More Temples Underway Saints will gather in Papeete, Tahiti, to celebrate the rededication of the Papeete, Tahiti temple in November following renovations that began in August 2005. The dedication will be held on Sunday, November 12, which follows a public open house October 14 through November 4 (except Sundays). As part of the reopening, members will gather in a cultural celebration on Saturday, November 11. The Papeete Tahiti Temple—the only temple in Tahiti—will reopen for ordinances Monday, November 13 to serve more than 21,000 members of the Church in six stakes and one mission in French Polynesia. The Tahitian temple was first dedicated October 27, 1983, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, almost 140 years after the first missionary arrived in French Polynesia in 1844. Nearly five hundred Tahitian Saints packed the chapel of the temple for the first of six dedicatory services held there October 27 through October 29. When it was first built, the Tahiti temple brought the number of operating temples to 25 (“News of the Church,” Ensign, Dec. 1983, 66). As of June 13, 2006, 133 temples are announced, under construction, or operating across the world. Announcement The First Presidency announced the construction of a new temple in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in a letter to priesthood leaders on May 25. The letter stated that the temple “will be a blessing to the many faithful saints in this and surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of the temple.” It will be the first temple in British Columbia and the seventh temple in Canada. Other Canadian temples are located in Cardston, Alberta (originally dedicated 1923, rededicated 1991); Toronto, Ontario (1990); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1999); Regina, Saskatchewan (1999); Edmonton, Alberta (1999); and Montreal, Quebec (2000). The new temple will serve Church members throughout British Columbia. As of December 2005, Canada was home to more than 172,000 Latter-day Saints. “We commend the saints for their devotion and faithfulness and are thankful for the blessings that will come to them through the construction of this new temple,” the letter stated. Dedications Following a month-long open house in August, the Sacramento California temple will be dedicated September 3, bringing the number of temples in California to seven and the number of operating temples worldwide to 123. Of the approximately 750,000 Latter-day Saints in California, the temple will serve more than 80,000 Saints in the greater Sacramento area. The Helsinki, Finland temple—the first in Finland—will also be dedicated after an open house September 23 through October 7 and a cultural celebration on October 21. The temple will be dedicated in four sessions on October 22. The temple will serve approximately 26,000 members living in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Russia. Other temples The Twin Falls Idaho Temple is under construction, having broken ground on April 15, 2006. The Los Angeles California Temple closed for renovations in November 2005. No dedication or rededication dates have been announced for either temple as of June 13. Other temples that have been announced or under construction include the Curitiba Brazil, Harrison New York, Kiev Ukraine, Panama City Panama, Rexburg Idaho, and Cebu Philippines temples. “We are living in one of the most significant and important epochs in the history of the Church and in the history of God's work among His people,” President Gordon B. Hinckley, then the Second Counselor in the First Presidency, told Saints in the October 1985 general conference. “We are living in the greatest era of temple building ever witnessed.” Since the 1985 general conference, 87 new temples have been dedicated. For more information about temples across the globe, visit the Church's Temples Web site.