Note: A brief version of this post, covering the announcement, was published at 1:55 PM, with additional analysis and details added between 6:00-10:00 PM (with the delay in providing these updates due to Halloween night.).
Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, major temple news has been announced by the Church. Site locations and preliminary information were released for the Mexico City Benemerito and San Luis Potosi Mexico Temples, the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple, and the Fort WorthTexas, Knoxville Tennessee, and Tampa Florida Temples. Additionally, the exterior rendering was also released for the Fort Worth Texas Temple. A more detailed analysis of this announcement will follow later this afternoon as time and circumstances allow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
After a busy day in which I had other priorities to handle, I am finally returning this Halloween evening here in Utah to provide the updated analysis I promised. So let's get right into it: We start in Mexico, with the Mexico City Benemerito Mexico and San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, which were both announced in April of this year.
The Mexico City Benemerito Mexico Temple will be built near the existing MTC in Mexico City. The address of the site in question is Tenayuca-Chalmita 828, Col. Zona Escolar, Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de México, CP 07230, Mexico. The acreage of the site in question was not provided, but the site will hold a two-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet. It's also worth noting that this is the first "second temple" in a major capital city for which the official name and region were already specified as part of the announcement.
As for the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, the single-story 9,300 square foot edifice will be built at Arboleda 100, Fraccionamiento del Parque, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, CP 78260, Mexico, on a 3.87 acre site. Given the size specified, I think we might see a similar design for that temple that has been used for the Yigo Guam, Praia Cape Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples, particularly with the two ordinance rooms that can alternately be used for endowment sessions or sealing appointments as the schedule requires.
That brings us to the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple. A comment left on this post by longtime contributor Kenny correctly noted we did not get an official name fandor this temple with today's announcement. But we got a site announcement and released rendering for the second temple in Guatemala City Guatemala first, with the confirmation of the official name coming later, and the groundbreaking scheduled after that. So I think similar situation could apply to the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temmple. It's also a fair observation that the official name for the second Sao Paulo Brazil Temple could be posted to the Church's official list of announced temples at some point before the official confirmation from the Church, which also happened with the second Guatemala City temple. Stay tuned for more on that.
In the meantime, as for the details about the temple, it was announced in October of 2020. The approximatelyy 46,050 square foot two-story temple will rise on a 10.7 acre site at the location of Av. Guilherme Giorgi, 1091, Vila Carrão São Paulo - SP, Brazil. Based on the location, I could see the Church giving it the official name of Vila Carrão São Paulo Brazil, ila Carrão Brazil, or the name of any of the stakes or landmarks in that region, with or without the city designation. The Church may also use any Spanish or Portuguese word, as they did with the Miraflores name for the second Guatemala City Temple.
In any case, given the fact that we have a Brazilian native in Elder Soares as an apostle, I assume that the First Presidency and Temple and Family History Executive Council asked for his opinion on the location, and may give him the prerogative of suggesting the official name, as they did with Elder Holland and the second temple in St. George. The second temple in that city was one of only two left in the queue that was originally announced in October 2020.
That brings us to the 3 temples in the United States. As mentioned in my initial version of this post, the exterior rendering for the Fort Worth Texas Temple was released with the site information, pushing that temple higher on the list of those likely to see groundbreakings soon than its' two US counterparts which also had locations and initial details confirmed today, and also ahead of the Modesto California and Singapore Temples, which had sites confirmed without a release of exterior renderings three weeks ago today.
The Fort Worth Texas Temple will be built in nearby Burleson Texas, on a 9.37-acre site located North of SW Hulen Street and Greenridge Drive in that city and will be a single-story temple of 30,000 square feet. Hopefully, the release of a rendering with the site location means we could see a groundbreaking follow in the early months of next year, if not sooner.
The Fort Worth Texas Temple is the second of the four US Temples announced in October 2021. The other two US temples were both announced in April of this year. Interestingly, the site locations for the Knoxville Tennessee and Tampa Florida Temples were revealed in the opposite order in which they were announced. So wnoe start with Tennessee's third temple, which will rise on a 4.99-acre site at 13001 Kington Pike, Farragut, Tennessee, where the Church will build a single-story temple of 30,000 square feet.
