Hello again, everyone! Although there has been somewhat of a famine in terms of temple news since General Conference, that is now officially over. Around 2-3 hours ago, the First Presidency announced the site location and preliminary information for the Moses Lake Washington Temple. Some of you may recall that in late July-early August, several local reports indicated that the Church had purchased land in the city on Yonezawa Boulevard between Division Street and Road K NE. Today, that land has been confirmed as the location for the temple.
The Church has also released preliminary information about the designs for a temple. Plans call for a single-story temple that will have a square footage of 20,000 square feet with a center spire, and an adjacent meetinghouse of 17,000 square feet. In the coming months, project leaders for that temple will be working with city officials through the approval process. It may be a while before a groundbreaking is set, but due to its' size, I anticipate that approval will be fairly rapid. And this now makes a total of 12 temples which could have a groundbreaking within the next year or less, just from what is known so far.
In that regard, there is something I wanted to mention here: I honestly don't know at this point if any temples might unexpectedly have a groundbreaking between now and the already-scheduled groundreaking for the Puebla Mexico Temple (which has been set for November 30), or whether any other temples might have a groundbreaking before the end of the year, but these are the temples for which I am keeping my eyes open in the coming months: Harare Zimbabwe (per a statement from Elder Andersen made to Zimbabwe's Vice President one year ago); Nairobi Kenya (for which a construction contract has been awarded); Bengaluru India (per a statement from Bishop Davies in mid-May of this year); Brasilia Brazil (for which concept designs are floating around social media); and the Greater Manila Phiippines (for which an official name announcement is pending, and which is the only other temple announced by President Monson to not have had a groundbreaking yet).
Additionally, the following temples announced by President Nelson have seen major annnouncements made, and could thus see a groundbreaking within the next year or less: Richmond Virginia, Layton Utah, Feather River California, Tooele Valley Utah, Auckland New Zealand, and now Moses Lake Washington. Above and beyond that, however, a statement from Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham in this article, a site has been acquired that will be used for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple. I therefore anticipate that the next year will see at least these 12 temples have a groundbreaking, though I wouldn't be shocked at all if more temples than that were to have a groundbreaking or more information announced as well.
For my part, I continue to monitor all such developments and will pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for now. 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, October 29, 2019
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site & Preliminary Design Information Announced for the Moses Lake Washington 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.
33 comments:
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.
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Hello again, everyone! The following additional Church news has been reported, including one article from the Newsroom:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/groundbreaking-held-international-african-american-museum
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-10-29/utah-state-aggies-sam-merrill-basketball-165183
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-10-29/byu-devotional-book-of-mormon-brother-pace-165655
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Hello again, everyone! Here is another Church News article, which speaks for itself:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-10-30/deepfakes-byu-idaho-devotional-jack-gerard-165747
My thanks once again to you all.
And one more in addition:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-10-30/podcast-church-history-women-at-the-pulpit-165773
Once again, my thanks to you all.
Another:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-10-30/utah-jazz-nba-thurl-bailey-marquette-university-lds-mission-165128
Thanks again, everyone!
And another one:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-10-31/stanford-university-elder-dieter-uchtdorf-happiness-165770
My thanks once again to you all.
The latest edition of "This Week on Social" has been published. Unique to the latest installment is that this one was shorter, and featured posts published on social media outlets solely by various members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. You can find that edition at the following web address:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-11-01/air-force-elder-uchtdorf-this-week-on-social-165988
The following members of that Quourum were featured: Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, D. Todd Christofferson, Dale G. Renlund, and Ulisses Soares.
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! I am working on putting the finishing touches on my April 2020 General Conference predictions, which I hope to post either sometime this weekend or by Monday at latest. I also am working on compiling a list of additional locations, some of which may, depending on the feedback they generate, be added to the list of potential locations for which the Church could announce a temple in April 2020. I am similarly waiting for Matthew Martinich to post on the Church Growth Blog his analysis of the new top 10 nations with the strongest Church presence that do not have a temple in any phase, and will publish my own analysis on what he says therein ASAP after that post is published.
ReplyDeleteThere are also two more apostolic birthdays coming up within the next two weeks. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf will mark his 79th on Wednesday November 6, and one week later, on Wednesday november 13, Elder Dale G. Renlund will be celebrating his 67th birthday. Also, I have my next scheduled update on the latest apostolic statistics planned for Sunday November 10.
