Right now, as you are all probably aware, we have 10 temples currently undergoing renovation. Unless something has changed that I am not aware of, while the Asuncion Paraguay Temple was closed almost a year ago, the renovation process has yet to formally begin. For that reason, it may be difficult (if not impossible) to pinpoint a general or more specific completion estimate for that temple.
What I do know, however, is that we have the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple anticipated within the first six months of next year, but possibly on the earlier end of that estimate. OKC and Memphis are anticipated to be completed in mid-2019 (which I am interpreting as anytime between May and September).
And as I mentioned in an earlier post, although the Raleigh North Carolina Temple and the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple are both scheduled to be completed in mid-to-late 2019 (which I interpret as being between July and December), given the fact that Baton Rouge has seemed to make more consistent progress than its' counterpart in Raleigh, I have switched the two.
I have also previously mentioned my impression that, since the Oakland California Temple is both older and having its' first renovation process, although it was anticipated for rededication in 2019, I have placed my personal estimate for that general time-frame between late 2019 and early 2020. In the meantime, the Tokyo Japan Temple, which is smaller, may be rededicated in early-to-mid 2020.
The temples in Mesa Arizona (which is older but has been renovated previously) and Washington DC (which is both closing for its' first renovation and is on the larger side) are both anticipated to be rededicated in mid-to-late 2020. Although the temple in DC closed before the one in Mesa, I feel reasonably certain that the latter will be rededicated before the former.
In the meantime, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, which closed for renovation just under one month ago, is anticipated to be rededicated sometime during 2021, and the general information I have points to a completion window during the early or middle part of that year.
Given the fact that President Nelson's enthusiasm for temples is reportedly such that he will be expanding the number of temples in some manner, I have no doubts that, as other temples get older and need a renovation process, that process will occur.
And since we also have heard very recently from apostles and the Executive Directors of the Church's Temple Department that temples generally are closed for renovation every 30-40 years or so, I am anticipating that the following temples may also be closed for renovation within the next few years:
Preliminary Note: The list below is based on previous
statements by apostles and the Executive Directors of the Church’s Temple
Department to the effect that temples need to be renovated roughly every 30-40
years or so to keep them seismically and systemically up-to-date.
Temples which may be renovated in the near-future:
1.
St. George Utah (dedicated in 1877; first
rededicated in 1975)
2.
Logan Utah (dedicated in 1884; first rededicated
in 1979)
3.
Manti Utah (dedicated in 1888; first rededicated
in 1985)
4.
Los Angeles California (dedicated in 1956)
5.
Provo Utah (dedicated in 1972)
6.
Seattle Washington (dedicated in 1980)
7.
Sydney Australia (dedicated in 1984)
8.
Manila Philippines (dedicated in 1984)
9.
Dallas Texas (dedicated in 1984; addition only
rededicated in 1989)
10. Taipei
Taiwan (dedicated in 1984)
11. Guatemala
City Guatemala (dedicated in 1984)
12. Stockholm
Sweden (dedicated in 1985)
13. Chicago
Illinois (dedicated in 1985; addition only rededicated in 1989)
14. Johannesburg
South Africa (dedicated in 1985)
15. Seoul
Korea (dedicated in 1985)
16. Lima
Peru (dedicated in 1986)
17. Denver
Colorado (dedicated in 1986)
18. Portland
Oregon (dedicated in 1989)
19. Las
Vegas Nevada (dedicated in 1989)
20. Toronto
Ontario (dedicated in 1990)
Temples built during the Hinckley-era boom (which may be
redesigned):
Originally dedicated in 1999:
1.
Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Mexico
2.
Madrid Spain
3.
Bogota Colombia
4.
Guayaquil Ecuador
5.
Spokane Washington
6.
Columbus Ohio
7.
Bismarck North Dakota
8.
Columbia South Carolina
9.
Detroit Michigan
10. Halifax
Nova Scotia
11. Regina
Saskatchewan
12. Billings
Montana
13. Edmonton
Alberta
Originally dedicated in 2000:
1.
St. Paul Minnesota
2.
Kona Hawaii
3.
Ciudad Juarez Mexico
4.
Hermosillo Sonora Mexico
5.
Albuquerque New Mexico
6.
Oaxaca Mexico
7.
Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico
8.
Louisville Kentucky
9.
Palmyra New York
10. Fresno
California
11. Medford
Oregon
12. Reno
Nevada
13. Cochabamba
Bolivia
14. Tampico
Mexico
15. Villahermosa
Mexico
16. San
Jose Costa Rica
17. Fukuoka
Japan
18. Adelaide
Australia
19. Melbourne
Australia
20. Merida
Mexico
21. Veracruz
Mexico
22. Caracas
Venezuela
23. Birmingham
Alabama
24. Santo
Domingo Dominican Republic
25. Boston
Massachusetts
26. Recife
Brazil
27. Porto
Alegre Brazil
Whatever might occur in that regard, you can depend on my posting about it here as I learn of those developments. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always., welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.
