L.D.S. to build second temple in Savai'i

By Alexander Rheeney • 02 October 2023, 9:04PM

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) will build its second temple in Samoa on the big island of Savai'i, the global head of the church has announced.

President Russell M. Nelson announced Savai'i among 20 new locations for temples to be constructed for the church's faithful worldwide in a media release issued on Monday through their Church News online portal.

President Nelson's announcement of the 20 new temples in the new locations came on the back of the closing of the October 2023 General Conference on Sunday (Monday Samoa Time). He announced plans to build new 20 temples in new locations, increasing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ total temples — dedicated, under construction or in planning — to 335 worldwide.

According to the media release, President Nelson has announced 153 new temples in the five years and eight months he has served as President of the church.

Spending more time in the temple builds faith, and service and worship in the temple will help one to “think celestial,” said President Nelson, underscoring the theme of his conference message.

In the temple Latter-day Saints are “shown how to progress toward a celestial life,” he said. “There you are drawn closer to the Savior and given greater access to His power. There you are guided in solving the problems in your life — even your most perplexing problems.”

The ordinances and covenants of the temple “are of eternal significance,” he added. “We continue to build more temples to make these sacred possibilities become a reality in each of your lives.”

President Nelson, 99, participated remotely in the October 2023 general conference, recuperating after a fall three weeks ago that injured the muscles in his lower back. He watched the sessions from home and prerecorded the temple announcements and his Sunday afternoon session remarks.

President Nelson visited Apia, Samoa in May 2019 and met with Samoa Government leaders as well as the church's faithful.

The temples for Luanda, Angola, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, will be the first in the respective nations.

A temple in Savai’i, Samoa, will be that Pacific nation’s second house of the Lord, joining the Apia Samoa Temple, which was dedicated in 1983 and rededicated in 2005 following renovations. The Pago Pago American Samoa Temple is under construction on the nearby U.S. territory.

The 20 newly announced locations are: