Stokes Sounds Off: Additional Temple Developments and Church News Reported

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Monday, March 25, 2019

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

13 comments:

  1. Hello again, everyone! I have been made aware of yet another update on the Pocatello Idaho Temple. The latest information I have indicates that excavation for the foundation is underway, while rough grading continues on the site, where the construction trailers continue to sit for now. I continue to monitor any other temple developments and all Church news and will bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. My thanks again to all of you.

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  2. I have noticed that your posts have started getting longer and longer. Perhaps it would save you time and effort if you picked a very specific topic to focus and report on and not try to cover everything so narrowly. Then you could go deeper. There are other blogs that focus on some of these topics, so the double or triple coverage isn't necessarily helpful and I know it takes you a ton of effort and time. Like President Nelson has been saying... simplify and find your focus.

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    1. I am sorry if you feel that the focus of my blog, or the length and tone of the posts thereof isn't working for you, but each blogger or website chooses their own focus. I have made my focus and mission here very clear, and the results speak for themselves. I cover a wide variety of topics here because I am good at finding such information, and I enjoy sharing it. Maybe my analysis thereof could use a fine-tuning, which I will take on board. And I believe the particular focuses I have chosen are neither displeasing to the Lord, nor would they be to His prophet. At the end of the day, each of us has a judgement call to make. My judgement call was to focus on specific topics which I feel may be of interest to my readers, because I have a vested interest in these topics myself. And sharing such things is never a waste of time or effort. But I thank you for your concern and for taking time to comment.

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    2. A couple more thoughts, if I may: The subjects of the posts on this blog are something I would be following and sharing whether or not I had a blog. So posting on such things is merely an extension of what I'd be doing anyways. Nothing to simplify, because I'd be doing it regardless. And, with all due respect, I find it more than a little difficult to take advice seriously when it is given by someone hiding behind a nameless moniker. I also edit Wikipedia regularly, and I can tell you those users who are not registered to have any name associated with their edits usually find that their work and opinions are more suspiciously-viewed than the work of those of us who actually have accounts and do not have reservations about having an account with a name tied to our actions and opinions. Food for thought, for what it's worth.

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  3. Just a general note to any other readers of this blog: If you agree with Unknown's assessment above, let me know. I can't promise I will change the way I do things here, but I will at least try to take it more seriously if more of you feel the same way.

    And in the meantime, I wanted to report another temple update that has come to my attention. 104 trees have now been planted on the north lawn of the Mesa Arizona Temple. It is inspiring to see the gradually, steady, progress that is occurring on so many temples. My thanks once again to you all.

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  4. Hello again, everyone! I have mentioned previously that some of the things I share have come from a wide variety of sources. This just in from one of those resources: If you thought 19 temples being announced last year was an exciting development, then taking Elder Cook's reference to a ten-fold increase in the number of temples at its' word may be some indication of things to come. I just gotta say, if I had a microphone, I'd be dropping it right now. Just another reason I suggest we all pay attention in General Conference. Thanks.

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  5. You may have seen this already, but information about the Richmond Temple has been released!

    https://richmondbizsense.com/2019/03/27/plans-filed-52000-square-foot-mormon-temple-complex-henrico/

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    1. Hello, Michael, and thank you for commenting. I actually had not been aware of that before I saw your comment, but the information is confirmed in every detail on the Church Temples site. That is a bit of a game-changer. At the same time, the idea that a temple within the United States would gain relatively quick approval is not surprising, and as I understand it, not only does the Church have a great relationship with the Richmond government, but since it seems likely the Church will be using that site, it might very well be the same location which has reportedly been held in reserve for the last 3-5 years or so. Looks like I will again have to revisit my thoughts in terms of the "Construction Pending" and "Announced" sections of my temple construction progress report. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

      That said, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you. Above your latest comment, I posted a teaser given to me by one of the sources I have available for temple information, and above that, I responded to feedback given by "Unknown". Could you read over either or both comments and give me your thoughts? I want to make sure that what I do is working for all of my readers, and apparently that is not the case for "Unknown". Thank you again, Michael, for taking time to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.

