Hello again, everyone! I have some breaking temple news to report. A short while ago, the First Presidency released this announcement to note that the Hong Kong China Temple will close for extensive renovation on July 8 of this year. It appears that further details on this renovation will be announced as plans are made. Given that this temple is medium-sized, and of a special design which came to President Hinckley by revelation as something that had never been done before, I would anticipate that this process will take between 2-4 years to complete.
The temple, originally dedicated in 1996, became the 48th in operation for the Church, and the last one announced before President Hinckley formally announced his smaller temple building plan that would more than double that number over a period of just 2-3 years. I imagine that the intent is to perform seismic and systemic updates, refresh furnishings and other interior decor, and fixing any exterior issues. So that is another temple closure set to occur later this year.
In the meantime, as I mentioned in the comments of my most recent post before this one, the open house for the Rome Italy Temple is now officially underway as of yesterday. Additionally, yet another update has been provided for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. That report notes that the spire has been attached to the temple, and that stone cladding continues. It strikes me as an interesting coincidence that, following the rescheduling of that temple's dedication, progress on its' construction has picked up quite a bit lately.
There have not been any other changes reported in relation to the status of that temple's construction since my last update (which was also provided in the comments of a recent post), nor on any other temples under construction, undergoing renovation, or any announced temples. But I will continue to monitor all such developments, along with the latest Church news, and bring you word of those things here (through either new posts or comments on existing posts) as I receive word of them.
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.
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Hong Kong China Temple to Close for Renovation in July; Other Temple Updates Provided
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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In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.
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And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.
Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters.
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Hello again, everyone! I have some additional Church news items to report. The Church News has released an article about the renovation closure mentioned in this post. It notes a very important detail that I had forgotten in my analysis above: Apparently, the current design for that temple came to President Hinckley while he was serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency to Ezra Taft Benson. The reason he was pondering that design was that, with President Benson in ill health and unable to function as prophet, he (President Benson) had given the greenlight to President Hinckley to authorize anything he felt inspired to do. That kind of arrangement has been the case every time a prophet is unable to function as such. The article can be found at the location below:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2019-01-29/hong-kong-china-temple-to-close-july-8-for-renovations-48894
And the Newsroom has shared an article highlighting how JustServe has helped Silicon Slopes feed hungry children. You can find the article detailing this development at the address below:
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/justserve-helping-silicon-slopes-provide-1-million-meals-hungry-children
Thanks again, everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnother huge reason for the renovation...
ReplyDelete"The temple was originally constructed in the 1990s as a multipurpose Church facility housing a temple, a meetinghouse, a small mission office, and apartments for the temple and mission presidents with access provided by different elevators that go only to certain floors. The Church has since constructed a beautiful meetinghouse, housing facilities, mission office, and distribution center across the street, reclaiming many of the functions that were once housed in the temple."
Thank you for mentioning that here. If a new separate facility now fills the other functions aside from housing the temple, then some kind of downsizing is likely appropriate at this point. That process for Hong Kong may not make it as small as other Hinckley-era temples which were dedicated at around the same time, but perhaps not as much room is needed if it just needs to function as a temple now. Thanks again.
DeleteI doubt there would be any "downsizing" to the structure of the building. It's a beautiful building and it's size fits in very well with it's surroundings on the street that it is on. Also, downsizing the entire building would be extremely expensive.
DeleteI believe "remodel" is most likely here. The extra functions like the meetinghouse, housing facilities, mission office, and distribution center, and extra elevators will all be removed and extra room will be dedicated to temple purposes (even if just large sitting rooms) though I'm sure with the prophet's importance being stressed on temple work that they will have more rooms for ordinances as well to accommodate more patrons in the near future.
You are certainly free to have your own theories. A downsizing is possible (as I suggested) but a repurposing of the space could also occur. Anything any of us throw out as being possible is, after all, subject to confirmation from the First Presidency on the details and extent of this renovation process.
