Hello again, everyone! At this hour, we have some breaking Church news to get to. So let's dive right in. The Church has announced this morning that 12 additional temples will have changes in their reopening status that will go into effect over the next two weeks, with 6 of those temples transitioning to phase 3 on Monday February 22, and 6 others moving to phase 2 effective next week. Additionally, next week will also see 3 temples that previously had their reopenings paused or downgraded terutning to their former status.
So let's break down this information. First, for the 6 temples transiitioning to phase 3 in two weeks, that marks the largest number to-date transitioning to that phase on the same date. The six temples tranisitioning to phase 3 in two weeks include 3 in Mexico (Merida, Oaxaca, and Tuxtla Guitierrez); and 1 each in Central America (Guatemala City Guatemala); Canada (Halifax Nova Scotia); and the Pacific (Sydney Australia). Phase 3 allows those temples to perform all living ordinances, along with some ordinances for the dead, while ensuring proper COVID-19 protocols are followed.
With those phase 3 reopenings occurring in two weeks, for next week, 3 temples will begin phase 2 for the firs timet, offering all ordinances for the living, with the priority given first to those previously-endowed couples who are going to be sealed, with limited guests in attendance; then to those preparing for a temple sealing in the neear future who have not previously been endowed; then to missionaries already out in the field, who departed without being able to receive their own endowments; then to those missionaries preparing to depart for the mission field; then to anyone else who made need to receive their own ordinances for any other reason.
The Palmyra New York, Rome Italy, and San Jose Costa Rica Temples are the 3 that will start phase 2 for the first time next week. The Johannesburg South Africa and Santiago Chile Temples were previously paused, and now resume phase 2 operations. And the Quetzeltenango Guatemala Temple, which had returned to phase 1 briefly due to local COVID-19 restrictions, will again resume phase 2.
The Church News provides additional details on the reopening, including updates made to the status tracker for all temples worldwide. Church leaders are continuing the inspired process of monitoring global COVID-19 restrictions or adjustments, and to adjust the temple reopenings accordingly. The cautiously-coordinated efforts have also involved receiving and evaluating information on nations worldwide from those serving in area presidencies or as area seventies, and it is inspiring to witness that occurring the way it has.
For my part, I continue to monitor any and all such developments, in addition to any breaking Church news, and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware thereof. 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.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News sat down with Elder David A. Bednar last week to talk about the process whereby temples have reopened, in addition to how COVID-19 did not impact the Church's plans to break ground on 21 temples last year (despite the fact that a few of those groundbreakings had to be delayed):
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-02-08/elder-bednar-temples-covid-pandemic-opportunity-learn-lessons-203295
Elder Bednar also talked about what he hoped Church members had learned from having no access or limited access to temples during the last year, and provided further insight into how the Church will handle future open houses and dedications or rededications once it is safe to do so. He said: "When it is safe, we will be able to move forward [with temple dedications and rededications]. It may also necessitate some adjustments to how we do things. One of the great blessings of the pandemic is that we are finding even better ways in the Church to accomplish the Lord’s work.”
