While the information has yet to be officially verified by the Church, if the LDS Church Temples site reports it, I don't need any other verification. The information there has been proven time and time again to be reliable and thorough. So I have no doubt that an official announcement will follow soon and be featured on the Church's website. Without that official confirmation, I am putting all my trust in a source I have found to be accurate and above any reproach. But when that official confirmation is available, you can bet it will be featured prominently here.
This is wonderful news. As those who have extensively followed my blog know all too well, I was certain that we would see a groundbreaking happen in Arequipa Peru and a site announcement and groundbreaking in Harare Zimbabwe before we heard anything else. I have never been more elated to be proven wrong.
The big question now is, who might be asked to preside at this event? I could see any member of the First Presidency doing it (especially in light of the fact that both Presidents Monson and Eyring may have had a vast improvement in their health. There is also a strong case for any member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The apostle that presided at the last groundbreaking for a Brazilian temple (in Fortaleza) was Elder David A. Bednar.
That groundbreaking happened in 2011, even though construction just barely formally got started last year. Right now in Forteleza, the second floor exterior walls are being poured. With the fact that the Fortazelza construction took 5 years before it made any formal construction progress, it is still projected to be completed in 2019, which may mean we could see both Brazilian temples dedicated within a year or less from each other. I will post more on that as I observe or hear anything further.
In the meantime, getting back on the subject of apostles who might preside at the groundbreaking, we could also see Elder D. Todd Christofferson do it, as he will be the featured speaker at a Face-to-Face event for the Spanish-speaking youth of the Church. His seatmate, Elder Neil L. Andersen, is another Spanish-speaking apostle. Either of the three (Bednar, Christofferson, or Andersen) would be a good bet.
But I could also see any member of the Presidency of the Seventy do it, or for that matter, any other General Authority Seventy. While Elder Ulisses Soares had originally been asked to preside at the most recent groundbreaking in Winnipeg, that role was actually filled by Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who serves as the Executive Director of the Church's Temple Department. In most cases, however, unless someone more senior is asked to do so, most of the time, groundbreakings in South America have traditionally been done by a member of the Area Presidency for the relevant area. The following are the current members of the Brazil Area Presidency: Elder Claudio R. M. Costa (currently the most senior General Authority Seventy); Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis (who has given two very masterful General Conference addresses and has been a GA Seventy for 9 years this April); or Elder W. Mark Bassett (who was among those called almost a year ago and gave his first General Conference address last October). I would welcome your thoughts on this point.
Additionally, in looking over the construction status for the Tucson Arizona Temple, there were also several updates that have happened there within the last little while. It is amazing to see the Lord's work unfolding in terms of temple construction.
As you can well appreciate, this news has necessitated an update of both my temple construction progress report and my list of upcoming temple-related events. Here they are, one right after the other. Please enjoy, and feel free to let me know if you have any feedback of any kind. I appreciate you all!
Temple
Construction Progress Report (current as of 1/14/17)
Current
Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for
dedication; 11 under construction; 1 groundbreaking scheduled; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing
renovation; 9 announced. NOTE: With one groundbreaking announced already this year, two more
have the potential to be announced and scheduled very soon, and there may be
several more groundbreakings than that in the year ahead.
Dedication
scheduled:
156. Paris France Temple: Exterior lighting system
operating; interior work underway; dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Patron plazas and water feature added to temple grounds; interior
finish work underway; completion anticipated sometime during late
2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; landscaping
areas defined; hanging drywall; completion anticipated
sometime during late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Pavers installed in parking lot and west patron
plaza; trees and landscaping rocks added to parking lot green spaces; completion
anticipated sometime during late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion anticipated
sometime between early and mid-2018.
161. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion
anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
162. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Attaching building wrap to exterior walls; adding landscaping
structures; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
163. Durban South
Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing
walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated
sometime during mid-2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Pouring walls for steeple base; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
165. Winnipeg Manitoba
Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
166. Fortaleza Brazil
Temple: Second floor exterior walls poured; completion anticipated
sometime during 2019.