And of course, tom.rrow, the open house for the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple will conclude. This weekend also marks the private rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, with the private rededication of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple occurring two weeks later, under the direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook. And two days after Elder Renlund's birthday (which will also be two days before the private rededication of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple), public open house tours will begin for the Arequipa Peru Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The annual Churchwide event honoring Latin American heritage and culture (Luz de Las Naciones), was held tonight in the Conferendce Center. The celebration, subtitled "A Home for All", featured music and dance from various Latin American regions. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, a General Authority Seventy, who currently serves as Second Counselor in the Utah Area Presidency, offered remarks, and several area seventies serving in Utah who helped coordinate the event offered their thoughts in the report on that event which was shared via the Newsroom:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/thousands-attend-latin-american-cultural-celebration-held-at-conference-center
Once again, my thanks to you all.
The St. George Temple was closed as of Saturday night for its remodelling.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I had replied to coachodeep's above comment below, I wanted to note something here. Official news releases from the Church (and several news outlets) have indicated that the goal for this temple is to have it rededicated at some point in 2022. While I am fervently hoping that will be the case, given the fact that this is the first renovation for this temple since 1975, and given the complexities that can sometimes arise when the Church renovates any temple, particularly an older one, I have set my initial general completion estimate for this temple to during late 2022-early 2023. Depending on the progress (or the lack thereof) made on that process as things unfold in that respect, I will be happy to adjust that estimate up or down as the need arises. In the meantime, my thanks again to you all.
DeleteThank you, coachodeeps. You are correct. Additionally, a few hours ago, the Asuncion Paraguay Temple was privately rededicated by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I will pass on coverage on that ASAP once it is made available. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteHello again, everyone! As noted in my previous comment on this thread, Elder D. Todd Christofferson represented the First Presidency in presiding over the single-session private rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple. Elder Christofferson, who served his full-time mission in the neighboring nation of Argentina, thus became the least-senior apostle of the Church to preside over a temple's rededication. He was accompanied to that dedication by his wife, Katherine J. Christofferson, and two General Authority Seventies and their wives: Elder Kevin R. Duncan, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Nancy, and Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, who currently serves as President of the South America South Area, and his wife, Evelia.
DeleteIn an interesting coincidence, prior to beginning his service as South America South Area President in August 2018, Elder De Hoyos had actually served at Church headquarters as one of the Assistant Executive Directors of the Temple Department. I thought that was a note that would be of interest to many of you.
With that said, the Newsroom's official report on the rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple can be found at the following web address:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/rededication-of-the-asunci%C3%B3n-paraguay-temple-is-complete
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has published an article covering the private rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. In that article, the main reason Elder Christofferson was likely asked to rededicate that temple was detailed. The Asuncion Paraguay Temple district takes in parts of Argentina in which a young Todd Christofferson served as a full-time missionary several decades ago. The article also shares thoughts from Elder Christofferson regarding how he and his fellow apostle, Elder Soares, feel about the temples that are dotting South America. You can read that article at the following web address:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2019-11-03/paraguay-temple-south-america-elder-christofferson-166004
My thanks once again to you all.
And the text of the dedicatory prayer offered by Elder D. Todd Christofferson in Spanish yesterday as he rededicated the Asuncion Paraguay Temple has now been made available through the Church News:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2019-11-04/asuncion-paraguay-temple-rededicatory-prayer-166059
Perhaps it was simply a matter of my paying more attention this time, but it seemed to me that this prayer, more than any other dedicatory or rededicatory prayer that has previously been offered thus far this year, drew stylistic and contextual inspiration from the prayer offered by Joseph Smith in dedicating the Kirtland Ohio Temple.
It has been somewhat commonplace for all dedicatory and rededicatory prayers for temples to contain in their texts some specific nods and references to that prayer, but, insofar as I am aware, this prayer offered by Elder Christofferson bore more resemblance to that Kirtland prayer than the text of any other such prayers offered previously by apostles this year. I hope that any of you will correct me in that assertion if it is incorrect. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News also reported earlier today on the "secret to success" shared by two Brazilian Latter-day Saint social media influencers, focusing on how their social media activity has had a positive impact on millions around the world, and has given them opportunities to share their faith:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-11-03/social-media-brazil-nicole-luz-wesley-merces-165901
I should also note that I am working as quickly as I can on the initial draft of my predictions for the April 2020 General Conference, which I hope to be able to publish on this blog within the next week or less. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
In Central America the Church owns property for all three of the previously announced temples -- Managua Nicaragua, San Pedro Sula Honduras and Cobán Guatemala. All three could have groundbreaking dates announced for the first half of next year. This comes sources in the area offices. Patzicia.
