A few weeks ago, I was trying to figure out why President Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, chose to dedicate the Syracuse Utah Temple. It was only the second temple he had dedicated since he dedicated the Rome Italy Temple in March 2019 and the other temple he dedicated was the Deseret Peak Temple in Tooele, which happened to be the church’s 200th dedicated temple.
What was the significance of the Syracuse temple that President Nelson, now approaching 101 years of age, chose to dedicate it?
I don’t know if I figured it out, but I did find something I thought was interesting.
The Syracuse temple is the 100th dedicated temple in the United States, including Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. What a neat milestone!
And the milestones will continue.
Surge in temples
Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner
The total number of dedicated temples throughout the world is now 207, and at the past general conference of the church in April, President Nelson announced 15 temples, bringing the total number of temples announced during his presidency to 200.
Think about that. At the conclusion of the next general conference in October, it’s highly likely that President Nelson will have announced more temples during his presidency than have been dedicated overall across the world throughout the entire history of the restored church.
There are currently four dedications scheduled, 51 temples in various stages of the post-groundbreaking construction process and five groundbreakings currently scheduled. Overall, there have been 382 temples dedicated or announced.
What are the odds that number will be 400 after the October conference? It’s not out of the question. Three times during his presidency, President Nelson has announced 18 or more temples during a single conference.
It’s notable to me that 85% of the temples that have been announced or dedicated throughout the history of the restored church have been announced by the last three prophets (President Nelson, President Thomas S. Monson and President Gordon B. Hinckley).
Hastening of the work
All of this reflects what is called a hastening of the work, which was the topic discussed by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the church during the April conference.
“President Russell M. Nelson said at our last conference: ‘Do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is indeed hastening His work,’” Elder Rasband said.
“Hastening His work. ‘Hastening’ is a word that matters. It suggests moving quickly, accelerating, and even urgency. In the growth of the Church and the plan of Christ, hastening is happening. And we are all a part of it.”
This hastening, Elder Rasband noted, was prophesied long ago.
“In April 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith gathered all who held the priesthood into a little schoolhouse about 14 feet square,” he said. “We could fit dozens of those schoolhouses in this Conference Center, with room to spare. Joseph Smith said, ‘It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America–it will fill the world.’”
That’s clearly happening.
More temple facts
North America currently has 132 dedicated temples. South America has 30, Europe has 14, Asia has 11, Africa has eight and Australia has five. But in yet another indication of the hastening, more temples have been announced or are in various stages of the construction process than have already been dedicated in South America (31), Asia (21) and Africa (21).
Individual countries with the most notable surges include: Mexico (13 announced, 14 dedicated), Brazil (13 announced, 11 dedicated), Philippines (11 announced, 3 dedicated), Peru (6 announced, 4 dedicated), Nigeria (6 announced, 1 dedicated) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (3 announced, 1 dedicated).
I think of all the states, countries and territories that have had their first temples announced under President Nelson.
Virginia didn’t have a single temple even announced at the start of President Nelson’s presidency, and now there is one dedicated with three more in the works. Arkansas’ first temple has been announced and dedicated during President Nelson’s presidency, and the first temples for Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, New Jersey and South Dakota have also been announced.
Countries and territories that have had their first temples announced since President Nelson became president include: Mozambique, American Samoa, Cambodia, India, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, Austria, Hungary, Indonesia, Kiribati, Madagascar, Norway, Singapore, Angola, Belgium, French Polynesia, China (not including Hong Kong), Liberia, Mongolia, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Scotland, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Uganda and New Caledonia.
“I marvel at what President Nelson calls the ‘majesty of this moment’ and express profound gratitude to the Lord for His work,” Elder Rasband said. “I encourage us to stand tall as His disciples, eyewitnesses of the fulfillment of prophecy, both ancient and modern.
“There are naysayers who shout, ‘Lo, here!’ and … ‘Lo, there!’ just as they did in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s time. However, they are and will be but mere footnotes in this noble work. Remember the words of Joseph Smith: ‘No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, … but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.’”
