UPDATE: Temple Construction Progress During the First Quarter of 2022

Hello again, everyone! As this last day of March 2022 draws to its' conclusion, I wanted to provide a look back at the progress the Church has made in the construction of temples as the first quarter of 2022 also wraps up. So for a refresher course, I am providing a look at where things stood as this year began. And as this first quarter of 2022 wraps up, there have been significant updates with the Church's temple construction program.

The Church has already broken ground for 1 temple this year, with 8 more temple groundbreakings set to occur during the second quarter of this year. 3 new temples have had dedications scheduled, all of which will take place during the next three months. The Church also defined, clarified, and expanded the length of the opening dates for the Washington D.C. Temple, and has announced the rededication arrangements for the Tokyo Japan Temple. While neither of those rededications will occur this quarter, that is also a positive sign.

Current temples have also been announced to shift to phase 4 as local conditions and area presidency directions provide. Oddly enough, this quarter passed without the Church announcing official details for any of the 4 US cities in which temples were announced last October. As we also know, 2 temples each are awaiting announcements of their opening or reopening arrangements. That number may increase in the next quarter, but hopefully official announcements are coming there as well.

I am likewise hopeful that the Church may release more official information (either just a site announcement, or a site announcement and artist's rendering, or a site announcement, artist's rendering, and groundbreaking arrangements for a few more temples this quarter. And, of course, we have the always-anticipated announcement of new temples likely to occur on Sunday during General Conference. 

Although I have provided an extensive list of locations in which a temple could be announced this weekend, I have also put together a more specific list of 16 locations in which I have felt a new temple could be announced this time around. As I've mentioned in the past, when Elder Kevin S. Hamilton presided at my stake conference in December, he alluded to the Church having more than 300 temples in various phases. 

Since there are 265 current temples in any phase, the Church might be looking to announce at least 35 temples. And since the number of temples which have had may soon have a groundbreaking scheduled is 8, announcing the smaller number of those 35 could allow the Church to focus on clearing the current queue of announced temples more before the October General Conference, then announcing a larger number of temples to total or exceed 35 could work out nicely.

With that being said, hope you all enjoyed this look back at temple construction progress during the first quarter of 2022. I continue to monitor all such developments, and will be sure to pass along any updates to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, 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 feedback offered is consistent with the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: 45 New Area Seventies Sustained; 1 Deceased; No Releases Noted

Hello again, everyone! The Church has reported this morning through the Newsroom and the Church News that 45 new area seventies have been called. Additionally, aside from noting that 1 current area seventy has passed away after a battle with stage IV cancer, no releases were presented. If any current area seventies are sustained as General Authority Seventies, I assume their releases will be presented over the pulpit this weekend. 

At a glance, it appears that a few former area seventies who have recently completed or will soon complete assignments as mission presidents will begin serving as area seventies again. I have a few minor personal issues to handle relating to my health today, but aside from taking care of those, I hope to be able to have a more complete analysis on the newly-sustained area seventies later today. 

One other note: last April, it was noted that Elder Christofferson presented the list of changes and that President Nelson then called for a sustaining vote. The news release this year mentioned nothing about who presented those changes. Further analysis from me will be provided later today. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Reopening Arrangements Annouced for the Tokyo Japan Temple

Hello again, everyone! At this early evening hour, I have breaking temple news to report. As shared by the Newsroom and the Church News, reopening arrangements have been announced for the Tokyo Japan Temple. Let's get right into the details: A public open house will be held from Friday June 3 to Saturday June 18, with no tours offered on Sunday June 5 or 12 (making the open house a total of 14 days). 

A youth devotional will be held on Saturday July 2, with the rededication thereof following the next day. President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, will preside over the 3 rededicatory sessions, which will be held at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM on that day Tokyo time, which is 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM on Saturday in Utah, and the final session occurring at midnight Utah time when Saturday July 2 becomes Sunday July 3.

Unless I am mistaken, this is the first time since the Hinckley-era smaller temples that any dedication or rededication of a temple occurred in July, which typically marks the annual recess month for the General Authorities of the Church. But as recently as this morning, I had privately theorized that the rededication arrangements for the Tokyo temple might be one of the next major announcements made. And this will actually put the rededication of the Tokyo Temple occurring roughly 6 weeks before the August 14 rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple. 

I am grateful for this announcement. My research on the timing for other temple events indicates that we could see announcements soon for the reopening of the Hamilton New Zealand and Hong Kong China Temples, and that the opening arrangements for the Quito Ecuador, Belem Brazil, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Helena Montana Temples could also follow. My understanding is that New Zealand is hoping to reopen to the United States towards the end of spring or the beginning of summer in Utah.

But as always, COVID-19 has been the huge game-changing variable here. So I will be interested to see what happens with all such announcements in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, I'm thinking that any other temple groundbreakings might only be announced to occur after the annual July recess. I'd be pleased to be wrong on that, or on anything else, but for right now, it seems like the Church is easing into scheduling future events, which I think is a very smart approach.

