Stokes Sounds Off: Updated Specific Estimates for Known Temple Events

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Friday, January 18, 2019

Updated Specific Estimates for Known Temple Events

Hello again, everyone! Just a few moments ago, I finally finished the revision process for my more specific estimates for known temple events. The updates follow below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do. 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.

2019:
Saturday January 26: Groundbreaking for the Bangkok Thailand Temple (confirmed)
Note: On November 27, 2018, just 8 days following the afore-mentioned announcement of the groundbreaking information for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, the First Presidency also announced that the groundbreaking for this temple would be held 10 days after that one. Elder David F. Evans, who serves as President of the Asia Area, will preside at this event, which is set to be held at 10:00 AM Bangkok time (which is 8:00 PM on Friday January 26 MST). Since a general completion estimate of 3-4 years has been given for the construction of this temple, I have felt a more specific but still general completion estimate of mid-2022 would be appropriate.
Sunday March 10-Tuesday March 12: Dedication of the Rome Italy Temple (162nd operating temple; confirmed)
Note: The First Presidency announced the amended dedication dates for this temple on November 8, 2018. Given that this dedication will now be held over three days rather than the previously-announced 8-day period, there may be only 2-3 of our 15 apostles participating in this event. That said, it would not surprise me in any way if this dedication was either the start or conclusion of another leg of President Nelson’s ongoing Global Ministry Tour.
Saturday & Sunday April 6 & 7: 189th General Conference
Note: Because 19 temples were announced in 2018 (which may have been President Nelson’s way of starting slowly), and because one of his major focuses during his first year as Church President has been highlighting the importance of temples, I’m sure we will see several new temples announced during this General Conference.
Sunday April 14: Dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (163rd operating temple; confirmed)
Note: In view of the facts that the dedication of this temple will occur after the April General Conference, and that following the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson began his Global Ministry Tour, I could see President Nelson doing another leg of his tour in conjunction with this temple’s dedication, whether that tour starts or ends with this dedication, or whether this dedication is held sometime in the mid-point of that tour.
April or May: Groundbreaking for the Pocatello Idaho Temple
Note: In January 2019, many sources I had available noted that this temple would have a groundbreaking in the spring. That could occur at some point after General Conference (and thus be held before the already-scheduled groundbreaking for the San Juan Temple), or it could occur in May, either on the same day as that for the San Juan temple, or at any other time during the month. Although an apostle (particularly any with ties to Pocatello) could preside at this groundbreaking when it occurs, or that could be done by any of the 3 members of the Idaho Area Presidency (Elders Wilford W. Andersen, S. Gifford Nielsen, or Brian K. Taylor).
Saturday May 4: Groundbreaking for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Note: On January 12, 2019, the First Presidency released the artist’s rendering for this temple (which was announced in October 2018). 5 days later (on January 17), the groundbreaking for this temple was announced to occur on this day in May. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, president of the Church’s Caribbean Area, will preside at that ceremony.
Sunday May 5: Private rededication of the Memphis Tennessee Temple (confirmed)
Note: On January 16, 2019, the First Presidency announced the private rededication of this temple would take place in a single session on this date, that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland would preside at the rededication, and that no open house or youth devotional would be held prior to this event.
Sunday May 19: Private rededication of the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple (confirmed)
Note: On January 16, 2019, the private rededication for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple was announced. President Henry B. Eyring will preside at the single-session rededication, which will not be preceded by an open house or youth devotional.
Sunday June 2: Dedication of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple (165th operating temple; confirmed)
Note: On January 10, 2018, the First Presidency announced this temple’s dedication. In an unusual (but not unexpected) move, that dedication has been scheduled to occur two weeks prior to the rededication of the Oakland California Temple. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a dedication has been set to occur prior to a rededication which has previously been announced. Usually, a temple’s rededication has been set to occur prior to a previously-announced temple dedication. As noted on other temples, President Nelson could preside at this event himself, or he could delegate one of his counselors or a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to do so.
Sunday June 16: Rededication of the Oakland California Temple (confirmed)
Note: This temple’s rededication was announced on December 18, 2018. As noted above, the dedication of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple, announced almost a month later, has been set to occur before this temple’s rededication.
August: Private rededications for the Raleigh North Carolina and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples
Note: Given the unexpected announcement of the private rededications for the Memphis Tennessee and Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temples (and the fact that both will be operating again before the General Authorities take their annual July recess), it is not hard to believe that both of these temples, for which their renovation processes seem to be on track, could have a rededication within the month following that recess.
Sunday September 1: Dedication of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple (165th operating temple; confirmed)
Note: On November 14, 2018, the First Presidency announced the open house and dedication information for this temple. Then, on January 18, 2019, the dedication was pushed back to this date in view of all that still needed to be done on the construction process.
Mid-to-late September: Dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple (166th operating temple)
Note: If the construction of the Durban South Africa Temple continues on schedule, then it is not hard to believe that a dedication for it could occur before General Conference. And given the precedent set earlier this year relating to the Memphis Tennessee and Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temples (that both are going to have a one-session private rededication), it is not hard to believe that the Raleigh Temple could easily have a rededication at this point.
Saturday & Sunday October 5 & 6: 189th Semiannual General Conference:
Note: Depending on what is done by this time to clear the existing backlog of announced temples, it seems more likely than not that several new temples will be announced during this weekend.
Mid-to-late October: Rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple
Mid-November: Dedication of the Lisbon Portugal Temple (167th operating temple)
December: Dedication of the Arequipa Peru Temple (168th operating temple)
Note: The Arequipa temple has progressed swiftly. Given the earlier timing that has been announced or is anticipated for the private rededications of Hinckley-era temples this year, that fact, combined with the fact that construction may be ahead of schedule, has me confident enough to conjecture that this temple could likely be dedicated during the last month of this year. But I could also see the Church waiting to dedicate this temple until after Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020.

