Stokes Sounds Off: March 2017

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Two Significant Temple Related Articles/Updated Temple Construction Progress Report

In light of the wonderful progress that has been made in temple construction, it has once again become necessary to post an update to my temple construction progress report. Before doing so, however, I would like to share two articles that have recently come to my attention, both about temples. This one is about temples that have been, are being, or will be renovated in the near future. This one is an article featured on Mormon Newsroom about the progress that has been made in temple construction in the last six months or so since last General Conference. Both are well worth reading.

That said, here is my latest temple construction progress report. Let me know what you think. Thanks for taking time to read and respond to this. I appreciate you all!

Temple Construction Progress Update (current as of 3/29/17)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 7 under construction; 3 more have construction pending, but all of them are anticipated to commence construction before (or at least by) the start of Summer 2017; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 2 renovations scheduled; 8 announced. NOTE: With two groundbreakings having already taken place this year, we could see several others before too much longer. For all of the announced temples that have not yet had a groundbreaking, I offer my best-guess estimate for when that might happen, to which I have recently made adjustments and corrections. One correction is noting that we might only see one other groundbreaking this year, though it seems that one is not as imminent as I originally was led to believe.

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Construction completed; accepting reservations for public open house (which will run from Saturday April 22-Saturday May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April 23 and 30 and May 7)); dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.

157. Tucson Arizona Temple: Interior finish work underway; accepting reservations for public open house beginning Monday May 15, 2017; (which will run from Saturday June 3-Saturday June 24 (excluding the Sundays of June 4, 11, and 18)); dedication scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Monument sign installed; architectural finishes being installed; dedication scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.

159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Interior paint and millwork installation underway; dedication scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.

Under Construction:

160. Rome Italy Temple: Angel Moroni installed on March 25, 2017; Christus and apostle statues installed at visitor’s center; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2018.

161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Concrete block set in place for base of tower; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2018.

NOTE: For the two temples above, they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.

162. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Sheathing exterior walls with rigid foam insulation; steel framework for cupola installed; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.

163. Concepcion Chile Temple: Exterior cladding progressing on north wall; planting palm trees on west side; monument sign poured; waterproofing membrane attached to east wall; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring main floor exterior walls; support structure for baptismal font poured; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

165. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Erecting structural framing for temple tower; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2019.

167. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation completed for temple foundation; structural framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2019.

Construction pending:

166. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations, which may occur in April or May 2017 (construction currently delayed by a very bad Canadian winter); completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2019.

NOTE: Once construction commences, it is anticipated to last around 20 months (approximately 1.67 years.) It is a smaller edifice that is being built to at the moment serve just the one stake in Manitoba. So it might be completed sooner than that. It all depends on how soon construction will be able to start, and how quickly it progresses after that.

168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday March 4, 2017; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations (which is anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime during mid-2019.

NOTE: Once construction commences, it is anticipated to last around 24 months (2 years) in view of it being the one and only building on the project.

169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday March 4, 2017; awaiting commencement of full-scale operations (which is anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime during late 2019-early 2020.

NOTE: Once construction commences, it is anticipated to take roughly 28 months (2.25 years) to complete. This is because there are neighboring construction projects involved that will all be worked on simultaneously

Rededication Scheduled:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; accepting reservations for public open house beginning Monday April 3, 2017; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; building basement addition for new baptistry; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to mid-2018.

Renovation Scheduled:

13. Oakland California Temple: Scheduled to close for renovation in February 2018; rededication anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2019.

16. Washington D. C. Temple: Scheduled to close for renovation in March 2018; rededication anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2020.

NOTE: In view of the fact that we have already had two temple groundbreaking events so far this year, it is entirely possible that we might see site announcements and groundbreakings for other temples in the near future. That said, it is interesting to consider that, while some of those groundbreakings might be more likely than others, ultimately, it is more difficult than I originally believed to try and pinpoint how soon those groundbreakings are likely to take place. Wanting to be as conservative in my estimates as I am able to be, I have adjusted some things. As always, I would be gratified to hear of such events happening much sooner than anyone expects. But for the moment, it seems wise to make some adjustments. Thanks.

Announced:

170. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; site announcement and groundbreaking anticipated sometime later this year.

