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.
Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom and the Church News both covered posts by all 9 female General Officers of the Church on social media, which were published in honor of National Women's Day:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/international-womens-day-general-presidencies-honor-inspiring-women-on-social-media
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-08/international-womens-day-relief-society-young-women-primary-leaders-equity-breakthebias-inspiring-245344
My thanks once again to you all.
Here are a couple more Church News updates:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-08/church-works-with-christian-cultural-center-food-pantry-to-help-support-new-yorks-urban-populations-245425
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-08/australia-flooding-new-south-wales-lismore-donations-volunteers-cleanup-245438
And here is one new report from the Newsroom:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-delivers-truckload-of-food-to-nyc-food-bank
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has shared the following additional updates:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-09/elder-andersen-mtc-shares-lists-scriptures-parables-testimonies-asks-missionaries-to-create-own-245573
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-09/face-to-face-for-youth-trust-in-the-lord-proverbs-3-5-6-young-men-young-women-245541
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2022-03-09/church-history-symposium-religious-liberty-historic-global-theme-2022-245505
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-09/friend-magazine-help-strengthen-childrens-faith-in-christ-245531
My thanks once again to you all.
And here is one more:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-09/janette-hales-beckham-10th-young-women-general-president-dies-obituary-245615
My thanks once again to you all.
Here are two new reports from the Newsroom and one more from the Church News:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/giving-machines-2021
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/face-to-face-broadcast-encourages-youth-to-trust-in-the-lord
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-09/face-to-face-for-youth-trust-in-the-lord-proverbs-3-5-6-young-men-young-women-245541
My thanks once again to you all.
Construction status updates have been provided today for the Layton Utah, Coban Guatemala, Tallahassee Florida, Tokyo Japan, Hamilton New Zealand, Hong Kong China, and Manti Utah Temples:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/layton-utah-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/coban-guatemala-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/tallahassee-florida-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/tokyo-japan-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/hamilton-new-zealand-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/hong-kong-china-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/manti-utah-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.
Yesterday the Newsroom shared this report:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/giving-machines-2021
And today, the Church News also covered that same development:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-10/light-the-world-giving-machines-6-million-donations-2021-lovingkindness-245698
And the Church News also shared the biographies of 8 more couples called to lead temple work worldwide:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-03-10/new-leaders-of-temples-in-nauvoo-st-george-australia-mexico-connecticut-nevada-brazil-south-africa-245565
I haven't yet finished going over the temple information to see whether I'm missing any temples for which new leaders might be called, but here is the latest updated list of what I have so far on that:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J-KR6Hdv4ElYa8ZxBn6OqGWSEMcZxi3GaLcCoYTrJec/edit?usp=sharing
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom has shared 3 new reports:
Deletehttps://news-middleeast.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/familysearch-celebrates-connection-at-the-world-expo-dubai-ua-e
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/emotional-resilience-training-offered-globally
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-oaks-elder-holland-install-brian-k-ashton-as-byu-pathway-president
And here are two new reports from the Church News:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-11/elder-holland-inaugurates-new-byu-pathway-worldwide-president-ashton-245776
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-11/video-feeding-the-soul-elder-cook-pandemic-crisis-church-christian-community-center-to-help-new-york-families-245814
My thanks once again to you all.
While I was typing my comment above, the Church News additionally shared 9 quotes from Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, who is marking her 58th birthday today:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-11/president-bonnie-h-cordon-birthday-9-quotes-from-the-past-year-young-women-245819
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has shared the biographies for 16 additional new mission leaders:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-03-11/mission-presidents-companions-mexico-california-colorado-chile-ghana-245363
Another report from the Church News shared the far-reaching impact of the recent RootsTech conference:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-03-11/rootstech-2022-choose-connection-reached-millions-and-it-is-simply-the-premiere-245749
My thanks once again to you all.
