In one of the largest steps toward reopening temples since the COVID-19 pandemic began, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is shifting 60 temples to Phase 3 operations in the coming weeks and months, according to a church statement Tuesday.
In Phase 3, a temple is again open to offer all living ordinances and limited proxy ordinances for the dead by appointment.
The announcement will more than triple the number of temples to reach the third stage of reopening and includes all 17 operating temples in Utah. The vast majority of temples involved in Tuesday’s announcement are located in the United States. (See the full list below.)
Specific dates for each temple’s change to Phase 3 were not released but are expected to happen in June and July. Members will be notified by email when the online reservation system is activated for their respective temple.
Until now, just 27 of the church’s 168 temples had reached Phase 3.
The news was especially “meaningful” to Kevin Bake in Idaho Falls, Idaho. As the bishop and leader of his congregation, Bake has renewed or issued new temple recommends — a document signifying a member is in good standing and qualified to enter the temple — for many members who hadn’t attended the temple for a while even before the temples were closed.
“I think this experience has helped us all realize how special the temple is,” Bake said. “We are looking forward to that opportunity to return as soon as we get the chance.”
The Kansas City Missouri Temple was the first in the continental United States to reach that level. Attendance requires more planning ahead than before, and there are fewer people, but the effort to be in the temple is worth it, said Sean and Vivian Foley, Latter-day Saints who live across the street and serve as ordinance workers.
“It has just been wonderful having everything open again, even though there’s still a lot of restrictions and guidelines and so forth,” Sean Foley said. “It has brought great light back into our life.”
News of the Phase 3 adjustment comes 14 months after the church closed all temples on March 25, 2020, to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The 60 temples moving to Phase 3 are:
- Albuquerque New Mexico
- Atlanta Georgia
- Baton Rouge Louisiana
- Billings Montana
- Birmingham Alabama
- Boise Idaho
- Bountiful Utah
- Brigham City Utah
- Cedar City Utah
- Dallas Texas
- Draper Utah
- Fresno California
- Gilbert Arizona
- Guadalajara México
- Houston Texas
- Idaho Falls Idaho
- Jordan River Utah
- Las Vegas Nevada
- Logan Utah
- Los Angeles California
- Lubbock Texas
- Manti Utah
- Meridian Idaho
- Mesa Arizona
- Monterrey Mexico
- Monticello Utah
- Montreal Quebec
- Mount Timpanogos Utah
- Nashville Tennessee
- Nauvoo Illinois
- Newport Beach California
- Oakland California
- Ogden Utah
- Oklahoma City Oklahoma
- Oquirrh Mountain Utah
- Panama City Panama
- Payson Utah
- Phoenix Arizona
- Port-Au-Prince Haiti
- Provo City Center Utah
- Provo Utah
- Redlands California
- Reno Nevada
- Rexburg Idaho
- Sacramento California
- Salt Lake City Utah
- San Antonio Texas
- San Diego California
- Snowflake Arizona
- St. George Utah
- St. Louis Missouri
- Star Valley Wyoming
- Tampico Mexico
- Tegucigalpa Honduras
- The Gila Valley Arizona
- Tucson Arizona
- Twin Falls Idaho
- Veracruz México
- Vernal Utah
- Winter Quarters Nebraska
The Salt Lake, St. George and Mesa Arizona Temples are closed for renovations but will receive Phase 3 status so that members residing in those temple districts can use the online scheduling system to schedule an appointment at the nearest operating temple.
The news generated a buzz of anticipation among Latter-day Saints who have missed attending the temple during the pandemic.
Taralyn Parker, who lives near the Payson Utah Temple, learned about the announcement shortly before joining in a Zoom call with friends to discuss none other than temple and family history work. She broke the news to friends in Cedar City, Utah, and Rexburg, Idaho. The group immediately began looking to see if they could book appointments.
“Living in Utah and having so many temples around us, pre-COVID, it was easy to take it for granted,” said the Latter-day Saint wife and mother of four. “Now that we haven’t been able to attend the temple very often for a year, I’m just excited. It’s a place of peace and comfort for my family. I can’t wait to go and do all this family history work that has been piling up.”
Church members in Alexandria, Louisiana, a two-hour drive from the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple, expressed hope for opening up the temple this past weekend, said Becky Coleman, a Latter-day Saint living in that city.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “It’s nice to see things are returning to normal. I know there’s a lot of people in my ward who are quite excited about it.”
The first two U.S. temples to receive Phase 3 status were the Kona and Laie Hawaii Temples on March 15.
The Kansas City Missouri Temple moved to Phase 3 operations on May 10.
That day members in the temple district received an email with the good news.
“There was a lot of excitement, a lot of texting back and forth with different people,” Sean Foley said.
Since then the couple, along with other members, have been able to schedule appointments and perform a variety of proxy ordinances for deceased ancestors. When somebody gets an appointment, there has been a concerted effort to maximize each opportunity, Foley said.
“There’s a hard cap of 12, so people are doing a nice job of posting in the ward Facebook page or texting others to make sure they are taking everybody they can, making sure people have an opportunity to go,” he said.
One part is different. Prior to the pandemic, temple patrons printed out cards with an ancestor’s name and other necessary information for performing ordinances. Once recorded and processed, the cards were returned. Now to minimize the handling of cards, temples are no longer returning the cards. Members should reprint cards or prepare new names each time they go, Foley said.
The “most striking” part is being back in the temple’s spiritual atmosphere after so long. Not being permitted to serve there has embedded a new appreciation for temple experience in Foley’s heart.
“Having the memories come back, the experiences of the past, just being able to experience that again after such a long break, and after such a difficult year for everyone, it’s really been wonderful.”