SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah-based Mormon church will build a new temple in Colorado, one of three in North America, its president, Thomas S, Monson said today.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will build temples in Fort Collins, Meridian, Idaho and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

This will be the second temple in Colorado; a temple in Denver was completed in 1986. As of October 2010, there were nearly 140,000 members in the state.

The new temples “will certainly be a blessing to our members in those areas,” said Monson, who shared the news to members on the first day of the faith’s semiannual general conference.

The 13.5 million-member church currently has 134 operating temples worldwide, most in the United States. Another 26 temples are either planned or under construction.

Temples are considered sacred to Latter-day Saints and are used for religious rituals including proxy baptisms, marriage ceremonies and other rites, often referred to as “ordinances,” which are designed to strengthen church teachings.

The towering white buildings differ from the church meeting houses used for regular Sunday services. Temples are closed on Sundays and open only to church members considered worthy — a designation achieved through tithe paying and an a faithful adherence to the standards of conduct expected by the church.

“Each year millions of ordinances are performed in the temples. May we continue to be faithful in performing such ordinances,” Monson urged.