Temple capacity. How to estimate, etc.

[jamesanderson]

One of the things that goes into CHQQ decisions on where and when to put in a new temple is the capacity of existing temples that may be serving the same are.  When any existing temple hits 80 percent of its design capacity, that is when they start searching for a site.

To determine capacity at its theoretical maximum, rarely if ever reached due to slower midday hours, you first have to know how naby endowment rooms the temple in aquestion has, and how many seats each room has.  

Then multiply the number of seats for one A room in newer temples or in older ones where you complete the endowment in one shot in the same room, by the number of sessions the temple has that day.

For example, Provo City Center has two 90-seat A rooms that alternate, but a session runs hourly.  They run 14 scheduled sessions a day, and one overflow from the last session that is typically half full and sometimes is not needed.  Without the overflow, that means that the temple if full-up, every seat, every scheduled session, could see 1269 endowments or very close to that.

Mornings and evenings are very busy there, but middays are about half to 2/3 full.  Counting baptisms, initiatory, and sealings (hard to guage capacity there because of a lot of variables), they say that temple is already running 'at capacity' how they measure it.

Other factors in determining when to announce a temple have to do with member activity rates in an area, number of members using a temple nearby, and full-tithe faithfulness.  As early as the middle 2000s they apparently wanted to announce a Tucson temple, one that had been rumored for 20 years prior to that and which is now sited about one mile from the speculaaated location kicked around in 1987, they said sacrament attendance and tithe-payers were what was holding things up.

To summarize, the question has to be asked 'How well do the members in the area use the temple?' and 'How do certain stats in the quarterly report and tithing settlement stand in a given area?'  Al that, and maybe a thing or two I still have not considered stack up.

[brycen]

Good info, James A. Do you have any info on the capacity and use of the other temples besides Provo? Particularly I'm interested in those districts that would be split by the building of the temples on the other James' list of likely locations.

[brycen]

Pardon me, Provo City Center.

[James Anderson]

I would look for pictures of the endowment rooms and most temples have two, some have more, so it is usually what you see. You can estiate from the picture if you see at least one full row of seats on one side and all the rows to the back are in the frame.

Multiply what you get by the number of endowment rooms the temple has. Even a smaller temple will need hundreds of workers to staff it because some only work it once a week, and take into account the number of stakes that will be in the district and how many are within relatively easy driving distance. That will also help give the likelyhood of another temple being announced, and if you calculate things right, even maybe where

[james]

Mar 6, 2017 17:43:52 GMT James Anderson said:

I would look for pictures of the endowment rooms and most temples have two, some have more, so it is usually what you see. You can estiate from the picture if you see at least one full row of seats on one side and all the rows to the back are in the frame.

Multiply what you get by the number of endowment rooms the temple has. Even a smaller temple will need hundreds of workers to staff it because some only work it once a week, and take into account the number of stakes that will be in the district and how many are within relatively easy driving distance. That will also help give the likelyhood of another temple being announced, and if you calculate things right, even maybe where

For me, what I know of the level of activity at the Mount Timpanogos Temple has me convinced that Lehi is more likely for Utah County's next temple than Eagle Mountain or Saratoga Springs would be. And in addition to my former colleagues at that temple, I also keep tabs on the American Fork temple's level of busyness by talking to those who still work there, my mother being one of them. And from her reports, Mt. Timp. is still as busy, if not more so, than it was in the six or so years I served there. So that was one factor in terms of my Lehi choice. That said, jamesanderson, I would welcome you "putting [my] list to the test" by analyzing those selections I have mentioned in the other topic to see how likely or favorable my selections might be in those terms. I welcome and need to have information in that one respect. I know I cannot expect an overnight analysis, and that's fine with me. I will likely not change my selections unless and until after next conference (one month away) if there is not a good reason to do so. But I would welcome your feedback in this regard, if you have time and desire to offer it. Thanks, brycen and jamesanderson.

[Admin]

I'm curious how your experience working in the mt. Timpanogas temple would tell you that Lehi is more likely that eagle mountain or Saratoga springs? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just don't see how the location of a temple would be determined from that, as all three towns are in that same district and would be served by the new temple if it came to any of them.

[james]

Mar 10, 2017 1:17:30 GMT Admin said:

I'm curious how your experience working in the mt. Timpanogas temple would tell you that Lehi is more likely that eagle mountain or Saratoga springs? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just don't see how the location of a temple would be determined from that, as all three towns are in that same district and would be served by the new temple if it came to any of them.

It's very simple. Part of my service (though I was a designated veil worker) involved training on the subject of the records kept by the temple on the work done there and those who attend. Quite frequently as part of these training opportunities, we heard from people whose job it was to look at and analyze the data, and the indication from them (which held true for the entirety of my six-year tenure working there and is still true from the reports I receive on the subject from my mother and others of my former colleagues who worked there) was that the top three cities that had the greatest number of attendees (which makes sense when looking at the number of units in each city) were American Fork (where the temple is located), Orem (now transferred to the Provo district in the wake of the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple about a year ago), and Lehi. There are the other factors I mentioned as well (that Lehi has more Church units than Saratoga Springs/Eagle Mountain combined, that Lehi is growing much more steadily, that Lehi is the city covered by the Mount Timpanogos Temple District that needs a temple of its own the most, hands down (primarily as a direct result of some very corrupt politicians), and that the ongoing development and sale of lands in Lehi generally, and the parcels of land which my father-in-law signed over to Lehi particularly make that area the most likely location for a temple to be built. It is just a matter of time until it does happen. Mark my words. Hope that helps. Thanks.
.

[james]

I also want to be absolutely clear that what happened with my training as a temple worker in being informed about the relevant demographics involved is not a standard procedure for temple workers. It came as part of a package-deal type training about the importance of record keeping and in conjunction with the issuance of the temple recommends with the barcode, which, as you can imagine, makes tracking the "home city" of temple patrons much easier. It was a unique situation in response to the change in recommend types. Hope that clarifies things sufficiently.