Hello again, everyone! Within the last week, the artist's rendering was released for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. Today, the First Presidency officially announced that the groundbreaking ceremony for this temple will occur on Saturday May 4. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, Carribean Area President, will preside at this event. Given the fact that Elder Gonzalez has served away from Church headquarters since January 2013 (first as president of the South America South Area, becoming Caribbean Area President in August 2016), I would anticipate this being one of the last official acts in that capacity, at which point he might be returning to Church headquarters, whether to serve in an area presidency based in Salt Lake, or in other capacities. Barring any other temples having a groundbreaking before that time, this will be the third temple groundbreaking of 2019.
Since construction on this temple is anticipated to take roughly two years, I will be setting a preliminary completion estimate of early-to-mid 2021, but could see reason to move that up depending on how quickly construction progresses. I have mentioned this elsewhere, but it bears repeating here: For any temple to have a site confirmed, artist's rendering released, and a groundbreaking held within less than 8 months of its' announcement has not been a common occurrence since the Hinckley-era temple-building boom ended. And that is significant any way it is considered.
It is possible that this temple could potentially be dedicated before the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple is in 2021. It will be interesting to see how quickly this temple makes progress. And I am sure that Puerto Rico's status as a US territory is helping and will continue to help to expedite that process. I will keep my eyes open for more news on this and other temples and am committed to passing word of those along to you all as I become aware of 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.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Set for San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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May is lining up to be a busy month for temple events: 1 groundbreaking, 1 dedication, and 2 rededications.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking time to comment, Eric! What strikes me as most significant is the fact that neither of the rededications nor the dedication will be held on Mother's Day. Not sure when Haiti celebrates Mother's Day, but I found that significant. Aside from temple groundbreakings, I don't think any other dedications or rededications will occur before the annual July recess. Thanks again for taking time to comment.
ReplyDeleteI think a reason that the President Hinkley era small temples were able to be built faster was because a smaller building was easier to comply with local zoning laws and had an easier approval process than a larger building. I also think a smaller building has less public opposition than a larger temple would. We may see more smaller temples again and maybe two or three smaller temples in a region where one larger regional temple would have been built. I recall that was a problem with both the Nashville TN and Monterrey Mex temples. They were originally planned as larger buildings but there was lots of opposition. Once they were changed to smaller buildings, the outcry left and severalsevera temples were built in what would have been an area for only one at the time. For example TN got two temples plus AL, LA a and I others in the south.
ReplyDeleteChris, thank you for taking time to comment. You are, as always, right on the money with what you noted about the Hinckley-era smaller temples. I believe that not only will we see smaller temples where one regional temple would have otherwise been built, but more than that, that a large number of temples announced last year and that will be announced over the next 5-7 years will be on the smaller side, and perhaps of a design that is even more compact than those of the Hinckley era. I say that because President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized his goal to focus the Church on what is most important and needful, and to reduce and simplify programs, practices, and the sacrifices Church members in more remote areas need to make to reach the nearest temple. And that way, several dozen or even hundreds of temples could be built in a very short period of time. Just some personal thoughts, for whatever they are worth. Thanks again, Chris, for taking time to comment.
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