Hello again, everyone! Just before 1:00 AM this morning, I published some analysis on the announced Easter devotional which will take place on Sunday April 4 during the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference. I mentioned in the course of that post that I would likely need to revise my General Conference predictions. I am posting now to confirm that I have those updates nearly completed. I have made changes to the projected speaking line-up,
Since the entire First Presidency spoke in reverse seniority order to conclude the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2018 General Conference, I determined that would likely also be true for that session this go-round. The Sunday Morning Session in April 2018 also marked the only General Conference Session in which President Nelson personally opted to conduct, so I accounted for that to likely be repeated.
Then all that remained was to figure out which other leaders might also speak during that session. Based on my calculations, it seems likely that 2 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will also speak (since the aforementioned webpage that announced the upcoming devotional mentioned "apostles" as a plural rather than singular term), which left room for two other general Church leaders.
Additionally, if the entire First Presidency does speak in reverse seniority order to conlcude both the Preisthood and Sunday Morning Sessions, then Presidents Oaks and Eyring wouldn't be speaking in their customary other places (which, in a standard April General Conference, would see President Eyring be the final speaker in the Saturday Morning Session, and President Oaks speaking first in the Sunday Afternoon Session), so I needed to make alterations in those sessions as well.
Other than that, the changes should speak for themselves. I may not add footnotes to that section this go-round, unless there are any questions any of you have that would need to be addressed through notes or references. Next, given the recent announcements of new temple and mission presidents, I've also updated my document showing the likely changes in general Church leadership and have tweaked some of the information in the figures I'm projecting for the statistical report.
In relation to the changes in general Church leadership, with the Church having announced that the new mission leaders will begin serving in July and that most of the new temple leaders will begin serving in August or September, I'm anticipating that all current area seventies called to serve as mission or temple presidents will be released this time around, rather than waiting to do that until October, months after their new assignments will become effective. So those have been updated, and I'm anticipating that the newest temple leader biographies will be published either later today, tomorrow, or Saturday.
Also, there has been a need to revisit my list of locations in which a temple could be announced in April, which has invovled reprioritizing some locations and adding those which, due to recent developments, seem to have a better chance of being announced now than they did 6.5 weeks or so ago, when I first published those on my blog on February 1. As I mentioned previously, based on all that has been done to clear the queue since the October 2020 General Conference, and on all the groundbreakings that seem likely to be coming down the pike later this spring and summer, I think there is a high likelihood that a double-digit number of new temples could be announced in a couple of weeks here.
So, those are the updates I have made to these predictions. The open commenting period on them will remain in effect for the next 2 weeks, and that will wrap up on Thursday April 1, at 10:00 PM MDT, which will then give me roughly 36 hours to finalize those predictions before General Conference begins on Saturday April 3 at 10:00 AM MDT. I welcome any and all feedback any of you may have on these revisions.
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! While I had originally intended to keep the comments section of this post open for feedback on my General Conference predictions that were shared therein, the original version of these predictions didn't get much discussion, so I am establishing this thread (and others where needed) to cover developments that are reported within the time that there is not feedback on these predictions.
ReplyDeleteAccordingly, I wanted to report that the Church News shared the biographies of 3 more new temple presidents again today. All of the temples for which new leadership couples have been announced are currently-operating, which continues to suggest that the Church is prioritizing those temples before any new ones that may sit completed, empty, and unusable until it is safe to hold open houses and dedications. The newest biographies were shared in the following article:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-03-19/temple-presidents-matrons-sydney-australia-veracruz-mexico-bountiful-utah-206476
As has been the case with all couples called to asume oversight for these temples, they have rendered extensive Church service in a wide range of capacities, both individually and alongside one another. The following facts about the current or recent service of these individuals may be of interest to you all: 1 is a former area seventy and the current national communications adviser for Australia; 1 formerly served as the president of 2 different missions and in the presidency of an MTC; and 1 who currently serves as a counselor in the presidency of the same temple for which he will assume oversight.
Another note on that last president: His wife, Sister Linda S. Reeves, formerly served as Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency from April 2012-April 2017.
You will find the updated copy of my list tracking these announcements in the following document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MpJO3ESKh0h0fvU93GcYOn1M6dIFmY7QnJ67sIeij_A/edit?usp=sharing
As the document now shows, there are 6 currently-operating temples left for which I have projected a new president might be called, along with 7 temples which are almost certain to be completed by the end of next year, and 7 others which may be completed at any point within the next 15-18 months. And the total number of temples for which a new president has been called thus far has now risen to 55.
I'm sure more temple presidents will be announced in the coming weeks. I also continue to monitor all temple construction updates and Church news and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of those developments. My thanks once again to you all.
And one other Church News update has been provided:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-03-19/byu-law-school-forgotten-ones-jason-swensen-207076
My thanks once again to you all.
I inadvertently stuck two recent comments in the threads of the previous post:
Deletehttps://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2021/03/breaking-news-april-2021-general.html?showComment=1616196637842#c9016021939605245051
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has shared the following additional reports, which speak for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-20/area-devotionals-young-adults-apostles-photo-galleries-207379
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-20/music-the-spoken-word-those-who-are-prepared-207280
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-03-20/stake-presidents-6-colorado-oregon-brazil-tonga-arizona-peru-207413
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom shared the following report late yesterday:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/residents-and-volunteers-help-fight-hunger-in-feed-utah-food-drive
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has provided the latest edition of "In Case You Missed It", and for whatever the reason, the announcement of the Dessert Peak and Syracuse Utah Temple groundbreakings didn't make the top 9 for this week:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-21/week-in-review-temples-open-baptistries-youth-music-festival-rasband-207432
Also, on the Church Growth Blog, Matthew Martinich shares his thoughts on the top 10 most likely locations that may have a temple announced:
http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2021/03/new-temple-predictions-march-2021.html?
I will just add here that Matt uses different criteria than I did for my latest list shared in my above post. And since both him and myself have been surprised a few times by some locations that have had temples announced by President Nelson, and there is some overlap as well in locations we both list. So I am perfectly comfortable with standing by my list just as fully as Matt stands by his picks.
