BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Modesto California Temple; Renovation Scheduled for the Apia Samoa Temple; Initial Details Released for the Hamburg Germany Temple

Hello again, everyone! Given the coverage of the open houses for the San Diego California and Cleveland Ohio Temples, I wasn't sure anything else would be announced today. But it was. The First Presidency has officially confirmed opening arrangements for the Modesto California Temple, a scheduled renovation for the Apia Samoa Temple, and confirmed official details for the Hamburg Germany Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's jump right in!

We start with the Modesto California Temple, which will have a media day on Tuesday, October 13, followed by VIP tours the following two days. The public open house will run from Friday, October 16 through Saturday, October 31, excluding the Sundays of October 18 and 25. The temple's dedication will follow on Sunday, November 22, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The time of the dedicatory session has not been identified as of yet, but I imagine a 10:00 AM session with a 2:00 PM rebroadcast is the likely scenario. I have added this information to my document showing apostolic temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic administration.

Given that there is a two-Sunday gap where no temple dedications have been set (yet), I am reasonably certain we will see at least one dedication apiece of other temples on November 8 and November 15. I could be wrong on that, but I don't believe that I am. I am keeping my eyes out for information on the temples in Pago Pago American Samoa, Torreon Mexico, and Smithfield Utah, any of which could have dedications scheduled on either of those Sundays. The Modesto temple was behind those three in the queue, insofar as I have been able to ascertain. I am also keeping my eyes open for news of the opening arrangements for the Fort Worth Texas, Neiafu Tonga, and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temples.

And, having referred to the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple, that leads me into the details of the renovation for the Apia Samoa Temple. That temple will close for extensive renovations on December 23, 2026. Other details remain unknown at this time, but the timing of the closure will probably mean that the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple will be operational by (if not before) the closure of the Apia Samoa Temple.

The news release notes: "During the closure, members from the temple district are encouraged to attend other temples as their circumstances permit. Those desiring to receive their own ordinances should contact a temple in the surrounding area to make the necessary arrangements." I wouldn't be surprised if the plan is to enlarge the temple and bring electrical and mechanical equipment up to date, and/or remodel the existing floor plan. But until such details are known, that is merely my own opinion.

We now turn to the Hamburg Germany Temple. The announcement states: "The Hamburg Germany Temple will be built on a 1.4-acre site located at Wartenau 20, Hamburg, Germany." Other details, including the temple's size and an exterior rendering, will apparently be released at a later time. The confirmation of the temple's size an an exterior rendering will be released at a later date. This is the last temple originally announced in April 2023 to have any official details confirmed. I have accordingly updated my document showing announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet.

I am grateful for this announcement and the opportunity to share these thoughts with you here. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

In Honor of Elder David A. Bednar's 74th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! Given that today is June 15, I wanted to take an opportunity to pay tribute to Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is marking his 74th birthday today. Let's get into some details about Elder Bednar's life thus far:

David Allan Bednar was born in Oakland California on this day in 1952 to Anthony George and Lavina Whitney Bednar. His mother came from a long line of Latter-day Saint ancestors, but his father was not a member of the Church. 

Despite not having a formal Church membership, Anthony Bednar fully supported the rest of his family in their Church membership, and he would often step in and participate in meetings and Church activities, including various service projects, whereby he was in essence functioning in the same supportive way as other Church members did, but as one who was not a Church member. Young David would often ask Anthony when he would be baptized, to which his father replied that he would do so when he felt it was right.

Elder Bednar served a mission in southern Germany, during which time, then-Elder Boyd K. Packer visited his mission, and was advised that to get through the necessary border security, he would need money. The future President Packer would later recount in General Conference that a young missionary provided him with the money he needed, and later revealed that Elder Bednar had been that missionary. 

Elder Bednar attended BYU-Provo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's in organizational communication. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from the prestigious Purdue University. He met Susan Kae Robinson at an activity for young adults. He recounts that they were playing flag football and that he threw a pass, which she caught. Susan would later note that, incidentally, that was the only time she could remember catching a pass. That experience left a positive impression on both of them, and the two started dating not long afterward. 