And the newest temple for Florida will be the same size as Knoxville and will be built adjacent to an existing meetinghouse on a 16.2-acre site at 4806 Bell Shoals Road, in Valrico, Florida. Given the fact that the three US temples are the same size, I wouldn't be shocked if both the Knoxville and Tampa temples have similar or identical designs as the Fort Worth Texas Temple.
It's also worth noting that none of the three US temples are actually going to physically be located in the cities for which they are named, which is kind of unique. I have some additional thoughts to share about today's announcements. For the first time in over a year, I have updated the document showing updated sections of my temple construction progress report.
The sections in question show the 4 temples with groundbreakings scheduled, the now-16 temples for which I think groundbreakings could all occur at some point next year, the 6 temples for awhich official details might soon be confirmed, and the now-9 temples in the United States announced in October of last year and the two General Conferences this year which might have details confirmed sooner than their remaining 37 counterparts outside the United States.
Additionally, I have updated the list of announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet. That list now reflects the 2 temples originally announced in April 2018, one apiece from the next 2 General Conferences, 3 from April 2020, 1 from October of that same year, 5 and 9 respectively from April and October of last year, and 11 and 18 from the 35 announced in April and October of this year, respectively.
And as a result of today's announcement, with 72 temples announced, the total number of temples that have not had any information announced comes to 51. I fully believe that there will be other announcements relating to some of those 51 in the coming weeks. Before I conclude this post, I wanted to also address some comments that have been left here recently which have expressed hope that the Church might soon announce the open houses and rededication for the Columbus Ohio Temple and the dedications of other temples nearing completion.
Based on some research on my end, it seems most likely that the reopening arrangements for Columbus will be coming next, and when that is set, it could happen on the last Sunday in February or the first two Sundays in March. The dedications of the temples in Saratoga Springs Utah (to which I will be assigned once it is dedicated), Richmond Virginia, and Bangkok Thailand would then follow later in March or April. And the dedications of other temples would be after that.
My revised estimates come as a result of receiving word of supply chain delays that will delay the finishing touches on these temples, and the revised estimates are made with that in mind. That being said, at some point, if the supply shortages are addressed and sufficiently resolved, that could accelerate the timeline for temple open houses and their associated dedications or rededications. For now, it seems more prudent to be more conservative in those estimates.
I continue to monitor all temple construction updates, in addition to all Church News, Newsroom, and other reports and will do my best to continue to bring you word of those developments as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. 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 was surprised/disappointed that we didn't get an official name for the Sao Paulo East temple (unless they just keep it that). Hopefully next Monday's announcements will be groundbreaking and/or dedications.
ReplyDeleteWe have seen a similar naming convention before. For example the old Provo Tabernacle was named "Provo City Center" when it was renovated into a temple. It even dropped Utah as the state name. For another Temple, I think the name for the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple is a long name though. Like Provo City Center, I think it could drop the nation name as the former did with the state name. (the city name is the same as the country anyway).
DeleteHello, Scott and Anonymous. Sorry for my delayed acknowledgement of your comments, but I just now finished my more extended analysis of today's developments. Scott, I addressed the issue of the potential name for the second Sao Paulo Temple within the post, but to add detail, as I noted, I think that the Brethren might invite Elder Soares, due to his ties to the area in question, to make the call about the name. I would have to check my recent updates shared here regarding the ministry of our apostles, but unless I am mistaken, Elder Soares may be out on an apostolic ministry assignment this week. If that's the case, I could see why the decision might have been made by the First Presidency to announce what they could now, but wait until Elder Soares returns to get input from him (and possibly his wife) on the name. When the Church was seeking a name for the second St. George Temple, they deferred to Elder Holland who grew up in the area, and it was actually his wife that suggested the Red Cliffs name that the Church went with. So they may be awaiting the chance to consult with Elder Soares, who will likely similarly involve his wife in the matter. I would personally encourage the three of us (myself, Scott, and whoever left the Anonymous comment) to keep an eye on the Church's temple list. The name will likely be noted there, followed a short time later by the official confirmation from the Church through a Newsroom release, and a groundbreaking set after that point.
