Stokes Sounds Off: Temple Progress

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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Temple Progress

I know I haven't yet posted the general update I've been promising since the beginning of the month, but there have been some exciting developments in temple progress that I just had to post about. Hang on to your hats! This will be a wild ride!

First off, the Star Valley Wyoming temple groundbreaking will be held this Saturday. It is unclear who will preside at this groundbreaking. President Monson did say he wanted to be the one to dedicate that temple because the fishing is good there. So he may decide to do it himself and get some extra fishing in, if he feels up to it. President Eyring might be asked to do it, or President Uchtdorf might have his first opportunity to break ground for a temple. Any members of the Twelve could do it. None of them have any ties to Star Valley as far as I know, but if a member of the Twelve is sent, there are possibilities there. Any member of the Presidency of the Seventy could do it, as they all have equal authority to preside over the areas in the US and Canada. Of course, it could be Elder L. Whitney Clayton, who has specific supervisory responsibility for the Utah North Area, where the temple is situated. Or it could be any member of the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy or the Presiding Bishopric. The Presiding Bishopric has direct responsibility for being part of the temple site selection process.

In the meantime, the Cordoba Argentina Temple open house is underway and will be completed on May 2, with the dedication to follow 15 days later. The Payson Utah Temple is currently being toured by VIP and the media. It will open for the general public this Friday. Tours will go until May 23, with the temple to be dedicated 15 days later. The Trujillo Peru temple will also have its open house starting May 8 and running until the 30th, and the dedication of that temple will take place on June 21. With three temple dedications in the near future, the question arises, which First Presidency member will dedicate each of these temples, and who will accompany them? I could easily see President Monson presiding at the Payson dedication, but I honestly don't know whether he's up for out of state events like the Cordoba and Trujillo dedications. So it'll be interesting to see what happens with those dedications.

In the meantime, no significant progress has been made on the under construction or announced temples. Provo City Center could be dedicated by the end of this year, but it's difficult to say. We have two other dedications and one rededication by the end of the year. Other temples are progressing as follows:

Temples Undergoing Renovation:
26. Mexico City Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday September 13, 2015.
86. Montreal Quebec Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2015.
91. Suva Fiji Temple: Anticipated to be completed in early 2016.
33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Anticipated to be completed in mid-2016.
8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2016.

Under Construction:
145. Cordoba Argentina Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday May 17, 2015.
146. Payson Utah Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday June 7, 2015.
147. Trujillo Peru Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday June 21, 2015.
148. Indianapolis Indiana Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 23, 2015.
149. Tijuana Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday December 13, 2015.
154. Provo City Center Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2015-early 2016.
150. Rome Italy Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
156. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
151. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-to-late 2016.
152. Sapporo Japan Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
157. Paris France Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2017.
153. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Projected to be completed in 2018.

Announced:
166. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Building permit approved; groundbreaking scheduled for April 25, 2015.
167. Tucson Arizona Temple: Construction approval phase; general contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
169. Cedar City Utah Temple: Local government approval phase; site plan presented at January 2015 meeting; groundbreaking pending.
159. Concepcion Chile Temple: Approval phase; temple and site design plans complete; groundbreaking pending.
160. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Planning and approval phase; land purchase finalized; groundbreaking pending.
168. Arequipa Peru Temple: Planning and approval phase; final piece of land for temple site acquired; groundbreaking pending.
163. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple and site designs complete; groundbreaking pending.
162. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
165. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
161. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
164. Durban South Africa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
171. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

According to this, two other temples could potentially have their groundbreaking ceremony this year, with several more to follow by the end of next year. As soon as Urdaneta, Durban, Abidjan, Port-au-Prince and Bangkok have their sites announced, they will join the queue. And more temples are sure to follow. I will keep you all updated on this as events occur. Look for the updates here.

In the meantime, if I don't do it before then, you can count on me doing a substantially large general update on Sunday. Until I post again, all the best!

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