One possible way that could be adjusted is extending the periods of time for each temple open house, or expanding the number of sessions for temple dedications and rededications. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
Additionally, the Primary General Presidency has provided insights on what to expect for the "Friend-to-Friend" prerecorded event that will be broadcast later this month. Among the highlights include the fact that, for the first time, the entire event has been prerecorded in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and ASL, and that the Primary General Presidency will be lthe main guests, with recorded content featured from President Russell M. Nelson and Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve APostes. So that should be exciting. My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Just realized that, in my comment above, I failed to share the web address for the article from the Primary General Presidency about the upcoming "Friend-to-Friend" event:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-02-08/friend-to-friend-primary-general-presidency-children-global-event-203510
I apologize for that oversight on my part. But the delay in doing so allows me to note as well that the counselors in the Primary General Presidency (Sisters Lisa L. Harkness, who has been called to assist her husband in presiding over a mission in July, and Cristina B. Franco) were the featured guests on the latest edition of the Church news podcast, where they further addressed the upcoming event:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2021-02-09/primary-friend-to-friend-children-harkness-franco-203663
The Churdch News has also begun sharing the reports of the weekly devotionals at Church-owned universitie. Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to BYU-Pathway Worldwide students about the Lord's divine directives relative to education:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-02-09/president-ballard-byu-pathway-worldwide-education-203646
And Elder Jose A. Teixeira, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, was the featured speaker for this week's devotional at BYU-Provo, where he addressed the "extraordinary blessings" of being faithful members of the Church:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-02-09/elder-teixeira-byu-devotional-spiritually-minded-holy-ghost-203727
There may be at least one temple update, potentially others, to pass along, which I will do shortly. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! Slightly later than I expected, I wanted to pass along status updates on the Hamilton New Zealand, Columbus Ohio, and Lindon Utah Temples:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/hamilton-new-zealand-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/columbus-ohio-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/lindon-utah-temple/
Please note that a rededication committee has been formed for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple which, as previously noted, is anticipated to be the first temple to be dedicated or rededicated this year. Also, preliminary site activities are underway for the Lindon Utah Temple, which could very well be the first temple in the United States to have a groundbreaking. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! This morning, the Church News provided coverage on the passing of Sister Bonnie Lee Pinegar, the wife of emeritus General Authority Elder Rex D. Pinegar:
ReplyDeletehttps://thechurchnews.com/members/2021-02-10/sister-bonnie-lee-pinegar-wife-of-elder-rex-d-pinegar-dies-at-age-86-203650
Also, a new update on the Pocatello Idaho Temple shows that an open house and dedication committee has been formed for the temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/pocatello-idaho-temple/
A couple of notes with respect to that: the completion of that temple is currently only anticipated in the third or fourth quarter of this year. But it's also true that that temple has progressed very rapidly at times in its' construction, and that top Church leaders who might be assigned to dedicate that temple could likely get to Pocatello more safely and with less of a risk than they could go elsewhere. As I've previously acknowledged, COVID-19 is the huge wild card here, so it will be interesting to see how soon any dedications or rededications are able to take place. In the meantime, my thanks once agian to you all.
The Church News has shared two new reports, which I have just barely had time to peruse, but wanted to mention here:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-02-10/justserve-youth-alaska-australia-basket-brigade-indiana-203758
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2021-02-10/context-revelations-resources-and-other-tips-from-historians-to-studying-the-doctrine-and-covenants-203729
My thanks once again to you all.
In addition to the update I noted above on the Pocatello Idaho Temple, the completion window for that temple has shifted from mid-to-late 2021 back to just late 2021. That's been done because the Quito Ecuador Temple has moved well ahead of Pocatello in terms of its' progress. As always, however, the ordering of temples and their completion timeframes are always subject to change. And given unusual COVID-19 circumstances, in light of what Elder Bednar noted in the Church News article I shared in my first comment on this thread, it appears that the Church may have to use unconventional/new methods for each temple open house and dedication when they are able to occur. Among those new methods may be extending the open house and dedication/rededication windows for each temple to allow smaller groups to attend each over a more extended period of time. And if such scenarios are utilized, I could also see the Church's backlog of temples needing open houses and dedications/rededications perhaps not being fully cleared until sometime next year.
DeleteOf course, if it is safe to feasibly do so, and if it is in accordance with the Lord's will, the backlog of any completed temples could easily be dealt with under the right circumstances. I will be sure to keep my eyes open on that, and any and all Church news updates, along with anything else on which I need to report here, and will bring word of those developments to you all. Thanks again, everyone!
Hello again, everyone! Updates have been noted today on the status of the Yigo Guam, Salt Lake, and Syracuse Utah Temples. Those updates can be found at the following web addresses:
ReplyDeletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/yigo-guam-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/salt-lake-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/syracuse-utah-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.
This afternoon, the Church News has noted the calls of 8 additional new temple presidents, all of whom will begin their service in August:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-02-11/new-temple-presidents-matrons-georgia-sweden-brazil-indiana-hawaii-missouri-finland-uruguay-203456
As previously noted in earlier updates I provided on the new temple presidents thus far this year, both individually and as couples, each of the new temple leaders has filled a wide variety of assignments in the Church. Of particular note is that 1 of the new temple presidents is a former area seventy (who happens to be succeeding another former area seventy in that assignment), with that individual currently serving as a counselor in the presidency of that same temple; 1 is a former area seventy, and is currently a temple sealer; 1 is a temple sealer and ward Sunday School president; 1 is a current mission president, who will be among those released in July, and will then transition to this new assignment just around 1 month later; 1 currently serves as both a stake patriarch and a temple sealer; 1 is a current ward Sunday School president who previously served as a stake president; and 1 is a current seminary teacher and a temple ordinance worker.
