Hello again, everyone! This morning, there was an unexpected update from the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square. Although the development in question was reported earlier this morning, I'm still classifying it as breaking news. So let's look at the relevant details here. First, the daily organ recitals, which have been offered virtually for the last several months, will reopen to the public beginning Monday July 19. On Monday-Saturday, those daily recitals are scheduled for noon MDT, while they are scheduled to occur at 2:00 PM MDT on Sundays.
But with the return to daily organ recitals that are again open to the public, the Church will continue to provide a virtual edition of those recitals in the ongoing Piping Up! series will continue to be live-streamed through the Choir's Youtube channel every Wednesday at noon. Meanwhile, a phased reopening plan has been announced for the Choir, Orchestra, and Bells. The Choir will resume in-person rehearsals on Thursday August 26, which will be open to the public starting on Thursday October 7. The Bells at Temple Square resume regular rehearsals onWednesday September 1, which will again open to the public beginning Wednesday October 6.
The Choir has also announced that the completely-live Music & the Spoken Word broadcasts will replace the hybrid version of the broadcast (prerecorded performances with a new Spoken Work message) beginning Sunday September 19, and that beginning Sunday October 10, the live broadcasts of "Music and the Spoken Word" will again be open to the public. The Choir further announced that, for the October 2021 General Conference, rather than using prerecorded music, the Choir will provide music for three of the four General Conference Sessions.
Although the particulars of that are not spelled out specifically, I'm reasonably certain that the three sessions in question will be the Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions. As far as how that will work, I imagine that the Choir will be in either the otherwise-empty Conference Center or possibly the Tabernacle at Temple Square, with the feed of their performances piped in to the Conference Center Auditorium, from which the rest of the sessions will originate.
Today's announcement also noted that the Choir hopes to be able to present a live Christmas Concert this year, but official confirmation on the details will be deferred until they are more firmly set and able to move forward. I am grateful to see that the Choir, Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square have announced a phased plan to move towards normal practices and performances, and will be be interesting to see how all of that turns out.
On an unrelated note, Iu had recently mentioned that I anticipated at least a few major temple-related announcements in the near term, but when I made those statements, I had somehow spaced the fact that July has been the typical recess month for the General Authorities and General Officers of the Church. As a result, although we could see a few other breaking news updates this month, I imagine that July could potentially be a much quieter month than we have most recently seen in terms of major general developments or specific temple announcements.
I will keep my eyes open for word on all such developments 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! At around the same time I was finalizing my post above, it appears that the Church News provided their own coverage on the phased return to normal for the Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-09/tabernacle-choir-returns-to-temple-square-219007
And the Church News has shared a reminder of the Hill Cumorah Devotional set to be held tonight at 6:00 PM, which will feature Elder D. Todd Christofferson offering a message of gratitude for all those who have been involved with the pageant during its' entire run. Aside from Elder Christofferson's remarks, a live rebroadcast of the 2019 Hill Cumorah Pageant will be aired:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2021-07-09/watch-hill-cumorah-pageant-devotional-elder-christofferson-218998
My thanks once again to you all.
A major update has been noted on the Puebla Mexico Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/puebla-mexico-temple/
I have noted a few times recently that the temples currently in the construction queue for which their completion is anticipated in 2023 or 2024 would be subject to a change in their anticipated completion order and the time-frame thereof. As a result of this update on the Puebla Mexico Temple, that temple has been moved ahead of the Okinawa Japan Temple, and the general completion estimates for the two have been swapped, with Puebla now anticipated to be completed in mid-to-late 2023 and Okinawa now having an estimated completion time-frame of late 2023. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! Since my last comment was published here roughly 6 hours ago, the Newsroom and the Church News have both provided coverage on the Hill Cumorah Pageant broadcast, which included a showing of the recorded performance from 2019 preceded by a devotional address from Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-christofferson-pays-tribute-to-the-hill-cumorah-pageant-s-long-run
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-09/elder-christofferson-devotional-why-hill-cumorah-pageant-ended-219001
And the latest edition of “This Week on Social” has been published:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-09/social-media-youth-testimony-faith-temples-219049
This week’s installment featured social media posts from Church President Russell M. Nelson and his First Counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks; the following members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, D. Todd Christofferson, and . In addition, the following female and male General Officers of the Church were also featured: the entire Relief Society General Presidency (General President Sister Jean B. Bingham and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Sharon L. Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto; Primary General President Sister Camille N. Johnson; and Brother Milton Camargo, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.
My thanks once again to you all.
Hi James
ReplyDeleteJust on another note, I had a chance to travel to Harare and passed by the temple site. It appears the meetinghouse which was on the site was demolished and appears construction is underway not sure what stage yet.
Nigel, thanks for stopping by to share that information. Hopefully construction on that temple is or will soon be underway. If you hear any other reports on that temple, or any others in Africa, please let us know here. Thanks again.
DeleteHello again, everyone! The Church News has shared two new reports today, which speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-10/music-and-the-spoken-word-mindfulness-matters-218871
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-10/sister-susan-h-porter-new-primary-general-presidency-counselor-218229
My thanks once again to you all.
I have a few temple updates to pass along. First, the constructton status of the Puebla Mexico Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/puebla-mexico-temple/
Next, as noted above in the thread by Nigel, preliminary construction efforts have begun nearly 7 months after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/harare-zimbabwe-temple/
,
Also, it's worth mentioning that, in the two weeks since ground was broken for the Helena Montana Temple, full-scale efforts have not yet begun. That could be because the modular parts of the temple are still being finalized so they can then be transported and put together on-site. But until we know more about that temple, on my personal list, I have shifted it down to be between Layton Utah and Bangook Thailand Temples. I'm hoping to be able to move it back up whenever construction begins, but we'll have to see how soon that is. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has published the following additional reports:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2021-07-11/doctrine-and-covenants-editions-changes-book-of-commandments-curtis-218588
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2021-07-10/emma-hale-smith-217-birthday-4-ways-to-learn-219048
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-11/week-in-review-all-temples-open-inside-church-headquarters-hill-cumorah-ending-219124
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-11/sarah-jane-weaver-learned-from-catholic-dean-necessity-religious-liberty-power-of-prayer-notre-dame-218725
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, just before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the temporary closure of all operating temples and the temporary discontinuation of in-person Church meetings, the First Presidency had announced changes to ceremonial clothing worn in the temple. Those minor adjustments did not change the purpose and function of the clothing, but they did focus on what was actually needful in that regard. As a result of COVID-19's wide-spread impact, making the updated clothing available was not the priority, so that process was delayed. Given the fact that all available temples have resumed some phase of operation, it appears that the Church is able to make the new items available on a global scale. Confirmation of that can be found in the following Newsroom release and Church News update:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/previously-announced-new-temple-ceremonial-clothing-available-to-members-globally
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2021-07-12/new-temple-ceremonial-clothing-available-globally-219147
Aside from this update, there haven't been any other new Church news reports shared, but if there are updates in the current status of temples in various phases of construction or renovation, I will be sure to pass word of those along to you ASAP. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
I do have a couple of temple updates to pass along to you all. Those updates are about the San Pedro Sula Honduras and Lindon Utah Temples:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/san-pedro-sula-honduras-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/lindon-utah-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.
And, ss it turns out, I do have one additional Church News update to pass along to you all:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-12/gospel-for-kids-app-scripture-stories-coloring-books-219167
Thanks again, everyone!