Hello again, everyone! As many of you might recall, on February 27, 2020, the First Presidency originally announced that the open house for the Washington D.C. Temple would take place from September 24-October 31, with a youth devotional and rededication following on December 12 and 13, respectively. Then today, in an amendemnt to that announcement, it was noted that the open house and rededication for the Washington D.C. Temple are postponed until large public gatherings are deemed safe. This mirrors the previous postponement of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple open house and dedication. As I noted previously, the Church's hope was to rededicate this temple before the end of 2020. so as not to interfere with the events surrounding next year's planned inauguration for the US President (which is set to be held on January 20, 2021, as mandated by the US Constitution).
But with the reopening of the DC Temple anticipated to generate widespread interest, the Church continues in its' efforts to ensure that, as an entity, they are good global citizens. So the precaution of postponement seems very appropos at this time. Based on this development, I don't see any scenario in which the rededication for this temple, the rededication for the Mesa Arizona Temple, or the dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple will be able to be held before the end of this year. Instead, I anticipate that all of these events will be pushed into 2021. And it could be that the rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple will be the first of those 3 events to be scheduled for after the first of the year. Although a delay for this event may be unsettling to some, I consider it a wise and prudent move on the Church's part. And as I said previously, smaller temples like Winnipeg, Yigo, Praia, and San Juan likely have a better chance of being completed and dedicated on the anticipated time-frames, while larger temples that will attract more interest may see the timing of their openings adjusted in response to COVID-19.
That being said, I do not see it as accidental but providential that, before COVID-19 shut things down, the prophet of the Church was inspired to take all living apostles will him to Rome for the dedication of Italy's first temple, and that most of the duties of dedicating or rededicating temples have been delegated to his fellow apostles. If a queue of new temples or temples being renovated does build up, the apostles can be sent by ones, twos, or threes to take care of any backlog. And in the interim, I don't anticipate COVID-19 having an impact on the Church's plans to break ground for a total of 18 temples this year. If anything, the timing for those groundbreakings and the conditions under which they are held, how many are in attendance, how the groundbreaking proceedings are dissemanated to the public, and so on. It seems to me that President Nelson, as a former practicing physician, is the best possible individual to be the prophet of the Church at the time of a global pandemic. An article from the Church News has provided additional context and information on this development.
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to bring you all word of those developments as I become aware of such things.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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Washington D.C. Temple Reopening Dates Postponed
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.
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