President Nelson's Tour Continues Slightly Ahead of Schedule; Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to pass along to you all in this post a report of President Nelson's ministry efforts in Jerusalem as well as several temple updates. Let's get right into all of that.

First of all, Mormon Newsroom has shared this report of President Nelson's ministry in the Holy Land, including remarks he and Elder Holland shared with Church members there, among whom were those currently studying at BYU's Jerusalem Center. It was a homecoming of sorts for Elder Holland, who, as BYU-Provo president years ago, was one of many leaders who were able to help establish that Center.

The historic nature of the prophet's visit was not lost on anyone. An article I read earlier indicates that President Nelson is only the fourth Church president to visit Jerusalem. For all who are interested, this is Mormon Newsroom's official release on the time spent there.

One interesting thing I took away from that report was that the Nelsons and the Hollands wound up leaving Jerusalem slightly ahead of schedule. That was due to both tension in the region and concerns about available airspace. So they are now on their way to Africa. Their early departure should not affect their announced itinerary, but it is interesting that this has occurred. Reports of the tour will continue in the days ahead, which I will bring to you all as soon as I hear of them.

That said, we move on to the temple updates. After a couple of weeks in which not many updates have been provided regarding temple construction, we now have a lot of new information and changes of status for many temples. So let's talk about what those updates are.

We start first in Rome Italy, where, as we know, a visitor's information center recently opened, and where the process of landscaping and interior work continues. A new update to that temple shows that the plaza water feature is currently being tested. Although this temple's dedication is still 11 months or so away, it was good to hear of this development.

Moving on now to Fortaleza Brazil, the temple in that city is still having its' cladding being put up around its' exterior. In the meantime, trees are being planted and walkways and staircases are being poured on the temple grounds. As I mentioned a while ago, following the Rome Italy Temple dedication, there is reason to believe that this temple could be one of the next three dedicated next year. It will be interesting indeed to see exactly when that will occur.

Staying in Brazil, we turn our attention to the temple in Rio de Janeiro. The update I have found indicates that the steeple walls have been poured, and that work on the interior of the temple is now underway. Some of you may recall that, for a while last year, this temple was anticipated to be completed sometime during 2019, but in view of the fact that we have since learned this temple is going to be larger than originally thought, it makes sense that it will likely only be dedicated in the early part of 2020.

While there has been no report as of yet that would indicate full-scale efforts are underway for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, since we are not quite halfway through April, there is still time for that to occur. It is also worth noting that the private rededication for the Houston Texas Temple will occur one week from tomorrow, and that open house tours for the Jordan River Utah Temple are set to continue for the next two weeks, concluding on Saturday April 28.

There has not been any change to the status of any of the temples undergoing renovation, with one exception. It would appear that the temple in Asuncion Paraguay has run into further difficulties that have hindered its' renovation process from commencing. Whatever the extent of those difficulties might be, most sources from which I gather the information I share here have moved that temple to the bottom of the list of those undergoing renovation. In the days ahead, more might be made known about the extent of the delays, and any adjustments to the general or more specific completion estimates offered by myself and others can be altered as that becomes necessary.

I continue to monitor all Church and temple-related news and developments, and will do my level best to pass updates along to you all as I become aware of new information. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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 everything you do.