I will particularly note that he lists Smithfield, a city that had been on my list at one point, but which has been shifted to one of my other two lists for the time being.
And since Matt has previously expressed his surprise at announced temple locations that weren't on his radar, I don't mind the fact that he and I, based on differing methods and parameters, don't see eye-to-eye on certain prospects at any given time.
The temple announcement pattern under President Nelson has fluctuated, so I'm sure that all future locations that are announced for new temples will certainly surprise different people in different ways.
That being said, I'm thinking about providing an anticipated area or regional breakdown for anticipated temple announcements, which I may post here next week. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
A tend I noticed at least for Utah has changed or adjusted some of my predictions. When a thought a temple would be announced for Spanish Fork to reduce the load on Provo a temple was built in Payson. Or when I thought Lehi was likely a temple was announced for Saratoga Springs. My predictions were the halfway point of the current temple district. So instead of Smithfield, a temple may be announced for Preston, Idaho. However I still think Lehi and Spanish Fork could be likely the next few years. After all Lindon was announced shortly after Orem.
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! Thanks for weighing in here. I also thought Lehi was likely, but Saratoga Springs got the announced temple in 2017. Now that that temple is roughly 12-15 months until its' completion, I'm reasonably certain that the next temple in Northern Utah County will be announced in Lehi.
DeleteAnd I know the subject of temples in Utah has been widely discussed here in the past. Back when I did have Smithfield as a propsect (that would have been around 4-5 years ago when I first started covering potential future temples), I remember that you and I had talked about the idea that a temple to serve the northern Utah area would be more likely to go to Preston Idaho. My subsequent research verified that as correct.
And you are correct that temples announced to serve the Utah Area have gone in surprising places. After the Saratoga Spring Utah temple announcement was made, I correctly pinpointed Layton and Washington County for the next Utah prospects in 2018. But none of the 5 Utah cities that have had a temple announced in the last couple of years were on my radar at all.
And I know that Jim Anderson has weighed in on the threads of previous posts with some updated thoughts he had about Utah temple candidates. Based on all of that, Smithfield may be a logical choice (since that was suggested here earlier, and since Matt has it on his list) and I trust that those supporting that choice have solid reasoning for doing so.
But between feedback from others and my own research, I am reasonably certain that other cities in the Utah Area will get a temple before one comes to Smithfield. Based on the most recent feedback from Jim Anderson, current evidence suggests Herriman as the foremost Utah city likely to get a temple in General Conference two weeks from today, with Lehi coming in at a close second. It seems probable, based on the fact that only the Lindon Utah Temple (which has had a site announced already) remains in the queue of announced Utah temples, that two temples could be announced for the Utah area in two weeks. And if that occurs, Herriman seems to be a lock. The only question is, with Utah County Temples announced in October 2020 and 2019, would Utah County be a priority this go-round, or would another location in Utah be the focus while the Church tries to move Lindon closer to a groundbreaking? It will be interesting to see for sure. Thanks again, Chris, for taking time to weigh in here. I always appreciate hearing from you.
From Matt's blog, someone put up some matter about a chapel on Wasatch Blvd that had a baseball field on the property that had only one ward, it burned, and may not be in use due to a fire. This news story may more pinpoint the location.
Deletehttps://kutv.com/news/local/crews-extinguish-lds-church-fire-in-cottonwood-heights
The poster said also that is a highly visible location on the east side of Salt Lake. Would also be seen by many on the way to the ski resorts.
Jim Anderson, you have a pretty good feel for Utah temple prospects. Do you personally think that the land in question would be used for that purpose? If so, do you think that prospect is likely to be announced this next go-round, or would you say that Herriman remains th top prospect for the upcoming General Conference? Thanks for weighing in on this.
DeleteI have also thought that the northeast Salt Lake Valley could use a temple. I have thought the Millcreek or Cottonwood areas. So this is a good prospect. Also the renovation of the Logan Temple may increase capacity similar to Salt Lake and may possibly impact the chance or timing of a second Temple in the Cache Valley area. I hope other temples in high use areas may get double baptistries.
DeleteChris, thanks for this additional comment. It's difficult to know how the current (or future) renovations of temples anywhere might impact the likelihood of other temples. But you make a good point. If what is planned for Salt Lake is done in Manti, and also in Logan, that in turn may negate some of the need for new temples to serve those areas. It will be interesting to see what happens there. In the meantime, as I've mentioned previously, it's hard currently to know whether the second baptistry for Salt Lake is a one-time way to deal with specifically high anticipated levels of activity for that temple and that temple alone, or if this opens the prospect that other temples could have a second baptistry built. I know my initial study on the matter seems to point to the idea that the situation for Salt Lake is an exception, rather than the start of a standardized tradition. But as with any other opinion I offer, I can only speak for myself and my own research, which is just as flawed and imperfect, if not more so, as I myself am. I'm going to be interested to see if a second baptistry is added to the St. George project. It seems unlikely, since work is underway on the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, which will help with those activity level.
DeleteWill a seond baptistry be part of the plans for Manti and/or Logan? Again, too early to tell. But I'm sure more information is coming down the pike. It wouldn't shock me if President Nelson mentions during General Conference that there will be a press conference in mid-to-late April to enable the Church to more fully detail the specific plans for the Manti renovation. The recent announcment sounded much more "further details TBA" than the sum and total of the plans. Lots to think about and track in the days ahead. Thanks for stopping by to comment, Chris. Always a genuine pleasure to hear from my regular readers.
First, Logan was redone in 1975, and I understand that within a week of closure, the entore inside was gutted, took a bit to remove the debris, so it had its first modernization then. I anticipate some major updates may still be necessary. It is a temple that compares with Manti for size, but I really do not think a major capacity increase is likely.
DeleteBack to Salt Lake Valley, any of those might go this go-around, same for a north Lehi one, there were rumors of the church scouting for a site around the time or before the Lindon announcement. Heber Valley may also be, but I think it may wait a little before that one is announced, but not distantly. That area with Park City has probably 50k or more, so the time is getting closer for one there.