DeleteBut the other thing to consider (which I may not have clarified in my last comment) is that this temple currently serves Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Macau, and Sri Lanka. With a temple now under construction in Bangkok (or at least it has construction pending) and temples having been announced for Bengaluru and Phnom Penh, the temple district will be split quite a bit.
While I don't claim to be an expert on temple matters by any means, if 3 temples have been or are planned to be constructed within the boundaries of the current Hong Kong district, then when those edifices are built (and it is possible that the Hong Kong renovation may not be complete until after the Bangkok temple has been built and dedicated, and that the India and Cambodia temples may make progress within that time as well, it would not surprise me if a downsizing was involved. As I said, you are free to have your own opinion, as am I, but until more details are released, we just won't know for sure.
Based on the recent precedent set last year (when the extent of the renovation plans for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple were detailed not long after that temple closed last July), we should find out what will actually be occurring. Until that time, any suggestion of what might happen may be as meritoriously close to the actual intent as any other theory might be.
Either way, I am excited to see what occurs with the Hong Kong renovation, and I will bring word of the extent of those plans as I become aware of it. Thanks again for taking time to comment.
What do you mean by downsizing? The levels previously occupied by the chapel, mission office and accommodation are now empty as those functions are now accommodated in new facilities across the road. Please see below.
ReplyDeletehttps://goo.gl/maps/cGSptg9c5v12
Hey, Brett! Thanks for stopping by to comment and inquire. Anonymous suggested above that the current space could be repurposed for temple use, which is a possibility. But the real question is, would the Church want to utilize that much space and incur the same operating costs if the building is only going to function as the temple now?
DeleteWhile in Concepcion Chile, President Nelson and Elder Stevenson sat with journalists for one interview, while Sister Nelson was interviewed elsewhere. I'd like to quote what she said during that time: "He's not afraid to do something different. If we're really preparing the Church and the world for the Second Coming of the Savior, he is sincere about that. He doesn't want us spending money, time, energy on anything that isn't really focused on that. It's pretty stunning.” (emphasis added)
Money, time, and energy is the key phrase there. Would it be worth it for the Church to continue to incur the same operational costs, and to continue to hire engineers and a cleaning staff to maintain the temple in the size at which it currently stands? Or would adjusting the current design so there is more space for temple ordinances (such as several additional ordinance rooms or booths than are there now) but resizing the temple to cut down operational costs overall?
Granted, as far as I am aware, there is no precedent for the Church downsizing the floor space of an existing temple. But the prospect of the idea to do so would be in line with what Sister Nelson noted about how the prophet is not afraid to do something different, and doesn't want the Church wasting time, money, or energy where that is not needful or prudent anymore would at least suggest that downsizing multipurpose edifices into more temple space but less overall square footage to reduce operational costs is at very least a possibility.
That said, it appears that the Bangkok Thailand Temple will be a large multilevel temple as well, and is anticipated to be larger in size (in terms of its' square footage) than the Hong Kong China Temple currently is. But if, as I noted above in replies to Anonymous, temples will be constructed in India and Cambodia as well, then with the larger temple in Bangkok, is the smaller but still fairly large temple needed in its' current form for those nations that will remain in that district once the other temples are built and dedicated?
It could be that I am very much barking up the wrong tree here, but I can't help thinking that reducing the square footage of this temple could be a wise move, if it will wind up being far less busy after the construction and dedication of the other temples are completed.
Either way, it will certainly be wonderful to learn more on this in the coming days and weeks. Hope that helps to answer your question, Brett. Sorry for my long-winded and loquacious reply, but thank you for commenting. I always appreciate hearing from you.
Fair points. The Ogden Temple had a reduction in floor space but utilised the space better with a more efficient floor plan. Keep in mind that a) the Hong Kong Temple was a bit of a rush job and b) is quite small with the Celestial room in particular feeling cramped, especially height wise. With the Temple being confined to the top two or three levels and basement, I can imagine the large arched window feature being utilised for the celestial room. Also, a more prominent entrance could now be employed as it would no longer share the space with the other functions previously housed there.
