Recently, the Colorado Springs City Council has approved the building of a new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) temple in Colorado Springs. The temple was approved by the city on February 10th, 2026. The construction will take place as soon as possible, and “once a company is chosen, construction typically takes 24 to 48 months, depending on the location,” according to the official LDS website. This will be the fourth temple built in Colorado, making it the next in a long line of temples either announced or dedicated in the last 10 years. “84 temples have been announced or dedicated—nearly double the 47 temples dedicated in the previous 118 years,” as reported on the official LDS website. This shows a recent rapid spreading of the Mormon religion across not only the US but internationally.
With such a large development for the Mormon religion in our city, there is a clear expansion occurring. All over the world, we are seeing different religions expand throughout new and different communities. Adam Gravenor, Coronado Social Studies teacher, says that a majority of the religions being proselytized are what are known as universalized religions like Christianity and Mormonism, where “some parts of [the] religions’ doctrine are to proselytize or spread, it’s kind of built in.” Their individual morals and values are to spread their beliefs and try to reach as many people as they can, and introduce them to their faith. On the other hand, religions like Hinduism and Buddhism are known as ethnic religions that are called to stay within a specific culture, ethnicity, and geographical region.
The growth of the LDS church is a hot topic right now, and it is now well known that Utah is the ‘Mormon capital’ of the world. There has been a huge growth in the community recently, nearing almost 18,000,000 members today, and with this, there is a need for more LDS temples across the country. According to the LDS website, of the 367 Mormon temples, only 52% of them are actually in operation. The rest are under construction (16%), and the rest are announced to be built (like the one in Colorado Springs).
Another very well-known part of the Mormon religion is their emphasis on their 2-year missions. In their teens and early 20s, “missionaries can be seen on the streets of hundreds of major cities throughout the world,” working to spread their beliefs to non-belivers (LDS website). Cole Oursler, former Christian missionary, believes that missions are a key part of proselytizing in any religion: “I can only imagine that it’s been vital in the growth of the Mormon church.” Mormon missionaries allow for LDS beliefs to be heard not just throughout the U.S., but around the world.
Finally, the most modern way religion can spread is through the media. The 12th president of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, Spencer W. Kimball, prophesied in 1974 that media and technology would help spread the gospel: “Our Father in heaven has now provided us mighty towers—radio and television towers with possibilities beyond comprehension—to help fulfill the words of the Lord that ‘the sound must go forth from this place into all the world'” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:64).
With the world of media, there are now many popular Mormon lifestyle influencers like Hannah Neeleman (Ballerina Farm) and Nara Smith, as well as other “tradwife” content creators posting videos romanticizing daily life, while holding strong to their beliefs. As consumers see people with beliefs that are different from their own, they want to know more.
Mr. Gravenor explains the concept that media is the most efficient way to spread the word of religion or ideals, but when doing so, concepts can be lost or misinterpreted, not just in social media and religion but with things like K-POP and Korean culture.
There are a lot of factors that play into the spread of all religions across the world. Today, we are seeing a big expansion of Mormonism and with so much development rolling through the U.S., the world can expect to see much more LDS members spreading their beliefs in every city.
