Three new temples will be built in California, the First Presidency announced April 20.
The new temples will be constructed in Sacramento, Newport Beach and Redlands, which will bring the number of temples in California to seven, and which will serve about 188,000 members in those areas.
Temples are currently in operation in Oakland, Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
Letters announcing the temples were sent to local priesthood leaders earlier this month from the First Presidency.
The site locations for the temples will be announced later. President Gordon B. Hinckley alluded to the construction of new temples in a general conference address when he said, "The great work of temple building goes on throughout the world. . . . We are not satisfied. We will keep on working to bring the temples to the people, making it more convenient for Latter-day Saints everywhere to receive the blessings which can only be had in these holy houses."
"In addition," said President Hinckley, "we have visited and are giving consideration to a significant number of potential temple sites in the United States, Central and South America, Europe and the isles of the sea. I will not mention their names because this would only create excitement, when we do not yet have the ground on which to build them."
The groundbreaking dates for the three temples will be announced later. Typically, temples take about a year to build. Currently, there are 104 operating temples throughout the world. The Guadalajara Mexico and Perth Australia temples are the next to be dedicated, scheduled for April 29 and May 20, respectively.
Church members first arrived in California in the 1840s. Membership has since grown to almost 800,000 members, representing about 2.2 percent of the state's population.