A little clarity for the journey
Questions? Start here.
Answers for group leaders, donors, and people looking for a way to help.
Who can request a Temple Bound trip?
Group leaders and local Church leaders can begin by sharing their group’s needs through the trip request form. Temple Bound reviews the request, available resources, proposed dates, and assistance needs before approving the trip.
Does submitting a request guarantee funding or travel?
No. Submitting the form starts the review process. Wait for approval and work with the assigned Temple Bound coordinator before making commitments that depend on Temple Bound assistance.
How far ahead should we request a trip?
Plan for at least 21 days for bus-only trips and 45 days for air trips. Air timing also applies if both methods are selected or travel is undecided. The form displays the current advance-notice requirements.
How does Temple Bound work alongside GTPAF?
Travelers using the Church’s General Temple Patron Assistance Fund are tracked separately from travelers needing Temple Bound assistance. Group leaders can manage the appropriate traveler sections in the app and work with their coordinator on which requirements apply.
How do group leaders manage an approved trip?
Approval includes a Temple Bound coordinator assignment and login instructions for group leaders. The trip page is where you manage travelers, checklists, documents, messages, and your Group Travel Package.
What does the average cost per traveler mean?
It is the recorded Temple Bound cost of completed, non-archived trips divided by all traveler visits on those trips. It includes GTPAF and self-funded travelers, repeat visits, and $0 trips. It is an average contribution, not a quoted airfare or a promise that the same amount fully funds one person’s trip.
Can I give an amount other than the suggested gifts?
Yes. You can choose a gift amount on the live donation page, where Givebutter processes the payment. Suggested amounts help illustrate the scale of a contribution.
Do I need to travel to be an ambassador?
No. Ambassadors can contribute through relationships, communications, operations, funding, technology, or global connections. You can start with the time and skills you have.
When will a completed trip’s story appear here?
New stories are prepared only after the trip is completed and at least one trip summary has been submitted. Temple Bound reviews the story and the permission to share its photos, videos, and experiences before publishing.
Is Temple Bound a registered nonprofit organization?
Temple Bound Saints, Inc. is a registered nonprofit organization in the United States with IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Its Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 38-4355730.
Contact Temple Bound if you need nonprofit documentation or have a question about giving.
Doesn’t the Church already have a fund to help members travel to the temple?
Yes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides financial assistance through the General Temple Patron Assistance Fund for worthy members who need help traveling to the temple to receive their own living ordinances, such as their personal endowment or a sealing to their spouse or family.
For many members, this assistance makes it possible to attend the temple for these sacred, once-in-a-lifetime ordinances.
However, after members have received their own living ordinances, they are generally responsible for the cost of future temple visits. For members living in areas where the nearest temple may require significant travel by bus, ferry, airplane, or overnight accommodations, those ongoing expenses can make it difficult—or even impossible, to return to the temple regularly.
Temple Bound helps fill that need by partnering with local Church leaders to organize and help fund temple trips for worthy members who have already received their living ordinances and desire to continue worshipping in the temple, participating in family history work, serving as ordinance workers, attending youth temple trips, or returning with family and friends. Our goal is to help remove financial and travel barriers so more members can enjoy the lifelong blessings that come from regular temple worship.
Note: Temple Bound supplements existing Church resources, it does not replace them. We work in harmony with local Church leaders to help extend temple blessings to members who might not otherwise be able to return regularly.
Don’t new members have to wait a year before they can go to the temple?
Not exactly.
New members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have to wait at least one year after baptism and confirmation before receiving their own endowment. However, they do not have to wait a year to enter the temple.
As soon as they are prepared and approved by their local priesthood leaders, new members may receive a limited-use temple recommend and participate in baptisms and confirmations for deceased ancestors and others. In fact, the Church has encouraged helping new members move "from font to font"—from the baptismal font at their baptism to the temple baptismal font—as soon as reasonably possible. In many areas, the goal is to help new members have this opportunity within 30 days of their baptism whenever circumstances allow.
For members who live close to a temple, this can often be accomplished without significant difficulty. But for many members around the world, attending the temple may require long-distance travel by bus, ferry, airplane, or overnight accommodations, making that goal difficult to achieve.
Temple Bound is dedicated to helping remove those barriers. By partnering with local Church leaders, we help worthy members attend the temple soon after their baptism to participate in baptisms for the dead and continue building a lifelong pattern of temple worship.
Helping new members reach the temple early in their discipleship can strengthen faith, improve member retention, increase activity, strengthen local branches and wards, and help build a stronger foundation for the continued growth of the Church. As temple worship becomes a regular part of members’ lives, it also helps prepare communities for the day when a temple may be built closer to home.
How are donations used?
Every donation to Temple Bound directly helps worthy members attend the temple.
100% of every donation designated for temple trips is used to provide travel, food, and lodging for temple trip participants. Donations help cover expenses such as transportation, airfare, buses, ferries, hotel accommodations, and meals, making it possible for members who face financial or geographic barriers to receive the blessings of the temple.
Administrative and operational expenses are funded separately, allowing donor contributions designated for temple trips to have the greatest possible impact on the lives of those we serve.
Each donation helps remove barriers, strengthen faith, and provide life-changing temple experiences for members around the world.
Still looking for an answer?
Contact Temple Bound and we’ll help you find the right next step. If you already use the app, Help & Support is available after you log in.