As usual, I have the updated list of temples for which a new president has been or may yet be called for temples worldwide this year. I will share that momentarily, but wanted to first note that, to-date this year, 24 new presidents have been called so far. As previously noted on that list the 7 temples for which a new president may be called at some point this year, in view of the anticipated completion of those 7 temples within the next year. And although I originally mentioned that 6 other temples, for which completion was anticipated either by the end of next year or the beginning of the following year, the estimates and completion order for the Moses Lake Washington and McAllen Texas Temples have been pushed back into 2023, so that leaves that section of my list with the other 4 temples that had been on there originally. And the list is rounded off with now-36 other temples for which new presidents could conceivably be called this year as well. But given the fact that two temples for which new presidents were announced were not on my list of anticipated changes, I can't in good conscience rule out the chance that other temples not on my list could also have new presidents called. That being said, here is the updated list:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NjOQjruF_hn11NO04fVSNWAF-r2OuaSLMDTqQXWeXo/edit?usp=sharing
More Church news, along with any updates in temple construction, will follow shortly as needed. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has provided the following additional updates:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2021-02-11/photos-the-priesthood-restoration-site-harmony-pennsylvania-203507
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-02-11/byu-virtual-family-home-evening-gallery-education-zion-203801
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-02-11/church-video-100-mile-ultramarathon-running-your-great-adventure-203628
And the Newsroom has shared a report of the recent meeting between a senior representative of the Vanuatu Christian Council with the presidents of the Port Vila Vanuatu Stake and the Vanuatu Port Vila Mission. The meeting focused on the common interest of how to strengthen families:
https://news-nz.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-leaders-meet-in-vanuatu-to-help-strengthen-families
If there are any additional temple updates or Church news reports to pass along, I will do so as I can later today. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Since I had posted the last temple updates at the top of this subthread this morning, it appears that there has since been an update on the Quito Ecuador Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/quito-ecuador-temple/
And it appears that the information about the temple open house and dedication committee being formed for the Pocatello Idaho Temple has been removed from the status of that temple for the time being:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/pocatello-idaho-temple/
A minor update has also been reported on the status of the Alabang Philippines Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/alabang-philippines-temple/
Also, in light of the update I noted this morning relative to the Syracuse Utah Temple, since there has been no additional information or updates provided as of yet regarding the three Pacific Temples (Pago Pago American Samoa, Neiafu Tonga, and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea) it is now my assessment that the Syracuse temple may be the first one to have a groundbreaking this year, followed in late spring or early summer by the other three, although the Lindon temple, also in Utah, could see accelerated approval, which is a variable.