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    2. I personally really like your style and information provided. To me, I look for it every day to see if there is new information that I was unaware of (which, living in Missouri, will happen!) I appreciate seeing how things change, how they morph. Personally, I really enjoy the style in which you present.

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    3. Thank you for that feedback, Michael. I know I am in a situation right now where I am prone to doubting, second-guessing, or being critical of myself. So when I hear that what I do and how I do it isn't working for someone, it's difficult to know whether that is true on a wider scope and scale. At the same time, I have long held the opinion that if what I did and how I did it was not working on a wider scale for most of my blog readers, I'd probably be hearing about it more frequently, instead of in a few isolated comments from one or more individuals with the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" moniker. And while I try to take all feedback seriously, it's difficult for me to do so when I don't know who I'm dealing with. So I appreciate your candor regarding this issue. If you ever do have any issues or questions, please feel free to bring them to my attention. Thank you, Michael, for taking time to comment.

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  6. Getting back to the subject of the Richmond Virginia Temple, the Church has actually featured an article about the preliminary plans via the Newsroom, which may not have been the case when you posted your first comment at around 9:00 AM this morning Utah time, Michael. Here is that information:

    https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/preliminary-plans-released-first-temple-virginia

    Based on what was said within that release, I will definitely be reevaluating my estimates for the temples, including Richmond now, that may have a groundbreaking within the next 12-18 months. My thanks once again to you, Michael, for bringing this to our attention, and to all the rest of you for your ongoing interest and support.

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  7. This is Sam...

    I read all of those comments up there and I didn't see anything negative in what Unknown wrote. Seemed more like a "gee you're spending a lot of time on more and more things, it'd be ok if you picked a smaller scope" which I agree with to a certain extent.

    I appreciate your work for sure, but I'm remembering several times where you've written things that suggest you're stressed out about keeping up or something like that. And health problems that need your attention.

    So... Take a deep breath, the world isn't out to get you. Assume the people here care and aren't attacking you. Honestly I'm seeing you taking the comments too personally and freaking yourself out when I really can't see any evil intent in those. Just shake it off.

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    1. Sam, I thank you for your feedback, which is commendable and certainly worthy of being listened to, and for your concern. You always seem to see the best in people, and I admire you for that. That said, there are a couple of factors at play here which you may not be aware of. In my 5 years or so of blogging, I have been subjected to some very harsh criticism and personal attack, much of it at the hands of a user with a blogger profile that has been known to leave similar criticism of myself and others on this and other blogs, none of which has been seen as meritorious by others involved in such conversations. That user's attitude towards the dialogue here resulted in my needing to permanently ban him from commenting further, because I knew he always acted with ill intent.

      I cannot say that is the case for anyone expressing the kind of feedback I reacted to above. This is not the first time that someone using the "Unknown" moniker has posted something like this. I have no way of knowing whether it is the same individual or someone different every time. But the wording and tone of such comments, as some of my regular readers have commented, are clearly from some who are clearly internet trolls.

      I'd also like to mention that while I am experiencing difficulties in terms of my health, I have always used whatever is going on in the Church at any given time as a coping mechanism. I have taken breaks from blogging when I feel too overwhelmed thereby, but that is the exception rather than the rule. And I do regret if I have overreacted in any respect, but I have seen far too much of the same tired old style of behavior and tone in most (if not all) of the comments coming from the "Unknown' and "Anonymous" monikers to think the best and react the most positively to such comments. It's hard to have faith in people when there are clear past examples of such faith being violated.

      That said, I appreciate your concern, and I will do my best to take your kindly-offered feedback under advisement. I bear you no ill will and hope this explanation has served to clarify why I have reacted the way I have. Thank you.

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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.

I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.

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.