Okinawa Japan Temple Dedication and Open House

The public open house will begin on Saturday, September 23, and continue through Saturday, October 7, excluding Sundays. Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Okinawa Japan Temple on Sunday, November 12, in two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

 

 

Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Thursday, September 21. Invited guests will also tour the Okinawa Japan Temple on Friday, September 22.

The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the Okinawa Japan Temple district. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced locally as the date approaches.

The Okinawa Japan Temple was first announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in April 2019. Construction began in December 2020 with a groundbreaking ceremony. This will be the fourth house of the Lord in the country. The historic Tokyo Japan Temple, the first temple built in Asia, was dedicated in October 1980. After a lengthy renovation, it was rededicated by President Henry B. Eyring in July 2022. The Fukuoka Japan Temple was dedicated in June 2000, and the Sapporo Japan Temple was dedicated in August 2016.

The first missionaries arrived in the East Asian nation of Japan in 1901.  Today, Japan is home to more than 130,000 Latter-day Saints in about 250 congregations.

San Diego California Temple Renovation

The San Diego California Temple will close in July 2023 for extensive renovations. The completion date for the renovation, including dates for the public open house and rededication, will be announced later.

Latter-day Saints in southern California are encouraged to attend other temples in the area during the closure.

California is home to 12 houses of the Lord, including temples that have been announced for San Jose and Bakersfield by President Russell M. Nelson in the April 2023 general conference. Other temples in use or under construction in the state include the Feather River, Fresno, Los Angeles, Modesto, Newport Beach, Oakland, Redlands, Sacramento, and Yorba Linda California Temples.

There are more than 730,000 Latter-day Saints in around 1,180 congregations in California. The San Diego Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in April 1993.

Latter-day Saints consider each temple a house of the Lord and the most sacred place of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.