Hello, Jim anderson, and thanks for taking time to comment. I had been aware of the prior renovations and rededications for the Logan. Manti, and St. George Utah Temples, so it makes sense that there would be less to do to carry out the seismic and systemic updates that are needed. Those renovations seem more along the lines of the Temple Department's previous acknowledgement that temples generally need to be renovated every 35-40 years to keep things updated.
DeleteI also agree that the capacity increase in Salt Lake (and possibly Manti as well) are more isolated rather than the start of a new trend towards massive capacity increases. Parenthetically, I will note that, despite the comments on the Church Growth Blog recently, I see the addition of a second baptistry for Salt Lake as being more of an isolated incident for specific and rare situations rather than the start of a wide-ranging new trend wherein several temples could get a second baptistry.
Thanks alsso for addressing the Salt Lake Valley temple needs. The expansion that will more than double Salt Lake's capacity may eliminate the immediate need for several new temples in the Salt Lake Valley. At the same time, Herriman seems like a top contender, if not the top contender for Utah's next temple (or the next Utah temples plural). The need appears great in Lehi as well. It will be interesting to see how the completion of all Utah Temples which are or will soon be under construction may lead to a realignment of temple districts. Unless you (or anyone else reading our exchange here) has any objections or notes the need for a change, I'll probably use the current priority order and list of prospective locations as follows: Herriman Utah: Lehi Utah; Evanston Wyoming; Preston Idaho; Cottonwood Heights Utah; Heber Valley Utah; Hurricane/Washington City Utah; and Mapleton Utah. In the meantime, I will keep an eye on Park City for the future as well, but unless a change is needed for my current list of locations (in terms of adding or removing any immediate prospects, including anything I've missed), I will plan on keeping things the way they are for this go-round and perhaps adding any other feasible prospects that are less immediate to either of my other two lists. In the meantime, Jim Anderson, thanks again for these additional insights. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
Hello! I hope you are in good health and cheer up with your wife.
ReplyDeleteI always check your blog even if I do not comment, I appreciate the time you spend on it.
From the conferences, what I look forward to the most are the announcements of new temples, I always think of my country, I dream that the day came when more temples were announced for Chile.
Regardless of the large number of baptized and the few active baptized, the few that exist are very faithful and dedicated, it is for them that more temples should be built, it is true that the country is extensive and that makes attendance by the economic cost, going to the temple more often.
It would be special announcements of Temples in Viña del Mar, Rancagua, Osorno, Puerto Montt and Punta arenas, I know it is a dream, however, it would be nice if it happened.
A hug
Hello, Omar. Thank you for your concern. My wife and I are doing all right. She's been helping her dad a lot lately with some of his medical issues. I've continued to struggle with some long-term issues, but am hopefully getting closer to resolving som of them.
DeleteIt will be interesting to see what happens with temples in Chile. I understand that the last residence on the site of the Antofagasta Chile Tmple is set to be demolished soon, so hopefully full-scale construction can begin soon there. I don't know how soon the next temple in Chile may be announced, but hopefully the Lord will see fit to announce temples in all of the Chilean cities you mentioned. I have the prospects of Osorno and Vina del Mar on my list for this conference, but I think that if Church growth continues in Chile, each of the locations you mentioned could have temples announced in the next 3 decades or so. It will be interesting to see what happens with that. Thanks again, Omar, for taking time to comment. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
Hello again, everyone! Though this is no longer breaking news, the Church announced this morning that the Los Angeles California Temple will move from phase 1 to phase 2 next week. Meanwhile, after dropping back to phase 1 from phase 2, the Montreal Quebec and Regina Saskatchewan Temples, which dropped back to phase 1, will resume phase 2 next Monday as well. And the Lima Peru and Manaus Brazil Temples, which have been paused in their reopening, are now going to be able to resume phase 2 as well. And as a result of local COVID-19 conditions and revised government regulations, the Fortaleza and Recife Brazil and Trujillo Peru Temples will be paused in their reopening statu3
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, laxt week, the Church announced that some baptistries would reopen for limited use to small groups of youth and others who have limited use recommends. Those details had been spelled out in the following article, in addition to an official corresponding news release on the Newsroom:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-03-15/temple-baptistries-to-open-for-youth-first-presidency-206738
The Church confirmed today that each of the 13 temples noted will indeed be able to transition to phase 2-B, which allows all ordinances for the living in priority order in addition to the reopening of baptistries in all of those temples. I may have previously mistakenly asserted that 17 temples would reopen, but the number is actually 13. My apologies for that oversight. In view of these updates, next week, when all of these changes go into effect, the Church will have 19 temples in phase 3; 13 in phase 2-B; 111 in phase 2; 7 remaining in phase 1; 9 that are currently "paused" in their reopening (8 of which were in phase 2, and 1 in phase 1); 1 still closed (the Kyiv Ukraine Temple); and 8 closed for major renovations, with that number set to rise to 9 later this year when the Manti Utah Temple closes for its' renovation.
You can find more complete information, including different demographics in relation to these changes, in the following articles:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-limited-reopening-temples
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-03-15/lds-temples-open-worldwide-phased-reopening-183918
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-03-22/temple-reopening-status-tracker-worldwide-199279
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
The Church News also reported on the final apostolic devotional for young adults, which was conducted entirely in Portuguese, and featured remarks from Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Rosana M. Soares. Elder Carlos A. Godoy of the Presidency of the Seventy conducted the devotiona, and several other General Authority Seventies and Church members also participated through a panel:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-22/young-adults-devotional-ulisses-soares-brazil-portugal-africa-207523
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom and the Church News have each provided coverage on the "Feed Utah" drive that recently took place:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/residents-and-volunteers-help-fight-hunger-in-feed-utah-food-drive
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-22/food-donations-drive-utah-hunger-community-members-207538
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News today provided two new updates:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2021-03-23/episode-23-protection-from-pornography-5-action-points-for-parents-207613
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-23/byu-idaho-devotional-promised-blessings-ipad-baptism-207651
My thanks once again to you all.
The Ukraine temple will likely remain closed until the military activity in the area ends and it is safe enough for travel.
