Plans have now been announced for the construction of a new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that will go up in the city of Queen Creek.
The project is particularly timely for a city that has seen its population substantially grow from around 4,300 residents two decades ago to more than 87,000 today.
Set to be built on a 15.5-acre site, the project will go up just to the north of Queen Creek Road, between Meridian Road and Ironwood Road.
As envisioned, the new temple will measure upwards of 82,000 square feet. The project will also include a meeting house as well as ancillary building.
The project marks the Church’s seventh such temple in the Grand Canyon State, with new temples also in the planning stage for Flagstaff and Yuma.
On Tuesday, the Church opened its latest temple in Montpelier, Idaho; a nearly 33,4000-square- foot structure located on a 2.6-acre site at 534 Washington Street.
Other LDS churches in Arizona are in Gila Valley, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Snowflake, and Tucson.
Preliminary plans for the Queen Creek church were announced in October of 2024 as one of 17 new facilities planned for construction.
According to the publication Church News, which is put out by the Latter-Day Saints, church pioneers explored parts of Arizona as early as the 1860s and 1870s for possible settlement sites: “After these explorations, a large group of pioneers arrived in spring 1876 to establish four settlements.”
September 10, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Image of Montpelier Temple courtesy of Latter-Day Saints
