The Mormon church will build its first temple in Italy, in Rome, and other new temples in Argentina, United States and Canada, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced Saturday.The LDS Church, the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and by far the largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, has rapidly expanded in recent years, and constantly seeks growth.
The LDS temple in Rome is the first for that nation, as well as the first in the Mediterranean region.
LDS Church membership in Italy membership tops 25,000 followers over 102 congregations. Worldwide, there are more than 13 million Mormons, according to the Church.
Mormon temples, unlike conventional church buildings, are used by followers only for the most sacred ordinances and, unlike churches, are not open to the public.
The LDS Church also said in a statement issued from its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, that other temples are going up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri, and in Calgary, Canada.
The LDS movement was established by Joseph Smith, on April 6, 1830 in New York. Smith also published the Book of Mormon, which, followers believe, is a translation of God's word written on gold plates buried near Smith's house, as revealed to him by the angel Moroni.
Smith's followers, known as Mormons, moved westward in the 19th century to flee prevalent anti-Mormon sentiments. In the latter part of the 1900s Mormons eventually settled and thrived in the Utah desert, although numerous schisms in the movement have emerged since then.
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(Source: AFP)