ReplyDeleteDanny, thanks for weighing in here. You may be right. I'm sure the Church takes things like that into account when considering reopening arrangements and parameters. At the same time, one of the foremost factors impacting temple reopenings is COVID-19 conditions. I tracked down this report on the latest relating to those locations:
Deletehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ukraine-cases/ukraines-covid-19-cases-jump-capital-kyiv-imposes-tough-restrictions-idUSKBN2BA0KI
That's a new report from March 19. Obviously military concerns would factor into this equation. But I have a feeling that once the numbers go down sufficiently, the Kyiv temple will be able to go through a phased reopening, even if the military activity reamins in effect at that time. I say that because of the powerful protective blessings that the Brethren have noted that come from attending and serving in the temple, and may even be one of the safest places for members during ongoing miliaty activity.
Of course, I offer that as nothing more and nothing less than my own opinion, and I could very well be incorrect. Those are just the thoughts that came to my mind as I researched the information you provided, which you are more than welcome to take or leave as you feel impressed to do so. Either way, Danny, thanks for mentioning the military action here. That was one eleiment related to the Kyiv Ukraine Temple about which I was not aware.
Thanks for providing this fun list. Our family has started doing a guessing game before each conference and your list is super helpful. Each person gets to pick 10 new temple sites that might be announced during conference. The person with the most correct guesses wins a treat. We have to name a state if the guess is in the US, or a country if it is outside. Lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteHello. Thanks for taking time to weigh in here. I'm glad my list was helpful to your family in that guessing game. I do my level best to thoroughly research every prospect I am considering to ensure that the list is based on the best evidence I can use as justification for it. I've also previously mentioned that I maintain 3 lists at any given time: the one for the latest upcoming General Conference, one that has picks that could be moved to the main General Conference list at any time as new information comes to light supporting those selections, and a final list with more dark-horse or distant future candidates for which more evidence or information is needed, including Church growth progress, before I add those locations to either of the other two lists.
DeleteIt has been amazing and humbling to observe the process by which President Nelson announces new temples, and to see that temples have been announced every General Conference since April 2018. Parenthetically, I also feel it worthwhile to reiterate my belief that, given the status of the current queue of temples announced or under construction, I anticipate a double-digit number of new temples to be announdced this time around. If that turns out to be correct, your family will have lots of opportunities to see temples on each of their lists announced. Thanks again for weighing in here. I'm glad to hear my predictions were helpful.
Hello again, everyone! Status updates have been provided on the following temples: Richmond Virginia, Layton Utah, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania:
ReplyDeletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/richmond-virginia-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/layton-utah-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/pittsburgh-pennsylvania-temple/
In reference to the Pittsburgh Temple, with the recent report that the concept site plan was under review, and with this new report from today, which indicates that the conditional use permit for the temple is under review, I have reordered temples on the "Groundbreaking Anticipated" secotion of my temple construction progress report. With the process of obtaining government approvals underway for both the Pago Pago American Samoa and Neiafu Tonga Temples, those still top that section. Next, I have the Lindon Utah Temple, where preliminary site activity is underway. Utah temples, especially those in Utah County, tend to generate relatively swift approval, so it's possible that the Lindon temple could get construction underway before the other two Pacific Island Temples I mentioned, but I'm still evaluating the odds that that will happen.
After the Lindon Temple, I have moved the Pittsburgh Temple up, followed in turn by the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple, for which preliminary approvals are still underway, the Tallahassee Florida Temple, and the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple. As always, the temples that are currently or may soon be in a "Groundbreaking Anticipated" status are subject to future reordering again based on any new information coming to light. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
With Manti closing for potentially 5 years for renovation.
ReplyDeleteThat leaves a HUGE GAP in the middle part of the state.
Payson to Cedar City without temple.
I think Richfield has a decent likelyhood of being a great "central" temple location
Gator, thanks for weighing in here with your opinion. You do make a fair point: with Manti closing later this year, most of the area from Payson to Cedar City will be without close access to a temple. And that situation is compounded by the fact that the St. George Utah Temple is also closed for renovation, so it won't factor in to picking up the slack. That being said, the full plans or timing on the Manti renovation are not clear-cut right now. We don't have an exact closure date. And the Manti renovation is the second full one for that temple, rather than it being the first major renovation as is the case for Salt Lake. The St. George Utah Temple closed in 2019, and is expected to reopen at some point next year, which will help. But right now, I think when it comes to Manti, they are probably looking at a 3-4 year process max, which would enable Manti to potentially be rededicated before the Salt Lake renovation is finished.
DeleteWith all of that said, what can be done in the meantime? You make some good observations about possible locations, especially Richfield, where the gap could be filled, assuming a temple there could obtain fast approval and be built and dedicated on an accelerated schedule to accommodate that need. I'd encourage you to hold on to that prospect, because you may have something there. I'm more inclined at this point to leave my list of Utah Area locations untouched, but I will be happy to come back after General Conference and admit I was short-sighted in the event that something is announced in the area you mentioned. Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts. Great observations, which are well-taken.
I would like to include your temple predictions list in the temple matrix. Can you narrow down your list to your top 10 (or some number less than 30)? Really appreciate your general conference contributions!
ReplyDeleteNate, thanks for the gracious invitation. In General Conferences from the past, I seem to recall telling you that I didn't think I could narrow the list down. But I actually have thought about a refined list based on some predictions I'm hoping to more specifically make about potentential temple announcements, so I'll give it a try. I'm going to break down my choices by general region, so bear with me:
DeleteAfrica: Antananarivo Madagascar and Monrovia Liberia
Asia (including the Philippines): Jakarata Indonesia, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, and Tacloban Philippines
Europe: Edinburgh Scotland
Latin America (includes Central and South America and Mexico): Torreon Mexico, Iquitos Peru, and Osorno Chile
North America (excluding Utah): Missoula Montana, Cleveland Ohio, Jackson Mississippi, Flagstaff Arizona, Elko Nevada, and Fort Worth Texas
Pacific: Savaii Samoa
Utah: Herriman and Lehi
I know that may not quite be as narrowed-down as you might have preferred, but still, there are my top 18 (unless I miscounted). By the way, I feel like I owe you an apology for not getting a narrowed-down list like this to you previously, Before now, I had a lot of trouble trusting myself to narrow things like this down, and I didn't feel confident I could do so without overlooking a feasible prospect. But I think I have a fair degree of confidence in this narrowed-down list this time around. Thanks for asking me about this again this time around, and sorry I couldn't narrow it down prior to now. I appreciate hearing from you, and being given another opportunity now to weigh in on this.