I continue to monitor all such developments and will bring word of those to you here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, 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 feedback offered is consistent with the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Outlines Procedures for Temples Worldwide to Transition to Phase 4

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the Newsroom and the Church News have outlined a new letter from the First Presidency, which sets forth the conditions under which each temple of the Church will gradually and eventually transition to phase 4 (normal operations). Let's break down the details: 

Because immunizations against COVID-19 and its' variants are up worldwide, and since infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the downward trend in some parts of the world, the First Presidency is inviting temple presidencies, in consultation with each of the 22 area presidencies worldwide, and with the approval to do so from local medical professionals who shape community guidelines and from the Church's Temple Department, temples of the Church worldwide will gradually be able to transition to phase 4.

Temple presidencies have been invited to look at the best and safest ways to return temple worship to normal pre-pandemic levels. That process and the associated timeline will look different everywhere the Church has established a temple. Obviously, for example, the temples not yet in phase 3 (including the temple in Kyiv Ukraine) will be subject to unique circumstances, which would make the process of reopening temples at full capacity different in Kyiv than it would be elsewhere in Europe.

I anticipated that temples in the US and Canada, where the variants are more controlled, will be opening faster than those temples in, for example, Africa and Europe, where both the variants' effects and unique circumstances of war or other man-made or natural conditions, make opening the temples normally inadvisable for the time being. 

In any case, this is yet another example where the First Presidency is saying that area leaders, medical professionals, temple presidencies, and the Temple Department are better qualified to make these calls than the Brethren at the general level. And it mirrors the process from a few months ago, wherein local stake and ward leaders could, with the approval of the area presidency and medical professionals, determine how and when to return to unrestricted meetings.

Right now, with what is known at the general level, the Church has 8 temples closed for renovation, all of which are in phase 3, allowing members in those districts to schedule phase 3 work at the closest temple available to them. The Kyiv Ukraine Temple was in phase 3 but is paused in view of the ongoing war with Russia (which has seen the destruction of several prominent facilities in Ukraine, but which miraculously has left the temple unaffected). 

One more temple (Suva Fiji) is in phase 1. And with 0 temples currently in phase 2 or 2-B, that leaves the remaining 160 in phase 3 currently. Since the announcement of the eventual transition to phase 4 was not expected this soon, I imagine the Church News might have regular reports available on which temples worldwide have transitioned to phase 4 and are no longer affected by restrictions.

When those changes are available, they will be noted on the temple reopening status tracker, which has not been updated since last Tuesday morning. As I learn about those updates, I will do my level best to pass them along to you all here. I also continue to closely monitor all Church News reports and temple construction updates and will bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such developments.

In the meantime, 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 feedback offered is consistent with the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: All But 1 Temple Now Set to Offer All Living, Proxy Ordinances

Hello again, everyone! This morning, a new report from the Newsroom, verified also by the Church News and through the updated status tracker, indicates that the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which had been in phase 2-B, is scheduled to transition to phase 3 as early as next Tuesday, March 15. 

This means that, with the exception of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, for which the closure is still in effect,  the remaining 169 temples in the Church will be in phase 3. With 8 temples closed for major renovations, all 8 temple districts have been designated as open in phase 3. 

1 temple (Kyiv Ukraine) is paused/suspended in its' reopening pending the outcome of the current Russian invasion. 1 temple (Suva Fiji) remains in phase 1. And with 0 in phase 2 or 2-B, the remaining 160 are in phase 3. I am grateful for the Church's thoughtful, thorough, carefully planned, and cautiously coordinated effort to reopen temples. 

While it is uncertain for the present time how soon any temples might transition to phase 4 (normal operations), we have clearly seen the hand of the Lord in what has unfolded within the last 2 years of temple developments. I look forward to seeing what happens in the near and more distant future. In the meantime, I continue to also monitor all Church News updates and will bring word of those 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. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreakings Set for Temples in Utah, Idaho, and California; Exterior Rendering Released for Ephraim Utah Temple

An initial brief version of this post was published at 9:15 AM, and additions were subsequently published at 4:45 PM.

Hello again, everyone! In two announcements this morning, groundbreakings were set for 3 more US temples, and an exterior rendering was released for the Ephraim Utah Temple. There is a lot of information to get to, so let's jump right in.  First, with the release of the Ephraim Utah Temple rendering (which follows the October 2021 site announcement, which in turn was preceded by the unexpected May 1 announcement of that temple), we know that the rezoning application has been approved.

While I am not sure what else may need approval before the Church can get a groundbreaking set for that temple, hopefully a groundbreaking for it would occur in August or September, if all goes well. The design of the temple appears to be identical in appearance to other temples of a similar size (39,000 square feet). It will be interesting to see what happens on the timing for the Ephraim Temple.

In the interim, the 3 temples for which groundbreakings have been scheduled are the Burley Idaho, Smithfield Utah, and Yorba Linda California Temples. Here are the details: The Burley Idaho Temple groundbreaking will be conducted on June 4, under the direction of Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy, who may have direct supervision of the North America Central Area, and who was born in that city. 

