Additional Temple Developments and Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! Within the last 3 hours, I have been made aware of quite a few new temple developments and several more Church news stories, so I wanted to bring a report of those to you all here. We will start with the temple developments, then move on to new reports from the Church News and the official Newsroom on the Church's website. Let's jump right in to all of that.

Firstly, as some of you might recall, I had mentioned when I posted the latest version of my list of potential temple locations that I would be inviting comments until April 1. That remains true. But I have recently made a few minor edits to the list, so I will be publishing a brand-new version thereof here later today, and, as a result, i will extend that commenting period until midnight when Thursday April 4 becomes Friday April 5, which will then allow me roughly 34 hours or so to make any adjustments and alterations that may be needed before General Conference starts on April 6 at 10:00 AM MDT.

Turning now to actual temple construction updates, the open house for the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple will conclude at the end of the day on Saturday, after which it will undergoing a two-week final preparation process for its' dedication. In relation to the scheduled dedication, I maintain my belief that President Nelson could set out on yet another leg of his ongoing Global Ministry Tour following General Conference, though nothing has been announced to that effect as of yet. If he does so, the dedication of this temple could be part of that tour. But President Nelson could also delegate that to either of his counselors or one of the senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It will be interesting to find out more about that.

As some of you may recall, I had recently voiced my opinion that, given the lack of consistent progress and the ongoing delays in relation to the construction of the Durban South Africa Temple, the Arequipa Peru Temple could (and likely would) be dedicated first, in the same way that the Lisbon Portugal Temple was set to be dedicated before the Durban temple. Earlier today, that theory was more or less confirmed when many of the sources I have available for temple information moved Arequipa ahead of Durban.

But in addition to that particular development, progress has been noted on both temples. In Arequipa, lamp-posts are being installed, and while the planting of trees and shrubs continues, preparation is underway to lay sod in various areas on the temple grounds. For the Durban temple, the process of cladding the entrance walls and the fountain is underway, while millwork, tiling, painting, plumbing, data and electrical installation continues.

i should also note here that I am still trying to get a feel for how likely it might be that the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple will be dedicated prior to the end of this year. At the moment, I am leaning more towards the conclusion that while construction on that temple could wrap up before the end of this year, the open house and dedication of that temple would likely be deferred until after Christmas 2019 and New Year's day 2020. That said, another update has also been reported on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, where the pouring of the concrete floor slab is now complete, and where the process of framing the meetinghouse continues.

Turning now to temples undergoing renovation, open house reservations will be available for the Oakland California Temple beginning this Saturday. Additionally, at the Mesa Arizona Temple, trees continue to be planted on the north lawn, while the installation of landscaping elements and the replacement of sections of the temple roof continues as well.

Switching gears to discuss the latest church news stories which have been reported, Sheri L. Dew, who served in the Relief Society General Presidency at one point, and who has penned many biographies for Church Presidents and other apostles, has published a new book, entitled "Insights From a Prophet's Life", in which she shares some experiences which have molded President Nelson into the man we sustain as the Lord's prophet today.

We also have this inspiring story of an MLB professional who retired to serve as a mission president, a look at how the Church is simplifying the process of scripture production, some insights from the directors of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Sqaure about the work of the Choir, and its' latest produced album, some thoughts from an area seventy about an influential seminary teacher, and a significant marker the Church has donated to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.

I'd like to now conclude by sharing the latest articles published on the Church's Newsroom: Following a violent shooting at a Muslim mosque in Christchurch New Zealand, the Pacific Area Presidency issued this statement of support. And Latter-day Saints in Hamilton New Zealand welcomed their Muslim neighbors as special guests in a multi-religion gathering.

In the meantime, the Church recently hosted an interfaith tribute in the Tabernacle at Temple Sqaure, And Latter-day Saint members and missionaries based in Zimbabwe donated supplies to victims of a recent cyclone that impacted not only Zimbabwe, but also Mozambique and Malawi. A local radio station offered to take the supplies to the location that would distribute them, and missionaries in the area provided manpower in unloading the supplies once they reached the designated location.

Both a  well-known radio personality and the owner of the radio station that offered to transport the supplies interviewed the missionaries about who they were, what they were doing, and why. The answer the missionaries provided displayed a wisdom and understanding far beyond their years. Those two with the radio station voiced their surprise and gratitude that the missionaries were not only willing to help, but were able to answer their questions without any hesitation or reservations.

I have to say this: If the missionaries going into the field at around this time are of the same caliber as these young men, the missionary program of the Church will continue to remain in very good, very well-prepared, and very inspired hands. And that is wonderful to think about. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments, and will bring word of those to you all as I become aware of them. Any major developments will continue to be reported in new posts like this one, and anything else will be passed along via comments from me on previously-published posts.

I should also mention that I am still committed to posting about the temple construction progress of the Church, and you can look for a first-quarter 2019 update on that subject which will be published here at some point around the time when Sunday March 31 becomes Monday April 1. So be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, 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