NOTE: While the site announcement for this temple has been anticipated since the president of the Church’s Africa Southeast Area stated it would happen sometime this year, and while I would love to see a site announced just before, sometime during, or shortly after General Conference and to see a groundbreaking happen sometime between the dedication of the Paris France Temple and the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, I am not as confident as I once was in predicting that it will happen within that time frame. I will be more conservative, therefore, and say that whenever we do have a site announcement, the groundbreaking could take place sometime between mid-and-late 2017.

171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple site confirmed; groundbreaking not announced.

NOTE: On Sunday March 12, while presiding at a stake conference for the area in which the first Haitian temple will be built, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles officially announced and confirmed that, just as members in the area had speculated, the plot of land behind an existing meetinghouse on the Route de Freres (French for “The Route of Brothers”) had been purchased as the official site for the first Haitian temple. While such site announcements generally signal that a groundbreaking might shortly follow, there is reason to believe that it will take the Church at least a year to plan and design the edifice to conform to government regulations and to be acceptable to the locals. It therefore makes sense to adjust my estimate here and to say that a groundbreaking could happen by early-to-mid 2018.

172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: There is more than sufficient reason to believe the current speculation being perpetuated to the effect that, in the mold of the already-existing multi-purpose buildings that house not only an office building but a meetinghouse and a temple as well (they are now known as the Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York Temples), a similar renovation and rebuilding might happen to a Church-owned office building in Bangkok. If it happens that way, we could see construction there commence with a groundbreaking by early-to-mid 2018 as well.

173. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: This temple is the last of the four announced in 2016, and is unique already for two reasons: First, this temple will make Lima Peru the third city in the world to have a second temple announced. The other two are in Utah: South Jordan and Provo. Second the name for this second temple for the capital city of Peru is Los Olivos, and the fact that there is a Los Olivos district in Lima gives us some indication as to the general area in which this temple will be built. These facts are sufficient grounds to surmise that this temple is ahead of the others listed below that were announced first. Considering all of this leads me to conclude that we could see a groundbreaking held for this temple sometime during mid-2018, if not indeed before.

174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: The growth in Cote d’Ivoire has really taken off in the last several years. It is interesting to note that, even though this first Ivory Coast temple has not yet had a site announcement or groundbreaking, the astonishing growth developments that are ongoing have led some to speculate that the Ivory Coast could have another temple or two announced at some point before the first one is completed. Time will tell. In the meantime, it seems more than likely that construction could commence on this first one with a groundbreaking ceremony held sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: Ecuador’s second temple is set to be built in that nation’s capital city. The new temple was announced around 33 years after the first Ecuadoran temple in Guayaquil. The time intervening between the announcement of that temple and when it was actually dedicated still stands as the longest such period in Church history. It is my personal hope that the second temple for this nation will not be subjected to so many delays. Given how much the Church has expanded throughout South America of late, I will venture my estimate that we could see a groundbreaking for this temple sometime during late 2018-early 2019.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: Because Brazil ranks as one of the very fastest growing nations in terms of the Church’s presence there, the announcement of the ninth temple in Brazil brings it closer than any other nation to the number of operating temples in Utah. (The December dedication already scheduled in Cedar City will bring the number of Utah temples to 17, which means that Brazil is more than halfway there. If there is any merit at all into what I have heard about possible future temple sites for Brazil, the number of Brazilian temples could increase by at least five within the next 15-20 years or so, and perhaps more than that may be under active consideration right now. Getting back to the Belem temple, construction might officially be underway there sometime during early-to-mid 2019, which would ensure that Brazil would continue to have at least two temples simultaneously under construction for at least the next two years.

177. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

NOTE: While it is true that this temple is technically ahead of those above by virtue of it being in the planning and approval phase, it has been almost 6.5 years since this temple was announced. That is a most significant delay. As noted above on the listing for the Quito Ecuador temple, the first Ecuadoran temple (built in the city of Guayquil) is remembered for being the temple that had the longest known interval in Church history between its announcement and its groundbreaking (a time period that spanned 14 years, 4 months, and 10 days, which rounded to the nearest hundredth of a year is 14.36 years. It is my sincere hope and belief that we will never again see such a lengthy period of time between any other site announcement and groundbreaking. All going well, I could definitely see a groundbreaking for the Urdaneta temple somewhere around mid-to-late 2019, if not before.

