I may not have explained that I get the temple-related information I share with my readers primarily because of what I read on that site.
That said, and with my biggest and most sincere thanks to Brother Satterfield for indirectly helping me be constantly aware of the latest temple related news, updates, and upcoming events, as well as some of the latest Church statistics (I honestly don't know how he handles being constantly abreast of all the latest). Without his labor of love, I would not be able to share these tidbits with you, my readers. I will highlight the latest progress on temples that he thinks may be scheduled for dedications that will take place in 2017 or 2018. Where I feel confident in doing so, I will suggest a timeframe for a dedication announcement, and a timeframe for the scheduled dedication of these temples. If you have any disagreement or just want to throw in your take on my doing this for the first time, feel free to comment below. I will do my best to read any submitted comments ASAP following their being posted and will try and reply as much as I feel I need to. But also feel free to give me a nudge if you feel I have not adequately responded to your comments. Your feedback on my work is always appreciated.
I was overjoyed to read the latest on the Meridian Idaho Temple (which, he projects, will be the next temple dedicated sometime following the dedication of the Paris France Temple on May 20 and the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho temple two weeks later). Interior and exterior light fixtures are being installed while interior work and landscaping are progressing. In looking back on the many temple construction progress report versions I have posted over the last little while, I would venture to say that a dedication date for the Meridian Idaho Temple is likely to be announced soon, perhaps within the next 3 or 4 months, and, if I may be so bold, I will go so far as to venture early August as a potential month within which that event may be scheduled.
No notable progress has been reported recently for the Cedar City Utah Temple. But based on my gut feelings, I will say that I wouldn't be surprised to have a dedication for that temple announced within 6 months or less, and scheduled either for late August or early September.
In the meantime, I can foresee the Church finishing renovation on the Jordan River Utah temple sometime mid-2017, with a rededication announced for either late August or early September. Whether or not the Church would announce the Cedar City and Jordan River temple events around the same time, it wouldn't surprise me if their dedication ceremonies were within weeks from each other.
Given what I have read about the temples to be completed in 2018, added to what I have picked up on by closely watching how the Rome Italy temple construction has spanned such a long period of time, I believe it is safe to predict that the Concepcion Chile temple will be the next completed temple, with an open house and dedication date announced in either late 2017 or early 2018 and set for around April 2018. The rededication of the Frankfurt Germany temple could be announced around the first quarter of 2018 and scheduled for around June of that same year. Rome could have an open house and dedication announced in early 2018 and set for around August 2018.
The Kinshasa DR Congo could follow, with an announcement of opening dates during the first two-thirds of 2018, and a dedication set for October. Barranquilla would be my next pick for completion, with a dedication announced during August, and the actual dedication date in November or December. I somehow don't see any other temples, Durban included, being completed before that time.
In the meantime, I could see as many as 5 additional temples having their groundbreaking before the end of next year. I see an early announcement (perhaps within the first quarter of 2017) for the Arequipa Peru and Rio de Janeiro temples. I also will be so bold as to predict that for the Urdaneta Philippines, Port-au-Prince Haiti, and Bangkok Thailand temples, a groundbreaking may be announced within the second third of 2017, and could take place before the end of next year.
That said, I wanted to also post my list of cities for which a temple may be announced within the next two years. This is the same list that I featured with my October General Conference predictions, but no new temples were then announced. I wanted to note that, to the list, I have added one candidate that is a favorite of one of my regular readers: Missoula Miontana.
Here's the list:
Managua Nicaragua; Port Moresby Papua New Guinea;
Bentonville Arkansas; Freetown Sierra Leone; Kampala Uganda; Nairobi Kenya;
Lehi/Layton Utah; Budapest Hungary; Pocatello Idaho; La Paz Bolivia; El Paso
Texas; Puebla Mexico; Missoula Montana; Edinburgh Scotland; Brasilia/Belo
Horizonte Brazil; Neuquen Argentina.
As I stated above, please let me know what your thoughts and feedback are on this post. Whether you agree with me or not, I value your honestly expressed insights into thoughts I have in this post presented. No matter what you have to say, I am listening. Thanks for your readership.
How often do you do ordinances at the temple?
