Hello again, everyone! In recent weeks, the timing of announcements about temple phase transitions has become slightly less predictable, with some announcements coming Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning rather than on Tuesday morning. So it has been difficult to anticipate the timing of such announcements each week, assuming there are any at all. Despite that, I am pleased to be able to report today that 16 additional temples will begin their transitions to phase 4 (normal operations) as soon as today.
The 16 temples include the following: 10 in Latin America (Buenos Aires and Cordoba Argentina; Concepcion and Santiago Chile; Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango Guatemala; Asuncion Paraguay; Montevideo Uruguay; Panama City Panama; and Tegucigalpa Honduras); 3 in Africa (Aba Nigeria, Durban South Africa, Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo); 2 in the United States (Birmingham Alabama and Orlando Florida) and 1 in Europe (Paris France). These adjustments are also confirmed in the area-by-area temple status tracker.
As a result of the latest adjustments, the reopening status of the Church's 170 currently-operating temples stands as follows: 8 are closed for major renovations (all of which have been granted a designation of phase 3, allowing patrons in those districts to schedule phase 3 appointments at the nearest temples open); 1 each with phase 3 operations suspended (Kyiv Ukraine) and in phase 1 (Suva Fiji); 0 in phases 2 and 2-B; 35 remaining in phase 3; and the remaining 125 which have transitioned or soon begin transitioning to phase 4 operations.
In view of today's announcement, 77.16% of the 162 currently-open temples are or will be returning to normal operations. Aside from the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, which is currently affected by the Russian invasion of that nation (which despite having previously moved on from Kyiv, has now seen action resume there), and the Suva Fiji Temple (where the transition to normal operations is being hindered by local COVID-19 conditions, among other factors), I believe in coming weeks that the 8 temples being renovation may be granted phase 4 status since the temples nearest to them have begun such transitions already.
The same is true of the 35 temples currently in phase 3. It has been interesting to watch the methodical way in which temple reopenings have occurred, and I again testify of the prophetic foresight guiding that process. But in addition to temple reopenings, there is another development I need to cover here. The Church is preparing to host tours of the Yigo Guam Temple.
Since some of the Saints in the forthcoming temple district are currently prohibited from traveling to Guam due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Church is bringing the experience of the temple open house through means of virtual tours and samples of materials used to furnish and beautify that edifice. The "traveling open house" will reach out to members and friends of other faiths in those regions to allow them to be part of that experience. That brings me to a potential correction I may need to make.
I had understood that the Church was using a multipurpose space in the temple that could serve alternately as an instruction room for the endowment or a sealing room. The open house pictures appear to indicate they will be separate spaces, which was not originally indicated when construction began. If that is correct, then it corrects and supersedes anything I previously said on that.
The VIP/invited guest tours have begun, with the formal open house starting tomorrow and going through May 14. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday May 22, under the direction of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I will monitor available resources for updates on that and bring word of those to you as they are reported. I also continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will bring you all word of those as I receive it.
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.
I would like to see more traveling open houses. A virtual one could be nice as well.
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for taking time to weigh in. The idea of a traveling open house is intriguing. That was a workable solution for the Yigo Guam Temple because COVID-19 does not currently permit some who will be in the Yigo Guam district from traveling to that temple. But it did occur to me to wonder if the Church might keep pandemic conditions in mind once they no longer apply. What that might mean in this case is that either traveling open houses may be more normal in the future or (and this might be more likely), in consideration of the distances involved for those in any temple district, a new temple might be announced for those too far away to participate in open houses for their assigned temples.
DeleteThe Church could also do both, conduct traveling open houses for the current distances involved, then holding physical open houses for future temples that mitigate the distances involved. I have been thinking a lot lately about the surprise announcements of the temples in Culican Mexico and Maceio, Santos, and Vitoria Brazil. Under ordinary metrics used by past prophets, those temples would not have been on the radar for the next decade or so. But President Nelson has made it clear he's serious about bringing temples to the people, and that obviously means that he's changing the standard parameters for announcing new temples.
So if those parameters are changing, then those of us who continue to predict temple locations need to change the focus and parameters we use. President Nelson's use of out-of-the-box choices for some recent temples will necessitate out-of-the-box methods in calculating and predicting where future temples could go. With all of that in mind, I have been working on expanding my net of temple predictions, starting with my initial list for the October 2022 General Conference. So I hope we are all preparing to alter our thinking on future temples, because President Nelson clearly has.