NOTE: Given how much progress we have seen with temples recently, it is not hard to believe that we will see many more temples announced in the near future. There have been reports of several cities that have already had a site purchased already. These four have been identified by name: Managua Nicaragua, Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, Bentonville Arkansas, and Missoula Montana. If other potential temples have had a site purchased, they have yet to be identified as such. As the apostles travel, they sometimes have felt impressed to publicly propose a temple for the areas they visit. Such temples have been proposed in New Delhi India (in June 1992 by Elder Neal A. Maxwell; may not be likely due to the prevailing political and religious obstacles to such an edifice); Vilnius Lithuania (in May 1993 by Elder M. Russell Ballard); Nairobi Kenya (in February 1998 by President Gordon B. Hinckley; this temple might have an official announcement within the next year or so, as Kenya ranks as the 10^th of the top ten countries with the most Church members without a temple); Maracaibo Venezuela (in August 1999 by President Hinckley); Singapore (in January 2000 by President Hinckley); for the Southwest Salt Lake Valley (in October 2005 by President Hinckley; NOTE: While some contend that this temple announcement has already happened, verifiable sources widely available prove otherwise); Managua Nicaragua (in January 2012 by then-Elder Russell M. Nelson; the fact that it has not only been publicly proposed but has had a site purchased for it makes it very likely; it is also the 1^st of the top ten countries with the largest LDS presence without a temple); Missoula Montana (sometime in 2014 by Elder David A. Bednar; while the report of this proposal has yet to be verified, the fact that there has been a purchase of a temple site seems to indicate that it is a most imminent possibility); and for the Kasai Region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in February 2016 by Elder Neil L. Andersen). I have heard many reports of several more temple sites being procured, but the nature of those reports are such that they have yet to be verified.

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.

James G. Stokes

I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Final Version of Near-Future Temple Possibilities

After further excellent feedback on my list of temples that are most likely to be announced soon, I have felt to revise my choices in the following manner. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated, but I doubt I will be making any additional changes to this list until after General Conference unless it is absolutely necessary. Thanks.

Temple Predictions:

3+ temples announced in any of the following locations (first in alphabetical order of the Church’s geographical areas under which they fall, then by city and country):

Africa Southeast: Nairobi Kenya

Africa West: Freetown Sierra Leone; Lagos Nigeria; Kumasi Ghana

Asia: Phnom Penh Cambodia; Jakarta Indonesia

Central America: Managua Nicaragua

Europe: Budapest Hungary; Vienna Austria

Idaho: Pocatello Idaho

Mexico: Puebla Mexico

North America Central: Missoula Montana; Green Bay Wisconsin

North America Northeast: Richmond Virginia

North America Northwest: Salem Oregon

North America Southeast: Bentonville Arkansas

North America Southwest: Fort Worth Texas

Pacific: Auckland New Zealand; Port Moresby Papua New Guinea

Philippines: Davao Philippines

South America Northwest: Santa Cruz Bolivia

South America South: Neuquen Argentina; Valparaiso Chile

Utah North: Layton Utah

Utah South: Lehi Utah

NOTE: Temples in Brazil are usually a great possibility, given the ongoing, extensive rate of growth there. However, with one currently under construction (Fortaleza); one with construction pending (Rio de Janeiro); and one announced (Belem Brazil), a new Brazilian temple doesn’t seem likely for at least a couple of years. I won’t rule it out, but it seems others might take precedence. When new Brazilian temples are next announced, the most likely order for the next four or five temples are: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Salvador; and/or a second for Sao Paulo, which is the fastest growing Brazilian city with the strongest Church presence. Additionally, a temple in Kampala Uganda seems warranted at some point in the near future, but the temple in Nairobi Kenya would serve the Saints in both countries for at least a few years. I wouldn’t rule out a Ugandan temple by 2030 if not before, and I will keep an eye out on things and make a determination on that later. I anticipate at least one temple announcement in the United States, because we have one under renovation in Utah, and two more US temples scheduled for renovation, but the dedications that will happen later this year mean that we will have no US temples in any stage of construction after the Cedar City Utah temple is dedicated in December. And that would be a first in a very long time, assuming it has happened at all previously.