ReplyDeletePatzicia, thanks for that information. Within months after then-Elder Nelson publicly proposed a temple for Managua, I received information indicating that the Church has had land held in reserve for such a temple once the right conditions merited the announcement of it. So the fact that that temple will be built on that spot isn't surprising at all.
DeleteIn relation to the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple, I had been made aware of a site being acquired for that temple in mid-October, which I posted about here:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2019/10/breaking-temple-news-elder.html
So we now have your report and that other one corroborating that site acquisition. And since you live and work in Guatemala, I have no doubts that both you and the area presidency would know that a site has been procured for the Coban Guatemala Temple.
And I hope with all my heart that your statement about each of these three temples having groundbreaking dates announced for the first half of 2020 also proves correct. But in that respect, I have some additional observations. First, I'd refer you (and any others interested) to a previous report I shared on this blog from last year:
Deletehttps://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2018/04/some-additional-information-and.html
As that post details, for which corroboration can be found in other repots on this blog, Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, who was serving as the President of the Africa Southeast Area of the Church in April 2016 when the Harare Zimbabwe Temple was announced, shared information later that year indicating that the Church hoped to announce a site location and design for that temple and have a groundbreaking for it in 2017 (although I could have been mistaken in that report, with the statement perhaps being made in 2017 and pertaining to 2018). As we now know, the Harare Zimbabwe Temple is the only one originally announced in April 2016 that has not yet had a groundbreaking.
Further, in November of last year, Elder Andersen visited with Zimbabwe's Vice President and noted that the Church hoped to release designs and break ground for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple in late 2019. With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, and with the political situation of Zimbabwe and its' citizens (including members of the Church), unless an announcement in that respect comes down the pike soon for that temple, a groundbreaking before the end of this year might be out of the question.
Before I go further, I need to acknowledge that, based on what you have said in prior comments and on what my study shows, the situations in Central American nations (especially Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala) are surely not as precarious as things are in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa. But my point is that in the case of the Harare temple, Elder Hamilton as the area president was optimistic, and things didn't pan out that way for whatever reason. Coincidentally, Elder Hamilton's sister is in my parents' ward (her husband was my bishop during much of my Aaronic Priesthood years), and according to what she (Elder Hamilton's sister) has told my mom, his biggest regret about no longer being the Africa Southeast Area President is that he could not get anything successful done in regards to the Harare Zimbabwe Temple.
DeleteWith that noted, again, since the three Central American nations are in a different situation entirely than Zimbabwe, I don't believe there will be a great delay beyond what you, Patzicia, have indicated from the presidency of that area of the Church. But for my purposes, I have to try and balance what is reported to me against what is known and unknown, factor in any potential delays, and adjust my previously-offered thoughts accordingly.
What I am trying to say here (and not saying very well) is that I will be moving the three temples in question on my personal list of announced temples based on what you said, but will also be allowing for flexibility and anything unexpected. Although I don't anticipate any delays based on your information and the assertions of the area presidency, since my blog is a site not affiliated with the Church, when it comes to adjusting estimates I have provided or will yet provide, I have to be more cautious than I might with information that has been officially confirmed through First Presidency announcements or Newsroom statements.
For the record, I for one would be happy if the Church is able to break ground on these three temples within the time-frame you indicated. But until that is confirmed one way or another through the proper channels, it's my personal preference to be more cautious and reserved on these matter
I hope that approach is not problematic for you, Patzicia, or for anyone else that may read anything I say here, and I want you to know I appreciate the information you provided, which is quite a bit more information than I had as recently as 2 hours ago. I hope you know that I also appreciate your continued comments and interest in the thoughts I offer here. It is wonderful for me to have access to a faithful Church member in Central America that can keep me and everyone else who reads this blog informed on the latest Church developments there that are relevant to this blog. Thanks, Patzcia, for sharing this information today, and please keep us all informed on any developments you hear in relation to these temples in the near future. I appreciate you taking time to comment.
The following additional Church news story has been shared:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-11-04/christchurch-new-zealand-mosque-sharon-eubank-166082
My thanks once again to you all.
