Stokes Sounds Off: Update Reported on Durban South Africa Temple

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Monday, October 15, 2018

Update Reported on Durban South Africa Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today we got a better idea as to the reason why the Durban South Africa Temple is now second to the Fortaleza Brazil Temple in terms of how soon a dedication might be announced. That temple, which has made surprisingly consistent progress in recent days, has had yet another update reported. The latest information I have found indicates that art glass has been delivered for the tall windows of the temple, while work continues on the roof, and on interior painting, tiling, and millwork.

When I recently adjusted my more specific estimates for future temple events, I shared my opinion that this temple's dedication could be set to occur in early-to-mid August. And I stand by that estimate, given the extent of these reported developments. I continue to monitor all temple developments and Church news and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.

5 comments:

  1. Hello again, everyone! It appears, upon further research I have done which has yielded new information, that I was mistaken about the size of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple. I had thought (and indicated here in earlier posts) that it would be comparable in size and design to the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. But it appears that my analysis of the artist's rendering was incorrect, and that that temple, which will serve the Ivory Coast and surrounding nations, may actually be around twice the size of its' Haitian counterpart, in other words, more medium-sized. Therefore, we are likely looking at a construction time-frame closer to 3-4 years rather than 18-24 months. And while no confirmation of that temple's groundbreaking has yet come through the English version of the official Newsroom on the Church's website, I am not ruling out the prospect that 2 or more temples could still have a groundbreaking confirmed via that page before the end of this year. I continue to monitor all of these developments and will post more information as I find it. My thanks again to you all for your interest and support.

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  2. The Paris Temple didn’t have a groundbreaking due to the significant demolition of existing structures, so there is a good chance the Bangkok Temple won’t have one either.

    I am waiting with baited breath for the details around the Auckland Temple.

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  3. Hello, Brett, and thanks for taking time to comment. There was more to the reasoning behind why the Paris France Temple did not have a groundbreaking. If you go back and look at official Church resources released around both the time construction began on that temple (in mid-to-late 2012) and when it was dedicated (in May of last year), those resources explain that, while there was no local opposition to construction just beginning, there would have been both governmental and local public opposition to that construction beginning in a more public way (with a groundbreaking ceremony). For that reason, the Church kept the commencement of that temple's construction more low-key than would have otherwise been the case.

    I do not see that occurring with the Bangkok Thailand Temple, since the Church has a better relationship with and is far more respected by the general public and governmental leaders in that nation than they were in Paris France. Unless I and the sources I have available are incorrect in that regard, then the Bangkok Thailand Temple is almost sure to have a groundbreaking.

    In the meantime, I know that previous comments from you have confirmed the details I had about the site the Church has held in reserve for the temple in Auckland. You would probably know better than I do about what kind of relationship the Church has with governmental leaders in that city. If the Church confirms either directly or indirectly that the site that was held in reserve will indeed be used for the temple, and if that confirmation comes in the near future, I see no reason why work could not get underway on that temple within the next couple of years (if not sooner). I know that those serving in the Temple Department have said the Church often takes a minimum of 2-3 years from the time a temple is announced to get it to a groundbreaking, so the timing within which work can begin on this temple will, I imagine, largely depend on how quickly the relevant clearances and approvals can fall into place. I am grateful that, after having that city on my list for as long as I have, we finally have a temple announced there. Thanks, Brett, for taking time to comment.

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  4. Thank you for your additional details on the Paris Temple.

    The Church has a strong ongoing relationship with all levels of Government in New Zealand, especially in Auckland with 13 Stakes in a city of 1.6 million people, it has a prominent level of exposure with the general public.

    As a side note, the site is quite small and any open house would have a large attendance so it would be interesting to see how they manage it. Also, I imagine any ground breaking would be invite only and broadcast through NZ.

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  5. Hello, Brett. Thanks for taking time to reply. I don't see similar hurdles faced by the Paris France Temple as factoring in at all to what will occur with either the Bangkok Thailand or Auckland New Zealand Temple. If that temple is going to be a smaller one (with smaller being a comparative term; smaller than Hamilton may still be on the larger side; smaller than most other temples would be truly small), then given the Church and the government having such a good relationship, I could see work getting underway on that temple within the next 24-36 months (hopefully sooner than that, however) and concluding around 18-24 months following that groundbreaking.

    So the temple could get underway sooner rather than later. Interestingly, a more analogous comparison to the situation of the Paris France Temple could potentially be drawn to the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, depending on what is going on there. A construction fence has been placed, and the contractor is already on site there. So either the contractor has some degree of pre-site work before a groundbreaking is held, or that temple will begin construction shortly without a formal groundbreaking. It will be interesting to see what happens there. Thanks again, Brett, for the additional comment. It is always beneficial for my personal thoughts expressed here to be backed and supported by the first-hand knowledge of members familiar with that area. I appreciate you doing that. Thanks again.

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