I love the fact that the Church calls upon those with personal connections to areas getting a temple to presie at the groundbreakings for the temples in those areas. The announcement of the groundbreaking for Burley was preceded by the release of its' site location on June 23 of last year, followed by the release of the exterior rendering on September 17.  

As an additional note, since the last scheduled groundbreaking was Elko Nevada on May 7, the fact that the Burley groundbreaking will occur 4 weeks after that may point to the Church trying to get other temple groundbreakings done between May 7 and June 4. Among the most likely candidates could be the Belo Horizonte Brazil, Ephraim Utah, Willamette Valley Oregon, Cali Colombia, Torreon Mexico, and Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temples. 

Any of those 6 could have groundbreakings in the 4 intervening weeks (May 14, 21, and 28, and June 11). I'm adding June 11 because today's announcement does not list any groundbreakings on that date. The other two temples, Smithfield Utah and Yorba Linda California, are both set to have their groundbreakings on Saturday June 11.   

Utah's newest temple groundbreaking will be under the direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a Cache Valley native, who will be accompanied by his apostolic colleague and another Cache Valley son, Elder Gary E. Stevenson.  This temple's groundbreaking follows its' June 10 site announcement. 

An exterior rendering for the Smithfield Utah Temple was released on November 24, at the same time the Church released the new rendering for the reconstructed Provo Utah Temple. Meanwhile, the Yorba Linda California Temple groundbreaking will also occur on June 18, with Elder Mark A. Bragg, the president of the North America West Area who was born in nearby Los Angeles, presiding thereat.

The announcement follows the July 15 site announcement and the September 17 release of the exterior rendering. This means that, for the first time ever, the Church has 9 temple groundbreakings set to take place between March and June of this year. This brings the total number of temples set to have a groundbreaking thus far to 9. 

The Church's ninth groundbreaking in 2021 was held on September 18 for the Phnom Pehn Camobida Temple, so with the ninth groundbreaking in 2022 taking place a full 3 months earlier than last year, I don't think it's out of the question that the Church could hold 20 or more groundbreakings this year. With that in mind, I wanted to provide an updated look at groundbreakings in 2021 vs. this year.

August-December seems to be the most likely time we will see quite a few groundbreakings for temples in the southern hemisphere, and may also be the window within which ground is broken for the Tarawa Kiribati, Port Vila Vanuatu, and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temples. Hopefully action can be taken on other temples in Asia, Africa, and Europe. 

And given that last year marked the clearing of the queue of the remaining temples originally announced by President Monson, and the Church has already cleared the queue of all temples originally announced in October 2019, hopefully at least 4 of the 5 remaining which were announced between April 2018 and April 2019 might get cleared from the queue as well soon.

The status and timing of the Russia temple might depend on how the current increasingly dangerous and volatile situation with the attack on Ukraine. I continue to keep my eyes open for all such developments and Church news updates and will bring you all word thereof as those updates are released.

In the meantime, 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. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Public Open House; Dedication Announced for Praia Cape Verde Temple

Hello again, everyone! As reported by the Newsroom and the Church News, in the last few minutes, the First Presidency announced the open house and dedication dates for the Praia Cape Verde Temple. Let's break down the details. Open house tours will be held from Saturday May 21-Saturday June 11, 2022, excluding the relevant Sundays of May 22 and 29 and June 5.

A youth devotional will take place on Saturday June 18, followed by the temple's dedication on Sunday June 19, 2022, in three sessions, which will be held at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside over the dedicatory events. This continues the tradition of President Nelson delegating temple dedications to his fellow apostles. 

This marks the second temple to be dedicated by Elder Andersen, following the mid-September 2019 dedication of the Lisbon Portugal Temple.  For perspective, the dedication times line up with Utah time as follows: When the 9:00 AM session is held, it will be 3:00 AM here in Utah, with the 12:00 PM session held at 6:00 AM Utah time, and the 3:00 PM session held at 9:00 AM Sunday here.

This announcement also means that, barring anything unexpected, the Church will dedicate this temple before dedicating the Quito Ecuador Temple. Of course, since the Yigo Guam Temple will be dedicated on Sunday May 22, we could see other temple dedications/rededications held between that time and the dedication of this temple.

It will be interesting to see what the timing is on this. I would also mention that, although Quito, Brazil, New Zealand, and Japan are at phase 4 Do Not Travel alerts, there are certain conditions that allow such travel and entry. Temple dedications or rededications may be an exception to the rule, since there may be no limits on religious gatherings.  

Anyways, given the almost four-week gap between the dedications for the Yigo Guam and Praia Cape Verde Temples, there may be hopes to dedicate the Hamilton or Tokyo temples in early June. It's also possible that the Church is keeping an eye on conditions in Ecuador to schedule the Quito dedication.

Whatever happens in that regard, I will be sure to bring word of those developments to you as I become aware thereof. I am hopeful that tomorrow the Church might announce more groundbreakings. But I will keep my eyes open for all such temple updates and major Church news and pass those along as well.

In the meantime, 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.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below.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.