Hi James. Hope you're doing well.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to pass along something I came across on social media this evening. A post was made mentioning the possible completion timeline for the Washington D.C. Temple.
The post was fairly short and had no concrete details, but in summary it said that the Brethren are hoping to have the open house and rededication of the temple sometime in the fall of 2020 before both the winter season and the presidential inauguration in January 2021.
Obviously it is good to take these things with a grain of salt before any official announcement, but the timeline does make some sense considering where the temple is in its renovation process and in completing it before the two mentioned reasons.
If completion does happen next year, I would probably anticipate some sort of official announcement within the first half of next year. Will be interesting to see what happens.
Hello, Eric! Thank you, as always, for stopping by to comment. I appreciate hearing from you. I am all right. Not great, but all right. Within the last month, I have been working through the worst migraine headache I have had in over a decade, so that has not been fun. That in part explains why I have confined myself more to comments on this blog within that time rather than focusing on publishing new content. It's been a rough period, but I am working through it as best I can.
DeleteThat said, I appreciate you sharing what you read on social media. The information you provided gels pretty well with what I have heard on my end. Most of the sources I use for temple information concur that the rededication for the Washington D. C. Temple will occur before the end of 2020, and it makes sense that would be the goal, since, as you noted, the Church would not want to have an open house or rededication in early 2021, which would conflict with the next presidential inauguration or the plans for that.
The Church tends to be very conscientous about that sort of thing, which is why the open house and rededication for the Tokyo Japan Temple will likely either be held in the month or so before the Summer Olympics begin, or else will be deferred until mid-August (right now, either option seems probable).
And it seems as though temple construction developments really will accelerate within the next 2 years and beyond. As I mentioned previously in this thread, there are as many as 14-15 temples that I think could potentially have a groundbreaking within the next year (if not sooner), and that number could be even higher depending on what happens betweeen now and the April 2020 General Conference. Such groundbreakings will substantially increase the number of likely temple events which will wind up occurring between 2021-2023, and even beyond that. I can't wait to see what is next in that regard. In the meantime, thanks for sharing this information, which corroborates what I have heard on my end. Always a privilege to hear from you.
Hello again, everyone! Two important temple updates have been reported. At the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple, parapets are being poured on top of the temple walls. And after the last couple of months or so came and went without any noticeable progress having been reported on the Quito Ecuador Temple, new information available today notes that construction crews are now pouring the main floor exterior walls. With this update, that officially puts the Quito temple ahead of the Pocatello Idaho Temple for now, which means I will be going back to the drawing board as far as general or specific estimates for known temple events over the next several years. Stay tuned for more on that as I figure it all out. In the meantime, whether I mentioned this previously or not, at the Washington DC Temple, trees are arriving for planting in the parking lot landscaping.
ReplyDeleteI continue to monitor all Church and temple news and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such updates. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! A few additional Church news updates have been provided, which speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-11-05/sharon-eubank-priesthood-relief-society-lds-australia-166037
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-statement-mexico-tragedy-2019
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/title-of-liberty-raised-in-three-country-tour-of-central-america
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
I think it's interesting that President Nelson is assigning members of the Quorum of the Twelve to conduct many more temple dedications and re-dedications. It seems to me that this was really accelerated since the Rome Temple dedication, to which all the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve attended.
ReplyDeleteWith Elder Christofferson rededicating the Asuncion Temple and Elder Cook set to rededicate the Baton Rouge Temple, that leaves only Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Gong as the only apostles who have not dedicated or rededicated a temple.
I'm betting that Elder Stevenson, with his ties to Japan, rededicates the Tokyo temple when it happens in the next year or so. Any guesses as to what Elder Rasband or Elder Gong's first temple dedication assignment will be? Perhaps Elder Gong will rededicate the Hong Kong Temple, but since that is a ways off, he might receive another assignment before that one takes place.
Steve, thank you for stopping by to comment. I believe this is the first time you have weighed in here on this blog, and I appreciate hearing from you and having a chance to address your comments now. Back in March, President Nelson made it clear that the Lord instructed him to bring all living apostles with him to the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple, and then he noted the following: "[Our] time [together] in Rome will be a blessing for the people all over the world because these Apostles now will go all over the world and recap the experiences that they felt here as this holy house was dedicated.”
DeleteAnd there is precedence for a prophet sharing such tasks with the apostles of the Church. The Savior in his day commissioned the Twelve He had appointed to go and spread His message abroad, which they did. Throughout Church history, the apostles have been those that the First Presidency have called upon to represent them in their efforts to assist each Church President in ministering to an ever-increasing global Church membership.
