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]
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]
Related Question
Is the church growing or shrinking?
Read more in Church Growth and Activity
Are temples built 100% with tithing funds?
Mostly yes.[10] The Church also never goes into debt to fund temple construction.[11]
What kind of economic effect do temples have where they are built?
There have been no broad studies on the economic impact of temples. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that temples have a positive impact on property values;[12] one academic study showed no effect either way from the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple.[13]
The Facts
Temples typically cost tens of millions of dollars, depending on size and location.
The Church started building smaller temples in 1997, although they still build some large ones too.
Temples are typically paid for with tithing funds, or direct donations from members.
Our Take
When we think of churches, sometimes we think about their role in charity—in serving others or giving to the poor. With that in mind, seeing a church build expensive buildings, like temples, can seem unnecessarily extravagant.
Temples are spiritual places, but their construction is temporal—so it's not unreasonable to be concerned with the cost of temples, especially when weighed against other things the money could be spent on.
Temples are dedicated to the highest forms of worship and making covenants with God. The Church has to balance temporal realities, like the cost of a building, with the spiritual purpose of the temple. It's okay to have a different take on what the balance should be. Small or large, temples are designed to bring us closer to God.
What's Your Take?
- Valdinei D S
“O que deve reger as igrejas ,sejam elas de qualquer confissão, são seus dogmas. Igrejas não são construídas para ajudar os pobres e necessitados de alimentos ou vestes, são construídas para seus adeptos louvar a Deus, a ajuda a pobres ou necessitados é decisão dos membros.” - Michael
“The Church of Jesus Christ does both! That is feed the hungry and build Temples! God requires His people to do both! Feeding people has no eternal goal, but each day, ever temple offers eternal blessings to both the living and those passed on! Yes, Temples are necessary!” - Lincoln W.
“John 15:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.Judas’ query is a type of weaponized compassion. He takes a Good and tries to make it into the highest Good.” - Jordan W.
“It’s not fair at all to suggest that the church is spending too much on temples instead of welfare. It can and does do both, to the tune of $900 million on welfare and humanitarian aid in 2021 alone.” - Tanner H
“How much has the church donated in humanitarian aid? Fighting hunger, disaster relief, poor and needy, etc.” - Marylyn E
“One day the Lord Himself will visit these buildings in His second coming. That is why they are built as they are. They bring out the best in each of us.” - Richard K
“Yeah I'm in full support that temples are built and dedicated to the Lord, therefore, it has to be nice and expensive so I personally, I'm cool with its high cost.” - Piper F
“I think we have a lot of money problems, as a society. It's the root of all evil, after all. I bet we could make temples a holy place with less money. However, if there was ever a good place to spend money it would be the actual house of the Lord on earth.”
Read More Difficult Questions
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.
Blogger Matt Martinich calculated inflation-adjusted costs for prior temple construction estimates.
Newspaper estimate of LA temple cost.
Contractor Herman Goldner Co quotes an estimate for the Philadelphia temple.
PI cites Church official saying that the temple would end up costing about 70 million.
An anonymous ExMormon Reddit user provides Calgary Temple permit price.
Journalist account of how much the Meridian temple cost.
Fletcher Construction offers firsthand calculation for the cost of a smaller temple.
- [2]
↩︎
In 2003, the Church reported that the Brisbane Australia Temple cost $11.5 million.
- [3]
↩︎
The Church used to report estimates for temple construction in the Church Almanac but stopped after 1981.
- [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."
- [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.”
- [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.
- [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.
- [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.
- [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.
Official Church Website teaching that Tithing is used for construction of temples.
Jenna Platt in Daily Universe article: donations from local members, not only tithing, used in cost of Newport Beach Temple.
Gordon B. Hinckley, during the April 1999 General Conference, reports that the Nauvoo Temple will be rebuilt due to a "a very substantial contribution" from a member of the Church and his family.
- [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.
- [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.
- [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.