It is also possible that the relocated and renamed Deseret Peak Temple could, at its' new location, receive expedited approval, and I cannot rule out the prospect of some news soon on any of the other three (Phnom Pehn Cambodia, Tallahassee Florida, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temples) which have all had sites announced and exterior renderings released. Additionally, on the periphery of my radar are the Bahia Blanca Argentina, Salvador Brazil, Lagos Nigeria, and Nairobi Kenya Temples. Any of those could have more official information (including a groundbreaking announcement) in the near future, if all goes well. There may be one or two others to watch as well, but I am waiting for further information on those before I specify those by name. Stay tuned for more on that. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom today shared an article that goes more in-depth regarding the upcoming "Friend-to-Friend" event for Primary aged-children, which included information about the native language speaking hosts for all languages of the broadcast. As previously noted, on February 20, the event will originate in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Less than one month later, on March 13, the event will subsequently be made available in 10 other languages. Though the article does not mention this, I imagine that the plan is to make it available in additional languages as well, at a later date. You can find the additional details which were provided today in the following news release:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/upcoming-friend-to-friend-broadcast-invites-children-to-follow-jesus-christ-and-serve-others
Additionally, although there have been no reported changes on the construction status of any new temples or those undergoing renovation thus far today, the anticipated time-frame for the completion of the renovation process for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple has been shifted from mid-2021 to mid-to-late 2021. Not sure why exactly that change wAs made, but I wanted to note it all the same. That being said, I do not anticipate this changing the fact that that temple will be one of the first, if not the very first, to have an open house and dedication/rededication set to occur this year. You can see that update reflected on that temple's status as shown on the following web page:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/hamilton-new-zealand-temple/
I continue to monitor all Church news updates and new temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of them. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
The Utah Area Presidency has provided some additional guidance regarding Primary-aged children, and what parents and local Primary presidencies and teachers can do to help their class members with key areas of focus as COVID-19 conditions continue to prevent Primary-aged children from meeting together and participating in typical activities:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/utah-area-covid-19-udpate-november-2020
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-02-12/primary-children-activities-utah-area-covid-19-safety-203960
And Brother David T. Lisonbee, who currently serves as a member of the Young Men General Board (though he is identified in the following source as a member of the "Young Men General Advisory Council") has provided some thoughts on how preparing youth for temple attendance and worship, even in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, can be a blessing even under these unusual circumstances:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-02-12/temple-youth-speaking-young-men-preparation-nelson-203703
My thanks once again to you all.
After posting last week's edition of "This Week on Social" a day later than usual, the Church News shared this week's edition of that ongoing series on schedule as usual today:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-02-12/ballard-holland-cook-family-service-ministering-203988
Today's installment included posts from the following general Church leaders: Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, Quentin L. Cook, Gary E. Stevenson, and Gerrit W. Gong, all of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and one female General Officer of the Church, Sister Michlle D. Craig, the First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.
Until my next comment or new post, my thanks once again to you all.
A new report has been provided on the Bengaluru India Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/bengaluru-india-temple/
Given the fact that the razing of the stake center may be one of the last things that needed to be done before full-scale construction can begin on that temple, hopefully we may see that happen sooner rather than later. I also anticipate, among the temples for which full-scale efforts may soon commence, that the Antofagasta Chile and Mendoza Argentina Temples may not be far behind. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! I have recently noted the fact that, this year thus far, the biographies of new temple leadership and mission leadership couples have been shared by the Church News on a rough schedule where, generally, the biographies for both new groups were being shared roughly every 8 days or so. But it appears that that pattern has become more flexible in recent weeks. The last three groups of new temple leaders were featured 15, 9, and 2 days ago, respectively. Meanwhile, prior to today's release of new mission leader biographies, the two sets previous to that were shared by the Church News 14 days ago and 6 days ago respecitvely.
ReplyDeleteYou can find the 16 newest mission leadership biographies in the following article:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-02-13/new-mission-presidents-companions-portugal-chile-canada-costa-rica-utah-zimbabwe-washington-france-denmark-mexico-haiti-japan-india-203633
As I have previously noted, individually and together as couples, the newest mission leaders have served in a wide variety of Church callings. In specific relation to the latest mission presidents, I'd like to note that they include 2 current area seventies (Helaman Montejo and Robert K. William (the latter of whom presided at the groundbreaking for the Bengaluru India Temple two months ago), with the two both likely being released from that assignment in April); 1 former area seventy (who now serves as a YSA adviser); 1 current mission presidency counselor; 1 current stake president; 1 former stake president currently serving as a counselor in the bishopric of his ward; 1 former stake president currently serving as a counselor in the Sunday School presidency in his ward; 1 former stake president currently serving as a national communication director; 2 former counselors in stake presidencues; 1 member of a stake high council who also serves as both a self-reliance service specialist and a current temple ordinance worker; 1 former stake high councilman; 1 stake Sunday home missionary training instructor; 1 stake missionary preparation instructor; 1 current bishop; and 1 Priest Quorum specialist.
My thanks once again to you all.
A short time ago, I had mentioned on the threads of another post that the Quito Ecuador Temple had been moved ahead of the Pocatello Idaho Temple in the construction queue, and that the ordering of the temples in that queue was subject to change again as new updates (or the lack thereof) were noted.