James G. Stokes

Monday, March 27, 2017

Fulfilling the Promise to Post an Updated Timeline by which Future Temple-related Events Might Be Announced and Scheduled

Hello. Though it has been promised by me for weeks, I was today finally able to complete my update for the timeline which I feel will prevail for when future temple-related events might be announced and scheduled. My thoughts on the matter follow. As always, I welcome any feedback because, at the end of the day, I am just one person and am far from infallible. With that in mind, here is that update.

It continues to fascinate me how different temples in different parts of the world take different lengths of time to complete for a variety of reasons. It is wonderful to consider that these next three years will be largely focused on seeing temple-related events announced and scheduled worldwide. I also find it amazing to consider that some temples that are not yet announced might have construction start within that same time as well, depending on where they are located and how any difficulties with getting that construction started might be dealt with.

I would like to think that a site announcement for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple will be coming soon, but since that has not happened yet, that announcement is more likely to come later this year. More on that later. I also am hoping for and anticipating that a minimum of 3 new temples will be announced during General Conference, but I am personally hoping for more than that. It will be interesting to see how my personal picks will compare this time to any that are announced.

The next temple event is therefore the already-scheduled dedication of the Church’s 156^th temple in Paris France. The open house for that temple will span three weeks (but oddly four Saturdays), starting on Saturday April 22 (which falls exactly three weeks after General Conference), and going through Saturday May 13, excluding the relevant Sundays (which, as before mentioned, are April 23 and 30, and May 7). One week after the end of the open house, the cultural celebration will be held, and the temple dedication will take place the next day (Sunday May 21). I have before ventured my opinion that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, our European apostle, will preside, and be accompanied by Elder Neil L. Andersen, who served his mission in France, and French-born Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse. I have also mentioned why I feel a personal connection to this temple. And the time it took for this temple to get from announcement to dedication is 5 years, 7 months, and 20 days (5.64 years when rounded to the nearest hundredth), which is right in line with the general timeline I have before observed of 3-15 years for temples outside the United States to be built.

We next have the rededication for the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple set to take place exactly two weeks after the dedication of the Paris France Temple. Open house tickets for the Idaho Falls open house will be available on Monday April 3, the day following General Conference weekend. The open house event will span 28 days, starting, coincidentally enough, on the same day as the open house for the Paris France Temple, and it will end on Saturday May 20 (excluding the Sundays of April 23 & 30 and May 7 & 14). The cultural celebration for this temple will be held the first Saturday in June, with the dedication the next day. I have before mentioned that I am certain that either President Henry B. Eyring or Elder David A. Bednar will preside at this rededication. I could see either as being a feasible option. Whoever presides there, it is likely that Elder Neil L. Andersen, a native to the area, will accompany them. The Star Valley precedent where Elder Bednar presided in view of his wife’s ties to the area open the possibility that Elder Andersen could preside at the event himself due to his personal ties to the temple, but we have never had such a junior apostle do that at any time. So I think it unlikely. The rededication will mark the official conclusion of the temple’s renovation process, which will have spanned 2 years, 2 months, and 19 days (or, rounded to the nearest hundredth, 2.22 years, which holds true to the pattern of renovations taking between 1-3 years generally) by that time.

Unless we have other temple-related events (like a groundbreaking or site announcements), the next events chronologically will be the already-scheduled dedications for the remaining three temples under construction in the United States. I do want to mention that I have my own thoughts about when future groundbreakings for other temples will take place, but as I have learned recently, such things are much harder to pin down than I originally believe. For that reason, I will not list my thoughts on future groundbreakings as I believe, hope, and am predicting they will happen, but will defer discussion of that future events until I have discussed the timeline I feel will prevail for the dedications or rededications of temples now under construction or renovation, or those that are soon anticipated to be so.

The Church will start accepting renovations for the Tucson Arizona Temple open house the Monday preceding the dedication of the Paris France Temple (May 15, a significant day in Church history, as it is the anniversary of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood). That open house will be held during the 3-week period spanning the Saturdays of June 3 and 24 (with the obvious exception of the Sundays of June 4, 11, and 18). This temple will be the first in quite a while for which there will be a gap of around 1.67 months between the end of the open house and the dedication, and that is, as previously noted, because of the annual July recess taken by General Authorities.