Hope these thoughts, such as they are, are helpful. As always, Chris, thanks for stopping by to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you whenever you want to weigh in here. Hope you and yours are staying happy, healthy, safe, and well in the midst of these increasingly turbulent times.
Hello again, everyone! In view of ongoing health difficulties, I've been slightly late in discovering and passing along reports of new developments such as what has been covered in my latest post above. I have been utilizing Blogger's post publication time settings to publish such updates as if I had discovered them when they were originally announced. I know I don't need to share that information, but I wanted to give insight into my process over the last little while. Hopefully that's okay with each of you, my readers.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, the following additional reports were provided by the Church News today::
https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2022-05-03/episode-81-davis-and-asialene-smith-founders-of-the-cotopaxi-gear-company-on-being-better-member-missionaries-252833
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-05-03/churchs-european-leaders-meet-with-latin-america-caribbean-diplomats-to-discuss-faith-human-dignity-252641
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-03/byu-devotional-sister-neill-f-marriott-look-unto-me-focus-on-christ-and-act-on-his-strength-252855
And there may be some temple updates. Even if the construction status on temples currently under construction or undergoing renovation has remained wholly unchanged, there has been some new information available on at least a few of the temples in various stages of planing and approval, which could impact the upcoming construction queue based on future announcements relating to those temples. I am doing my best to quickly analyze all such updates and will hopefully have information on those posted here later today. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
I failed to mention something I discovered yesterday: another shift in the construction queue for temples anticipated to be completed next year or the year after that. It appears that the Tallahassee Florida Temple construction is further along than expected at this point, so its' completion estimate has been moved up to late 2023-early 2024, the same estimate now in place for the Mendoza Argentina Temple. And the estimate for the completion of the Alabang Philippines, Auckland New Zealand, and Deseret Peak Utah Temples is early 2024. Just wanted to make note of that. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has published three new reports on this Wednesday:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-05-04/president-bingham-and-president-cordons-12-day-ministry-in-asia-area-cambodia-singapore-thailand-252740
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2022-05-04/church-connections-to-washington-d-c-smithsonian-washington-monument-252891
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-04/utah-area-presidency-elder-pearson-vision-members-salt-lake-city-headquarters-challenges-252790
And here is one new report from the Newsroom:
https://news-middleeast.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sikh-leaders-from-dubai-meet-with-first-presidency
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom and the Church News have shared social media posts from President Nelson on this National Day of Prayer:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/national-day-of-prayer-president-nelson
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-05-05/what-president-nelson-wrote-on-social-media-about-thoughts-and-prayers-to-acknowledge-national-day-of-prayer-253004
The Church News shared the following 3 additional reports which speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-04/justserve-interfaith-effort-leads-to-prom-dresses-and-pampering-for-young-women-in-need-252926
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-05/church-wheelchair-donations-changing-lives-around-the-world-252582
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-05/washington-dc-temple-open-house-senators-supreme-court-justices-ambassadors-visit-renovated-252911
And new leaders have been called for two more temples around the world. Their service is set to begin in September:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-05-05/new-temple-presidents-matrons-quetzaltenango-guatemala-panama-city-252916
Here is my updated document tracking these changes, which I will allow to speak for itself:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J-KR6Hdv4ElYa8ZxBn6OqGWSEMcZxi3GaLcCoYTrJec/edit?usp=sharing
My thanks once again to you all.
Latest on Grand Junction Temple construction: This week saw a big increase in activity on the temple site. More equipment was moved onto the site, digging for what I presume to be water drainage, and utilities has begun, and 3-4 interesting contraptions that are mobile security devices/cameras powered by solar panels have been placed around the almost 7 acre lot. It is fascinating to me to watch the process unfold, albeit slowly.