DeleteSo today, I am pleased to report that the Quito Ecuador Temple has also moved ahead of the Praia Cabo Verde Temple in the construction queue, suggesting that it will be the next one to be completed following the completion of the Yigo Guam Temple. Accordingly, the completion estimate for the Quito Ecuador Temple has again shifted up from mid-to-late 2021 to now being mid-2021, the same time-fram currently noted for the Yigo Guam Temple. The Praia Cabo Verde Temple is now the only one with a currently-anticipated completion window of mid-to-late 2021.
Again, the queue of temples under construction remains very much in flux, and this is just another of the many adjustments we have seen thus far in that queue this year, and there are certain to be others that will come down the pike, perhaps several, between now and the weekend of the April 2021 General Conference. I will keep my eyes open on all of that and bring you all word as I become aware of those developments. Thanks again, everyone!
Sister Sarah Jane Weaver, the editor of the Church News, published an article on that website this afternoon to share her thoughts on how the circumstances surronding the dedication and rededication of the Suva Fiji Temple drew some parallels to what the Church has been experiencing within the last year, in view of the temporary full closure of all operating temples, the phased reopenings which have gradually and methodically followed, and the 21 temples which have had a groundbreaking in the midst of the ongoing global pandemic:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-02-13/sarah-jane-weaver-temple-construction-2020-teaches-about-hope-fiji-suva-203857
In the article, Sister Weaver shared recent insights that have been offered on the Church's current temple construction efforts and projects by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and by Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse, who, in view of his calling, has had oversight, whether personally or as delegated to his counselors, for the design and maintenance of temples around the world.
Most interestingly, at least to me, is the insight from Bishop Causse that that Church is currently focused on the renovation process for 8 temples and the construction process for 63 temples. I don't know whether or not the two temples that have been under renovation, but have had that process completed (Washington D.C. and Tokyo Japan) are among the 8 he mentioned, but if they are not, I am assuming that the Presiding Bishopric may be involved in the planning process for the renovations of the Logan and Manti Utah Temple, the two other "pioneer-era" temples mentioned by name by President Nelson.
Similarly, assuming that the recently-completed temples in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Winnipeg Manitoba are not included in the count of the 63 construction projects, or whether any of the temples for which temporary closures of several weeks are on that list, but asuming that Bishop Causse's statement relates entirely to temples that are or are soon planned to be under construction, then that refers to the 33 currently in various phases of completion in the queue, and perhaps to 30 others yet-to-be-identified.
I would think, by definition, that that would include any temples which have had any official information announced, as well as any temples for which official information might soon be announced. Since Bishop Causse wasn't more specific in that respect, I think that some of the details on the temples to which he was referring might be open to interpretation, pending any additional information.
Anyways, just wanted to share that article and these thoughts with you all here. My thanks once again to each and every one of you for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Earlier in this thread, I made reference at least twice to the fact that the queue of temples under construction was and would yet be subject to change as more information comes to light. Several changes have thus been noted yet again when it comes to the construction queue. First, given the progress that has been made recently on the Belem Brazil Temple, the estimate for it has moved up from early 2022 to late 2021-early 2022, the same window within which the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple is anticipated to be completed. The two could potentially be interchangeable in terms of which might be completed (and subsequently dedicated) first.
DeleteDepending on what does or does not happen with the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple and the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, the two may potentially switch places in the current queue. Right now, I have the former estimated to be completed in mid-2022, and the latter in mid-to-late 2022. I have also tentatively opted to move up my estimate for the completion of the Richmond Virginia Temple to the mid-to-late 2022 window as well, but if that temple and the one in Layton Utah continue to progress as consistently as they have, then I may have to look at revising the estimates and potential order for all four temples. More to come on that as I figure it out.
Meanwhile, progress on the Bentonville Arkansas Temple has been consistent enough that the estimate for that temple has been moved to late 2022-early 2023, and it has moved up the queue to sit between the Lima Peru Los Olivos and Feather River California Temples. There are now a total of 5 temples with that completion time-frame, so it will be interesting in the coming days, weeks, and months, to see how the queue changes going forward. I will keep tabs on all of that and post updates as I become aware of them. My thanks once again to you all.