In the past five years alone, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the construction of 133 new houses of the Lord. That’s nearly double the number the faith had in operation (159) in April 2018, when President Russell M. Nelson first announced new temples at general conference.
This prolific and unprecedented season of temple announcements has moved Church leaders to consider ways to expedite construction while maintaining the same high-quality craftsmanship.
“The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have often asked the Lord if there are better ways to take the blessings of the temple to His faithful children,” President Nelson has said.
“We can’t take five or 10 years to build a temple now and keep up with President Nelson,” added W. Christopher Waddell, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric - the group overseeing President Nelson’s temple-building vision. “[We must find] ways to be more productive, to use sacred resources more effectively, to perhaps change the way we do things in some ways. We can’t build the Salt Lake Temple all over the world.”
One path being considered for select temples is the modular construction employed by BLOX, a company based in Alabama. BLOX is helping the Church of Jesus Christ pilot a faster way of building temples - beginning with the Helena Montana Temple, which opens to the public on Thursday, May 18, 2023.