At the most recent General Conference (a semi-annual meeting of the Mormons that is broadcast world-wide), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) announced plans for five new temples. Temples are a special type of church building. They aren’t used for regular, weekly worship or congregational activities.
While regular church buildings are open to all, temples are open only to those who have developed a high level of worthiness as members of the church. You can think of them as being like a college class. If you decide you want to study physics, you don’t begin with the advanced course. You start with the beginning physics class and then, when you have sufficient background and understanding, you sign up for the advanced class. People who are not members of the church or who haven’t been a member for very long need a good grounding in the basics of the gospel. They need to learn to live the gospel to a certain level before they learn more and make sacred covenants (promises) between themselves and God. These covenants must never be broken, since we should never break a promise to God. Therefore, it’s important for a person to have the knowledge, the spiritual maturity, and the experience to make promises to God. Members must have belonged to the church for one year prior to making these covenants. Members in good standing are married in the temple. This marriage covenant is made for eternity, not just until death. God created families when he created the earth, and gave families a powerful bond that no loving God would rob us of at a time when we’ve been promised the greatest joy imaginable. Do you really want to spend eternity without your spouse and children? Baptisms are performed for those 
who died without an opportunity to hear the gospel. Living people act in proxy for those who died, and the deceased person has the opportunity, in Heaven, to accept or reject the ordinance. If he rejects it, it is as if it never happened. It has no hold on him at all, because agency is an essential doctrine of the gospel. If he accepts, it is as if he’d been baptized on earth and he is welcomed into the fold as a full member. One of the new temples will be built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia was the site of an historic sermon given by Joseph Smith, the first modern-day prophet of the church. This will be an urban, multi-use building, with a regular meeting house below and the temple above. This model is also used in Manhattan and Hong Kong. A temple is being built in the Kansas City, Missouri area, on property the church is currently developing. A temple is also being built in Argentina, next to the current mission home, and another in Calgary, Canada. Members were most excited about a new temple announced for . When it was announced, there were audible gasps from those in the Conference Center. It is being built on a fifteen-acre site the church owns.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