DeleteScott, I also addressed your question about the delay in announcing temple openings or reopenings within the post. But in summary for those who want my thoughts but don't want to wade through the more extensive analysis, let me just say in summary that the supply chain issues to which I've previoussly referred have continued. As a result, and based on my research about the timelines for the dedication or rededication of temples in the US, it might be 2-3 weeks at earliest before we see rededication infomration on Columbus or dedication information on Saratoga Springs and Richmond. I'd anticipate a late February-early March window for the Columbus rededication, a March window for the Saratoga Springs and Richmond dedications, and a mid-to-late April window for the dedication of Thailand's first temple.
Hopefully by the April General Conference, the supply chain issues will be resolved, and the subsequent dedications of other new temples and the rededication of the St. George Utah Temple might not be subject to the current delays, but time may tell on that. Hope this shorter analysis (and the more detailed version in my post above, which may not be for the faint of heart) is helpful. Anonymous, I'd love to know to whom I might offer my thanks for your comment. And Scott, thanks for taking time to weigh in, as always. I appreciate hearing from you both.
I almost gave up on announcements today. It seems that they came later in the day than usual. (Actually it seems like each week, it has been later). I was happy to see 6 developments.
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! Hope it's okay, but I went ahead and deleted your comment from earlier that showed you deleted the content thereof tonight. The new "standard time" for Monday temple announcements appears to be between 1-3 PM here in Utah, which I believes coincides with the time for you in Idaho. I was also not expecting 6 site confirmations today. I provided more analysis on where today's announcements leave Nelsonian temples. Of the 6 announcements today, I anticipate that the Fort Worth Texas Temple will be the first of this latest bunch to have groundbreaking arrangements announced. I provided more extensive analysis on each temple above if you're interested, in addition to an update on where the 72 currently-anounced temples stand currently. Thanks, as always, for taking time to share your thoughts. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteHello again, everyone! Although I had intended to publish a new post when the PDF versions of the November magazines were available, I don't want to overshadow the news of the 6 temple sites, so I am instead posting that news here. The Church has updated the lists of advisers to each magazine, as shown in the following document:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1ge_w9W9lq4ppcHRZJDeNCYa6vz_qMY53s_Xd-y6oYAs/edit?usp=sharing
A couple of notes: For the first time in a while, we have both an editor and an assistant editor (though the assistant editor does not appear to be listed in the Friend, which is likely an oversight). Elder Michael T. Ringwood is the Executive Director of the Priesthood and Family Department and the only other individual listed in all three magazines. It appears that the Church has assigned the Second Counselors in the Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Men, and Young Women General Presidencies as advisers for the respective magazines corresponding with the groups for whom they have stewardship. Sister Wright was the Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency when she was asked to serve as an adviser to the Friend, so they have apparently retained her in that assignment.
Additionally, I had intended in that new post to provide a look at how my mock-up version of the Liahona's table of contents compared with the actual thing, but in order to not detract the focus today from the 6 site locations announced, I will instead link to the appropriate document here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ov5JlriBMeRxzfH_MQm_Rv7rXEXpaX9TQ8URCqn9qG0/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to reply to this comment with any feedback on these documents. My thanks once again to you all.