The latest edition of “This Week on Social” has been published:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-11/church-leaders-social-media-trust-in-the-lord-youth-president-eyring-elder-uchtdorf-245890
This week’s edition featured the following apostles: President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, Neil L. Andersen, and Ulisses Soares, all of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Sister Rebecca L. (Becky) Craven, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency; Young Men General President Steven J. Lund (from whom 2 posts were shared) and his First Counselor, Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt.
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Saturday, the Church News has provided 4 new reports:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-12/mary-richards-pioneers-in-every-land-moved-forward-with-faith-and-never-looked-back-245036
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-12/latter-day-saint-charities-jrs-uganda-africa-refugees-girls-school-stem-245405
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-12/music-and-the-spoken-word-the-mighty-vasa-shipwreck-sweden-245770
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-12/church-history-symposium-panel-religious-freedom-politics-ukraine-leavitt-eubank-durham-clark-245980
My thanks once again to you all.
Hope all of you are having a happy, safe, and inspirational Sabbath Day. On this Sunday, the Church News has shared the following additional reports:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-13/innovate-institute-what-institute-is-doing-to-better-reach-young-adults-worldwide-245912
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-13/innovate-institute-students-share-how-and-why-its-working-245930
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-03-13/week-in-review-inauguration-byu-pathway-president-face-to-face-youth-trust-in-the-lord-holland-246009
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-13/church-emotional-resilience-training-expands-to-15-languages-245846
My thanks once again to you all.
In case you had missed it:
ReplyDeleteSaints, Volume 3: Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, 1893–1955 will be available on April 22, 2022
This Volume covers a period of church history that is mostly unknown to me, so I am excited to read it.
Danny, I had not been aware of that, and was going to ask for a source that verifies the information, but it turns out that information is available on the official Church's webpage for the Saints project:
Deletehttps://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/saints?lang=eng
Thank you for bringing that to our attention here. The date spans on this project are interesting. I would have thought it might make more sense to coordinate the release of the volumes through the tenures of our Latter-day Saint prophets, but that is not the case here. I am not sure where volume 2 left off, but I assume it was either just before or just after covering the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple. And unless I am mistaken, I believe the end year noted marked the beginning of efforts in Church Correlation. So that would span the remaining prophetic tenure of Wilford Woodruff and would also highlight Church history milestones during the tenures of his successors, including Lorenzo Snow (which would likely go into detail on how President Woodruff counseled President Snow not to wait to reorganize the First Presidency), Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, and George Albert Smith. But it would also cover the first 3-4 years of President David O. McKay's tenure.
Thanks for mentioning that, Danny. As someone who loves Church history, I am thrilled to hear about this development. I look forward to seeing what the timing is on the release of other volumes. I'm impressed by the Church History Department, who has overseen the release of these volumes while at the same time churning out volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers Project which, unless I am mistaken, is nearing completion. Exciting times ahead. Thanks again, Danny!
I think the books are sectioned to end each with on a focus of temples
DeleteThe first volume ends with the saints receiving the endowment in Nauvoo Temple
The second volume ends with the dedication of the salt lake city temple.
The third volume, as I understand, ends with the dedication of the Switzerland temple in 1955, marking the first temple in europe.
I suspect that the fourth novel will also end on the topic of temples, of which in the past 20+ years there has been quite the hastening of the work, so I have no idea where a good place to draw the line might be. The efforts of the current and several former presidents have been focused on temples. Maybe the timing will be such that they can include the rededication of both the Washington DC temple and the Salt Lake City temples. Exciting times still ahead!
Danny, thank you for this additional comment. If the intent is to end with a focus on temples, that makes sense. I had not thought about that factor. If the third volume ends in 1955, it wouldn't surprise me if it ends with information on the dedication of the Bern Switzerland Temple, which was the first European temple to be dedicated. I could then see the eventual fourth volume ending with a discussion of the temple-building boom that took place under the dynamic leadership of President Spencer W. Kimball, with the fifth volume then ending with a focus on President Hinckley's milestone goal to have 100 operating temples by the end of the year 2000, which was actually exceeded by 2. The sixth volume would likely end on the expansive temple-building period on which the Church has embarked as directed by President Nelson.
