By Douglas D. Palmer
Deseret News staff writer

Within about three years after it was organized in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embarked on construction of its first temple in Kirtland, Ohio.
Work on the temple in a wooded area in the northeast part of that state began with a "solemn cornerstone-laying ceremony in 1833.
"And over a period of about three years, members of the church sacrificed their means, time and energies to build the House of the Lord. The word 'temple' was not generally used at that time," according to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.
The Kirtland Temple, no longer in use by the church, was dedicated March 27, 1836, by the Prophet Joseph Smith. The temple is now owned by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Just 10 years after that dedication, the church completed and dedicated a temple in Nauvoo, Ill., during a period of intense persecution. That temple was destroyed in 1848 following the Saints' exodus from Nauvoo.
Despite physical and other hardships at times, members of the church have always been a temple-building people. The Salt Lake Temple was announced July 26, 1847, just two days after arrival of the first company of pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. The temple was built over a period of 40 years and was dedicated April 6, 1893, by President Wilford Woodruff.
Referring to the Salt Lake Temple, President Brigham Young once said: "This is not the only temple we shall build; there will be hundreds of them built and dedicated to the Lord."
Today, there are 49 temples operating in the world. President Gordon B. Hinckley announced during general conference Saturday that ground has been acquired for construction of temples in Albuquerque, N.M., and in Campinas, Brazil.
The latest announcement brings to 66 the total number of temples in operation, under construction or planned worldwide. President Hinckley said that other prospective temple sites are under consideration, adding he hopes in the future to see temples so located that members of the church can travel to "one of these sacred houses within a reasonable distance of their homes."
Plans are being made for dedicatory services of the St. Louis Missouri Temple June 1-5. And the Vernal Utah Temple will be dedicated in 10 dedicatory sessions Nov. 2-4. The Vernal Temple is the first to be constructed from an existing structure. It was created by remodeling the old Uintah Stake Tabernacle.
Work is on schedule for temples in Preston, England; Bogota, Colombia; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Recife, Brazil; and Madrid, Spain.
The approval process, President Hinckley said, is moving forward for a temple in the Boston area.
While it has been delayed, planning continues for a temple in Nashville, Tenn. And preliminary work is under way, he said, for temples in Billings, Mont.; White Plains, N.Y.; and Monterrey,