Hello again, everyone! I am back yet again with my sixth and final post about the Pacific Area to share my rationale behind supporting the idea of temples for Pago Pago American Samoa and Neiafu Vava'u Tonga. So let's dive right in and discuss those prospects, for which I provide some context.
First, for Pago Pago,, that was a recently added location which I put on my list primarily for two reasons. The most important one is that American Samoa ranks as the 7th of the top ten nations in the world that have the strongest Church presence but have not yet received a temple. Additionally, the Saints in American Samoa currently travel to the temple in Apia, which is 76.2 miles away. While that is not an inordinate distance by any means, it makes sense toa me that a temple could (and probably will) be announced sooner rather than later for this nation.
As for Neiafu Vava'u, the Saints in that part of Tonga currently journey 189 miles to get to their assigned temple in Nuku'alofa. While that is slightly below the 200 mile goal set by President Monson, it is close enough to it to make the idea of a temple there supportable.
Additionally, a second temple in Tonga would serve, at minimum, serve the four stakes in Neiafu Vava'u, and likely some in the surrounding region. But the biggest reason I see for a potential second temple to serve the Tongan Saints, the strongest reason is that the current district serves the 21 stakes and 2 districts based in Tonga, which further break down into 136 wards and 32 branches, or a total of 170 congregations. That is a lot for a single temple district.
With that said, this concludes not only my posts about future temple prospects within the Pacific Area, but also my coverage of the area as a whole. So that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, especially to let me know about anything I missed or have not considered over these last six posts on this area. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in evevrything you do.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Temple Site Possibilities: Pacific Area, Part Six--Potential Future Temples in American Samoa and Tonga; Area Wrap-Up
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.
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In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
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One thing I sometimes consider when looking at potential temples is the square footage of the nearest temple
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point, Chris. If the dimensions of any temple are not such that it could be expanded, that would certainly give the Church a reason to look for another location that would allow enough room for the Saints being split off from an existing district. I hadn't considered that. At the same time, the one difficulty I face in determining potential locations that make my list for upcoming General Conferences is trying to sort through the criteria that would necessitate temples in such locations. I have also found that the way I approach that process is vastly different from the way anyone else might do it. Because of that, I have primarily focused my criteria for the sites on my list on the number of congregations served by existing temples and the distance between each current location. For an area like the Pacific, that means that my picks are focused on locations that are in need of a temple because the distance to their nearest one is greater than 200 miles, because the number of congregations within a current district are so large, and at times a combination of both factors. While I have my preferred factors to work with, I hope I have made it clear enough that they are not the only factors, and may not, in fact, even be the best factors. With that said, I would definitely be interested in hearing more about any locations you see in this area (or any of the previous ones) based on that square footage factor. If you don't have the time to provide that information, that's okay. I am just curious about your thoughts on this or any other areas that might potentially get a temple based on the square footage factor. Thanks so much for commenting, Chris! I appreciate your doing so.
DeleteIf the lot is too small for the temple to expand (unless they can go up without interfering with zoning laws) another temple may be needed. Sometimes I look at how many square ft per stake in the district compared to other temples.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this additional information, Chris. I freely admit that I am a novice at zoning laws in any location around the world (when the Pocatello Planning and Zoning Commission announced their approval of the plan for one potential location, I was originally under the mistaken impression that that would be all that was needed to confirm that the Church-owned plot of land would be the official location for the temple in that city. As we now know, that was just one element of the process, and it could be next year or even the year after before we have any confirmation of the actual site for the temple in that city. With all of that in mind, since I don't personally have the time or capability to look into every one of the potential factors that might make a temple necessary, unless someone points out something in the criteria they look at which I have not considered, then I would need to stick with the criteria I am able to ascertain from the research I can do. That said, Chris, if in this, or any other area I have covered (or in any of the final five I have yet to cover), you notice anything that I have overlooked, please feel free to let me know, particularly if you see anything in the square footage of any current temple that would not allow expansion and make other temples in such areas necessary. Thanks for this additional comment, Chris! Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.
DeleteHave I overlooked anything else in my post above? How likely or imminent is the prospect that we could see Pago Pago get a temple and Tonga getting its' second in the near future? I look forward to any additional thoughts any of you have in this regard. Thanks.
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