Further Temple Development and Major Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! I received word earlier today about one more temple development, and some major Church news. We will start with the latter subject, then conclude with the update for that temple. First of all, as some of you may recall, earlier this year, the Church announced that two of its' international Missionary Training Centers would be closing, with the facilities thereof to be re-purposed in the future as such determinations are made. Earlier today, the Church announced that, in an ongoing effort to reduce and simplify the work of the Church and the missionary training program, the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic MTC will also close in January 2019, and that plans for future use of that space are yet-to-be determined.

Some may not see the sense behind closing and re-purposing these MTCs, which have well served the purpose of training the missionary forces which have come from them, but for myself, I know that such decisions are inspired and motivated by the Lord, and that He and His servants, the prophets and apostles, know what we do not know, foresee what we cannot foresee, and therefore are acting in the best interests of moving the work forward in the most effective way possible. It will certainly be most interesting to learn in the future about how, in what manner, and within what time-frame these buildings will be re-purposed, and I will be sure to pass anything I find out about in that regard along to you all here ASAP.

In the meantime, Ron Jarrett (who serves as the president of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square) and Mack Wilberg (the director of that Choir) joined guest artist Kristen Chenoweth at the Relief Society Building earlier today to talk to journalists and to provide some thoughts about the upcoming Christmas concert. Chenoweth has had a busy year already.

Among other acting roles, she was the special guest star of NBC's crime mockumentary, "Trial and Error", and, alongside Idina Menzel, she headlined an NBC tribute program held in honor of the 15th anniversary of "Wicked", the play that serves as a prequel to the events of "The Wizard of Oz", and tells the story of the initially friendly relationship between Glinda and Elphaba, who later became the Wicked Witch of the West.

Chenoweth noted that, growing up in Oklahoma, the Choir's annual Christmas Concert was something to which she always looked forward. She spoke of how honored and humbled she felt to be asked to perform with them this year. Brothers Jarrett and Wilberg in turn noted that the Choir had been hoping for years to get her booked as a guest at some point, and that they were glad to have been able to do so this year.

The Church News provided additional coverage of these developments, with articles about the MTC closure and the Christmas concert. And Elder LeGrand R. Curtis, who serves as both an Assistant Executive Director of the Church History Department and as First Counselor in the Presidencies of the Church's 3 Utah Areas, spoke at the BYU Management Society Devotional on the subject of how three objects taught him about business ethics.

Having discussed these latest Church news items, we conclude now with the temple development I mentioned. The process of cladding the exterior walls of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple has been ongoing for a while now. Earlier today, many of the sources I have available noted that that process was now focused on the front exterior walls and tower. As many of you will recall, the open house and dedication information for that temple was announced less than a month ago for that temple (the exact date was November 14).

Since that temple is a smaller one, the process of finalizing construction will come together a lot more swiftly than it has for larger temples, such as the one in Fortaleza Brazil, for which we are currently awaiting the official announcement of the open house and dedication information. So it makes sense that the Brethren would have set a dedication for the Haitian temple although the stone cladding process is still ongoing. If all that remains is to finish that cladding, add the angel Moroni, and turn it back over to the Church for furnishing, then it is little wonder that the temple's dedication has been set for May 19 of next year.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and remain committed to bringing word of those 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, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.