They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and would go on to raise 3 sons together. One major highlight of Elder Bednar's life came long after his marriage. Anthony called his son one day and asked, "Would you be free on (and he named a near-future date)? I would like you to come and baptize me." He was able to baptize and confirm his father, and also ordained him to the priesthood.

He spent his vocational career as an educator at several secondary schools. For four years (1980-1984), he was an assistant professor of management at what was then the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. He spent the next two years as an assistant professor at Texas Tech University, after which he returned to Arkansas, where he served first as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, then as the Director of the Management Decision-Making Lab. 

During this time, he was recognized as being an outstanding educator through the receipt of many prestigious awards and honors. He also had a few ecclesiastical responsibilities within the Church at around the same time. He spent several months as a bishop, then went on to serve first as the president of what was then the Fort Smith, Arkansas Stake, then as the first president of the newly established Rogers Arkansas Stake. During the final months of his service as a stake president, he was called to serve as a regional representative. In 1997, he was among the first men called to serve in the new position of area seventy. 

That same year, he was also called by the Church Board of Education to serve as president of Ricks College. His tenure there spanned from 1997-2004, during which time he led the transition of that college to BYU-Idaho. In October 2004, as a result of the apostolic vacancies due to the July deaths of Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight (which occurred 10 days apart), Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the vacancies would be filled by Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar.

At the time of his call to the apostleship, Elder Bednar, who was 52 at that time, was the youngest apostle to have been called since then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks (who had been called to the apostleship in 1984 at the age of 51). Although he immediately commenced his service in the apostleship, he also continued to serve as president of BYU-Idaho for several weeks before the appointment of an interim president. Elder Bednar's tenure as an educator has molded how he speaks and ministers as an apostle. 

One of his common traditions, as he speaks at General Conference, is to invite the Holy Ghost to bless him and the rest of us as we listen to his remarks. Since his October 2004 call to the apostleship, he has given 44 addresses in General Conference, which are always well crafted and insightful, and are well worthy of review by all of us. He is currently the second-most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (which, including the current members of the First Presidency, makes him the fourth in overall apostolic seniority), and the fifth oldest among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the eighth oldest among all 15 ordained apostles. 

While I have never had the honor of personally meeting him, from the moment his apostolic call was first announced and onward since then, I have had a testimony that his apostolic call has been inspired and directed by the Lord, which I reiterate to you all today. Given his relatively younger age in comparison to both the five apostles senior to him, and four of the eight apostles who are junior to him, I fully believe that Elder Bednar may serve as Church President or at least in the First Presidency at some point. That, of course, will be up to the Lord’s will and the health and longevity of Presidents Oaks, Eyring, and Uchtdorf. And I want to make it very clear that such a prospect is merely my personal opinion and not anything I can attribute to anyone else. 

I am grateful to have been able to provide this tribute to Elder Bednar as he marks his 74th birthday today. Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments section below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Date Announced for the Huntsville Alabama Temple

Hello again, everyone! As anticipated, the First Presidency made the next major temple construction announcement a few moments ago. The groundbreaking ceremonyt has been set for the Huntsville Alabama Temple. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 15, under the direction of Elder John D. Amos of the United States Southeast Area Presidency, who is a native of Alabama.

This will be the third straight groundbreaking in three weeks, and the tenth overall for 2026. I hope the First Presidency can continue to set one groundbreaking per week over the next few weeks. That said, I am a little surprised that we only got 1 groundbreaking announcement today. I had hoped for additional dedications to be set, but apparently that's not in the cards this week. With yesterday's announcement of the first leaders for the Modesto Californina and Knoxville Tennessee Temples, I am reasonably certain both of those temples will be dedicated by the end of this year.

There are now a total of 6 temples for which dedications might be set soon. I had mentioned that the Church might be having difficulties adding the necessary finishing touches to some temples outside the Americas. Whether or not that is the case, obviously scheduling a temple dedication is easy once those fnal touches are taken care of. So hopefully the 6 temples with major construction completed (or in one case, nearly completed) might soon have dedication announcements.

I was also surprised by the announcement of this groundbreaking, as I was only estimating it to occur either in the late months of this year or in the early months of 2027. But that just goes to show that, as always, the Lord's ways and thoughts are higher than my ways and thoughts. While this post was being prepared, the Church News also covered today's groundbreaking announcement.

I am grateful we got this announcement today. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.