Mormons plan temple for Philadelphia
Philadelphia is getting a Mormon temple, but specifics about the location, size and plans for groundbreaking and construction were not available yesterday.
Philadelphia is getting a Mormon temple, but specifics about the location, size and plans for groundbreaking and construction were not available yesterday.
"All of those details have not been announced," said Kim Farah, spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. "We are not releasing any information."
However, most temples are built within three to five years of an announcement, she said.
Mormon Church president Thomas S. Monson said on Saturday that the church planned to build five temples worldwide: in Philadelphia; near Kansas City, Mo.; in Calgary, Canada; Cordoba, Argentina; and Rome.
Monson's announcement came as the church opened a two-day semiannual general conference in Salt Lake City.
"It's customary in the church to announce a temple is going to be built in a certain area," Farah said. "But they won't release details about where the temple will be, how large it will be, or anything like that, until a later date."
The 13 million-member church based in Utah has 128 operating temples worldwide. Construction or plans for 12 more were in the works before Saturday's announcement.
The Philadelphia temple would be Pennsylvania's first.
Architecturally, temples are towering white buildings with tall steeples. Many are topped with a trumpet-blowing golden angel draped in flowing robes. The figure represents the angel Moroni, whom Mormons believe led founder Joseph Smith to a set of buried golden plates that, when translated, became known as the Book of Mormon, the faith's central text.
Pennsylvania is known for some major events in church history, according to information on a church Web site.
Smith and his wife, Emma, lived in Harmony, now Oakland, Pa., from 1827 to 1830, where he translated much of the Book of Mormon. Members also believe Smith received the priesthood on the banks of the Susquehanna River, resulting in the first church baptisms.
The Mormon church, which was organized in Upstate New York in 1830, was established in Philadelphia in 1839 by brothers Samuel and Lewis James, and Benjamin Winchester. In October 1840, the Mormons had 450 members in Philadelphia and nearby counties. But after the death of Smith in Illinois, the Latter-day-Saints migrated west and membership here fell to 150.
In the mid-1850s, Philadelphia became a U.S. port of entry for Mormon emigrants from Europe.
As growth continued, the first stake, similar to a diocese, was established in 1960 with 1,100 members in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Today, the Mormon church has nearly 48,000 members in Pennsylvania "who will benefit from the newly announced temple," according to the church Web site. "More details concerning the location and design of the Philadelphia temple will be forthcoming."
