Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to share some temple updates, many of which are long overdue. First, as of today, there are 10.99 years between now and the bicentennial anniversary of the restoration of the Church (which will, as previously noted, be observed on Saturday April 6, 2030). For the Church to have a minium of 200 temples operating by that time, 38 of those currently under construction or announced will need to be dedicated within that time, which could be accomplished as long as the Church completes roughly 3.44 temples per year.

Given that the dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is set to be dedicated this weekend (with no indication yet as to who might be presiding thereover), and that 3 more temples will be dedicated over the course of the next 5.25 months or so, that average will likely have gone down quite a bit between now and the next General Conference. And the remainder of this year promises to be full of other temple-related events.

With that noted, let's move on to discuss some updates on temple construction. At the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, palm trees are being planted, while irrigation lines are being laid for the flowerbeds, and curbing and walkways are also being poured. In the meantime, the Arequipa Peru Temple is anticipated to be the next new temple to have a dedication scheduled, and it has been reported that temporary glass and the south momument sign have both been installed, that sod has been laid, and that flowers, bushes, and trees have been planted.

At the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, cladding is going up around the steeple pedestal. And an update on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple notes that structural steel framing is underway. while wood framing continues for the meetinghouse. And moving on to temples which had a groundbreaking earlier this year, at the Pocatello Idaho Temple site, excavation is underway on the foundation, while the process of connecting to utilities continues. Meanwhile, footing and foundation work is underway at the Urdaneta Philippines Temple site.

And it has also been reported that the demolition process for the Trujillo Alto Ward chapel has been completed. As a result, the site of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple has been cleared for its; groundbreaking. We move on now to temples undergiong renovation. The one-week open house for the Memphis Tennessee Temple begins this Saturday. And at the Frankfurt Germany Temple grounds, trees and shrubs are being planted, while a staircase is being poured to the temple entrance.

Progress has likewise been noted on both the Raleigh North Carolina and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples. Regarding the former, hard landscaping elements continue to be installed, which includes planter boxes and walkways. And in relation to the latter, new information indicates that the monument sign has been completed, that lamp-posts are being installed, and that the work of cladding the exterior walls in nearing completion.

As previously noted, I have also put the Salt Lake Temple down on my report as a temple for which a renovation announcement has been scheduled. I have additionally taken time between the conclusion of General Conference and now to revisit my thoughts about temples which I consider to be in a "Groundbreaking anticipated" status, and have added the 8 new temples to the "Announced" section of my temple construction progress report. There were numerous changes involved in that process, so I will conclude this post by publishing the updated version of those two sections.

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.

Groundbreaking anticipated:

180. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; property fence installed around temple site; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

181. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

182. Richmond Virginia Temple: Preliminary plans submitted to local government; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

Note: On March 27, 2019, new information on this temple indicated that plans had been submitted, but also the location where the plans will be utilized, which appears to be the location held in reserve for that prospect around 3-4 years before the temple was announced. If the First Presidency confirms this information, it is not hard to believe that a groundbreaking could be held at around the time indicated.

183. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site confirmation; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

Note: The Church of Jesus Christ Temples site noted in mid-February 2019 that a site had been procured for this temple. But during President Nelson’s visit to Nairobi in April 2018, a public affairs representative had noted that this temple would be smaller, and that a dedication for it was anticipated to occur sometime in 2021. So it seems reasonable to assume that a groundbreaking could occur within the next 12 months, but hopefully sooner, if all goes well.

184. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Government approval phase; awaiting official site confirmation and release of artist’s rendering; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

185. 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.

Note: Although the site visited by President Nelson in April 2018 has not been confirmed as the official location for the temple, Elder Andersen, in a November meeting with Zimbabwe’s Vice President, noted that the Church hoped to break ground for that temple in the late months of 2019. So I have no doubt that will be able to occur.

186. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019.

Note: The site has already been confirmed for this temple.

187. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

Note: A potential site has already been identified (though not yet confirmed) for this temple.

188. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

Note: The site has already been confirmed for this temple.

189. Puebla Mexico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

Note: A Church member living in Mexico reports that the area presidency is scouting that city for temple locations, and that construction could begin in the early months of 2020.

190. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

Note: The Church has held land in reserve for a temple site for several years. If that property is confirmed as the temple site, a groundbreaking could easily occur at around this time.

191. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site confirmation; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

Note: I found out several years ago that the Church had held land in reserve for a temple in this city for a while now (with that fact confirmed by a Church member living in that area), so I hope that means a site confirmation will occur sooner rather than later.

192. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

Note: Although there has not been an official site confirmed for this temple yet, President Nelson seems to be working on the queue of announced temples from both ends thereof. With that in mind, although I hope this temple’s groundbreaking will occur before then, if it doesn’t, I could see it occurring at around this time.

193. Yuba City, California Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

Note: A potential site has been identified (though not yet confirmed) for this temple.

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

Note: A potential site has been identified (though not yet confirmed) for this temple.

195. 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

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide a groundbreaking estimate):

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

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

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

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

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

201. Pago Pago American Samoa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

202. Okinawa City Okinawa (Japan) Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

203. Neiafu Tonga Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

204. Tooele Valley Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement

205. Moses Lake Washington Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

206. San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

207. Antofagasta Chile Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

208. Budapest Hungary Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

209. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city (and site) announcement.

Personal Update

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to share a brief personal update. Not sure whetner I mentioned this or not, but in late February, I determined in consultation with my wife and one of my doctors that I had gotten the maximum benefit I could get out of the main pain medication I have been on for the last decade. We therefore have been instructed to have me transition off of the medication in question, and I am about half-way through that process, which has been a bit of a struggle.

In the interim, we received more information about a minor procedure I need to have at some point, and based on what was learned in that respect, the same-day procedure is anticipated to involve 1-2 weeks of at-home recuperation.  And as a result of the nature of the procedure, we have been advised to have me halt my efforts to further transition off of the pain medication until after the at-home recovery process is complete.

Additionally, both my wife and myself continue to deal with health-related challenges and other difficult circumstances, but hopefully things are progressing in the right direction in many respects. In moments when we have struggled, the Lord has reminded us in choice and significant ways that He has not forgotten us, and has made up the difference for things we feel we lack.

And for me personally, immersing myself in the process of continuing to track the latest Church news and temple developments and report on those things here has been an important and vital part of helping me deal with the associated stress relating to these ongoing difficulties. I appreciate the wide-spread intrest in things I have found to "sound off" about here, and hope that my analysis on such developments has proven and will yet prove helpful to all who read it.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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 oen of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Transcripts Available for April 2019 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! For a majority of the last two decades or so, transcripts of General Conference talks have generally been made availble the Thursday following each General Conference weekend. In recent years, that has been able to occur a day or two earlier. I wanted to briefly post to report that the transcripts of the talks given during the April 2019 General Conference are now available.

One common element in the first 3 General Conferences over which President Nelson has presided (which have been anything but common, normal, or status-quo) is his invitation during each of his concluding remarks is the invitation to regularly study the talks for the next six months. So I hope all of us (including and especially myself) will take the time to do so. We have been told that the talks given in General Conference constitute scripture and the literal word and will of the Lord for us every six months, and we'd be well advised to treat them as such.

I appreciate the speed at which such transcripts can be made available in our day. 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.