In June of last year the church addressed St George Temple renovation rumors. At that time it was not aticipated or planned to have a renovation yet. Other construction plans are taking priority in southern Utah. One was just completed on the historic St. George Tabernacle. https://amp.thespectrum.com/amp/405526001
ReplyDeleteBut in March of last year the Deseret News had a great article titled: LDS Church not just temple-building, but temple-renovating
ReplyDeleteBy
Scott Taylor
www.deseretnews.com/article/865676488/LDS-Church-not-just-temple-building-but-temple-renovating.amp
However when I was in high school probably around 1994 or 1995 the St. George temple closed for several months for an extensive cleaning and upgrades. They even took the steeple down and up by helecopter. But only members could work on it and it did not have a rededication at least formaly. Around the year 2000 the Provo temple had some upgrades and changes. They took out escalators and changed them to carpeted stairs and upgraded the steeple. The teme had minor closures during that time with no formal dedication. I guess from time to time there are minor upgrades that take more time than annual cleaning closures and use endowed members to do the work and no formal dedication.
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! I had tried to post a reply to you a few hours ago but it got lost when my browser reset. Sorry about the delay, and thanks, as always, for your comments. I know that the Church has taken great care to debunk common rumors that are running around, but I also know that some rumors turn out to be substantiated later on.
ReplyDeleteFor example, before last General Conference, I heard public rumors from many sources (including via the threads of this blog in particular) about home and visiting teaching being retired, Elders' Quorums and High Priest Groups being combined, and the mention that a temple might be announced in Argentina.
Granted, nothing is substantiated until the Brethren officially announce it. Once the construction of the Rome Italy Temple began, there were all kinds of rumors floating around (many of which I heard) about the timing of that temple's dedication. The First Presidency had to publish a statement saying specifically that until an official announcement was made through the proper channels, any mention of a specific time-frame was not Church-endorsed. It was not until earlier this year that the dedication information was announced for that temple.
These are just a few isolated examples. My point in mentioning them is that, even with the official First Presidency statement you cited (which put to rest rumors about a potential renovation process), that information may change.
It may also be fair to note that, at the time that statement was released, President Monson had stepped back from an active role in Church leadership. The state of his health, as I observed previously, may not have been sufficient to allow him to give approval for any major announcements, which could be part of the reason why we have seen so many announcements coming from President Nelson 7 months into his presidency.
Sorry. Had to split my comment. As you also correctly observed in your comments above, the Church is both temple-building and temple-renovating. But the one thing I most want to clarify here is that the temples I listed above are those that have either not been renovated at all, or are among the Hinckley-era smaller temples whose counterparts have been renovated.
ReplyDeleteThe timing of any and all temple events has been, is now, and always will be, dependent upon the Lord's timing and many other conditions which may be outside of the Church's control. One only has to look at the Asuncion Paraguay Temple (which closed last November and has not yet had a renovation begin) to know that.
With that in mind, I hope it is clearly understood that I am not suggesting any specific time-frame within which the renovations of these temples (or others not on this list) might occur. Since I am not in any way privy to information relating to all that factors into such things, it would be highly inappropriate for me to do so.
That said, if previous statements from apostles and the Temple Department Executive Directors which I have been able to find are any indication, temples generally need to be refreshed and renewed every 30-40 years, and by that metric, the oldest Church temples that have not had such a process may surely be somewhat of a priority in the near future, along with rebuilding Hinckley-era smaller temples with what has become the new standard design.
That said, I appreciate your excellent and well-put thoughts on this subject, Chris, and your points are well-taken I have come to rely on you as one who will always share feedback if you have questions about or insights into things I have shared here, and I always welcome such comments. Hope you are well, Chris, and that you (and other readers who may be following this thread in the future) find these additional insights from me to be enlightening.
Sorry. I forgot about a couple of other elements you mentioned in your comments that I wanted to touch on as well. I know that we have both been aware of the situation of the St. George Tabernacle, as the ties you and I have to that city make such news items significant to us (though in my case, the ties are less direct).
ReplyDeleteI am also aware that at times it is easier for the Church to close one or more temples per year for a period of several weeks or months to get things done in such a way that it is easy for the members in those temple districts to assist in that work, which takes away the need for a full closure period and an eventual rededication. As I observed in an earlier post, there are several temples that either are currently closed for such a period, or will have been by the end of this year.