167. Lisbon Portugal
Temple: Excavation underway for temple and utility building; structural
framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
Groundbreaking
Scheduled:
168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking; environmental license issued in
November 2016; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.
Rededication
Scheduled:
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 between late
2017 and early 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed;
old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early
and mid-2018.
Announced:
169. Arequipa
Peru Temple: Construction
preparation phase; awaiting groundbreaking announcement.
170. Harare
Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site
announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to
take place shortly following the site announcement.
171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval
phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: The LDS Church Temple
website indicates that a potential site has been announced and that the temple
itself is currently being designed. This indicates that
a site announcement is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase;
awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: As the above-mentioned
website indicates for this temple, while no official temple site has been
announced, there may be a possibility that a Church office building may be
reconstructed into a multi-purpose edifice that may in part function as the
temple. If that happens, it will be similar to the situation of the Hong Kong
China and Manhattan New York temples. This indicates
also that a site announcement is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning
and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador 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 report.
Upcoming
Temple Events (Text in parentheses indicates what the status of temples will be
following the event listed):
2017
1.
Saturday March 4—Rio de
Janeiro Brazil Temple Groundbreaking (155 operating;
1 scheduled for dedication; 12 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 9 announced. NOTE: Two additional groundbreaking announcements may take place soon.)
NOTE: Since the announcement of the groundbreaking was
made to units within the district the temple will serve, the details have yet
to be verified, including regarding who might be asked to preside at the
groundbreaking ceremony. It could be either of the counselors in the First
Presidency or a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with the most likely
candidates being those apostles that have special ties to the area. Elder David
A. Bednar presided at the last groundbreaking for a Brazilian temple in 2011.
But we also have many apostles who speak Spanish and who may, at various times,
have served in or around the region. It could also be that either a member of
the Presidency of the Seventy or anyone in the Brazil Area Presidency (which
now consists of Elders Claudio R. M. Costa, Marcos A. Aidukaitis, and W. Mark
Bassett). More to come once more is known.
2.
Sunday May 21—Paris France
Temple Dedication (156 operating; 11 under construction; 1 rededication
scheduled; 2 undergoing
renovation; 9 announced. NOTE: Two additional groundbreaking announcements may take place soon)
NOTE: As to who might be asked to preside at this dedication, previous precedent indicates it may be any member of the First
Presidency (with my vote going to President Uchtdorf, as he is a European
native) or any of the apostles.
3.
Sunday June 4—Idaho
Falls Idaho Temple Rededication (156 operating; 10 under construction; 2
undergoing renovation; 10 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. I could see three possibilities at this point: President Henry
B. Eyring, a former Ricks College president; Elder David A. Bednar, a former
BYU-Idaho president; or Elder Neil L. Andersen, who is an Idaho native.
NOTE: A groundbreaking
announcement is expected for the Arequipa Peru temple sometime early this year.
Also anticipated is a site announcement for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple, with a
groundbreaking to follow at the temple site within 4-6 weeks afterward. There
are also at least 4 temples that will be dedicated, with 2 more rededicated.
Additionally, there is a possibility that we may have any number of additional
temple groundbreakings sometime during 2017.
I will keep an eye out for the announcements for such events and add
them to this list as soon as I learn of them.
I had a feeling that there have been multiple temples under construction before (given how many there are in Brazil) and I was right. Most recently the Fortaleza and Manaus were under construction together from the groundbreaking in Fortaleza in Nov 2011 until the dedication of the Manaus temple in June of 2012. Even more remarkable is in the late 90's early 00's during President Hinckley's major Temple building period. We had temples simultaneously being built in Recife (Nov 1996-Dec 2000), Porto Alegre (May 1998-Dec 2000), and Campinas (May 1998-May 2000). This means there were 3 temples under construction from May of 1998 until December 2000. (2 years and 7 months!!)
