With this announcement, the question arises: Who might be asked to preside at this rededication? Of the 15 apostles that could do it, the two most likely candidates are President Henry B. Eyring (who formerly served as a president of Ricks College) or, if President Eyring can't be there due to his or his wife's health issues, Elder David A. Bednar, who served as president of Ricks College during the time it transitioned to BYU-Idaho, and who has already had one experience dedicating a temple (the Star Valley Wyoming Temple).
I would just like to make an observation before posting updated lists of upcoming temple-related events and an updated temple-related progress report. Living in the last days, we are witness not only to the aging of the leading brethren of the Church but also the marvelous fulfillment of the promise that the Lord is sanctifying their spirits to the renewal of their bodies. The Lord controls how His Church passes from one group of apostles to another, and we are truly blessed to witness not only the mortal release of each of them at the right time but also the appointment of equally remarkable brethren to fill those vacancies. It will always interest me to see what happens with the "changing of the guard", as it were. I will post this weekend with the latest apostolic age averages.
That being said, here are the updated lists: first an updated temple progress report, and finally an updated list of temple-related events. As always, I welcome feedback and comments of any kind below. Thanks for your readership.
Temple Construction Progress Report
(current as of 11/11/16)
Current Temple Status: 154 operating; 2 scheduled
for dedication; 10 under construction; 1 scheduled
for rededication; 2
undergoing renovation; 11 announced (With up to 3 that may soon have a groundbreaking
scheduled).
Dedication scheduled:
155. Hartford
Connecticut Temple: Preparing for dedication; dedication scheduled on Sunday
November 20, 2016.
156. Paris
France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates
announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Adding landscaping structures; installing fence posts and lamp posts; completion
anticipated sometime in late 2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Installing sprinkler
systems and planting bushes; installing window frames and art glass; completion
anticipated sometime in late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Pouring concrete parking lot; adding landscaping structures; completion
anticipated sometime in late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion
anticipated sometime in the first
half of 2018.
161. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Steeple framework going up; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
162. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Main
level floors poured; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
163.
Durban South Africa Temple: Preparing to pour foundation; fencing west side of property; laying water lines;
hydroseeding taking root; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Foundation walls going up; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.
165.
Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Erecting
structural framing; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.
166. Lisbon Portugal Temple:
Removing asphalt from temple site; excavating for meeting house foundation; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in late
2017.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in 2018.
Announced:
167.
Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Permitting phase; temple fireside held
September 11, 2016; groundbreaking anticipated in either late 2016 or early 2017.
168. Arequipa Peru
Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
169. Rio de Janeiro
Brazil Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by local
government; groundbreaking pending.
170. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site
announcement.
171. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Bangkok Thailand
Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Quito Ecuador
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
175. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los Olivos
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a
scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication
or groundbreaking dates.
Italicized numbers and
text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in
which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval,
and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes changes from
the last posted temple progress update.
2016
1.
Sunday November 20—Hartford
Connecticut Temple Dedication (155 operating;
1 scheduled for dedication; 10 under
construction; 3 undergoing
renovation; 11 announced (Up to
3 temples may soon have a groundbreaking scheduled.))
NOTE: Since the health of the
Brethren remains unclear, it is anyone’s guess who might be asked to preside at
this dedication. Previous precedent indicates it may be any member of the First
Presidency (with President Uchtdorf being the most likely candidate, as he is
apparently the most functioning member of that body) or any of the apostles, as
Elder Bednar presided at the last temple dedication.
2017
1.
Sunday May 21—Paris
France Temple Dedication (156 operating; 10 under construction; 3 undergoing
renovation; 11 announced (Up to 3 temples may soon have a groundbreaking
scheduled.))
NOTE: Since the health of the
Brethren remains unclear, it is anyone’s guess who might be asked to preside at
this dedication. Previous precedent indicates it may be any member of the First
Presidency (with President Uchtdorf being the most likely candidate, as he is
apparently the most functioning member of that body) or any of the apostles.
2.
Sunday June 4—Idaho Falls
Idaho Temple Rededication (156 operating; 10 under construction; 2 undergoing
renovation; 11 announced (Up to 3 temples may soon have a groundbreaking
scheduled.))
NOTE: Since the health of the
brethren remains unclear, it is anyone’s guess who might be asked to preside at
this dedication. If President Eyring, a former Ricks College president, is able
to be there, he might be assigned to do so. Since Elder Bednar, a former
BYU-Idaho president, has been previously assigned to preside at a temple
dedication, he might be asked to return for this rededication.
Good predictions, James, on the presiding officer at the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple rededication. I agree. I'll throw out a "long shot" possibility as well. If the First Presidency wanted to reach into the younger ranks of the Quorum of the Twelve, they could consider Elder Neil L. Andersen. He grew up in the Idaho Falls temple district (Pocatello area) and would have a special connection to that building. However, there is really no precedence for an apostle of that level of seniority to dedicate a temple. So, I'm hoping he will be invited as a companion to the presiding officer. We are excited in Eastern Idaho to have the Idaho Falls temple back in operation!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about Elder Andersen. He would be a good possibility too. I know he is one of the most junior apostles, which under ordinary circumstances would rule him out, but then I for one would never have predicted that Elder Bednar would preside at the Star Valley dedication. It makes sense now that he did so, but that was the first time I know of that such a junior apostle has presided at such an event. I wouldn't therefore rule out Elder Andersen. However, I do want to note one thing. While Elder Andersen is junior to Elder Bednar, Elder Andersen is actually older by several months. It has always interested me how seniority comes into play. I prefer it to the early practice of the Church in using age to determine seniority. So it's not quite correct to say that Elder Andersen is in the younger ranks. But I know what you mean. At this point, I don't think we can rule any of the apostles out of temple dedication duties, seniority or age aside. We are entering an era when more is being delegated from the First Presidency to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and it's not just the older, more senior apostles helping to shoulder the load. I don't know how well you have followed my blog posts, but in a previous post about the Star Valley dedication, I ventured a theory I have as to why Elder Bednar was asked to preside there in spite of being among the junior half of the apostleship. To summarize, my theory is that, given what we know about the health of Presidents Monson and Eyring, there may be a call for an additional counselor in the First Presidency, and, if that happens, Elder Bednar would make the most sense to fill that position. He is uniquely in the position of being just junior to the current counselors but still being the third youngest apostle. And, based on research I've done, I can state unequivocally that in most cases, the last few times anyone has been called as a First Presidency counselor, they have beforehand been assigned to preside at a significant Church event by the First Presidency. In this way, they are "tested" as to how they would represent the Church in the public eye. I don't claim to know everything about how the Church works or the health of the Brethren, but from what I've observed, the First Presidency could benefit from an additional counselor that is younger, opening up the possibility of a younger man being called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and thereby lowering the average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the overall apostolic group. If you have missed it, I have done several posts recently about these averages, and I welcome feedback not only about the averages, but also about this theory. At this point in Church history when so many unprecedented events are happening, nothing would surprise me. Thanks for commenting. I hope this post doesn't make me come off as a jerk. This information may just go into the category of for what it's worth. Thanks again for reading and commenting. I love your awesome temple site, and I thank you again for your labor of love.
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