ReplyDeleteDue to some personal health issues, my wife and I have not been able to regularly attend the temple since we stopped serving as temple workers. I think the last time I was a patron may have been for a wedding. In many ways, I have let a lot of things prevent me from going, even though 3 temples are now within a reasonable driving distance. I am working on getting some personal issues resolved. We do go when we can, but that is not as often as it should be. Back when I worked at the temple two days a week, my shifts averaged 6-9 hours. In two shifts per week, I once calculated that I was assisting around 100 patrons in those shifts. The temple will always hold a special place in my heart. It was where I met and married my wife. But our health is currently severely limiting our ability to go out and do things. I am working on trying to get my life back on track, because, with all I've been dealing with, I let some of the important stuff slip through my fingers. Let me be clear: I haven't done anything I regret or anything, but I for a while stopped my regular prayers and regular scripture study. For about a year, I have been living by a testimony which, unshaken though it was, was not being strengthened by those regular practices for a while. I am headed in the right direction, and I spent most of yesterday in simply studying several apostolic general conference addresses. Eating and sleeping was a burden as I drank deeply from the fount of living water by feasting on these words. It was really neat. But I have learned my lesson and am working on getting back to those regular practices. I will likely not be able to feel well enough go to the temple until after I know what's going on with my health, which I will find out about on December 1. Thanks for the question.
DeleteDue to some personal health issues, my wife and I have not been able to regularly attend the temple since we stopped serving as temple workers. I think the last time I was a patron may have been for a wedding. In many ways, I have let a lot of things prevent me from going, even though 3 temples are now within a reasonable driving distance. I am working on getting some personal issues resolved. We do go when we can, but that is not as often as it should be. Back when I worked at the temple two days a week, my shifts averaged 6-9 hours. In two shifts per week, I once calculated that I was assisting around 100 patrons in those shifts. The temple will always hold a special place in my heart. It was where I met and married my wife. But our health is currently severely limiting our ability to go out and do things. I am working on trying to get my life back on track, because, with all I've been dealing with, I let some of the important stuff slip through my fingers. Let me be clear: I haven't done anything I regret or anything, but I for a while stopped my regular prayers and regular scripture study. For about a year, I have been living by a testimony which, unshaken though it was, was not being strengthened by those regular practices for a while. I am headed in the right direction, and I spent most of yesterday in simply studying several apostolic general conference addresses. Eating and sleeping was a burden as I drank deeply from the fount of living water by feasting on these words. It was really neat. But I have learned my lesson and am working on getting back to those regular practices. I will likely not be able to feel well enough go to the temple until after I know what's going on with my health, which I will find out about on December 1. Thanks for the question.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered if another Cache Valley temple could be announced, such as Smithfield. How busy is the Logan Temple? It has lost a few stakes to Star Valley though.
ReplyDeleteI think Toole is a strong contender for a temple. I looked at the current Salt Lake Temple stakes in chronological order on Ricks Temple site and see that a majority of new stake creations on that district the last couple decades have been in that valley.
DeleteHey, Chris! Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful feedback. A Cache Valley temple could be possible at any moment. Back about a year ago, I had my massive list of 60+ temples that could be announced soon. Because of the nature of these announcements of new temples, it is impossible to predict with 100% accuracy whether or not a certain choice is probable. Since we've had some temples announced in surprising places, I don't feel we can rule any city anywhere as a possible candidate city for a temple. But of the 60+ I feel will be announced within the next 20 or 30 years, I had to narrow down my list to a much smaller number for one conference, and those listed above are, in my mind, the strongest and most imminent and near-future contenders for a temple. I always welcome feedback from anyone with their thoughts on what I do. Cache Valley and Tooele are both good contenders for a temple someday, but given what I am observing about Church growth in Utah, I don't see it happening sooner than those I listed above. Thanks again/
DeleteHey, Chris! Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful feedback. A Cache Valley temple could be possible at any moment. Back about a year ago, I had my massive list of 60+ temples that could be announced soon. Because of the nature of these announcements of new temples, it is impossible to predict with 100% accuracy whether or not a certain choice is probable. Since we've had some temples announced in surprising places, I don't feel we can rule any city anywhere as a possible candidate city for a temple. But of the 60+ I feel will be announced within the next 20 or 30 years, I had to narrow down my list to a much smaller number for one conference, and those listed above are, in my mind, the strongest and most imminent and near-future contenders for a temple. I always welcome feedback from anyone with their thoughts on what I do. Cache Valley and Tooele are both good contenders for a temple someday, but given what I am observing about Church growth in Utah, I don't see it happening sooner than those I listed above. Thanks again/
DeleteI kept coming back to your thoughts about Cache Valley, Chris. I have done the research and crunched the numbers. It would appear that few,, if any, new stakes have been organized in Cache Valley within the past 6 years or so. From what I have been able to ascertain, the Cache Valley area may be stagnant in terms of growth. I wouldn't completely rule out the idea of another temple in Cache Valley in the near future because, as I've before noted, Church growth is somewhat unpredictable, and some of the recent announcements of proposed temple locations have completely caught me off guard. I still don't feel it's very likely until we see some significant increase in Church activity and unit establishment solidifying. Thanks.