ReplyDeleteNancy, thanks for this newest update on the Grand Junction Colorado Temple. From what you've noted here, it appears to me that they'll be hoping to formally start construction maybe early next week. If you have photographs or video showing the progess you share here, it might be a good idea to submit such updates to the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site using the online form:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/contact/email/
You can also submit any photographs you might have showing the process specific to that temple to this more specific page:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/grand-junction-colorado-temple/submit-photograph/
I have been a longtime friend of the webmaster of that site, and much of the content is supplied through such feedback. I assume that the process of getting started will be slower, then will speed up once the preliminary efforts have been taken care of. Thanks again for sharing this update, Nancy. It is appreciated.
On this Friday, the regular edition of "This Week on Social" has not yet been published. I assume that is because the Church News is preparing for a special edition of that weekly update entitled "This Mothers' Day on Social". But funeral services were held today for Orrin Hatch, a longtime senior senator here in Utah:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-oaks-honors-senator-hatch
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-05-06/orrin-hatch-oaks-dallin-funeral-mitch-mcconnell-senate-utah-253183
The Newsroom also noted today that, in conjunction with the Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, which will be held on May 15 and will feature Church President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy W. Nelson, facilities on Temple Square will be open. Those attending in person are being asked to use public transit due to limited parking on Temple Square as renovations continue for the Salt Lake Temple"
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/may-15-worldwide-devotional-experiences-around-temple-square
3 more updates from the Church News speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2022-05-06/ksl-newsradio-turns-100-years-old-church-communications-general-conference-252492
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-05-06/byu-track-penn-relays-sisters-relays-champions-wayment-253048
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-06/byu-hawaii-president-kauwe-devotional-endure-trials-challenges-integrity-christ-chinese-parables-253089
And Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Lesa J. Stevenson, are in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, where the Church's 171st temple will be dedicated on Sunday:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-06/rio-de-janerio-brazil-temple-christ-the-redeemer-elder-stevenson-saviors-arms-open-wide-253154
My thanks once again to you all.
It appears that the Church News actually did publish the traditional weekly edition of "This Week on Social" just after 7:00 PM. I was unable to pass that along before now because my wife and I went to the temple for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Due to various health-related struggles on my end, she had actually been able to go a few times before the onset of the pandemic, but this was the first time for me in a while.
DeleteAnyways, getting back to "This Week on Social", this week's posts were featured in the following article:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-06/social-media-elder-holland-life-jesus-christ-suicide-elder-bednar-book-of-mormon-church-leaders-253166
The general leaders featured this week included the following members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, and Quentin L. Cook. The following General Officers were also featured: outgoing Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham and her outgoing Second Counselor, Sister Reyna I. Aburto; outgoing Primary General President and incoming Relief Society General President Sister Camille N. Johnson; Young Women General President Sister Bonnie H. Cordon; and Brother Jan E. Newman, Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Saturday, I am pleased to report that the groundbreaking for the Elko Nevada Temple took place at noon today as scheduled. There are now 51 temples in the current construction queue, with 61 more announced. I will bring word of the reports related to that groudbreaking ASAP once they are provided today. In the meantime, a new Church News article introduces Elder Isaac K. Morrison, the third of the six new GA Seventies called during the April 2022 General Conference:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-05-07/elder-isaac-morrison-new-general-authority-gained-testimony-while-attending-seminary-before-being-a-member-of-the-church-251575
And a new Church News video features Sisters Sharon Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto, the respective outgoing First and Second Counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency, who share their thoughts about the calming sense of peace and quiet that can be found in the temple:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/church-news-videos/2022-05-07/video-washington-dc-temple-finding-a-sense-of-calm-quiet-aburto-eubank-253148
Tomorrow's "Music & the Spoken Word" will be a special edition focused on Mothers' Day. The Church News has shared a copy of the message that will be given by Brother Lloyd Newelll during that broadcast:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-07/music-and-the-spoken-word-motherhood-matters-mothers-day-253132
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom finally provided a report on the groundbreaking for the Elko Nevada Temple:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/ceremony-held-for-constuction-of-elko-nevada-temple
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Mothers' Day 2022, the Newsroom and the Church News have confirmed that the dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple occurred as scheduled today under the direction of Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Lesa J. Stevenson. Also in attendance were Elder Carlos A. Godoy, a Brazilian native currently serving in the Presidency of the Seventy who is assigned to help supervise the Brazil Area of the Church from Church headquarters, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Monica Godoy; Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, a South American native who currently serves at Church headquarters as an Assistant Executive Director of both the Temple and Family History Departments; and Elder Joni L. Koch, the current First Counselor in the Brazil Area presidency and his wife, Sister Michele Koch. Here is the Newsroom report:
Deletehttps://noticias-br.aigrejadejesuscristo.org/artigo/templo-do-rio-de-janeiro-e-dedicado-e-santos-brasileiros-recebem-promessa-apostolica
And here is the Church News report:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-08/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-temple-8th-dedicated-in-brazil-elder-gary-e-stevenson-253346
Each of our current 15 apostles have now presided over at least one temple dedication or rededication. In view of today's dedication, since I am projecting the Church will have a minimum of 300 operating temples by the 200th anniversary of the Church, there are now 129 temples left to be dedicated to reach that milestone, and 7.91 years in which to do that. The Church will need to dedicate roughly 16.31 temples each full year between now and then. This year, 2 other temple dedications are scheduled thus far, and anywhere from 9-11 additional temples could be dedicated by the end of this year, and 14-16 others are anticipated to be dedicated in 2023. Of course, any of those numbers could be adjusted, based on where temples which have had groundbreakings within the last year fall in the construction queue.