I have added your list to the matrix. Thanks very much! https://sites.google.com/view/templematrix
DeleteNo problem. Thanks for the invite.
DeleteHello again, everyone! On this Wednesday, the Church has provided an update on the plans for the murals currently in place in the Manti Utah Temple. Although that relates to the previously-announced renovation of that temple, it may not be breaking news, as it is an addendum to the previous announcement:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/salt-lake-manti-temples-update-march-2021
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-03-24/church-seeking-to-preserve-manti-temple-murals-teichert-207787
Meanwhile, the Church News has also provided the following additional updates, which speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-24/october-2020-general-conference-invitations-first-presidency-apostles-207327
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-24/byu-hawaii-devotional-divine-identity-yamashita-missionary-207705
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-24/elder-soares-portuguese-speaking-young-adults-questions-faith-207609
My thanks once again to you all.
An additional update has been provided on the Layton Utah Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/layton-utah-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News has shared the following additional reports:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-24/ardeth-kapp-90th-birthday-young-women-president-207759
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-24/byu-devotional-elder-mckay-what-if-there-be-no-christ-207832
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom and the Church News both shared a copy of the First Presidency's 2021:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-2021-easter-message
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-25/first-presidency-2021-easter-message-jesus-christ-207858
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News had the opportunity to sit down recently with Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who shared some thoughts about how we as Church members can get the most out of each General Conference, prior to, during, and after each April and October gathering:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-25/elder-bednar-patterns-general-conference-messages-invitations-blessings-207576
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News also provided insight received from Church members around the world in responding to President Nelson's prophetic invitation to make a list of all of the Lord's promises to covenant Israel that are detailed in the scriptures:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-25/blessings-to-covenant-israel-president-nelson-invitation-207563
And sooner than expected, the Church News has published the biographies of one couple who will begin serving as the president and matron of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-03-25/new-temple-president-matron-baton-rouge-louisiana-207390
The newly-called temple president is currently a patriarch in his stake, but both he and his wife have rendered extensive Church service, separately and together. Incidentally, as a personal note, the Baton Rouge temple was another that was not on my list of those for which I anticipated a change. I suppose it should technically have been on my list, as the current president only started serving in 2017, a few short months before that temple closed for renovation, and then the temple was closed from late January or early February 2018 to mid-November 2019, when it was rededicated following its' renovation.
As a result of that closure, I had mistakenly assumed that the calling of a new president for that temple might be delayed into next year (or potentially even the year after that). But I was clearly wrong on that, which seems to have become somewhat of the new status quo in a lot of opinions I have offered recently.
But I'm not bothered by having to admit that I've been wrong as often as that has happened, and it's always a valuable lesson for me to not take anything for granted, and that the Lord's inspiration is well above and beyond my personally-offered opinions, especially when those have been based on flawed research or reasoning.
Aside from that, on my list of those temples for which a new president has been or may be called, there are 6 temples currently operating (including the Mesa Arizona and Tokyo Japan Temples, for which renovations are or will soon be concluded, and for which reopening arrangements remain pending).
I also have 7 temples that will almost certainly be dedicated within the next 21 months, and 7 others which will be completed in the late months of 2022 or the early months of 2023. The total number of temples for which a new president has been called now totals 56. I have a feeling other announcements are coming, but the first presidents for any of the 14 temples I mentiond earlier could be announced later this year or early next year, if all goes well. So here is the updated list:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MpJO3ESKh0h0fvU93GcYOn1M6dIFmY7QnJ67sIeij_A/edit?usp=sharing
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Updates have been provided on the renovation process for the Mesa Arizona and St. George Utah Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/mesa-arizona-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/st.-george-utah-temple/
Additionally, it appears that the completion estimate for the St. George Temple has changed from late 2022 to now being late 2022-early 2023. This will necessitate further adjustments to my more specific estimates for temple updates. Stay tuned for those as I can finalize them. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
We are living in exciting times. I'd like to see how many temples have or don't have cafeterias or even clothing rental. Future renovations could convert that space into ordanence space. To hasten the work with less expense than building additional temples. (This may be better in places where multiple temples are are near each other such as Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Manila, Lima, Guatamala city) But are these spaces needed in areas where temples are built to be closer to members in the remote areas that require extensive travel. In some places I can just as easily stop to eat at a restaurant or home after a session. But some temple workers who spend all day in the temple may need at least a small break room.
ReplyDeleteYou raise some great additional observations, Chris, which are very well-taken. I remember that, not long after President Nelson became the new prophet, and a bunch of changes and adjustments had been announced right out of the gate, the Church News sat down with Sister Nelson to talk about that.
DeleteSister Nelson was quoted as saying that when her husband considers any matter that will affect the Church now and in the future, or where a question of past precedent ot tradition is considered, the foremost concern on his mind is, "What is most needful for this situation at this time?" I'm sure that questions about how all such changes will impact the Church as an institution and the people affected thereby is likewise considered.
Obviously, after continuing to seek revelation relative to the Salt Lake Temple, the Brethren have thus determined these changes in this particular case. And we've seen that occur related to other temple projects as well.
For example, when the original plans for th Manti Temple were announced, the First Presidency noted specifically that the hope was to preserve the murals in some fashion. But I saw some sources that seemed to spin that into, "the Church is getting rid of the murals, and they will be gone." Then, with the recent announcement clarifying how the murals will hopefully be preserved, some sources tried to spin that into "the Church has reversed course and will now try to preserve the murals."
