The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has received approval to begin some preliminary work on the Fairview Texas Temple site. Although a groundbreaking date has not yet been set, this work will prepare the grounds for construction.
Information about this preliminary work was released in a Dec. 15 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The release added, “The Church is grateful for the cooperation of the Town of Fairview as we move forward with the permitting on this project.”
The future temple’s site in Fairview — a Texas suburb north of Dallas — measures approximately 8 acres and sits at 681 E. Stacy Road.
The Fairview temple will be the third house of the Lord in Texas’ Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. It joins the Dallas temple, dedicated in October 1984, and the Fort Worth temple, under construction since October 2023.
The site location map for the Fairview Texas Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints About the Fairview temple and the Church in Texas
On Oct. 2, 2022, then-Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a house of the Lord for Prosper, Texas, one of 18 temple locations he identified in his general conference message.
The First Presidency announced a site location — and a new name of “McKinney Texas Temple” — on Dec. 4, 2023. It was renamed the Fairview Texas Temple earlier this year, on April 28, to reflect its planned location.
Of the state’s 10 houses of the Lord in various stages, five are operating, including the Dallas (dedicated in 1984), Houston (2000), Lubbock (2002), San Antonio (2005) and McAllen (2023) temples.
Two temples, the Fort Worth and Austin temples, have been under construction since October 2023 and August 2024, respectively.
In addition to the Fairview temple, temples are in planning stages for the southern part of Houston and for El Paso, both announced in 2024.
In 1845, Elder Lyman Wight — then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — led a company of Latter-day Saints to central Texas. Missionaries preached in Texas in the 1850s, until missionary work came to a halt before the Civil War, and nearly 1,000 converts immigrated to Utah from Texas.
In 1898, about 300 Church members settled on land purchased by the Church in northeast Texas that would become the colony of Kelsey, about 100 miles east of Fairview.
Church membership in Texas has grown rapidly in recent decades — from 132,000 Latter-day Saints in 1985 to just over 210,000 in 2000.
Today, Texas is home to more than 390,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 750 congregations.