ReplyDeleteI’m excited to see what new temples are revealed in the future and if the abundance of construction will mean more standardised designs and features similar to the Hinckley era expansion temples.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/82/66/048266d1e637ef993be80faacb609a3d.jpg
Hello, Brett, and thanks for stopping by to comment. Another factor for the renovation of the Ogden Utah Temple is that the architectural trends for projects now surrounding that temple which were not there before made the temple's exterior design feel out of touch. It had been identical in appearance to the Provo Temple, but the changes go back to the idea of the Church wanting to be a good neighbor and to adapt previous designs to accommodate the change in the surrounding areas.
DeleteI had not been aware of the factors you shared relating to Hong Kong being somewhat of a rush job or the extremely cramped temple space, so if the Church were to use a combination of reducing the overall square footage and making the current temple space less cramped and easier to utilize, then that would make perfect sense.
But again, anything suggested by anyone in terms of the probable changes are subject to official confirmation from the Church. Perhaps part of the intent of the Church in planning for temples in Thailand, Cambodia, and India is to not only decrease travel times and costs, but to provide closer options for the Saints who otherwise would have undue hardships to get to Hong Kong, worship there, and wend their way back home. Other Asian temples, as I have previously suggested, may be in order in the future to further cut the distances involved and to take strain of patron congestion out of the picture.
As I have also previously mentioned, if the 200-mile distance mentioned by Presidents Hinckley and Monson is halved or even quartered, there are several other locations which could easily merit a temple. One of the foremost prospects I am anticipating in Asia is a temple for Mongolia. Right now, to get to Hong Kong, the Saints in that nation have very extensive travel, and no other Asian temple announced or under construction will be any closer to Mongolia. So Ulaanbaatar may be the very next Asian city to have a temple announced.
Either way, temple developments of late have been very unprecedented, and I can't wait to see what's next on the horizon. Thank you so much, Brett, for taking time to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.
As a note, when you make such a pointed remark like "anything suggested by anyone in terms of the probable changes are subject to official confirmation from the Church" after anyone tries to give an opinion (that we all understand is an opinion), we all notice that you don't say the same thing about your opinions. It feels like you don't really care what other people think and you see your opinion as the most educated and closed to truth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by to comment. If I have ever offended anyone with the mode and manner of what I express, or portrayed myself as one who thinks he has absolute authority, and whose opinions should be esteemed above that of all others, that was never my intent, and I apologize for it.
DeleteIn the same vein, however, it did occur to me to wonder why you would call me out for what you perceive as a know-it-all and arrogant attitude, and that you did so by implying that you were speaking for more individuals than just yourself (ie "we all understand [that is] an opinion" or "we all notice". If others who comment regularly on my blog have given you permission to represent them in speaking to me about this, that is not information I can glean from what you said above. But if you were really just speaking from your own observations and perceptions of me, then I wonder why you would utilize the term "we all".
I mean no offense by anything I have said herein, and I have long been of the belief that any two people can disagree or have a difference of opinion without becoming disagreeable. That is the kind of atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and decency I have tried to cultivate on this blog since I started blogging almost 5 years ago. If I have misjudged you or misconstrued anything you have said, I apologize, and I hope you in turn will forgive me if I ever came across as being anything but someone with an enthusiasm for and cursory knowledge of the topics I cover here and the gifts to know where to look for more information if I am ever unsure about anything I want to say.
I value all of my readers, and more often than not, my interactions with them allow me to come away with a greater understanding of, appreciation for, and desire to continue to learn more about the topics covered in my posts and the comments thereon. My hope is that all who read and comment here will feel the same way.
Thank you for sending your feedback and concerns my way. I will bear that in mind for my messaging in the future. I appreciate hearing from you, and continue to pray that the Lord will bless all who take part in the discussions about things I cover on this blog.