Unfortunately, when general plans are announced, some people seem to think that, because the specifics were not spelled out, there are no specifics. And as we saw with the subsequent announcements relative to the current Salt Lake Temple renovation and the future planned renovation for Manti, that general information needed to be shared while further inspiration regarding the specifics was sought.
But we have also seen that with th "what is needful" approach taken by President Nelson that, when it comes to temple construction matters, there is not a "one-size-fits-all" mentality. A second baptistry will be able to be added to Salt Lake because some minor adjustmnts in the original renovation plans were made in response to further additional revelation.
Similarly, there was a general hope and plan to preserve the murals. That had been made clear in the latest announcements. But until the specifics were determined and announced, and even after that occurred, some sources misconstrued those latest announcements.
All of that being said, I will be interested to see what happens with temple construction in the future. If the reports I have heard are correct, a second baptistry is part of the plans for the Syracuse Utah Temple. If that turns out to be true, then there will be a definitive precedent for the second baptistry in temple, which we don't currently have verification of.
Either way, I'm glad to see that we have in our current prophet someone who seeks revelation with the approach of "Is there more that needs to be known or done here?" I believe it was Elder Richard G. Scott that talked about that approach to receiving revelation, and it's nice to see President Nelson taking that approach. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for temple construction. Thanks, as always, Chris, for weighing in with these additional thoughts. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
All the Hinckley 30 or so temples that are very small do not have clothing rentals or cafeterias, a few larger ones, the largest I know of is Gilbert, do not have either. It is largely the case with many before the mid-90s to have a cafeteria and clothing rental. Cafeterias because fast food was not common until the last few decades--we had it, but not as many close to temple locations.
ReplyDeleteIf traveling, often a temple will have a very limited amount of clothing for those that come in while visiting a place.
I also have information on rumors regarding Queen Creek as a future temple location, there are at least two sites rumored, and there may be more but these two I am aware of. One is one I heard about three years ago but the other is new. The earlier one had it near the GM proving grounds and on Ironwood north of the being-built 24 freeway, the other is a few miles south at that road and Ocotillo. The number of stakes in the area is growing, and the South stake, which goes past Hunt Highway, has eight wards that are growing very fast, more attendance seemingly every week, with a large tract set to be developed in and to the west soon.
I don't see it this go-around, but maybe a few conferences further out, as trends are that growth will only increase. People from states that saw major political issues this last 18 months are where the new growth is coming from and Elder Bednar fingered Queen Creek as a gathering place in the Phoenix area in comments made there, which is true of any area with stakes.
Jim Anderson, thanks for these additional observations as well. I have previously spoken of the benefits of having a cafeteria vs. not having it. I can see the benefits of both sides of that question. As I mentioned in my latest reply to Chris, just above your comment, it's wonderful to see President Nelson make plans for temples (and for all other adjustments or changes) awith the question "What is needful?"
DeleteAnd your observation about fast food places being widely available in Salt Lake and Utah Counties is well-taken, which may have an impact in what is planned for temples that are or may soon be under construction.
As I have also observed a few times previously in the threads of this very post, and on the Church Growth Blog, right now, we only know for certain that the two-baptistry plan will apply to Salt Lake, although there is speculation that Syracuse will be built with two baptistries as well. I am going to be interested to see if the two-baptistry solution applies to just the Salt Lake Temple, is utilized in other Utah temples or elsewhere in the United States, or ever becomes a factor outside the United States.
And it's also a fair point that expanding the amount of space available for temple worship is often less expensive for the Church than building a second temple would be in some areas. As I also observed in my reply to Chris's comment above, temple construction has never involved a "one-size-fits-all" factor. A second baptistry is clearly the right choice for the Salt Lake Temple, as it apparently might be for the Syracuse Utah Temple. But would it be a feasible solution in other cases? Particularly outside th United States, where extensive travel is required for individuals to get to their assigned temples, there still need to be accommodation facilities. And cafeterias in those temples might still make sense.
Right now, what we know is that the second baptistry applies to Salt Lake and may also apply to Syracuse, but I'm not sure that's enough to firmly establish whether the two-baptistry concept is the exception, or may be the new standard in some cases where that is practical.
In the meantime, thanks for the additional insight on the prospects of a temple for Queen Creek Arizona. I'll be interested to see if the Church employs a strategy elsewhere in the US, especially in areas with a large Church membership present, that seems to be in effect here in Utah, where there are temples being announced to either fill in the gaps, downsize nearby temple districts, or have enough support and staffing prospects to allow more temples closer together. It appears that Queen Creek is roughly 11 miles from the Gilbert Arizona Temple, to which the stakes in Queen Creek are assigned.
Right now, we have precedent for temples close together in Utah. Elsewhere in the United States, with a few exceptions, temples are far more spaced out. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what happens with US temples in the future. And while I am also not convinced that Queen Creek will have a temple announced this time around, I think that is likely to occur within the next 2 years or less. Thanks also for sharing the comments from Elder Bednar about Queen Creek as a gathering place for the Phoenix area. I'd not heard that. As always, it's a pleasure to hear from you, Jim Anderson. Thanks again for weighing in.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has provided some additional updates today. First, new mission leaders have been called to serve in the Philippines, replacing the mission president who recently passed away and his surviving spouse:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-03-26/new-mission-president-companion-philippines-missionary-service-jesus-christ-lds-207395
The new mission leaders are no strangers to the area. Unless I am mistaken, the new president had been serving as a counselor in the mission presidency to the current president. If that is correct, it will make for a very smooth and swift transition, without the need for an interim president. The new leaders began serving 2 days ago.