Also, in the days when the Prophet Joseph Smith was engaged in matters of Church government in Nauvoo, he noted that the Twelve were equal in authority to the First Presidency in cases where a Church president has died. During that same period of time in Nauvoo, with a second period of widespread apostasy that affected the entire Church, even the leading Quorums thereof, Joseph often sent the Twelve, led by Brigham Young, to take care of things while he took care of his family.
During that time, Brother Joseph received a revelation from the Lord directed to Brigham Young, as recorded in D&C section 126, which can be found at the following web address:
Deletehttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/126.1-2?lang=eng
In the text of that three-verse revelation, the Lord tells Brother Brigham that his efforts to travel for the gospel as assigned by the prophet Joseph Smith were acceptable to Him (the Lord), and that he is excused from future travel and should focus on "send[ing]" the word abroad and on the "especial care of [his] family" from then on.
Now, since the time that revelation was received, the unfolding role of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve has been clarified further, and all ordained apostles are asked to travel as assigned and ass often as they can, but to also care for the day-to-day business of Church government and look after their families when they are not so traveling.
Further, in early September, Boyd Matheson, a Deseret News and Church News editorial staff writer, focused an article on President Nelson's then-recently-completed Latin American ministry trip. He quoted the prophet relating to his sharing assignments to preside at temple dedications and rededications with his apostolic Brethren as follows:
"These brethren are so loyal. I love them. Like my own brothers, like my own sons. Someone said, ‘Brother Nelson, you’re kind of slowing down. You’re having the apostles dedicate temples.’"
After a brief pause and chuckle, the prophet continued: "And I asked if they have ever been a father taking the children on a fishing trip? Are you happy catching a fish? Are you happier watching your children catch a fish?"
He then said this: "I get more joy out of the fact that Elder Ulisses Soares dedicated the Brazil Fortaleza Temple than if I had done it myself — I really do. I’m so happy that he’s had that experience. It’s made a new man out of him. I mean, he was perfect before but now he’s even more spiritual, more like the Lord than he ever has been, because of that experience. And I enjoy watching it happen.”
So in addition to the doctrinal reasons I laid out, President Nelson's statement indicates, in plain and clear language, why it is that he is spreading the duties of presiding at temple dedications and rededications around and sharing them with his Brethren of the apostleship. With the Rome Italy Temple dedication being a "hinge point" for the Church, the Church membership in general, and the apostles in particular, will need to have more experiences that increase, enhance, and strengthen their already-vibrant and unequivocal testimonies. So that is the line of reasoning behind that.
Additionally, President Nelson has been sensitive to when an apostle has a very personal connection to the temples involved. Elder Renlund was serving as the President of the Africa Southeast Area at the time that the Kinshasa temple was announced, so it was fitting and proper that he was asked to go back and dedicate that temple. And Elder Soares has an intimately personal connection to the Fortaleza area of Brazil. The same can be said of just about every apostle asked to dedicate or rededicate a temple thus far this year.
But I have a couple of additional thoughts here as well. With the recent rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, Elder Christofferson became the most junior apostle in Church history to ever preside at a temple rededication. While we know that the keys to dedicate or rededicate a temple rest with President Nelson currently and that he can delegate any of those tasks to any apostle at his discretion, until proven otherwise, my study indicates that no apostle more junior than Elder Christofferson (who is the ninth most-senior apostle in the Church) will be asked to preside at a temple rededication. Temple dedications allow more flexibility and provision for the junior apostles of the Church to preside thereover, but that may not be the case for temple rededications. I could be wrong in that respect; just my personal opinion.
DeleteIn the meantime, we have the rededication of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple set to occur 12 days from now (over which Elder Quentin L. Cook will preside) and since Arequipa Peru is in a region of that nation that is predominantly Spanish-speaking, one of the apostles fluent in that language may be asked to preside thereat. The one thing I don't know at this point is if any of the three apostles you mentioned as not having participated in a temple dedication are fluent in Spanish.
I apologize for my lengthy response here, but wanted to provide as complete an answer to your offered thoughts as I could. And even if you, Steve, did not need the information I have provided herein, I am hoping that the details I have provided here might potentially be helpful to someone else reading this reply. I may be off base in the analysis and theories I have offered herein, but for now, this is what my research on all the relevant matters laid out in your comment show. Thank you for stopping by to share your thoughts here, Steve. I appreciate hearing from you, and hope you will feel free to continue to read and comment on content and ongoing discussions here going forward. Thanks again.
