Cost of Temples

How much does a temple cost to build?

It is estimated that they cost between $7 million and $70 million, depending on the size and location.[1] With one exception,[2] the Church hasn't published the cost of building temples since 1981,[3] so estimates are speculative.

Why does the Church spend so much money on a building?

The Church teaches that temples are "literally the house of the Lord,"[4] so they might feel like it's not a place to count the cost. Temples are made with high-quality materials and are built to last for generations.[5]

Couldn't they build less expensive temples and feed people instead?

Yes, but they don't.[6]

Why doesn't the Church just make small, inexpensive temples?

In 1997, the Church started building significantly smaller, less expensive temples.[7] The new smaller design could be constructed for "about the same cost it took just to maintain a large temple in a single year."[8] However, starting in 2002 the size of temples shifted back towards more moderate-sized buildings.[9]

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27 Primary Sources

Footnotes

[1]↩︎
The Church used to publish the cost of construction for temples in the Church Almanac. While they stopped doing so, an independent researcher, Matt Martinich, adjusted the cost for inflation to derive an estimate of temple construction.
Others have worked up estimates from non-Church sources and generally come up with similar numbers.
[2]↩︎
In 2003, the Church reported that the Brisbane Australia Temple cost $11.5 million.
- Church reports on cost of a temple in Australia.
[3]↩︎
The Church used to report estimates for temple construction in the Church Almanac but stopped after 1981.
- The last edition of the Church almanac that reported on the cost of temples.
[4]↩︎
In the Guide to the Scriptures (published on the Church website) under the term "Temple," it states that temples are "literally the house of the Lord."
- The Church teaches temples are "Literally the house of the Lord."
[5]↩︎
In 2015, the Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Robert Smith, an area authority seventy:
"We spend a lot of money per square foot to make that happen, and it's worth it because we'll have a building that will be in the city for not just decades but, we hope, centuries," Smith said. He acknowledged the meticulous standards are likely to push the project's budget over its initial $70 million estimate, though he was unable to say by how much. "We're going to do our best to control the costs, but not at the expense of cheapening the project."
Larry Wilson, the executive director of temple development, said that temples are "built of the finest materials, with the finest craftsmanship, to stand forever."
An HVAC/plumbing contractor for the Philadelphia temple noted that "the precision and quality required to complete the project were also far greater than would normally be expected for a standard HVAC/ plumbing project."
[6]↩︎
Note that every institution involved in charity work could always spend less and feed more people.
The Church is active in various food programs. For example in September 2020, the Church collaborated with the World Food Programme (WFP): "WFP Somalia use its e-Shop phone app to ensure that some 35,323 schoolchildren have five months of nutritious food," which according to the WFP Somalia country director Cesar Arroyo, helped "to prevent devastating nutrition and health consequences for the children currently missing out on their daily meals amid school closures."
In February 2021, it was reported that, alongside "Convoy of Hope," the Church was "delivering 30 million meals to school children in nine developing countries. Each meal plate includes 482 life-sustaining calories of grains, protein, vegetables and fruits.”
- Church Newsroom reports on the activity of LDS Charities during COVID Pandemic.
- Church Newsroom reports on LDS Charities providing 30 millions meals to children.
[7]↩︎
President Hinckley announced the smaller designs for temples during the October 1997 General Conference. The first smaller model was Monticello Utah Temple, which stands on 1.33 acres of land and is 11,225 square feet.
- Gordon B. Hinckley announces plan to build smaller temples during 1997 October General Conference.
- MHP discusses the first "mini temple": Monticello Utah Temple.
[8]↩︎
When President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the first three "smaller temples," he also said, "more of the traditional temples would be built elsewhere."
To cut costs, the smaller temples would not have some of the amenities the traditional temples did, including laundry, temple clothes rentals, and cafeterias. President Hinckley noted, "These have been added for the convenience of the people but are not necessary [for temple ordinances]."
Wherever possible, the “small, beautiful, serviceable temples” would also share grounds with the local stake center, to share parking.
- Gordon B. Hinckley explains the new, small temple design.
[9]↩︎
From 1998 to 2002, there was a decrease in temple sizes: the Church made 32 temples in a row that were 10,700 square feet large. Since that time, there was been a moderate increase in size ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet.
- Dimensions, number of rooms, and acreage of Temples provided by "Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
[10]↩︎
The Church's Gospel Topics entry under "Tithing" states:
Tithing funds are always used for the Lord’s purposes—to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educate Church members, and to carry on the work of the Lord throughout the world.
However, Newport Beach California Temple was built using funds from the donations of local Church members.
During the April 1999 General Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley, upon announcing the plans to reconstruct the Nauvoo Temple noted that
A member of the Church and his family have provided a very substantial contribution to make this possible. We are grateful to him.
[11]↩︎
In an article titled "The Process of Building a Mormon Temple," Church Public Affairs quoted Elder William R. Walker:
“We’ve had a long-standing practice in the Church for well over 100 years that we don’t take loans or put mortgages on properties to build temples,” says Elder William R. Walker, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department. “So we would not build a temple unless we could pay for the temple as the temple was built.”
Doctrine and Covenants 115:13 is scriptural precedent for the Church avoiding debt in the construction of then-future temples:
Verily I say unto you, let not my servant Joseph, neither my servant Sidney, neither my servant Hyrum, get in debt any more for the building of a house unto my name.
- Statement from Church about not borrowing funds for temples.
[12]↩︎
The Arizona Republic quoted Paul Gilbert, an attorney handling a temple project in its "LDS Temples boost property values" article:
"From our experiences, temples have definitely raised property values of surrounding residential areas," Gilbert said. "It's an extremely quiet use. You'll never hear noise emanating from the temple, and the church is very careful to use very generous setbacks from the street."
In the same article, Kris Thompson, chairman of Gilbert, Arizona's economic advisory board said, "Once we see ground break, property values will likely increase."
In 2003, FAIR, an apologetics organization conducted a study on the effect of temples on property values. The study concluded that the temples chosen did not have a negative effect on the property values.
- Paul Gilbert tells Arizona Republic he expects the temple to benefit property values.
- FAIR sponsored study that analyzed the effect of temples on property values.
[13]↩︎
A 2012 University of Nebraska–Lincoln paper specifically analyzed the effect of the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple on local property values and found that it had no significant effect, positive or negative, on the surrounding property values.
- Academic paper from Contemporary Economic Policy journal on the effects of a temple on housing values.