The Church has also reported on how victims of the recent fires in the Philippines have found refuge and are safely sheltered in Church bu8ildings for the time being:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2021-03-26/fire-victims-philippines-shelter-latter-day-saint-meetinghouse-207903
The Newsroom and the Church News provide insights on the 2020 report from Latter-day Saint Charities:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saint-charities-boosts-global-efforts-2020
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2021-03-26/latter-day-saint-charities-2020-annual-report-covid-19-207875
And from Brother Bradley R. (Brad) Wilcox, the Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, comes an article clarifying how the discontinuation of ward young men presidencies, the reestablished reemphasis of the ward bishopric as the Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, and the appointment of members of the high council to serve as stake Sunday School and Young Men presidents creates a realignment with the doctrinal foundation of keys in the Church. He further emphasizes that, while taking on a bigger role with the youth of their wards, the bishops need to ensure they are delegating non-essential functions of their callings, which will more fully allow the work of the ward to continue uninterrupted as the bishopric focuses more fully on the youth:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-26/bishops-responsibilities-youth-young-men-women-keys-brother-bradley-wilcox-207721
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
The latest edition of "This Week on Social" was published a short while ago:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-26/social-media-painting-brushstrokes-elder-uchtdorf-savior-207960
In this week's brief installment, posts were shared from the following leaders: Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Ulisses Soares, all of whom are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and Sister Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency. My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
The Newsroom has provided two additional reports. The first shares the latest updates on the ongoing renovation process for the Salt Lake Temple:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-square-renovation-updates-march-2021
The second report constitutes the latest edition of the recurring series: "Latter-day Saints Around the World"L
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saints-around-the-world--country-newsroom-websites-march-26-2021
In this installment, content was featured from the following general regions: Australia, Chile, Ecuador (from which 2 developments were highlighted), Nigeria, the Pacific, the Philippines, and the United States. My thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News has published an article recapping the prophetic counsel given by President Nelson last October, links to coverage of talk summaries and other highlights from that General Conference, in addition to an advanced reminder of the upcoming General Conference and how Church members and friends of other faiths can tune in for General Conference and other related content:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-03-26/lds-general-conference-april-2021-watch-207591
My thanks once again to you all.
James,
DeleteThe new Mission President for Iloilo has actually been serving as 2nd Counselor in the Bacolod Mission. Elder Yoon Hwan Choi served as the acting President from March 9th-24th. (Sorry, I had this information a few days ago but health issues kept me from being able to get it to you.)
Hey, Scott. Thanks for providing that clarification. That's information that wasn't specified in the report I shared, so I appreciate the correction. It makes sense that Elder Choi would step in and serve as an interim mission president, since he's the current Second Counselor in the Philippines Area presidency, and it would have been relatively simple for him to step in and oversee things for roughly 2 weeks while the Church figured out whom to assign as the mission president. It also makes sense that someone living in Bacolod would be a counselor in the presidency of the mission in that city. But it also makes sense that someone currently residing less than 30 miles away from the headquarters of a different mission would easily, by virtue of his experience in a different mission presidency, be able to step in and take over responsibility for another mission. I'm glad to hear the Church took swift action on having an interim president, and was able to get the new president in place not long after the death of the previous mission president. Thanks for letting me know about that. No need to worry about the delay in passing that along. Hopefully you'll get feeling better soon, if you haven't already done so. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
DeleteHello again, everyone! Earlier today, additional updates were provided for the Layton Utah and Antofagasta Chile Temples:
ReplyDeletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/layton-utah-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/antofagasta-chile-temple/
With reference to the latter update, hopefully with any luck, that temple will be able to have full-scale efforts begin before General Conference weekend. I can't rule out the chance that any of the 4 other temples that currently have full-scale efforts pending could get underway in the near future, if all goes well. My thanks once again to you all.
@James, I don't know if this is a relevant topic to discuss here. It's just an article from an outside non-Church source (The Salt Lake Tribune daily newspaper site),
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03/26/lds-church-isnt-requiring/
Chris, thanks for weighing in here. That topic is very relevant. The reported stance the Church is taking on missionaries serving in Utah from other areas relative to getting vaccines is absolutely consistent with the statement the Church previously put out about vaccinations for the coronavirus.
DeleteWhat I don't understand in this case is why the Salt Lake Tribune is emphasizing the fact that the Church is recommending and not requiring vaccinations for missionaries serving here in Utah. Everyone from Sister Nelson to each of President Nelson's apostolic colleagues have noted that the prophet is not someone comfortable with making statements about imperatives, especially when it comes to the actions and freedom of choice for other individuals.
Anyone who read the statement the First Presidency put out about the opportunity to vaccinate shouldn't be surprised that it's not imperative but simply recommended for members and missionaries alike to get the vaccine.
Those are just the thoughts that came to my mind on this. Thanks for bringing up the article here. I also welcome any further comments on this article from anyone reading this part of the comment thread. Thanks again, Chris, and great to hear from you.
Hello again, everyone! With just one week remaining before General Conference weekend, the Newsroom has provided a "home base" article that will highlight talk summaries and all news reported in relation to the upcoming conference:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2021-general-conference
Meanwhile, from the Church News comes a report of 34 new stake presidencies who have been called within the last month or two:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-03-27/read-about-these-34-new-stake-presidencies-207923
And on Friday, Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, accompanied by other general Church leaders and dignitaries, presided at and offered the dedicatory prayer for the new Pioneer Center at This Is The Place Heritage Park:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-27/president-ballard-dedicates-new-pioneer-center-this-is-the-place-208069
My thanks once again to you all.
A couple new Church News reports have been shared:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-27/tad-callister-book-of-mormon-keystone-testimonies-religion-207187
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-27/music-the-spoken-word-simple-small-and-quiet-207963
Ordinarily, I'd provide further context into these reports, but I got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this afternoon, and between that and dealing with a few other issues, I'll leave it at sharing the links. My thanks once again to you all.
On this Palm Sunday, our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has extended an invitation to all in the lead-up to next weekend's Easter General Conference, including the planned Sunday Morning worship service:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/palm-sunday-invitation-from-the-prophet-2021
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-28/president-nelson-easter-video-palm-sunday-invitation-208004
The physical and spiritual benefits from a Church-owned farm in Hawaii were also highlighted:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-28/hawaii-pandemic-welfare-farm-laie-crops-fruits-207599
And in advance of its planned groundbreaking in May, the Tooele County Commission has granted approval for the conditional use permit on the Deseret Peak Utah Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/deseret-peak-utah-temple/news/
Pending subsequent ratification and approval by the Tooele City Council, all systems are go for that groundbreaking. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News also published the latest edition of "In Case You Missed It", highlighting the top 9 developments reported by the Church News:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-28/in-case-you-missed-it-first-presidency-easter-message-lessons-covenants-israel-nelson-bednar-soares-208063
My thanks once again to you all.