DeleteAn El Paso, Texas temple seems unlikely to me because of the proximity to the Ciudad Juarez, Mexico temple. I would think that it is relatively easy for United States citizens to enter Mexico but I'm not sure. If it is difficult to enter Mexico then an El Paso temple could become more likely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Since Trump won the election, some kind of border restrictions are more than likely, and that, in and of itself, makes El Paso Texas a prime candidate for a temple, even without considering the monumental growth that has happened in the area that such a temple district would cover. I appreciate your feedback, but I feel it is a safe enough prediction that I think I will hang on to it.
DeleteThanks for the comment. Since Trump won the election, some kind of border restrictions are more than likely, and that, in and of itself, makes El Paso Texas a prime candidate for a temple, even without considering the monumental growth that has happened in the area that such a temple district would cover. I appreciate your feedback, but I feel it is a safe enough prediction that I think I will hang on to it.
DeleteI wonder if Las Cruces, New Mexico might be a possibility for a temple. My reasoning is that if eventually any border restrictions were reversed a Las Cruces temple would still be far enough from Mexico to serve generally the same area as El Paso without conflicting with the Ciudad Juarez temple. What are your thoughts on that idea?
DeleteAlso, what are are your thoughts on New Mexico possibly getting a second temple? As a New Mexican my thoughts are that New Mexico could quit possible get a second temple eventually but not any time in the foreseeable future. As it is the Albuquerque is underused. If I were to choose cities to possibly get a temple I would choose one of these would:
Farmington, Roswell, Las Cruces or Silver City
Thanks for the question. I always appreciate the feedback. As to my answer, I don't claim to be an expert on the area of New Mexico, so I did some research on it just now. It appears that, other than Albuquerque, where the first New Mexican temple was built, there is not sufficient growth in New Mexico to warrant another temple in the near future. Would I rule it out completely as a possibility? Of course not. As I have repeatedly noted in past posts about possible future temple sites, there have been temples announced for locations that I never thought would see a temple in my lifetime. I am always amazed at the announcements that have come through because I can never predict with 100% accuracy whether a particular site is imminent or more likely than another. It certainly wouldn't surprise me to have another temple in New Mexico at some point, when growth warrants it. For now, based on simple research, it falls into the category of other temples that may be announced at some point in the near future. But, as with those others I have eliminated from my list that was once 60+ temples long, the ones listed above seem to be the most imminent. I will not be surprised if a second temple happens at any point for New Mexico, but for now, I am just not seeing sufficient growth indications to make it a feasible near-future option. Hope that makes sense. If it's any consolation, on that same list of 60+, I listed a temple for Orem, Utah, where I now reside. But I eliminated that as a near-future possibility simply because Orem has 3 temples within a very easy driving distance. I could still see it happening at some point in the future, and, depending how long we're here, I definitely hope it will someday, but it's just not likely for a near-future announcement. Thanks for the thoughts. If I have been in error on the research I have found, please let me know. Thanks again.
DeleteThanks for the question. I always appreciate the feedback. As to my answer, I don't claim to be an expert on the area of New Mexico, so I did some research on it just now. It appears that, other than Albuquerque, where the first New Mexican temple was built, there is not sufficient growth in New Mexico to warrant another temple in the near future. Would I rule it out completely as a possibility? Of course not. As I have repeatedly noted in past posts about possible future temple sites, there have been temples announced for locations that I never thought would see a temple in my lifetime. I am always amazed at the announcements that have come through because I can never predict with 100% accuracy whether a particular site is imminent or more likely than another. It certainly wouldn't surprise me to have another temple in New Mexico at some point, when growth warrants it. For now, based on simple research, it falls into the category of other temples that may be announced at some point in the near future. But, as with those others I have eliminated from my list that was once 60+ temples long, the ones listed above seem to be the most imminent. I will not be surprised if a second temple happens at any point for New Mexico, but for now, I am just not seeing sufficient growth indications to make it a feasible near-future option. Hope that makes sense. If it's any consolation, on that same list of 60+, I listed a temple for Orem, Utah, where I now reside. But I eliminated that as a near-future possibility simply because Orem has 3 temples within a very easy driving distance. I could still see it happening at some point in the future, and, depending how long we're here, I definitely hope it will someday, but it's just not likely for a near-future announcement. Thanks for the thoughts. If I have been in error on the research I have found, please let me know. Thanks again.
Delete