Stevenson was a missionary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission in the mid-1970s, so he could dedicate the Tokyo Japan Temple, as Steve suggested. I don't believe he speaks Spanish fluently.
ReplyDeleteElder Rasband served a mission for the LDS Church in the Eastern States Mission based in NYC, English speaking. He later served as president of New York New York North Mission. So, most likely not Spanish speaking.
Elder Gong served as a missionary in Taiwan. Family is of Asian descent, so highly unlikely he speaks Spanish.
Hello, coachodeeps. Thanks for taking time to comment. I have a strong familiarity with most of the major biographical details for each of our current apostles, but at times, keeping the information straight relating to the non-English languages each is fluent in is more of a challenge for me, except in a few cases. But usually, if someone refreshes my memory, I can recall reading about such things. All of that is part of the short-term memory loss issues I haave referred to in prior comments both here and on the Church Growth Blog.
DeleteI did remember the fields of labor in which Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Gong had served as missionaries or mission presidents. But I also seem to recall reading about one or two of the current apostles who served in stake presidencies and had opportunities to work with non-English speaking congregations. I know for a fact that was true of Elder Cook (and possibly Elder Renlund as well), but seem to recall reading something similar about one or two of the other current apostles in addition.
As I noted in my response to Steve above, my study currently on the ministry efforts of our apostles and temple dedication assignment patterns has, for the moment, led me to conclude that no apostle more junior than Elder Christofferson will be assigned to preside at a temple rededication, for which the Church has traditionally tasked the more senior apostles of the Church, even before President Nelson became Church President.
Of course, there was also a time a year or so ago where I had believed and kept asserting that Elder Bednar would be the least junior apostle to be asked to dedicate or rededicate a temple, and that theory got thrown out the window throughout this year as President Nelson has invited the other apostles to dedicate or rededicate most of the tmeples this year, so the same could be true for temple rededications in the future.
DeleteAnd I would love to be wrong about the Tokyo Japan Temple rededication in that respect. I really would be elated if either Elder Stevenson or Elder Gong (both of whom have numerous connections to Japan) were assigned to rededicate that temple.
But when it comes to next year, the one thing I am not entirely sure about is how (if at all) the fact that 2020 will see a much lower amount of temple dedications or rededications might impact who may be assigned to preside over each of those.
With the smaller amount of those dedications or rededications next year, I would not be shocked to only see the more senior apostles assigned to preside at each of those. But there has been precedence set this year for President Nelson rotating those opportunities among as many apostles as possible, so I can't rule out the prospect that 2020 won't be impacted in the way I have theorized for now.
There is something else to consider as well. Namely, the fact that there are 14 or 15 temples that could have a groundbreaking within the next year just based on what is now known. And we have seen recent examples where apostles who are going to be on assignment in certain parts of the world have been given the opportunity to preside at a temple groundbreaking while in those areas. And we even saw one example earlier this year (with the Bangkok Thailand Temple) where the site dedication and groundbreaking were done by two different Church leaders. My point in mentioning that is that, even though there will be fewer temple dedications and rededications next year, which may change who might be asked to preside at those events, there will be several temple groundbreakings over which any apostles who may or may not otherwise have the opportunity to preside over a temple dedication or rededication could be asked to preside at a temple groundbreaking.
I apologize for my lengthy response to you here, coachodeeps, but hope that my meandering musings conveyed what I intended to convey. As I said, I'd be elated by any apostle dedicating or rededicating any temple next year, but for temple rededications specifically, I have not seen anything to indicate that more junior apostles would be asked to preside thereat. Just my own opinion here based on what I have read and heard on my end, for whatever they might be worth to you, coachodeeps, and/or anyone else who may read them here. And in any case, I do appreciate you taking time to comment. I am grateful I can always count on your thoughtful feedback and insights whenever you care to weigh in.
Washington County Temple site has been announced!
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-site-announced-for-washington-county-utah-temple
Eric, thank you for taking time to share the news and the corroborating web address where it can be found. I learned of the announcement around 15 minutes before your comment was posted and was working on a post covering that development as you posted your comment on it. Those interested in my analysis of this development can now find that published above this one. Once again, Eric, my thanks to you for posting about that here.
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