BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Phased Temple Reopenings Announced

Note: This post was originally published as scheduled at 10:15 AM, with subsequent updates added between 11:45 AM and 12:45 PM.

Hello again, everyone! The Church News previously announced that the weekly announcements about temple reopenings were moving from Monday to Tuesday. That was followed by the major announcement last week that just over three quarters of temples worldwide will move into phases of proxy work by the end of July.

As a result of those announcements, this week, further details and updates have been shared. Let's get right into discussing all of that. First, for informational purposes, these updates are being pulled from official announcements from the Newsroom, with the details further confirmed by the Church News. The Church News also has a weekly status tracker, which shows the updated status of temples by area. So anyone with any questions on the changes laid out in this post is invited to go to any or all of these sources for additional context.That being said, let's take some time to break down the latest announced changes. 

Effective Monday June 7 (6 days from now), the temples in Atlanta Georgia, Brigham City Utah, and Nashville Tennessee will be the first of those mentioned in last week's announcement to transition to phase 3, offering all living ordinances in the previously-established priority order, along with limited proxy work as scheduled. For each of these temples, as June 7 draws closer, members in those districts will be able to schedule whichever appointments are needed through the Church's online temple page.  

The question might be asked: If a number of temples were announced to transition to phase 3 by the end of July, why is the Church only starting with 3 of them? The answer to that question was provided in advance of the changes announced last week. During his concluding remarks during General Conference, he said: "You may be wondering when you will be able to return to the temple. Answer: Your temple will be open when local government regulations allow it. When the incidence of COVID-19 in your area is within safe limits, your temple will be reopened. Do all you can to bring COVID numbers down in your area so that your temple opportunities can increase."

So, based on President Nelson's statement, the Church continues to encourage all of its' members wherever they live to follow governmnt regulations relative to the pandemic. As COVID-19 conditions improve, more temples will be able to safely transition more towards normal operations. But in addition to the phase 3 reopenings for the 3 temples in the United States, the Church also announced today that two other temples, Vancouver British Columbia and Mexico City Mexico, are now in phase 2, which allows the perofrmance of all living ordinances in the previously-noted priority order.

Both of the temples now transitioning to phase 2 following a roller-coaster for both. The Mexico City Mexico Temple was first reopened in phase 1 in late August of last year, and has seen multiple issues where phase upgrades were attempted, only to have that temple paused in its' reopening before attempting to resume any previous operational phase. The Vancouver British Columbia Temple had originally shifted to phase 2 in mid-to-late August of last year, moving back to  phase 1 in November, so that temple is now able to resume phase 2.

And perhaps the shifts described in the efforts to reopen the two temples provides further insight into the need for caution and prudence in the process of reopening temples more than anything else could. Although some areas may have low transmission rates for the virus for the time being, if too much complacency occurs too prematurely, then any shifts announced by the Church may have to be undone or reversed. In my opinion, one major benefit of having a former physician as the President of the Church at this time is that he understands the effects that any health issues can have on individuals, communities, and congregations.

I have previously shared my belief that President Nelson has been held in reserve and that his life has been spared up to now because the Lord knew that he would be best suited to help the Church deal with the present pandemic. I love and sustain President Nelson, his counselors, and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and am grateful for their measured and moderate approach to resuming normal operations in the Church.

Meanwhile, as previously announced, the following 13 temples in the following general regions will reopen under phase 2-B, also effective Monday June 7:

United States: Denver and Fort Collins Colorado; Boston Massachusetts, Hartford Connecticut; Philadelphia Pennsylvania; 

Latin America (including Mexico and Central and Soouth America): Hermosillo Sonora and Tijuana Mexico; Manaus Brazil; Caracas Venezuela; Quetzaltenango Guatemala; Trujillo Peru

Europe: Lisbon Portugal & Rome Italy

In view of these announced changes, effective June 7, 8 temples will remain closed for renovations, with 1 of those given phase 1 status and 5 others given 2-B status (which will allow individuals or small groups to schedule ordinances through the page for their assigned temple at the nearest open temples); the Kyiv Ukraine Temple still being the sole temple of the Church that has not open in any phase whatsoever since all temples were closed last year; 5 temples remaining paused (3 of which had reached phase 3, with 1 each in phase 2 and 2-B); only 2 remaining in phase 1; 30 in phase 2; 92 in phase 2-B; and the final 30 temples in phase 3.

The Church will continue to monitor COVID-19 conditions worldwide and will continue to announce temple reopenings as those arrangements can safely be made. I am grateful to have been able to hear about these updates and will be sure to pass any additional Church news or major temple developments 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.