The Church News also covered the youth devotional that was held last night prior to today's dedication:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-08/elder-gary-e-stevenson-helps-youth-find-answers-to-questions-before-temple-dedication-in-rio-de-janeiro-253307
Then this morning, the Church News also provided coverage of yesterday's groundbreaking for the Elko Nevada Temple:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-08/elko-nevada-temple-groundbreaking-church-fifth-in-as-many-weeks-253347
The latest edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review" shared the top 9 developments reported this week:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-05-08/week-in-review-in-case-you-missed-it-president-nelson-on-prayer-historical-temple-dedications-bingham-cordon-hatch-253134
Church News editor Sister Sarah Jane Weaver described how a 14-day journey to the temple in Brazil is identical to the journeys each of us have to make to get to our currently-assigned temples:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-08/sarah-jane-weaver-washington-dc-temple-manaus-brazil-14-day-temple-journey-252942
And a special Mothers' Day edition of "This Week on Social", entitled "This Mothers' Day on Social" was published as well:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-08/this-mothers-day-on-social-church-leaders-pay-tribute-to-the-influence-of-mothers-and-women-253393
The leaders featured in today's special edition included the following apostles: Elders David A. Bednar, Neil L. Andersen, and Ronald A. Rasband; with the following General Officers featured as well: outgoing Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham and her outgoing Second Counselor, Sister Reyna I. Aburto; outgoing Primary General President and incoming Relief Society General President Sister Camille N. Johnson, her outgoing First Counselo and incoming General President Sister Susan H. Porter, and outgoing Second Counselor and incoming First Counselor Sister Amy A. Wright; Sisters Michelle D. Craig and Rebecca L. (Becky) Craven, the respective First and Second Counselors in the Young Women General Presidency; and Brother Milton Camargo, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.
My thanks once again to you all.
Earlier this evening, the Newsroom published a report in English about the dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-temple-dedication-elder-stevenson
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Monday, the Newsroom has provided an update on how the Church is helping refugees in Europe:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-refugees-europe
https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/places-of-refuge-from-the-storm
Here is another article about yesterday's dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-09/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-temple-dedication-never-forget-what-you-felt-elder-gary-e-stevenson-tells-saints-253447
And the following 3 additional reports speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-05-09/senior-missionary-couple-serving-through-challenges-englands-blind-guide-dog-252774
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-05-09/headed-to-temple-square-for-may-15-young-adult-devotional-here-are-11-things-to-see-and-do-253365
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-09/temples-eugene-oregon-willamette-valley-modesto-yorba-linda-california-253147
My thanks once again to you all.
And updates have been provided on the Grand Junction Colorado and Bengaluru India Temples:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/grand-junction-colorado-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/bengaluru-india-temple/
The temple in Grand Junction has been placed in the construction queue between the Antofagasta Chile and Davao Philippines Temples, with a completion estimate of 2024, though that is subject to change based on reported progress (or the lack thereof) on that temple or any others in the queue. My thanks once again to you all.
What a great collection of temple history and updates. Thank you for gathering the links.
ReplyDeleteReply