James,
ReplyDeleteI lurk on your sites A LOT.
Thank you for your beautiful site(s).
You always put yourself out there with predictions, and I'll add my 2 cents for once.
It's been a very stressful year, on a truly global scale. The Church is going to want to show it is more alive and ambitious than ever, with a slew of temple announcements - double digits - in BOTH April and October of this year. Here are my overall rather ambitious temple predictions for 2021.
First, the "yawner" temple predictions; most of these have been on our radar for a long time:
1 - Glasgow, Scotland
2 - Barcelona, Spain
3 - Natal, Brazil
4 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil
5 - Cali, Colombia
6 - Chiclayo, Perú
7 - La Paz, Bolivia
8 - Valparaíso, Chile
8 - Rosario, Argentina
10 - Cape Town, South Africa
11 - Antanarivo, Madagascar
12 - Maputo, Mozambique
13 - Kampala, Uganda
14 - Abuja, Nigeria
15 - Kumasi, Ghana
16 - Yamoussoukro, Cote d'ivoire
17 - Monrovia, Liberia
18 - Singapore
19 - Jakarta, Indonesia
20 - Osaka, Japan
21 - Busan, South Korea
22 - Torreón, México OR Culiacán, México
For Utah, I predict:
23 - Price, AND
24 - Mapleton/Springville/Spanish Fork
Elsewhere in the US, I predict (no surprises here):
25 - Charlotte, North Carolina
26 - Cincinnati, Ohio
27 - Missoula, Montana
28 - Colorado Springs, Colorado
29 - Tacoma, Washington
30- Eugene/Salem, Oregon
31 & 32 - Jacksonville AND Tampa, Florida
My "dark horse" predictions:
33 - Wichita, Kansas
34 - Trenton, New Jersey
35 - Mobile, Alabama
36 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
37 - Kingston, Jamaica
38 - Santa Ana, El Salvador
39 - Riberão Preto, Brazil
40- Londrina, Brazil
41 - Casper, Wyoming
42 - Naga//Legazpi/Tacloban, Philippines
43 - Munich, Germany OR Milan, Italy
44 - Ventura, California
45 - Longview OR Austin, Texas
46 - Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
47 - Sorocaba OR Santos OR Maceió, Brazil
48 - Farmington, New Mexico
49 - Brussels, Belgium
50 - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
51 - Wellington, New Zealand
and last but not least:
52 - either Des Moines, Iowa OR Concord, New Hampshire OR Jackson, Mississippi OR Charleston, West Virginia OR Rapid City, South Dakota; I don't think I need to explain why any of those 5 might be candidates.
Mark, first of all, I apologize for my delayed acknowledgement of your feedback. I saw your comment not long after it was posted, and I drafted a response, but for some reason, I couldn't get that published. So I'll try again now. Thanks for your kind words. I'm always gratified and humbled to hear that what I do and the way I do it has meant something to someone, and I hope you will continue to enjoy content posted here going forward.
DeleteI'd also like to extend an open invitation to you to feel free to weigh in on this blog as often as you like. Feedback from my readers helps me improve on what I'm doing. That being said, I have some thoughts about your comment: First of all, we have seen President Nelson set a very aggressive agenda when it comes to temple construction. The 21 temples for which a groundbreaking occurred last year was the highest such number we've seen in a single year in quite a while. Based on what I'm hearing on my end, we can expect something similar this year, unless that number is somehow exceeded, which is also not out of the question. And having temple groundbreakings announced for a general window rather than a specific date continues to allow flexibility for all such events.
We have also, of course, seen a queue start to build up of new or newly-renovated temples that are awaiting dedication or rededication, and that might continue to be the case. But President Nelson has clearly set a precedent where his fellow apostles very well could be sent out in groups of 1 or more at a time to handle the backlog once it is safe to do so.
DeleteAnd if that happens, the queue of temples awaiting dedications or rededications could be dealt with in a matter of a month or two once it is safe to hold all such events. With that in mind, you raise a great point: What might the Church be looking to do in terms of temple construction in the near and more distant future?
We have seen President Nelson set an aggressive agenda, announcing multiple new temples every six months. And we have seen in the last year how quickly the queue of announced temples can go down every six months between each announcement.
I have offered my opinion that a double-digit number of temples might be announced this weekend, and I still think that might be the case. Although I keep three or four separate lists of temple locations at any given time, I usually try to limit my focus to the immediate prospects for each General Conference.
So I think that once we know what's going to happen in terms of temple announcements this weekend, that could be a good gauge of what's to come for October. But I'd be absolutely ecstatic if President Nelson announced a double-digit number of temples both this weekend and in October.
Aside from that, I've also mentioned in the past that I think that we will see new temples announced every six months for locations on any of our lists. And in relation to your list in particular, I agree on most of the locations you mentioned, but I also note differences in your thinking versus the reasoning I used on my list in the post above. I think that's absolutely wonderful, and is what it should be.
With that in mind, I don't have time immediately to go into specifics on your list, but I'll note most of your picks appear to be solid. I always encourage anyone weighing in with their thoughts to keep their own lists, so I'd encourage you to do so for yourself. I fully believe candidate locations on quite a few lists will continue to be announced every six months, just as fully as I believe some of us might be surprised by the locations that will be announced.
DeleteEither way, right out of the gate, President Nelson emphasized and underscored the importance of temples and temple worship. So announcements of new temples every six months are pretty much a given, especially since most temples are no longer sitting in the queue for more than 2-4 years before action is taken on them. I anticipate that will continue to be the case.
We've also heard that President Nelson's endgame goal may be a ten-fold increase, at minimum. So there will be much more to look forward to in temple construction. I am excited to see what new announcements, temple-related or otherwise, are mentioned tomorrow and Sunday in General Conference. With all of that said, thanks again, Mark, for taking time to comment. I appreciate your feedback and hope you will feel free to weigh in in the future as often as you'd like to do so. Thanks again.