SALT LAKE CITY-Friday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave updates on three temples that are to be constructed in the United States.
The Salt Lake City-based faith gave information on the groundbreaking ceremonies for temples to be constructed at Bentonville, Ark. and McAllen, Texas and a location has been revealed for the Syracuse, Utah Temple.
Church leaders will break ground for the temple at Bentonville November 2020 as Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles will preside over this ceremony remotely.
Elder Bednar, who was once a professor of business management at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Ark., is a former Arkansan stake president.
This single-story temple will consist of approximately 25,000 square feet, featuring a center spire. It will also be Arkansas’ first temple.
There are currently 32,307 Latter-day Saints in Arkansas as well as seven stakes, two missions and 25 family history centers.
The McAllen Texas Temple will also have its groundbreaking ceremony in November 2020. Area Seventy, Elder Art Rascon, will serve as the presiding authority at this event.
Elder Rascon is currently a news anchor for KTRK-TV of Houston.
Plans for the McAllen Texas Temple call for a single-story temple consisting of approximately 25,000 feet. A meetinghouse will also be built on this property.
The Church is strong in Texas as 362,037 Texans are Latter-day Saints, or 1.28 percent (1 in 79) of the net population.
There are 77 stakes in Texas, eight missions and 138 family history centers.
The McAllen Temple will be the fifth in Texas. Other temples in Texas include the Dallas Temple (1984), the Houston Temple (2000), the Lubbock Temple (2002) and the San Antonio Temple (2005).
Attendance at the McAllen Temple groundbreaking ceremony is by invitation only because of social-distancing regulations.
The Syracuse Utah Temple is to be located on a 12-acre site at the intersection of 2500 West and 1025 South in Syracuse.
Plans are calling for a three-story temple consisting of approximately 89,000 feet. An exterior rendering is to be released at a future date. No groundbreaking date has been set as of yet.
