Church Gets Approval For New Temple In Vegas

A second Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple is coming to the Las Vegas Valley.

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved the proposal, which was first introduced in 2022.

The temple will be built in the community of Lone Mountain. Many residents have fought against the plan, saying the building's height and lighting will violate an agreement meant to preserve the character of the rural neighborhood.

This will be the second LDS temple in Las Vegas.

About six percent of the Las Vegas metropolitan area consists of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints, although members of the "Mormon" faith originally founded the town back in the mid-1800s, building the "Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort."

However, crop failures, disappointing yields in nearby lead mining efforts and dissension among the group’s leaders caused the settlers to abandon the fort in March of 1857.

The Saints currently worship statewide in Nevada in over 360 congregations (or "Wards"), with three missions and 34 Family History Centers to enrich communities and help solidify family relationships.

The new temple, to be built on a plot of land southwest of Hickam Avenue, between North Grand Canyon Drive and Tee Pee Lane in incorporated Las Vegas will take years to complete and residents will probably not see its completion until perhaps 2029.

Also, in international church news, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has adjusted the range of ages for what it considers young single adults (YSAs) and single adults (SAs).

The distinctions are just two of several terms the Church uses to identify various age groups of its membership and to ensure access to the programs and content that are most appropriate and helpful for those audiences.

The adjusted age ranges were sent in an official letter from the Church's Priesthood and Family Department (which oversees curriculum and programs and training for Latter-day Saints and leaders) on Thursday, July 18, 2024, to local leaders in the United States and Canada.

Young Single Adults

“Young single adult” now refers to unmarried members ages 18-35. Where available, units for
YSAs may include those ages 18-35. In areas with many YSAs — and particularly in YSA stakes — leaders may consider recommending an adjustment to provide a ward for members ages 18-25 and a ward for those ages 26-35.

Single Adults

The term “single adult” now describes unmarried members ages 36 and older. Where units for single adult members are available, they may include those ages 36-45.

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Church News Publishes New Map With All 315 Temples Included

The Church News for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently published a map that includes the locations of all the religion's 315 temples around the world, including the recently announced new 20 temple sites.

Here's a small version of the map. For a bigger view, go to the Church News website.

From the article:

The Church has 182 dedicated houses of the Lord, of which 177 are currently operating. Four — the Salt Lake, Manti Utah, Stockholm Sweden and San Diego California temples — are undergoing renovations. Extensive renovation and updating of the St. George Utah Temple is recently completed, and it will be rededicated in December. Five of the 177 operating temples are scheduled for renovation or reconstruction to begin later this year or next year: Kona Hawaii, Toronto Ontario, Provo Utah, Manhattan New York and Anchorage Alaska.

The Church News also updated readers on the status of the Church's most famous temple, the Salt Lake Temple.

"From the tops of the Salt Lake Temple’s spires to the underground floors of the temple’s north addition, work continues on the temple and Temple Square renovation projects.

Increased visual attention came last weekend as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conducted its October 2023 general conference in the Conference Center, just across the street from ongoing work.

Most of the concrete walls have been poured for the north addition on the Salt Lake Temple’s north side, with the addition’s three underground floors to house two baptistries, additional sealing rooms, dressing rooms and other administrative areas.

Inside the addition, walls are being framed, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-suppression systems are being installed. Finish work is expected to begin next year.

Inside the temple proper and on the fourth and fifth floors, some 200,000 pounds of steel beams were temporarily installed to shore up the structure.

Installed on the beams were 50,000-ton hydraulic jacks and a hydraulic manifold system, which allowed the weight bearing of the pioneer-era temple walls to be transferred to the steel system while the retrofitting of the seismic upgrades took place on the floors below.

The effort is highlighted in the video “Buildings of the Temple: Steel Workers.”

Transfer girders — each 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide and made of reinforced concrete — will rest on top of the base isolators, which are key to the seismic upgrade and stabilization during earthquakes. The weight of the temple will be transferred through the transfer girders to the base isolators, which now rest on the new lower footings.

In May, the first of the six steel spire structures to sit atop the temple’s towers was installed on the northwest side. Now, only one more placement remains to be completed.

About 54,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured — more than 50% of the total concrete required for the renovation projects.

Construction has started on the plaza level — or ground level — of the South Pavilions, with work proceeding on the above-ground structures.