With that in mind, I again hope that you know how much I appreciate your comments, Chris. In the coming days, weeks, months, and years, we will likely learn more about how inspired (or not) my research on such future prospects might be. Whatever might actually occur, it will be my honor to pass word of those developments along to all who read this blog as I become aware of such things. Either way, it is apparent we are entering an exciting season where several temple events will be occurring (particularly within the next 2 years, but of course beyond that as well), and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Thanks again.
About 20-25 years ago the LA temple had a major renovation and the progression style rather than single room style endowment was returned, but there was no open house or redediction. It was all.done by member workers. I'm sure, if that major project was done now the church would have taken the opportunity to have an open house because the publicity is good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to comment, Kenny! I may have been vaguely aware of the temples (one of which was Los Angeles) which featured large single-room session capabilities but have since had that one room split into several smaller ones.
ReplyDeleteIt is likewise true that a renovation process presents an opportunity for the Church to get both good and bad publicity depending on the factors involved. The one thing of which I am sure is that, while it may be difficult (if not impossible) to tell which of the temples I mentioned above might have an extended renovation closure in the near future, there are certainly suggestions for how and in what manner the Church can improve the look and feel of temples worldwide. If the Church News article cited by L. Chris Jones above is any indication, then such renovations will continue to be scheduled. That said, 11 (or 12) temples may be a bit of an overload for the Church to be renovating at once, so I could see a need to wait to begin other renovations until perhaps sometime in the middle part of next year, by which time at least 3 temples currently undergoing renovation might then be rededicated, which would help to clear the current queue. And by this time of year in 2020, if no other temples have been closed for renovation, that lowers the number that will be undergoing renovation to 3 or 4. It will be interesting to see what happens there for sure, which I will be sure to pass along as I learn of developments. Thanks again, Kenny!
The Seattle Temple is closing for three months for minor renovations beginning next Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThe LA temple did not have a room split. For some reason they stopped The progression style approach and you would go to a session and just stay in the one room. Then the church went back to the progression style at the LA temple so you visit all of the different rooms. The is a creation room, garden room, terrestrial room, and veil room. I miss the twinkling stars in the creation room. I've never seen that anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteMesa, which is closed now for a renovation, was closed for six months in 1991 to make some repairs, never heard what, but in the early 80s in the summer, the HVAC system AC unit failed, and they were only able to run sessions in one endowment room for a period of weeks until they fixed that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting insights. Thanks to you all for sharing those thoughts. I had been (if only vaguely) aware of the Church's practice to close temples for a multi-week period to get done work that would otherwise require renovations. Because those are occurring somewhat regularly for temples around the world, it is harder to pinpoint which might be in need of a full-scale renovation process. That said, I hope my thoughts on the subject, such as they have been expressed, are insightful to any or all of you who read them. Thank you, Scott, Kenny, and James Anderson, for sharing those insights with all of us.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your list of "Hinckley-Era smaller temples": I think it's fair to point out that several of the temples dedicated in 1999-2000 were larger temples that had been under construction for a while and just happened to be completed around the same time as the new smaller-design temples. Looking through your list, I believe at the least following meet this description:
ReplyDeleteIn 1999:
Madrid Spain
Bogota Colombia
Guayaquil Colombia
Billings Montana
In 2000:
Albuquerque New Mexico
Cochabamba Bolivia
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
Boston Massachusetts
Recife Brazil
Porto Alegre Brazil
Excuse me, I meant Guayaquil Ecuador.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if the re-design we are seeing in a few renovations of the Hinckley-era small-design temples is applied to all of them, I believe there are temples completed between 2001 and 2003 which will also qualify, including but not limited to the current closure of the Asuncion Paraguay temple, originally dedicated in 2002.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking time to comment. I can always rely on your excellent feedback and corrections at times like this, of which I am most appreciative. That said, while most of the temples you listed in your first comment are on the larger side, the temple in Porto Alegre is actually 10,700 square feet which (unless I am mistaken) is the same size as the Memphis, OKC, Raleigh, Baton Rouge, and Asuncion Temples.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the statements of the Executive Directors of the Church's Temple Department and a few apostles (to the effect that temples are generally in need of refreshment every 30-40 years) means that most of the temples I mentioned will qualify for such a process within the next 5-10 years, so I will keep them on my list for now.
I also recognize that there are other smaller temples from the era that would fill the bill that I have not included. However, this is a very preliminary list, which I wanted to publish here as is initially, but about which I will certainly be posting updates as time and circumstances allow. When that happens, I will take all of your excellent feedback into account. Thanks again for taking time to let me know your thoughts on this. I always appreciate hearing from you.