Church News and Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Some additional Church news and temple developments have come to my attention in the last six hours or less, and the extensive nature of those merited a new post rather than additional comments on previously-posted content. Let's get right into those updates. First, the Church news.

Bruce C. Kusch, the president of LDS Business College, was the featured speaker at this week's devotional, sharing 4 invitations which, if taken, will enable us to endure to the end. And BYU-Idaho President Henry J. Eyring spoke to students on that campus about optimism, highlighting the fact that there is much more good going on worldwide than many news outlets lead us to believe. And another article has been written about a temple dedicated 20 years ago, this time in honor of the Anchorage Alaska Temple.Each of those articles is well worthy of your attention.

Now to the subject of temple updates. I have mentioned before that the Church is on track to have 200 operating temples by or before the bicentennial anniversary of the Church's reestablishment, and that has essentially been confirmed (albeit indirectly) by a recent article in the Church News. There are now 11.24 years between now and then, and 39 temples to complete and dedicate within that time, which could be done if 3.47 temples were dedicated per year between now and then.

3 temples have already had a dedication set for next year, and one other (in Fortaleza Brazil) will likely have a dedication announced very soon, and will more than likely be set to occur before the Brethren observe the annual July recess. And there are 3 (or 4) other temples anticipated to be dedicated as well by the end of this year.

We also are awaiting more information on the rededications for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Memphis Tennessee Temples, along with groundbreaking ceremonies for the Brasilia Brazil, Pocatello Idaho, and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples, and will bring word of those to you as I become aware of it.

In the meantime, there are also some status updates on temples which I wanted to pass along. At the Lisbon Portugal Temple site, the concrete slab has been poured for the monument sign, while a hard landscaping structure is being added on the north side of the temple. And while exterior lighting is still being installed and tested at the grounds of the Arequipa Peru Temple, fencing materials are going up around its' perimeter, and work is progressing at a steady rate on the temple's interior as well.

I also have one update to pass along about the Urdaneta Philippines Temple. It appears that the time for its' groundbreaking ceremony one week from today has been set to occur at 11:00 AM Urdaneta time. Since that city is 15 hours ahead of Utah time, the groundbreaking will be occurring at 8:00 PM MST on the previous evening. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them.

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 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.