In his talk, Elder Rasband highlighted three aspects of the church in which a hastening is evident: temples, missionary work and church education.
The hastening of temple building is obvious and has already been discussed at length, but also obvious is the hastening in missionary work and church education.
Missionary work
“In 2024, 80,000 missionaries were serving in 450 missions,” said Elder Rasband, who noted later on that there are now seven missions in the city of Lima, Peru, alone. “Thirty-six of those are new missions. Last year, missionary work brought over 308,000 new members into the Church. More than numbers, the spirit of the gathering is bringing souls to Jesus Christ and His gospel.”
Speaking at the 2025 Seminar for New Mission Leaders on June 19 at the Provo Missionary Training Center, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles highlighted the recent momentum of the church.
He referenced the more than 308,000 people baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost in 2024 and said that number was about 50,000 more than in 2023 and the most in almost 25 years, according to a Church News article.
“And as exciting as this increase in baptisms was in 2024, we were delighted to learn that the rate of increase for new members attending sacrament meeting was even higher,” Elder Cook said, according to Church News. “We thank the Lord for allowing us to witness His hand in these remarkable outcomes — He is the reason for the hastening.”
The surge has continued into 2025, according to Elder Cook.
“This is remarkable,” he said, according to Church News. “In the last 12 months, ending May 31, the Lord’s hastening of His work resulted in the largest number of convert baptisms in any 12-month period in this dispensation.”
Speaking of the enthusiasm he observed when he met with missionaries in Lima, Elder Rasband said:
“At the end of our meeting, the missionaries had a special surprise for me. They rose up and cheered, ‘Hurrah for Israel.’ I will never forget that moment; I wish all of you could have been there. Right before my eyes were missionaries who had set aside ‘the things of this world’ to serve the Lord and help hasten His coming.”
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ has been a topic I’ve highlighted in recent articles as I’ve noted the increase in references to it during general conference addresses since President Nelson became president of the church, and here is yet another reference. For anyone who is curious why the current hastening is important, the Second Coming is the reason.
“Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ,” President Nelson said in his October 2024 general conference address. “Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.”
Church education
Regarding church education, Elder Rasband noted:
“Currently, more than 800,000 students worldwide are enrolled in seminary and institute, the highest enrollment in the history of the Church. Our youth gather in a variety of ways, from early-morning, daytime, and evening classes to online and in-home study. They are a mighty and righteous battalion, gaining strength from each other as they learn of Jesus Christ, follow, and testify of Him as the Son of God.
“Last fall I spoke at a devotional to an arena full of seminary and institute students and their parents at the University of Utah. Their attendance said much about their desire to know and follow Jesus Christ.”
Maggie Dummer, a 17-year-old soon-to-be senior at Layton High School, recently explained to me how she has benefited from seminary class.
“Just some things are that when I go to seminary, I learn ways to live the gospel in every part of my life, I get to know my teachers who are great examples of disciples of Jesus Christ and I get to meet new friends who have the same values as me,” she said. “Seminary makes the gospel fun!”
Elder Rasband later added:
“Another area that shows the growing reach of education in the Church is BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Across the world, enrollment has reached nearly 75,000 and continues to grow rapidly. Most are members, and more than one-third are in Africa. Pathway is all about access to education. Completing the courses means access to employment, and access to employment means a better life for families and more opportunities to serve the Lord.
“When I was meeting with stake leaders in Uganda, I learned that the entire stake presidency was enrolled in BYU-Pathway. The more prepared we are temporally and spiritually, the more we can thwart the adversary’s cunning attacks. Remember the words of Peter: ‘The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’”
Conclusion
Concluding his remarks, Elder Rasband said:
“I emphasize again the words of our living prophet: ‘Do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is hastening His work.’ May we as disciples of our day shout, ‘Hurrah for Israel’ as we prepare for the return of our Lord and Savior.”
Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.