The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly highlight reel of news in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Join us on Patreon and receive the full newsletter, podcast transcripts and access to all of our religion content.
Where temple spires will rise next
Church President Russell Nelson has announced 168, or 48%, of the faith’s worldwide tally of 350 planned or existing temples.
He named 15 at the spring General Conference — stretching from Brazil to British Columbia. How many might he tack on at the fall gathering — and where might they be located?
Independent church tracker Matt Martinich again takes a stab at the latter question. So, without further ado, here is his list from ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com of the 10 “most likely” cities to hear their names pronounced from the pulpit for new temples next month:
• Spanish Fork, Utah.
• Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines.
• Kampala, Uganda.
• Santiago, Dominican Republic.
• Osorno, Chile, or Puerto Montt, Chile.
• El Paso, Texas.
• Price, Utah.
• Bo, Sierra Leone.
• Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
• Rigby, Idaho.
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Women’s place in the patriarchy
(Rick Bowmer | AP) Neylan McBaine, shown in 2021, is the author of “Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women’s Local Impact.”
In 2014, Neylan McBaine wrote a groundbreaking book, “Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women’s Local Impact.” A decade later, she discusses the steps forward — and back — on gender equity within the faith.
Listen to the podcast.
Around the world
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The combined choirs from The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and Morehouse College and Spelman College Glee Clubs perform together on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Atlanta.
• The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square performed Monday with the Morehouse and Spelman College Glee Clubs in Atlanta.
• The church united with the Maronite General Council to rebuild an eye clinic after a devastating blast shook Beirut four years ago.
• Independent church tracker Matt Martinich reports at ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com that leaders recently formed new stakes (regional clusters of congregations) in Utah (a Spanish-speaking one in Provo); Democratic Republic of Congo (in Kinshasa) and Nigeria (in Calabar).
The Beehive State is home to 641 stakes, the DRC has 29, and Nigeria has 73.
• A truckload of canned and packaged food from the church will bring 85,000 meals to people in and around Vacaville, California, the Daily Republic reports.
• James B. Allen, assistant church historian from 1972 to 1979 and co-author of “The Story of the Latter-day Saints,” has died at age 97.
“To this day, Jim Allen is considered one of the leading figures in LDS historical scholarship,” his family wrote in his obituary. “...He brought goodness, wisdom and light into those corners of the world that he inhabited.”
From The Tribune
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks to faculty at Brigham Young University on Aug. 23, 2021.
• Apostle Jeffrey Holland opens up about his hotly disputed “musket speech” at Brigham Young University, stating that he has “wept for those three years” since he delivered it.
• As Russell Nelson turns 100, scholars, newsmakers, advocates, artists and others discuss why his nearly seven-year presidency matters.
• Enjoy an interactive look at Nelson’s century of service to medicine, family and faith.
• A worldwide broadcast celebrates Nelson’s landmark birthday.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, and President Henry B. Eyring during a balloon drop at his 100th birthday festivities at the Conference Center Theater on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, 2024.
• Utah’s governor declares “Russell M. Nelson Day” in honor of the church leader’s “dedication to kindness, love and welcoming spirit.”
• The first reviews are in for “Heretic,” the horror movie about Latter-day Saint missionaries starring Hugh Grant.
(Kimberley French | A24) Chloe East, left, and Sophie Thatcher play female missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the horror thriller "Heretic," which is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide on Nov. 15, 2024.
• Women from Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” respond to backlash, mostly from fellow Latter-day Saints.
• Wednesday marked the 167th anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the bloodiest stain in church history. Relisten to our “Mormon Land” podcast on the latest research about the shameful atrocity.