The cultural celebration will take place on Saturday August 12, and the dedication of this temple will follow the day after, which will be 8 days before President Monson celebrates his 90^th birthday. Given that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was the one to preside at this groundbreaking, it would make sense if he were asked to return to dedicate this temple. The dedication will signal the completion of the temple, which, from announcement to dedication, will have spanned a period of 4 years, 10 months, and 7 days (4.85 decimal years), which holds pretty well the pattern of temples in the United States taking roughly 3-5 years from announcement to dedication.

It is almost certain that President Eyring will return to Idaho to preside at the next dedication in Meridian three months later. That dedication will follow the three-week open house, scheduled to take place between the Saturdays of October 21 and November 11 (excepting the Sundays of October 22 and 29 and November 5). It may be a while yet before we hear when reservations for the open house might start being made available. As with the rededication for the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, it would not surprise me in any way if Elder Bednar and Elder Andersen are in attendance at the dedication for Meridian. I am not now ruling out the possibility of someone else presiding. There has been enough past precedent to indicate that nothing is certain in that regard. But if President Eyring or Elder Bednar do not preside at that dedication, I don’t know who else might be asked. The dedication scheduled there, set to take place the night after the cultural celebration on November 18, will mark the end of the construction which by that time will have spanned 6 years, 7 months, and 17 days. (That works out to 6.63 years, just slightly more than the 3-5 years that generally prevail as a timetable for temples built within the United States. It should be noted, however, that construction took just over three years once it actually commenced. So in that respect, it did follow the typical timetable noted above.)

Three weeks after the dedication of Idaho’s newest temple, its sister-state, Utah, will have its 17^th temple dedicated. I could see President Uchtdorf presiding at that dedication, or possibly even Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who grew up in St. George, which is seen as somewhat of a sister-city to Cedar City. It is almost certain that we will have several General Authorities in attendance at that dedication, as has been the tradition for Utah temples.

That dedication has been confirmed as the last one that will take place this year. And it is interesting to note that, typical to the usual pattern for the construction of Utah temples (which generally have taken 1-3 years between announcement and dedication, but may span twice that long for some others), the Cedar City Temple will be dedicated 4 years, 8 months, and 4 days, or 4.68 years from its announcement to its dedication, which is a pretty even average between its site announcement and groundbreaking, and between the groundbreaking and dedication.)
One thing about the Cedar City dedication that has kind of been a downer for me personally: where the temple dedication in Paris will be carried to the whole nation and the Tucson and Meridian dedications will be broadcast throughout the entire states of Arizona and Idaho, the temple dedication in Cedar City will only be carried to the units that will fall within the district of that temple. That is not at all uncommon, as it has been known to happen before. However, it has generally been a tradition for temples in Utah to have dedications carried to the entire state. Because my wife and I were too ill to attend the last Utah temple dedication that was carried statewide, for the Provo City Center Temple (historically significant by virtue of not only being built from a burnt-down local icon, but also for becoming the 150^th operating temple of the Church), I had high hopes of being able to attend this dedication. That aside, I certainly hope that more temples will be announced in the United States in general and for Utah in particular in the not-too-distant future. That dedication has been confirmed as the last one that will take place this year.

Since no other temples will be dedicated or rededicated this year, that brings us to temples that might be dedicated next year. Jordan River, Rome, Kinshasa, and Freiberg are the first four we will likely see in 2018. When might those happen? By all accounts, the work on all four temples is on track, and they might be interchangeable in terms of when that might happen. But it is not uncommon for renovations to be finished before the construction of new temples is finalized. And even though I have thought that the temple in Rome might be the last of these four to be dedicated, by all accounts, that temple is on track to be the first one dedicated next year.

In light of that, I think it would be safe to assume that we might see an announcement for all four events possibly at the same time, in the final months of 2017. As to specific dedications, it would not be hard to believe that the Jordan River Utah Temple might be rededicated in late January or early February, that Rome could be next with a dedication in late February or early March, that Freiberg would be finished in late March and the dedication held either in the weeks after General Conference or in early-to-mid May, and that the Kinshasa dedication could take place in either late May or early June. As the four are seemingly interchangeable in terms of their completion timeline, it would not surprise me at all if any of these four happened sooner than anticipated. That said, it is sure that none of them will happen any sooner than January next year.

While things happen with this temple, we will have two temples commence the renovation process. The Oakland California Temple will be closed in February 2018 (I believe as of the very beginning of the month) for a complete overhaul. The renovation is expected to last at least a year. One month later, the Washington DC Temple will close for renovation, which is expected to span roughly two years. I will speak more about my estimate for when those will be completed later on.

