Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency made two major announcements this morning. Area Seventy Elder David L. Stapleton will preside at the October groundbreaking ceremony (for which the exact date has not been specified) for the Moses Lake Washington Temple.
I had thought that the Church could schedule more groundbreakings for a few smaller temples around those previously announced, and it's wonderful to have that confirmed in this case.
This announcement means that, when all currently-scheduled groundbreakings have occurred, there will only be 4 left for the Church to make the total 18 mentioned by Elder Bednar during General Conference five months ago.
Parenthetically, based on all that is and is not known about the specific timing and order for groundbreakings in October, since the Salta Argentina Temple is the only one with an exact date set, I have moved both the Taylorsville Utah and Moses Lake Washington Temples below Salta on my list of scheduled temple groundbreakings.
Also, further guidelines have today been provided to allow members worldwide to safely resume normal activities. As communicated to congregational leaders by area seventies following approval from each area presidency, members worldwide may cautiously resume regular in-person or virtual attendance at Church block meetings, as long as governmental and medical guidelines regarding appropriate precautions are followed.
For those congregations allowing virtual participation, it's recemmemded that the Sacrament administration potentially be held at the end of each Sacrament Meeting. This is because the Sacrament portion is not to be virtually broadcast, since members cannot virtually partake of the Sacrament, and because that part of weekly worship is sacred and should not be broadcast publicly outside the meetinghouse from which it originates. The timing and extent of these changes as they impact each congregational meeting can be implemented ASAP as local conditions and tnrestrictions allow once the appropriate approvals are received
Meanwhile, effective November 1, as determined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as communicated by area presidencies through area seventies to congregational leaders, Stake Conferences can resume in-person or virtually based on COVID-19 guidelines from medical experts and governmental leaders.
I was grateful to learn about and share these developments here today. I continue to track all Church news reports and temple updates and will be sure to pass those along ASAP.
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.