ReplyDeleteScott, I appreciate your insights on this point. I personally don't consider the example of Fortaleza and Manaus to prove your point primarily because, beyond the groundbreaking ceremony in 2011, no active construction took place in Fortaleza until last year, when whatever was preventing the commencement of construction was resolved. That said, the Fortaleza Brazil Temple is coming along very well from what I have heard (primarily from the LDS Church Temples website) and it seems to be on track to be completed by sometime in 2019. In that respect, I could see the temples in Fortaleza and Rio being completed at around the same time, depending on whatever the design of Rio and the construction milestones for both might be. But you do make a fair point regarding the Recife, Porto Alegre, and Campinas temples being under construction simultaneously for that 31 months or so. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I have before stated that, because of the lack of progress in Fortaleza, and because the groundbreaking in Rio had not been announced until today that I did not consider it to be very likely that another temple would be announced for Brazil in the near future. Upon further study, I learned that we have three additional Brazilian cities that are prime candidates for a future temple: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador. Because of past precedent, to say nothing of ongoing mammoth progress in the work of the Church in Brazil, I could see all three being announced in the near future, which is why I have felt to include those three cities among those I believe could possibly have a temple announcement very soon. Nothing would surprise me more. Thanks for this correction and for sharing this insight with me. But I think I will let my current wording stand, as I had not registered what you mentioned above until I read your comment. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that temples in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza are under construction (or soon will be), but the two cities not exactly close, about 1500 miles apart (about the same distance as Salt Lake City to Chicago). Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, both in terms of area and population. Even when temples are announced for Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador (and I'm sure they will be in the next few years), there is still lots of room for more temples in Brazil.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Steven, for your answer to my question. I didn't think they were close at all. But then, I'm not up enough on my local geography, let alone trying to figure out the geography of such a large nation. Nice to have what I only believed confirmed. And thanks also for putting it into perspective for me with that comparison of the distances between Salt Lake and Chicago. I had known Brazil was large. I just had no idea it ranked 5th in the world in terms of size. But I believe it. I do agree we have not heard the last of temples in Brazil. Thanks for concurring about the sites in the three cities I feel are most imminent. I look forward to the day (if it can happen) when Brazil outranks Utah in terms of the number of temples. Not there yet, but it's a great start. Thanks again, Steven!
ReplyDeleteWhile Elders Christofferson and Andersen do speak Spanish, Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking nation, and they both speak the latter fluently. Thus they could both easily preside at the groundbreaking, just not on their Spanish linguistic credential as was noted.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, Andy! I knew that in the back of my mind and should have said so in the post itself. But for whatever reason, I was thinking "Spanish." I should have double-checked myself. After all, I am the one who as recently as just barely commented on the fact that my brother-in-law served a mission in Brazil (in the Sao Paolo mission, I believe) and he thus speaks fluent Portuguese. I just spaced it when it came to the actual words I used. Thanks for catching that. One thing I did wonder about, just in idle thought. In a news release from the Church regarding how Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Gary E. Stevenson will represent the Church at the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Among the details noted is that while Elder Christofferson will remain in Washington D. C. to represent the Church at another inaugural event the next day, Elder Stevenson will be departing directly after the inauguration to fill another assignment in South America. In doing further study on the latest travels of the apostles, I have learned that assignments are rotated regularly. And just within the last several months, I know of at least 4, possibly 5 assignments in South America that have been filled by various apostles. I therefore think it is entirely possible that any apostle, whether familiar with Portuguese or not, could potentially be assigned to preside at this groundbreaking. And given the fact that Elder Andersen, being the 12th most senior apostle, was the presiding authority at the groundbreaking in Kinshasa in February last year, it is more than likely that the Church could ask one of the three newest apostles to go to Brazil and preside at this groundbreaking. Both Elder Rasband, as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Stevenson, as a general authority seventy, have presided at temple groundbreakings before. So it's not inconceivable to believe that it could be any one of the apostles. Maybe they will announce who is momentarily being asked to preside at that groundbreaking, even if that subsequently changes, as has been known to happen in the past. Thoughts?
ReplyDelete