I will keep the reply option on my previous comment open for anyone who may have comments on the changes in magazine editor(s) and advisers. In the interim, the Church News provided the following report relating to Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/31/23432794/elder-neil-andersen-golf-with-lds-pga-golfer-latter-day-saint-tony-finau
And since I provided a link to the Church News update on the 6 new temple locations in my post above, the only other Church News update that remains is the one covering Saturday's groundbreaking for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022/10/31/23433607/ground-broken-for-willamette-valley-oregon-temple-near-eugene
Here is the Newsroom's homepage on the latest temple developments:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/-news-on-7-houses-of-the-lord-in-the-americas-
And here is the Newsroom report on Saturday's temple groundbreaking:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/ground-broken-for-willamette-valley-oregon-temple
The Newsroom also covered the second half of Elder Bednar's remarks proving that belief in Christ and the Restoration is not unreasonable:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-bednar-5-additional-truths-proving-belief-in-christ-restoration-not-unreasonable
At this point in my night, I will provide any other temple construction updates tomorrow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
On this Tuesday, it has been a busy day, so this is my first opportunity to provide updates. I have 5 new reports from the Church News to pass along today:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022/11/1/23433222/church-maternal-neonatal-training-republic-of-congo
https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2022/11/1/23434806/president-ballard-faith-in-every-footstep-guest-host-sheri-dew-episode-108
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/1/23435292/primary-general-president-susan-porter-byu-devotional-receiving-gifts-from-god
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/1/23424931/brother-ahmad-s-corbit-activism-discipleship
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/1/23430653/elder-bednar-byu-idaho-devotional-intermission-stars-scriptures-3-questions
And here is one more update from the Newsroom:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-porter-shares-3-ways-to-more-fully-receive-the-gifts-of-god
I am not currently aware of any new temple construction updates, but if there are any, I will be sure to pass them along ASAP. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
As I was reviewing the google maps, it looks like a future metro station is being built adjacent to the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple. That should make the temple very accessible to people in the area.
ReplyDeleteMore info on the metro station next to the temple site: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esta%C3%A7%C3%A3o_Santa_Isabel_(Metr%C3%B4_de_S%C3%A3o_Paulo). If the temple name does not change, maybe it could share the name of the station. Santa Isabel Sao Paulo Brazil Temple could be a possibility.
DeleteChris, thanks for mentioning the metro station. That's a good insight. The names of second temples in major metropolitan areas have been interesting to observe. We have the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple, the Alabang Philippines Temple, the Red Cliffs Utah Temple and the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple. So the first used the city name followed by a regional identifier. The second simply used the specific location. The third name paid tribute to a prominent feature in the region where the temple was built. And the fourth name included a word that, to my knowledge did not have anything to do with the temple location, followed by the city designation.
DeleteSo the question that comes to my mind is, would the Church give the second Sao Paulo temple the name of a future metro station that may or may not be completed before construction gets underway on the temple proper? That's harder to answer. Quite frankly, I've always been surprised by the inspired names for each "second temple", but they have always been a good fit, and I have always known they were inspired the minute I read them.
In any case, the one thing I think we can definitely count on relating to a name for the second temple in Sao Paulo is that Elder Soares (and likely his wife as well) will have input on the name at least, if not a final say in what it should be at the most. President Nelson seems to be especially sensitive to the connections of his fellow apostles to some decisions and allows them to offer that input accordingly.
I think we might see a rendering released for that temple as the next major announcement about it, but that it is possible that the official name would be released at that same time. It's also possible that the official name might be updated on the list of announced temples on the Church website before it is officially confirmed in the Newsroom..
In any case, Chris, thanks for the information about the metro station. That is an interesting development of which I was not aware, so I appreciate you mentioning it. I always appreciate hearing from you, so thanks for continuing to comment here.
On this Wednesday, the Church News has published the following 4 updates, which speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022/11/2/23433868/church-donation-rachel-servers-education-remote-areas-philippines
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/2/23424914/friend-to-friend-for-children-my-heavenly-father-loves-me-primary-general-presidency
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022/11/2/23435262/honduras-church-members-donations-heavy-rains-hurricane-julia-eta-iota
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/2/23435181/latter-day-saint-hero-1985-mexico-city-earthquake-marcos-efren-zarinana-died
My thanks once again to you all.
Here are two more reports from the Church News, which also speak for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/2/23437393/sheri-dew-byu-hawaii-devotional-are-prophets-infallible
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/2/23424579/elder-gerrit-w-gong-cancun-mexico-young-adult-devotional
My thanks once again to you all.
