Further Revisions Made to Announced Temples Section of My Temple Construction Progress Report

Hello again, everyone! As briefly referenced in my previous post, I am now fulfilling my promise to bring you the revised version of the announced temples section of my temple construction progress report. Most of those revisions involved reevaluating what was known about each temple (including any information which had been officially or unofficially confirmed), and based on my analysis of the relevant factors, I reworked the section of announced temples for which sufficient information that is known has given me enough confidence to provide a general estimated time-frame within which a groundbreaking might occur for those temples. I should also mention that there is a current backlog of 28 temples for which a groundbreaking is pending. Of those 28, the information to which I currently have access has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate for 16 of them, and if those estimates are anywhere near correct, all 16 temples could have a groundbreaking within the next 3 years or less. And since many (myself included) were surprised by the unexpected announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (with that ceremony being held almost two months ago), I am not ruling out the likelihood that could occur again for temples in the second section of announced temples. As I also observed recently, although it has been somewhat standard in recent years for temples to have 2-3 years between the timing of an announcement and a subsequent groundbreaking ceremony, depending on what President Nelson has planned for future temple construction, that time-frame may accelerate significantly, especially for temples which will be smaller in size and will serve a smaller district. Time will tell just how accurate any of these estimates are.

It should also be noted that, since I last posted this section of my report on this blog (6 days ago), I have increased the number of additional temples which might have a groundbreaking by the end of 2019 from 5 to 7. If something big is coming in terms of future temple announcements and construction efforts, then part of that will surely involve moving announced temples into the construction process more quickly than we have seen up to this point.

So it is possible that this year and the years that follow will see even more groundbreakings and new temples announced than the years before, which in turn would multiply the number of temple events the Church will see in subsequent years. As with anything else I post, I will be just as happy if my estimates prove to be off as I will be if any of them are accurate. With that noted, the updated section of my report highlighting announced temples follows below.

In order to not 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, 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.

Announced Temples (for which sufficient information has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate):

174. Pocatello Idaho Temple: Government approval process; streets around temple site opened; groundbreaking anticipated in mid-2019.

175. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Government approval phase; probable site identified; awaiting official confirmation and artist’s rendering; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

176. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and preliminary construction phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited probable site on October 20, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

177. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; media event held June 14, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

178. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited potential site on April 17, 2018; groundbreaking anticipated in late 2019.

179. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; site inspected by Church engineers on June 21, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

180. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

181. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

182. Richmond Virginia Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

183. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

184. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson toured potential locations on April 19, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

185. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

186. Puebla Mexico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

187. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020.

188. Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in ­late 2020.

189. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020-early 2021.

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide an estimated groundbreaking time-frame):

190. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

191. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

192. Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

193. Salvador Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

194. Yuba City, California Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

195. Praia Cape Verde Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

196. Yigo Guam Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

197. Lagos Nigeria Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

198. Davao Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

199. San Juan Puerto Rico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

200. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official location and site announcement.

201. Washington County Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city and site announcement.

Some Items of Business Relating to This Blog (Including Some Observations About Temples)

Hello again, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the new method I have been using to convey information (posting more minor developments in comments on existing threads, and focusing blog posts on the more major developments that are significant enough to merit new posts and additional analysis on my part). I also hope that any of you, whether long-time or newer readers of this blog, will continue to feel free to post comments to share feedback on any new content, or any older posts to share new information.

I am particularly hosting an open commenting period on my April 2019 General Conference predictions, and welcome any insights any of you have on the projected speaking order, potential changes in Church leadership, the estimated figures for the statistical report, and the list of potential locations which, given recent comments from Church leaders and the research I have done, is more extensive than it ever has been.

While I have tried to limit that list to one location per US state or nation, there are a few nations and one state (Utah) where multiple temples seem likely to be announced. Although the United States (except for the regions within the Mormon corridor) has been in a general state of stagnation, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church growth blog, has indicated that congregational growth in the United States improved in 2018 in comparison to 2017.

That statement may not indicate that the stagnant growth in the US is beginning to reverse itself, but there are certainly areas within the US where I feel more confident a temple could be built than I was this time last year.  I have also recently referenced in my comments on this blog my opinion that the 19 temples announced last year were President Nelson's way of starting slowly to expand the number of temples.

In that regard, I was also reminded that 2018 saw the second-highest number of temples announced in a single year (which may be considered the highest number of temples for which a specific location was announced in a single year). So perhaps 2019 will see many more temples announced. But more than that: 9 of the 19 temples announced last year have since had a specific site either definitively or unofficially confirmed.

So the face of the Church's temple construction program is changing for sure, and part of that will almost certainly involve the announcement of dozens (if not scores) of temples. That is why my list of potential locations that could have a temple announced in April is more extensive than it has ever been. But another part of the changing face of temple construction might be that we will see temples move more quickly from announcement to groundbreaking.

In view of that consideration, I have taken time over the last hour or two to update my general estimated time-frames within which many of the announced temples could go on to have a groundbreaking, and part of that involved adjusting the order of some temples and moving up their estimates. I will be posting those changes within the next hour.  In the meantime (with my apologies for rambling), any thoughts anyone has about my General Conference predictions, particularly the list of potential locations which might have a temple announced in April, would be particularly appreciated.

Getting back to the items of business for this blog, I wanted to also solicit feedback on the current layout of this blog. Because I could not "sound off" about subjects close to my heart without you who are willing to read and offer feedback on the content here, if there is anything not working for any of you, I would like to know about it. I have also been mulling over the merits of adding other features to this blog, so let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the layout that is not presently included.

I also know that in the past, some of you who regularly comment have mentioned I should be earning money for my blogging efforts. So I have been considering that as well. I currently have Adsense ads on this blog, but my earnings therefrom have never been too significant, even on the highest-earning days. That is one of the main reasons I have tweaked the layout of this blog so much recently. I was checking if different layout configurations would impact the earnings.

So one option for me would be to add a "donate" button here. I hesitate to do that, because that can get tricky, and I wouldn't want any of you to feel pressured to donate if you didn't want to. But at times, I do wonder if that would be a good option. My efforts, unlike other blogs that provide extensive analysis of different aspects of the gospel, have no private source of funding, and I am certainly not getting revenue out of this blog which would be equivalent to the hours of work I put into the content I post here. If I do wind up adding such a button, donations would be completely optional, and I would certainly never think any less of any of you who do not want to or are not able to donate.

But the more I thought about this, the more I realized that I wouldn't want to unilaterally make any of these changes if they would only prove to be a deterrent to earnest discussion of the topics covered on this blog. For that reason, I would likewise appreciate any thoughts any of you have on any of the changes I am considering for this blog. While I do enjoy "sounding off" about subjects so close to my heart, this blog has cultivated a community of several loyal readers, many of whom also comment regularly. So none of this is my personal prerogative to decide on. If the changes I am mulling over will not improve the overall experience for you, my readers, making them would be a non-starter for sure.

For that reason, if any of you have any comments on anything I have discussed here, I would welcome and appreciate the chance to hear your input, and that also goes for any previous content on this blog. The commenting period for any posts on this blog (except those for which I have specifically set a time-frame limit) is eternally open, as far as I am concerned. That does it for this post. 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.