DeleteI think when the Saints volumes get to the Kimball, Hinckley, Monson, and Nelson presidencies there will be a lot more to cover. In fact, if President Nelson is still around for the next decade or two (of which I have no doubt that he will), there may need to be multiple volumes of Saints just to cover the ongoing Nelson administration. It will be exciting to see what happens there. Thanks again, Danny, for weighing in with your thoughts on this. Feel free to continue to comment anytime you have anything to share. I really appreciate hearing from you.
Hello again, everyone! Although there have not been any new Church News or Newsroom updates or any temple construction status changes, I did want to mention something else: I had noted a while back that I had worked on revising my General Conference predictions. Part of that process involved refining my list of ptential locations that could have a temple announced in April. Here is the latest updated version of that list:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1HaK2euKIea0XIpAhkr0pS7AVpwL78qHO0zrl1SZnZvI/edit?usp=sharing
I have also mentioned a few times recently that I virtually attended a stake conference in December. Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a GA Seventy who is the Executive Director of the Family History Department, presided at that conference. During his remarks in the Sunday session, he noted that the Church has over 300 temples in various stages. Since there are 265 temples currently in any phase of construction, that implies at least 35 new temples might be announced in 2022.
While I don't believe more than 30 temples will be announced next month in General Conference, the Church could announce 35 this year in both General Conferences. And although the Church has announced groundbreaking arrangements for 9 temples so far this year, only 1 of those 9 will actually have a groundbreaking by the weekend of the April 2022 General Conference. With that in mind, I think that a smaller portion of those 35 temples might be announced this go-round. After careful consideration, it seems probable to me that the Church could announce 16 new temples next month, with the remaining 19 being announced in October.
As some of you might also recall, I've previously shared a list of temples announced by President Nelson, broken down first by the conference month (with the exception of last May's announcement of the Ephraim Utah Temple), then by the geographical areas of the Church within which each new temple falls. Here is an updated version of that document, with the 16 Church areas most likely to see a temple announced listed, followed by 1-3 locations per area which seem to be most likely to be announced in April:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HaK2euKIea0XIpAhkr0pS7AVpwL78qHO0zrl1SZnZvI/edit?usp=sharing
Of course, only time will tell whether any or all of these suggested most likely announcements will actually come to fruition, and I speak only for myself, not for the Church or the prophet of the Lord. My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom has shared two new reports this afternoon:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-refugees-europe
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/donation-unhcr-wfp-refugees-europe
And here are several Church News updates:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-03-14/church-4-million-to-help-refugees-europe-ukraine-latter-day-saint-charities-246111
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-03-14/new-zealand-latter-day-saints-send-ongoing-relief-aid-to-tonga-after-january-volcanic-eruption-and-tsunami-246048
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-03-14/new-alaska-anchorage-mission-president-and-companion-called-to-serve-246093
Before I move on to the final report, I did want to note that the outgoing Alaska Anchorage Mission leaders have only served for two years rather than the typical three. It's possible that either of the couple (Gregory G. or Lynnell S, King) could be called to general Church service.
Here is the final report:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-03-14/byu-women-basketball-shaylee-gonzales-lead-team-big-dance-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-246077
My thanks once again to you all.
On the comment threads of the Church Growth Blog recently, I observed that, while the Church does not give a financial overview of how tithing is used each year, there are regular references showing how the Church contributes financially or through supplies to many charitable efforts every year. The Newsroom and the Church News have provided details on yet another significant contribution the Church has made to both Ghana and Europe. First, regarding Europe, here are the latest reports from the Newsroom:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-refugees-europe
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/donation-unhcr-wfp-refugees-europe
And the Church News has reported another donation to aid victims of domestic violence, which was given to Ghana by the Church:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-03-15/church-donates-to-ghana-center-for-domestic-violence-victims-246058
Also today, significant updates have been reported on the Lima Peru Los Olivos and Tallahassee Florida Temples:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/lima-peru-los-olivos-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/tallahassee-florida-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.