Miscellaneous Temple Developments and Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to be able to post now to bring you word of many temple developments and Church news items which have been reported recently. Let me get right into all of that, starting with the temple developments. We start with the Durban South Africa Temple, where a report has come in that the installation of the Angel Moroni on that temple is pending. The preparation for this milestone solidifies the idea that this temple will definitely be the next temple to have a dedication after the Fortaleza Brazil Temple.

I next wanted to reiterate something I said recently. Having confirmed that the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple will have its' groundbreaking in less than three weeks (on November 8 of this year), and that it is going to be larger than I originally thought. I have therefore adjusted my general estimate for its' completion to mid-to-late 2021, and am offering mid-September of that year as a more specific estimate for its' dedication.

Turning now to the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, new information indicates that interior and exterior renovations are underway. Still no word yet on whether or not that temple's exterior will be altered to match that of other temples originally dedicated in the Hinckley-era smaller temple building boom, but as soon as I have information on that, I will pass it along.

We move on to Church news updates. President & Sister Nelson and Elder & Sister Stevenson have left on the first South American leg of their Global Ministry Tour, which will culminate in the dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple 9 days from now. You can monitor the developments which will be occurring during this tour via this story on the Newsroom's website.

Next, the Church News, which has changed its' web domain name to "thechurchnews.com" (in order to comply with President Nelson's reiteration of the naming guidelines), joined the Newsroom in reporting that the special guest for the annual Christmas Concert (which will run three days instead of the standard two) will be actress and Broadway star Kristen Chenoweth, who will both sing with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and will also narrate the program.

The Newsroom also reports that Marie Osmond was featured recently at an interfaith devotional. And yesterday, another edition in the "Latter-day Saints Around the World" series of articles, which included articles from Cambodia, Jamaica, Bolivia, India, El Salvador, and Ecuador. Concluding now with articles exclusive to the Church News website, there was an article highlighting BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

The Church News continues to additionally provide a weekly edition of their "This Week on Social" series to pass along thoughts posted by Church leadership through various social networks. This week, thoughts on marriage, divine differences, and how to obtain extra measures of faith in the midst of great periods of trial and hardship. Those insights were shared this week by Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, Gary E. Stevenson, and Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.

As many of you know, throughout the history of the Church, welfare farms have operated to one degree or another. The Church News describe how a rural community here in Utah were blessed by an inspired bishop who felt impressed to have his community plant tomatoes. And finally, the Church News has published the latest chart in PDF form of the General Authorities and General Officers, which reflects the releases of 7 previous GA Seventies, and the sustaining of Elder Brook P. Hales.

I have no way to know for sure, but I feel that we will see the PDF version of the November 2018 Ensign available online in the not-too-distant future, likely within the next 3-4 days, if not sooner. When that happens, my analysis of what I find therein will be forthcoming. I also continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments 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.