Final note on 2019: Given what I have heard about 2019, it seems more likely than not that several temples will have a groundbreaking at some point during that year. As noted above, the groundbreakings have been scheduled for the Bangkok Thailand and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples, while the groundbreaking for the Pocatello Idaho is anticipated to occur within the second quarter of 2019. I am also anticipating that a groundbreaking for the Saratoga Springs Utah (and perhaps also) Brasilia Brazil Temples will be held in mid-2019. Additionally, based on what I know at the present time, I am keeping my eyes open for information on the Nairobi Kenya, Lima Peru Los Olivos, Harare Zimbabwe, and Greater Manila Philippines Temples, most (if not all) of which could have a groundbreaking by the end of 2019. But given the fact that we unexpectedly saw a groundbreaking set for the San Juan temple, then that opens the prospect that other temples announced by President Nelson in 2018 could also have a groundbreaking if their size expedites the approval process.

2020:
Mid-February: Rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple
Saturday & Sunday April 4 & 5: 190th Annual General Conference
Note: Barring anything unexpected, I would anticipate several new temples being announced during this weekend.
Mid-April: Dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple (169th operating temple)
Mid-to-late May: Rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple
June or early-to-mid August: Dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple (170th operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday October 3 & 4: 190th Semiannual General Conference
Note: Temple announcements are always possible, so it is not hard to believe that a few could be announced during this General Conference.
Mid-October: Rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple
Mid-November: Dedication of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (171st operating temple)
Note: At the groundbreaking for this temple (which occurred on November 8, 2018), Elder Neil L. Andersen, who presided at this event and gave his remarks in French, noted that construction of the temple was anticipated to take around two years. For that reason, I am moving my previous estimate for this temple’s dedication up to this point.
Mid-December: Rededication of the Washington DC Temple

Final note on 2020: Some of the announced temples that will have a groundbreaking between now and the end of 2019 could potentially be dedicated during this year. And several other announced temples (I currently have 7 on my radar) could have a groundbreaking during 2020 as well.

2021:
Saturday & Sunday April 3 & 4: 191st Annual General Conference
Note: Depending on what happens between now (early December 2018) and the dates for this General Conference, I could easily see several new temples announced.
Mid-to-late April: Dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple (172nd operating temple)
Early-to-mid June: Rededication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple
Mid-August: Dedication of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple (173rd operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday October 2 & 3: 191st Semiannual General Conference
Note: I am hoping that by the time this particular General Conference weekend rolls around, the temple construction program of the Church will have progressed to the point where some temples will continue to be announced every six months.

Final note on 2021: If, as anticipated, several more temples are announced in 2019 and 2020, and any which have not yet had a groundbreaking have that occur within that same time period, that in turn will multiply the number of known temple events which will likely occur in 2021 and the years beyond. As more is learned about future temple renovations, that will also have an impact on the number of future events.

2022:
Saturday & Sunday April 2 & 3: 192nd Annual General Conference
Note: Since the face of the Church’s temple construction program will likely look entirely different by this time, I would anticipate the announcement of several new temples.
Mid-August: Dedication of the Bangkok Thailand Temple (173rd operating temple)
Note: Because this temple is significantly larger than temples which have been built in recent years, delays in that construction process are more likely than not. It is also worth noting that the official number for this temple is almost certain to change as other temples have a groundbreaking and construction and are potentially completed before this one is.
Saturday & Sunday October 1 & 2: 192nd Semiannual General Conference
Note:  As noted above (for the 2022 April General Conference), by this time, it is more likely than not that the face of the Church’s temple construction program will be looking entirely different. With that in mind, it seems more likely than not that other temples could be announced during this General Conference.
Mid-to-late November: Dedication of the Pocatello Idaho Temple (174th operating temple)


Final note: As noted a few different times here, within the 3.95 years or so between now and the end of 2022, the face of the Church’s temple construction program will likely look very different. We currently have a Church President who has clearly prioritized bringing the temples to the people, and the fact that he announced 19 new temples within his first year as such verifies that beyond doubt. I also am equally certain he will do all he can to clear the existing backlog of announced temples. With that in mind, there will likely be many more temple events to add to this list in the future. I am committed to bringing updates in that regard to you all as I receive them.


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