Stokes Sounds Off: Temple developments/approaching milestones/musings

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Monday, July 24, 2017

Temple developments/approaching milestones/musings

Hello again, all! This is my last post of the day (as I am trying not to be on my computer too late from now on). I wanted to note that minor progress has been reported on the Cedar City Utah Temple. While the last update on that temple noted that art glass was being installed, I learned today that, while that was ongoing, those working on the grounds have begun laying sod. So that temple is just a little closer to completion. The open house for that temple is now just over three months away (as it starts on October 27). As a brief note on another temple, the open house for the new temple in Meridian Idaho is set to begin in just under three months. And we cannot forget, of course, that, as we near the end of July, the dedication of the Tucson Arizona Temple is now just under three weeks away.

Regarding that dedication, I still believe that President Uchtdorf, who broke ground for this temple, may be asked to return to dedicate it. I also believe that he will be accompanied by at least one apostle, perhaps one that has ties to Tucson, but I don't know who that would be. Whoever the presiding apostles might be, it is not hard to believe that they might be accompanied by either Elder Lynn G. Robbins, who is currently presiding over the area of the Church under which Arizona falls, or by Elder Juan A. Uceda, who will take over that assignment from Elder Robbins in 8 days, unless he has already done so.

Whatever might happen in the near future in terms of temple-related developments, you can count on this blog being a source for information about such developments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Any comments continue to be welcome. Have a great night.

3 comments:

  1. I can think of one apostle with ties to that general area: President Eyring, as the nephew of Camilla Kimball, definitely has ties to Southern Arizona. Not sure whether that or his ties to Meridian is more of a stretch. I'm assuming President Uchtdorf will get at least one temple this year, but I'm not sure which.

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  2. Hello again! Thanks for the comments. While President Eyring may have ties to Southern Arizona, I think I have ruled him out as a possibility to preside at this dedication. President Eyring presided at both the dedication of the Paris France Temple in May, and at the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple two weeks later. In light of that, and because President Uchtdorf broke ground for this temple (to say nothing of having accompanied President Monson to one or two dedications of other Arizona Temples), I am convinced President Uchtdorf will return to dedicate the Tucson Arizona Temple. My question was more if anyone knows of any members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with ties to Tucson. I couldn't find any, but that doesn't mean there are none. I will say that just because President Eyring has led out in the two previous dedication opportunities, he cannot be completely ruled out to possibly preside at the one in Tucson, but I also know that the Church seems to like alternating attendance between all the apostles. I also know that 3 of the 6 temples dedicated last year were presided over by one of the six senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

    President Nelson: Sapporo Japan
    Elder Oaks: Provo City Center (though President Nelson attended the last session there and was thus the presiding official for that session)
    Elder Bednar: Star Valley Wyoming (in view of his wife's ties to the area; he is the most junior apostle in Church history (6th in the Quorum and 9th of the 15 apostles) to be the presiding official at a temple dedication.)

    So I wondered if one or more members of the Twelve had ties to the Tucson area. If any do (which I have not been able to ascertain), then they would likely be the ones asked to attend.

    Hope that information is helpful to you. Thanks for continuing to comment.

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  3. As far as Meridian Idaho, if the Star Valley Wyoming dedication is any indication, I am predicting Elder Bednar will return for that dedication, since he broke ground for it. The only question is whether he will preside or will be the accompanying apostle to anyone more senior that is asked to do so.

    Cedar City is another tricky case. Since Elder Ballard (who has some role in supervising the three Utah areas) and Elder Holland (by virtue of being raised in St. George; as Cedar City is the next southernmost major city (after St. George) in Utah. So either of them could do it.

    And the dedications this year did not pan out how I originally thought. I was counting on President Uchtdorf, our European apostle, dedicating the temple in Paris France, but President Eyring was sent (I did not know he had ties to the area). For the Idaho Falls rededication, I suspected President Eyring would be sent, and he was, but I had thought he would be accompanied by either Elder Bednar or Elder Andersen, if not both, and Elder Rasband was asked to accompany him. So these thoughts are no more than my own musings, and I am not disappointed at all when I find out that I've been incorrect in my thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if I were partially or completely wrong in my thinking on any of the others. It won't be the first time, and it certainly won't be the last. Hope that clarifies my viewpoint.

    ReplyDelete

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