LDS Church Announces Location for Second Alabama Temple in Madison
MADISON, Ala. — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has announced the location for its second temple in Alabama, a 30,000-square-foot structure to be built on a 21-acre site at the intersection of Gillespie and Browns Ferry roads in Madison. The announcement, made Tuesday, follows the church’s October 2024 general conference declaration by President Russell M. Nelson, who has overseen the construction of 185 new temples worldwide since 2018.
The Madison temple will serve Latter-day Saints in northern Alabama, reducing the need for members to travel to the state’s only existing temple in Gardendale, which opened in 2000. The new temple will feature a single-story design and provide space for sacred rituals, including baptisms for the dead and eternal family sealings, central tenets of LDS theology.
“Why are we building temples at such an unprecedented pace? Because the Lord has instructed us to do so,” Nelson said during the October 2024 conference. “The blessings of the temple help to gather Israel on both sides of the veil and prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.”
The LDS Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, emphasizes the importance of temple rituals, which are distinct from weekly worship services held in local congregations called wards. Temples are reserved for ceremonies that unite families for eternity and provide opportunities for deceased ancestors to receive salvation through proxy baptisms.
Alabama’s LDS community has grown significantly in recent decades, with approximately 40,000 members across 75 congregations statewide. Much of this growth is attributed to the church’s missionary efforts, which involve door-to-door outreach and sharing the faith’s foundational text, the Book of Mormon, first published by church founder Joseph Smith in 1830.
The Madison temple will join more than 300 LDS temples worldwide, reflecting the church’s rapid expansion and commitment to providing accessible sacred spaces for its members. Construction timelines and completion dates have not yet been announced.
