New Temple Announcements

[I Have Questions]

You mean like contractors bolstering their quotes to take into account what they think the client can pay?

No, just spending more on temples in places with low membership to demonstrate appropriate use of tithing.

Well they are definitely building temples in places where membership numbers simply don’t justify it. The Rome temple is probably the biggest example in recent times. Does temple building help maintain the case for tax-exemption?

[Res Ipsa]

No, just spending more on temples in places with low membership to demonstrate appropriate use of tithing.

Well they are definitely building temples in places where membership numbers simply don’t justify it. The Rome temple is probably the biggest example in recent times. Does temple building help maintain the case for tax-exemption?

In the U.S., I think temple construction is a permissible expenditure for a tax exempt church. It get pretty technical and varies from country to country. I know nothing about the UK rules other than that they are not the same as those in the US.

[I Have Questions]

Well they are definitely building temples in places where membership numbers simply don’t justify it. The Rome temple is probably the biggest example in recent times. Does temple building help maintain the case for tax-exemption?

In the U.S., I think temple construction is a permissible expenditure for a tax exempt church. It get pretty technical and varies from country to country. I know nothing about the UK rules other than that they are not the same as those in the US.

It might just be being driven by vanity. Or part of a Marketing initiative to convince the world the Church is a global, growing, entity. For power-broking purposes? Perhaps it’s a way of laundering donations.

I know a few members who want temples in their neighbourhoods because it will increase the value of their own property. Apparently.

Perhaps they see it the way invading forces saw Castles. A very visible foothold in that location.

It isn’t to cater to a backlog of temple work or because other temples are full.

[Marcus]

My ward, the Fry Sauce Canyon 19th Ward, has a betting pool going each general conference. (Bishop Sweetbread usually wins; I think he cheats with an inside source.) My picks (with odds):

Spanish Fork Utah (2-1)
Price Utah (2-1)
Parowan Utah (10-1)
Mother of Mahonri Moriancumer Utah (20-1)
Shiz Utah (50-1)
Zemnarihah Utah (75-1)
Ophir Utah (100-1)
Santiago Dominican Republic (3-1)
El Paso Texas (4-1)
Rigby Idaho (5-1)
Ensign Peak Utah (55,000,000,000-1)

Posted from Telestial, Utah

You had me at Fry Sauce!

[Res Ipsa]

In the U.S., I think temple construction is a permissible expenditure for a tax exempt church. It get pretty technical and varies from country to country. I know nothing about the UK rules other than that they are not the same as those in the US.

It might just be being driven by vanity. Or part of a Marketing initiative to convince the world the Church is a global, growing, entity. For power-broking purposes? Perhaps it’s a way of laundering donations.

I know a few members who want temples in their neighbourhoods because it will increase the value of their own property. Apparently.

Perhaps they see it the way invading forces saw Castles. A very visible foothold in that location.

It isn’t to cater to a backlog of temple work or because other temples are full.

Yeah, it could be all kinds of things. I wouldn't call it money laundering, as it isn't taken money earned illegally and running it through a process turn it into something legal. It may be a belief that building temples attracts people to the church, Field of Dreams style. Hard to say. We could test for changes in temple construction in low demand locations over time to see if the disclosure of the church's wealth had any effect, but I don't care enough to take the time. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

[I Have Questions]

It might just be being driven by vanity. Or part of a Marketing initiative to convince the world the Church is a global, growing, entity. For power-broking purposes? Perhaps it’s a way of laundering donations.

I know a few members who want temples in their neighbourhoods because it will increase the value of their own property. Apparently.

Perhaps they see it the way invading forces saw Castles. A very visible foothold in that location.

It isn’t to cater to a backlog of temple work or because other temples are full.

Yeah, it could be all kinds of things. I wouldn't call it money laundering, as it isn't taken money earned illegally and running it through a process turn it into something legal. It may be a belief that building temples attracts people to the church, Field of Dreams style. Hard to say. We could test for changes in temple construction in low demand locations over time to see if the disclosure of the church's wealth had any effect, but I don't care enough to take the time. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

I wonder how the announced Russia temple project is getting along…

[toon]

Dublin, Ireland

Wow. I wonder if there'll be issues about the design.

There are not very many self-identified members of the LDS Church in The Republic of Ireland.


From Religious News Service in 2023:

But she spent a year doing deep-dive ethnographic research in two LDS congregations — one an established ward with about 70 attendees and the other a smaller branch with around 30.

Those numbers themselves tell part of the story. If you look at the church’s official statistics, LDS membership growth in Ireland looks healthy over the last decade; there were 3,013 members in 2013 and 3,980 in 2022, a 32% increase in just under 10 years. On the other hand, no new congregations have been created in Ireland over that period, which suggests poor retention of new converts and other members.

What’s more, according to the recently released 2022 census, only 1,111 people in Ireland said they were Mormon, a figure that includes both adults and children. This means that 72% of those the church claims as members do not declare themselves as such.


https://religionnews.com/2023/07/25/iri ... 20year,JKR

Of those 1,111, how many are temple worthy? Maybe a couple hundred? As a disclaimer, I don't care how the church spends its resources, but this sounds more like a destination temple for Mormons who like to plan their vacations around visiting a temple. I mean, who wouldn't want that over a Guinness Brewery tour? Or the Ulysses (which doesn't hold a candle to the rich complexity of the Book of Mormon) tour?

[Res Ipsa]

Wow. I wonder if there'll be issues about the design.

There are not very many self-identified members of the LDS Church in The Republic of Ireland.


From Religious News Service in 2023:

But she spent a year doing deep-dive ethnographic research in two LDS congregations — one an established ward with about 70 attendees and the other a smaller branch with around 30.

Those numbers themselves tell part of the story. If you look at the church’s official statistics, LDS membership growth in Ireland looks healthy over the last decade; there were 3,013 members in 2013 and 3,980 in 2022, a 32% increase in just under 10 years. On the other hand, no new congregations have been created in Ireland over that period, which suggests poor retention of new converts and other members.

What’s more, according to the recently released 2022 census, only 1,111 people in Ireland said they were Mormon, a figure that includes both adults and children. This means that 72% of those the church claims as members do not declare themselves as such.


https://religionnews.com/2023/07/25/iri ... 20year,JKR

Of those 1,111, how many are temple worthy? Maybe a couple hundred? As a disclaimer, I don't care how the church spends its resources, but this sounds more like a destination temple for Mormons who like to plan their vacations around visiting a temple. I mean, who wouldn't want that over a Guinness Brewery tour? Or the Ulysses (which doesn't hold a candle to the rich complexity of the Book of Mormon) tour?

I vote for going straight to the brewery. And a distillery or six.

[drumdude]

Let's assume all 4,000 in Ireland are active temple worthy adults. If the temple averages 25 patrons every day, that's over 9,000 patrons a year.

Every single person in the country would have to go twice a year just to keep the temple parking lot from looking completely empty 90% of the year.

This is 10000% a destination vacation temple for wealthy Mormons. Full Stop.

[Morley]

Of those 1,111, how many are temple worthy? Maybe a couple hundred? As a disclaimer, I don't care how the church spends its resources, but this sounds more like a destination temple for Mormons who like to plan their vacations around visiting a temple. I mean, who wouldn't want that over a Guinness Brewery tour? Or the Ulysses (which doesn't hold a candle to the rich complexity of the Book of Mormon) tour?

I vote for going straight to the brewery. And a distillery or six.

If there is a God, and if that God has ever been to Dublin, that God would require every visitor over 18 to sample a Guinness.