In the meantime, the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, the next one that might be completed, could have a dedication announcement by sometime in March or April, with the dedication itself perhaps taking place in June. If that is not possible, it is very likely that the open house will finish in June and that the actual dedication might take place in early August, after the General Authorities have their traditional July recess. This is especially likely given the precedent that was set in this regard with the Tucson Arizona Temple open house and dedication that was announced in January.

I could see the temples in Concepcion and Durban being finished by the time fall starts in 2018. The dedications themselves could take place in early-to-mid November (Concepcion) and early December (for Durban).

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple construction, though started with a groundbreaking late last year, is only expected to begin in earnest following the end of a really bad Canadian winter, in either April or May, and is expected to last 20 months minimum. If the construction is able to stay on track, that 20-month time period will be over sometime between the beginning of December 2018 and the end of January 2019. With that in mind, it is not hard to believe that the dedication might take place in either late March or a week or two after the April General Conference.

The new information I have received seems to indicate that the completion of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple would be next, and that this might happen within the first few months of 2019. With that in mind, the dedication could take place in early-to-md May.

The Oakland California temple renovation, which, as mentioned above, will start in February of 2018, is expected to last around a year. So I could see that renovation being completed around 15 months after it commences, which would put that completion around May of 2019. It would make sense if the open house takes place following the 2019 July recess for General Authorities, and if the dedication itself happens in late August or early September.

In the meantime, the next temple-related event, based on that new information, would be the dedication of the temple in Rio de Janeiro. Depending on how long it takes construction to commence (which should happen at any time), I could see that construction being completed prior to the July recess. If that happens, it is not hard to believe that a dedication would follow in early-to-mid September.

The next event would then be the dedication of Portugal’s first temple, which could be completed round about August or September next year. If that happens, a dedication would follow either in late October or early November.

Depending on how long construction in Arequipa Peru takes, it might be completed in either late 2019 or early 2020. Thinking and speaking optimistically, which I always try to do, I will say that I could see construction completed round about the time General Conference concludes in October 2019. If that happens, then a dedication would follow sometime in December.

The renovation of the temple in the capital city of the United States, set to begin in March of 2018, is slated to take roughly two years. With that and the fact that renovations are often completed much more swiftly than the construction of new temples, it is not unreasonable, in my opinion, to assume that the renovations could finish sometime around March of 2020, which would mean that a rededication could take place sometime in May. I would love to see things finish sooner than that, but I want to be as conservative as possible.

Additional future temple-related events that might take place during the remainder of 2019 and the following year, 2020, will largely be determined by what happens in temple-related developments this year and next year. If the construction in Harare begins at any point this year, depending on how soon that happens, it could very well be that the completion of construction on that temple could happen in the early months of 2020, with a dedication following around the same time as the previous rededication. But it will all depend on how quickly that site announcement and the subsequent groundbreaking happen. More on that subject in a moment.

If the above schedule is observed, the Church will add 4 new operating temples and have one rededication by the end of 2017, and five additional dedications and two rededications done during 2018. In 2019, we could see 5 dedications and 1 rededication. I am not going to rule out the possibility of more renovations being announced this year and being completed by 2019 as well, and it could be that any other temples that commence construction this year might also be completed before the end of 2019. The complexity involved in predicting the timing of these future events is not as cut-and-dried as I have believed it to be.

The so-called backlog that once existed has long-since been done away with, raising the likelihood of more temples being announced in the next year or so. And I have given my thoughts and feelings on the refined predictions for those sites recently. With General Conference coming up next weekend, there is every chance that we will see at least a few temple announcements. (I am anticipating a minimum of 3, but hoping for many more.) I will be excited to report on that as I am able to.

As for future groundbreakings, they may be more unpredictable to anticipate than I originally thought. I look at the groundbreaking in Winnipeg, and it happened much faster than usual. And with the way things unfolded in Rio and Arequipa, though there was a significant time period between when they were announced and when ground was broken, those groundbreakings happened very quickly. It is significant that full-scale construction is pending on all three, but the Brazil and Peru construction is anticipated to begin in earnest at any time, and Winnipeg will, as noted, follow in April or May, though they will be completed at very different intervals.