And here is one more update, fresh off the presses, as the saying goes:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/2/23424914/friend-to-friend-for-children-my-heavenly-father-loves-me-primary-general-presidency
Thanks again, everyone!
Status updates have been noted on the Burley Idaho, St. George Utah, and Salt Lake Temples:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/burley-idaho-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/st.-george-utah-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/salt-lake-temple/
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Thursday, the Newsroom and the Church News have both shared information about the Church's "Light the World" campaign this year:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/giving-machine-locations-2022
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/3/23438814/light-the-world-giving-machines-2022-expand-mobile
In conjunction with that update on the Church's 2022 Christmas initiative, the Church News has provided information for those wanting to attend or view the First Presidency's 2022 Christmas Devotional:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/3/23439046/how-to-attend-watch-first-presidency-annual-christmas-devotional
And on the heels of yesterday's report about Elder Gong's ministry in Mexico, the Church News has also highlighted recent efforts made by the Church to help migrants and refugees in that nation:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022/11/3/23437151/church-donations-mexico-migrants-refugees-shelters
And following the release of Tuesday's Church News podcast, which featured Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles sharing insights from his life about how women contribute to the Church, the Church News has released a video featuring his comments interspersed with shots showing women who are contributing to the Church in the ways he emphasized:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/3/23439198/video-president-ballard-voice-of-women
I also wanted to share a personal note here: I am currently dealing with some minor health issues that could complicate my ability to provide or potentially delay my providing of some of the updates I usually share. It's nothing major, and I will be okay. I'm just not at my best right now, so if my reports are delayed or interrupted for the next day or two, that will be why.
That being said, I did want to note that we have two apostolic birthdays coming up this month, Elder Uchtdorrf's 82nd this Sunday and Elder Renlund's 70th the Sunday after that. Before my illness hit yesterday, I was able to prepare advance versions of posts honoring both that will be published in the mornings of the next two Sundays. I am sure that after doing whatever I might need to do to resolve my symptoms, I will be back to regular updates as usual. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Here is another update from the Church News, highlighting facts and figures relating to temple milestones that have occurred throughout this month:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022/11/3/23437837/october-2022-temple-numbers-milestones-300-118-18-1
My thanks once again to you all.
After a very busy Friday for me, I am pleased to be able to share 3 reports from the Church News which speak for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/4/23437532/justserve-afghan-refugees-st-louis
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/4/23437000/rabbi-meir-soloveichik-shares-why-faith-is-essential-well-being-of-america
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/4/23434866/central-america-area-concert-for-youth-2022
The latest edition of "This Week on Social" was also published:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/4/23438141/this-week-on-social-family-history-work-bind-generations-for-eternity-elder-holland-andersen
In addition to content provided by Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Neil L. Andersen, both members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the latest edition also featured posts from Relief Society General President Sister Camille N. Johnson and her First Counselor, Sister J. Anette Dennis; Primary General President Sister Susan H. Porter and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Amy A. Wright and Tracy Y. Browning; Brother Milton Camargo, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency; and Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
And here is one additional Church News report:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/4/23441384/sacrament-instituted-disciples-blessed-savior-ascends-book-of-mormon-videos
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Saturday, the Newsroom and the Church News have both reported on Elder Holland's current ministry visit to 3 European nations:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-hollands-europe-ministry-begins-in-germany
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/5/23441708/elder-holland-hannover-germany-young-adult-devotional-european-ministry
And here is a Church News update on the ministy of Acting President M. Russell Ballard, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/5/23437729/president-ballard-am-i-doing-everything-the-lord-wants-me-to-do
And three additional Church News updates speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/5/23437981/watch-friend-to-friend-my-heavenly-father-loves-me-primary-event
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/5/23439556/music-the-spoken-word-striving-to-become-like-him
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/5/23365026/sarah-jane-weaver-jewish-phrase-soul-of-man-in-the-candle-of-god-from-rabbi-soloveichik
My thanks once again to you all.