two temples. As far as whether or not you served with my bishop, that I don't know. His name is Steve Landeen. Does that name ring a bell? I don't know how long ago he was there. One of the highlights of my missionary service was receiving his abrazo as my service concluded, and I had four opportunities to speak in Sacrament Meeting while he was my bishop. He is a lifelong friend, which was part of my motivation for predicting a temple in La Paz. It's true that any spot in Wyoming or South Dakota would decrease traffic in the Fort Collins and Star Valley temples, but temples have been known to be put in areas where temple attendance is high, and from the reports my dad receives about South Dakota, a temple there would be kept busy enough without detracting in the smallest part from the patronage of the Fort Collins and Star Valley temples. I did look at Mongolia, Puerto Rico, and the Czech Republic. While we are seeing an increased attendance in the temples closest to these places, the plain and simple fact is that there is not sufficient Church membership to warrant a temple in these locations. At least, that's if memory serves correctly. I will have to go back and take another look at Matt's post about the countries with the greatest LDS presence without a temple, and if any of these fit in to that category, I will adjust my list accordingly. Thanks for the tip and for taking time to comment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James G. StokesJune 18, 2016 at 8:00 AM

    I have begun adding other likely temples to my list. Many of them were ones you suggested, Steven. It turns out that the original information I was going on (from Wikipedia) was outdated by a long ways. Once I found the correct information, it was easy to start adding. This time I did use Matt's blog and the LDS Church temples site, which is much more complete. Thanks for tipping me off about these additional temples that may indeed be a possibility.

    ReplyDelete
  4. James AndersonJune 18, 2016 at 9:18 AM

    Philippines: Quezon City and the Marikina Valley is where the present temple is. It's listed as being in or close to Quezon City, and it overlooks the Marikina Valley. Old street name was Zebra Street, renamed Temple Avenue and paved.

    Safford-Thatcher AZ. The present temple is I think in Pima, which is right between the two towns. It's not that far to travel through all three, it's on US-70 which also goes through all three.

    San Bernardino is within a few miles of Redlands, The CA/I-210 freeway may actually run between them.

    Two Utah possibilities not on a lot of people's radar. Heber City and the Tooele Valley. Both are away from the urbanized metro but have a lot of members in the area, both appear to be growing in population, especially Tooele Valley. Roads are good much of the year but the occasional storm can be an issue getting between both and Salt Lake or in the case of Heber City, Provo as well. For both, truck accidents can block the one road out any direction.

    Layton, Utah: Anecdotal reports indicate that Ogden, since Layton was moved to Bountiful temple district, has had trouble with low attendance at times even during the evenings on some weeknights.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James G. StokesJune 18, 2016 at 9:51 AM

    Thanks for the feedback. I have once again fine-tuned my list and will have the updated and (I hope) much better list up on this blog in just a few minutes. Stay tuned for that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. RsouthwestJune 18, 2016 at 2:11 PM

    I think Austin is about 5 years out. An Austin Temple wold pull 5 Austin Stakes, plus Killeen, Waco, Kyle, and one or two future Stakes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. James G. StokesJune 18, 2016 at 2:30 PM

    Thanks for the feedback on Austin. Always appreciate hearing someone else's thoughts. However, as I mentioned in the comment I made above yours, I have been busy today updating this list to make it better. The latest version of that list is now up for your critique, feedback, and anything else that comes to mind. You can find it at the address below, and any additional comments should be posted to the new list, as this one is now outdated. Thanks.
    http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-third-and-i-hope-final-list-of.html

    ReplyDelete

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