In the meantime, there is more than a sufficient reason to believe that the groundbreakings for temples that have not had that happen as of yet might happen in the following order:

As the Harare site announcement is anticipated at some point this year, it could happen anytime. But my current study indicates that a groundbreaking might only happen by the middle or latter part of this year. And it is very likely that the Harare Zimbabwe Temple will be the last temple to have a groundbreaking this year. If others happen this year, it wouldn’t surprise me, but that doesn’t seem to be nearly as likely as I once felt it was.

In the meantime, next year could be a big year for groundbreakings. Since the site for the first Haitian temple in Port-au-Prince was confirmed earlier this month, there is every chance that a groundbreaking for that temple could happen in early-to-mid 2018. The same timeline might very well hold true for the Bangkok Thailand temple, which has not yet had a site confirmed, but which might have an existing building renovated and repurposed as a multipurpose edifice akin to the buildings that now house not only the temples in Manhattan New York and Hong Kong China, but Church offices and meetinghouses as well.

In the meantime, while an exact site has yet to be announced and confirmed, the second temple in Lima Peru, whose name was specified last year as the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple, will likely be built in the Peruvian district from whence its name originates. This means that it is more likely to have a groundbreaking well in advance of any of the other temples, and it is my feeling that such an event might happen in mid-2018.

The second Ecuadoran temple, set to be built in the capital city of Quito, will likely not see the delays in construction commencement that prevailed for the first temple in that nation, as the time span between the site announcement and groundbreaking was 14 years, 4 months, and 10 days, or 14.36 years. As that particular time span is the Church record, at least in recent years, for the longest such period, I don’t see a similar situation prevailing for Quito, particularly since South America’s perception of temples have changed so much since then, and since the unprecedented growth in South America has quickened and eliminated the need for such delays going forward. For that reason, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this groundbreaking happen in either late 2018 or early 2019.

Given the average time frame I have observed as generally prevailing between the announcement of any Brazilian temple and its groundbreaking, especially lately, it is my feeling and opinion that the groundbreaking for Brazil’s ninth temple, in the city of Belem, will take place in early-to-mid 2019. I would love to see it happen sooner, but that seems to be the best prediction I can give for the moment.

While I constantly and consistently hope to hear news that the current delays preventing progress towards construction on the Urdaneta Philippines Temple have cleared enough for a site to be announced and a groundbreaking scheduled, and in spite of the fact that it is the only temple announced back in October 2010 that has not yet had a groundbreaking, I have not seen sufficient reason to move it up on my list of near-future possibilities for a groundbreaking to happen. It would be wonderful indeed if that temple could commence construction sooner than many, including myself, believe will happen, but right now, it doesn’t seem to be anywhere close to having that happen. For that reason, I believe we will only see a groundbreaking for that temple in mid-to-late 2019. Stay tuned for any update as I hear of it.
In these projections, I am always open to suggestion, clarification, and correction. Please feel free to share any feedback you might have for me. Thanks for taking time to read this post. I look forward to hearing of all future temple-related developments, and I will do my level best to report on such things as I hear of them. Thank you!

James G. Stokes

Latest Update on Temple Construction Progress

While I have continued to update my temple construction progress report on a daily basis, it has been a few days since I have been able to post that report here on this blog. For that reason, this report contains a lot of changes, which, though new since my last posted report, are not new as of today. I will hope to be able to be more diligent in this regard going forward. In the meantime, I am taking time over the next day or two to do my long-promised update on when future temple-related events might be announced and scheduled. Sorry that has taken me so long. For now, here's the report. Any comments are welcome and appreciated.

Temple Construction Progress Update (current as of 3/26/17)

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Plaza water features operational; accepting reservations for public open house (which will run from Saturday April 22-Saturday May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April 23 and 30 and May 7)); dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.

157. Tucson Arizona Temple: Additional lighting tests underway; accepting reservations for public open house beginning Monday May 15, 2017; (which will run from Saturday June 3-Saturday June 24 (excluding the Sundays of June 4, 11, and 18)); dedication scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Monument sign installed; interior work progressing; dedication scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.

159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Installing glass; hanging drywall on interior; dedication scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.

Under Construction:

160. Rome Italy Temple: Angel Moroni installed on March 25, 2017; installing art-glass windows; completion anticipated sometime during early-to-mid 2018.