The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — informally known as the LDS Church or colloquially the Mormons — will be building a new temple in Caldwell, the faith’s 100-year-old president Russell M. Nelson said Sunday during their bi-annual General Conference.

The proposed Caldwell temple was one of 15 announced during the conference’s closing session, six of which will be in the United States. The Treasure Valley currently has two LDS temples, in Boise and Meridian, which were opened in 1984 and 2017, respectively.

Jason Nielson, president of the church’s Snake River stake, said that though a temple in Caldwell had already been a subject of informal speculation among church members, he was just as surprised as many other area residents when he heard Nelson make the announcement.

“Immediately, my phone started buzzing,” Nielson said. “There’s certainly been a level of anticipation. The area is growing, membership of the church is growing, and as the church grows, that leads to more temples being developed.”

The Snake River stake, for example, was just created in 2023. A stake is a group of congregations that have a combined population of about 3,000.

More than half of the church’s existing or planned temples have been announced since 2018. Temples are not congregations for weekly worship, but are only accessible to members and are used for rites such as marriage or baptism by proxy.

After construction, a temple is open to the public for tours for a brief period of time before its dedication by a church leader.

Church spokesperson Lonni Leavitt-Barker said that the church does not typically disclose the site of a new temple until permitting processes are complete, which could take up to six months. When the location is revealed, a rendering is also usually released.

“We don’t know if they actually have land purchased, or if they still have to locate it,” Nielson said. “They’ll work with local government leaders to make sure things are in accordance with local laws.”

Caldwell city councilor Mike Dittenber, whose governing body could be involved in the permitting process, said that he also had no information about a possible location.

Also not available is a potential building timeline. The Meridian temple was announced in April 2011, but groundbreaking took place in August 2014, and it was dedicated in November 2017.

“I’ve been pretty emotional about it. I’m so excited,” said Caldwell resident and church member Malia Tate. “The Meridian temple is the closest one to Boise that we go to often, and it’s a good 40 minutes away from where I live. Having it so much closer is such a blessing.”

The Caldwell temple may also serve eastern Oregon residents — there are stakes in Ontario, Nyssa and La Grande, with the state’s three temples located several hours away.

The addition of the Caldwell temple will bring Idaho’s total to 11.