Just one other thought, if I may: I only know of one Man who ever lived that was absolutely perfect and whose conduct, instructions, and messaging were above reproach, and I am not Him. I am nowhere even close to His majesty and power, and in fact, have more than my fair share of flaws and foibles. I am not perfect, and I don't know if I will ever be so. That said, I also have a thirst for knowledge, and the desire to share with others what I learn from the research I do based on ongoing dialogue in public settings such as this blog and the Church Growth Blog. While I don't know everything, if I am unclear on anything I want to share, I always ensure my research verifies an opinion before I offer it.
DeleteThat said, research can only go so far. We are living in unprecedented times. And just to clarify, my reason for suggesting that the temple could be reconfigured so to be more roomy where it is now cramped, but would result in an overall lowering of the square footage as it now stands for the Hong Kong China Temple, is based on what Sister Nelson said about her husband when she was interviewed during the weekend of the Concepcion Chile Temple.
This is the relevant quote: “[President Nelson is] not afraid to do something different. If we're really preparing the Church and the world for the Second Coming of the Savior, he is sincere about that. He doesn't want us spending money, time, energy on anything that isn't really focused on that."
So my theory about downsizing would cut down on operational costs for the Hong Kong China Temple, which would be in line with what Sister Nelson said her husband is focused on doing. By redistributing the space in such a way so that the room inside the temple is better utilized, but at the same time reduces the overall operational costs of that temple, then that would be in line with President Nelson's priorities as outlined by his wife.
In my six years working at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, I had several opportunities to befriend both members of the engineering staff and cleaning staff, and, while working a shift which ended late at night, I saw how exhausted they were from the work they did. My research shows that the area of the Mount Timpanogos Temple is quite a bit larger than that of Hong Kong, but with Hong Kong having multiple levels (some of which alternated between public use and the temple space), that might have proven to be somewhat of an engineering and housekeeping nightmare, unless they had more people on staff than I might be aware of.
So an adjusted design that better utilizes the temple space but decreases the overall amount of space to maintain and operate the temple makes sense in that regard. I hope this additional clarification is helpful to the ongoing conversation. Thanks again.
Just one more thought on this, if I may. Had anyone at any time bothered to ask about why I express myself the way I do (instead of talking about the problem with my messaging), I would have explained that, during my junior year of high school, I underwent 4 surgical procedures in a short 3-week period. As a result of an error in one of those procedures, while living with the fallout of that experience, we discovered a problem with my short-term memory, which continues to this day. There is about a 3-5 week period of my recovery process following that experience which I cannot clearly recall.
DeleteAs a result of that trauma to my brain, I came out much more different than I went in. I had always excelled in math prior to that time, and when I came out, even my skills at basic algebra were affected.
But more than that, my personality and my ability to express myself the way I want to were also affected, and that remains true to this day (going on 15 years later). As a result, I have developed little verbal and thought tricks for myself to keep me on topic. Some of that does, by its' nature, involve repetition, not being concise, and sometimes stating things which, to most others, should be obvious.
I realize that no one had any way of knowing about that until I explained it just now. And I wish I had a better way to override those issues and express myself more concisely and with brevity. But I can be talking to someone personally or online and lose track of what I meant to say mid-sentence or thought. So the tricks of expression as I use them now helps me to maintain my train of thought.
Without knowing about that, anyone unfamiliar with the mode and manner of my expression could easily misconstrue it, as occurred in this case. I do not hold it against anyone for not knowing or not bothering to ask. It's not something I particularly enjoy talking about. But I live with the consequences of that traumatic experience every day. Before that unfortunate occurrence, I was entirely different than I am now in personality and temperament, and if that James Stokes was maintaining this blog, it would be a far different and likely more positive experience for all concerned. As it is, all I can do is apologize for any issues that my use of the verbal and writing tricks I utilize here might be causing, and ask for continued compassion and understanding on the part of all of those who, through no fault of their own, or on my part, have to live with the consequences of that, including myself. Thanks.