In the Sunday morning session of the April 2016 LDS general conference, President Monson announced the construction of four new temples to be built in the following locations:
Harare, Zimbabwe
There are 26,000 members of the Church in Zimbabwe, a country of 14.2 million people. Harare is the capital of the country, and this will be Zimbabwe’s first temple. Other temples on the African continent are the Aba Nigeria Temple, the Accra Ghana Temple, and the Johannesburg South Africa Temple. Temples have already been announced for Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Durban, South Africa. The closest temple to Harare is the Johannesburg Temple, a 13-hour drive. In 1980, when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, there were about 1,000 members of the Church.
Quito, Ecuador
There are 230,000 members in Ecuador, a country of 15.8 million people. There is already one temple in Ecuador, the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple, which was dedicated in 1999. The first Mormon missionaries entered Ecuador in 1965. There are now 5 missions in the country.
Belém, Brazil
There are 1.3 million members of the Church in Brazil, a country of 204 million people. Six Mormon temples are already operating in the country — Campinas, Curitiba, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife and São Paulo. Another temple is under construction in Fortaleza, and one has been announced for Rio de Janeiro. There are 34 missions of the Church in Brazil.
Lima, Peru
The new temple to be built in Lima, Peru, will be the second in that city. Peru has 557,000 members of the Church in a country of 30 million people. In addition to the currently-operating temple in Lima (dedicated in 1986), there is one more temple in Trujillo. A new temple has also been announced for Arequipa. The first official branch of the Church organized in Peru took root in 1956. Now Peru has 12 missions.
Existing, functioning temples of the Church at this time equal 150. There are 27 announced or under construction, bringing the potential number of temples to 177. Four temples are in the process of being renovated.
