Hello again, everyone! Another Monday afternoon has rolled around, and the First Presidency has released another major temple construction announcement. Opening dates have been set for two temples in the United States: Columbus Ohio and Richmond Virginia. Let's break down the details: First up is information on the open house and rededication of the Columbus Ohio Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, April 24, 2023, followed by VIP tours from Tuesday-Friday April 25-28.
The public open house will follow between Saturday, April 29, and Saturday, May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April 30 and May 7). The temple will be rededicated on Sunday, June 4 in three sessions at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM EDT, under the direction of Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
And for the Richmond Virginia Temple, the Church will hold a media day on Monday, March 20, with VIP tours between Tuesday, March 21-Friday, March 24. Public tours will be held from Saturday, March 25-Saturday, April 15, 2023, excluding the Sundays of March 26, April 9, and April 16, and General Conference weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2, 2023.
The dedication of that temple will follow on Sunday, May 7, 2023, under the direction of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in three sessions at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM EDT. Interestingly, no youth devotionals were mentioned in today's announcement. And I also found it interesting that the announcement did not include opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple.
I was also somewhat baffled by the timing of the respective dedication and rededication of these two temples. Perhaps that indicates that all dedications will be more spread out than I have suggested. Hopefully next week, we get an announcement on the opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, whether or not that announcement is made in conjunction with any other temple updates.
I was grateful to have learned about this update and for being able to share this information with you now I am keeping my eyes open for any additional updates and will be sure to pass word of anything else along as I become aware of it. 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.
The Church News has shared information on today's announcement as well:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/2022/11/14/23454274/first-presidency-temple-dedication-rededication-open-house-dates-richmond-virginia-columbus-ohio
Based on today's announcement, I think next week the Church will set opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, and that the dedication of that temple might take place sometime in April, which would occur before the dedication of the Richmond Viriginia Temple. But if the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple dedication is set to occur after the Richmond Virginia Temple, that could suggest a much more delayed time-frame for the dedication of other temples than what i have previously proposed.. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News also just reported on the death of another emeritus GA Seventy, Elder Darwin B. Christenson:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/14/23458436/elder-darwin-b-christenson-dies-age-87-general-authority-seventy
My thanks once again to you all.
If you all will indulge me for a few minutes here, I wanted to provide some additional commentary on today's announcements. As I noted in my post, I was surprised that the dedication for RIchmond Virginia was announced before the dedication of Saratoga Springs Utah. I was also surprised on the timing. I didn't expect that the next temple dedication would be 4 months after the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple is dedicated, nor did I anticipate that another month after that would pass before the Columbus Ohio Temple is rededicated. I am not sure what this means for Saratoga Springs.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, hopefully an announcement on Saratagoa Springs and perhaps Bangkok as well will come next week. If that occurs, since the Church has done so before, I wouldn't be shocked if the dedication of Utah County's newest temple occurs before the already-announced dedication of Virginia's first temple. The prolonged wait on the two temples whih had openings announced today also suggests that temple events in the next year plus might be more spread out than I thought.
With that in mind, I could see the Church setting the dedication of the Saratoga Springs temple for the last Sunday in April, or to occur on the same day that the Richmond temple will be dedicated, or that the dedication of the former might be done a week after Richmond is dedicated. That would probably put the dedication of the Bangkok Thailand Temple on any of the last 3 Sundays in May, with the Bentonville dedication likely following on the last Sunday in May or the first two Sundays in June. The Brasilia temple dedication may follow on any of the first 3 Sundays in June.
Towards the end of June, or in early July or August, we could see the dedications of the Feather River, and second Lima temples and the rededication of the temple in St. George. That would put the dedications of the Okinawa Japan, Helena Montana, McAllen Texas, Moses Lake Washington, and Layton Utah Temples through August and September, with Urdaneta Philippines following in late September or early October, and October also seeing the dedications of the Orem and Taylorsville Utah Templs. By the end of next year, the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple might also be dedicated.
Since I'm not sure what to make of this possible adjusted timing, I don't know how, when, or at what point the temple dedications might accelerate. Hopefully that will start to occur in the second half of next year, and will continue for the foreseeable future. In any case, a comment on the Church Growth Blog a week or two ago noted that the temple in Saratoga Springs had been handed back over to the Church, so the only way I would be shocked is if we don't get a dedication for that temple announced next week. If that announcement does come next Monday, it's entirely possible the announcement could also include other temple dedications, groundbreakings, released renderings, and/or site location confirmations.
I will be interested to see how all of this pans out. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! After yesterday's unexpected announcemets, it occurred to me to wonder if, given the fact that the Saratoga Springs Utah, Richmond Virginia, and Columbus Ohio Temples all had the same status before yesterday's announcement, could the Church double-up today and announce opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple today? Time will tell. If that happens, a new report on any announcements will be shared here.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, let's get to some updates from today. The Church News reports that Maricopa County in Arizona has the most stakes outside of the state of Utah:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022/11/15/23455832/what-county-outside-utah-has-most-stakes-maricopa-arizona
Fun fact: in view of President Nelson's landmark announcement last month that the Church would be looking at building multiple temples in major metropolitan areas where travle conditions make it harder to get to existing temples, I took a look at the most populous metropolitan areas in the world, with the following results shown in a new document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zW7bbaU6VI23-P7jA42ETSbrqhuq_6SFoUxmoRtFUl0/edit?usp=sharing
These are the most populated areas of the world where one or more temples are or may soon be operating. I don't know how the general population numbers compare with Church membership data, but if even a few of the most populous metropolitan areas also have a high concentration of Church members, the Church could look to build multiple temples to serve those areas. Just something to think about.
Meanwhile, the Church News also reported how Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, as a young man preparing to be trained as a fighter pilot, spent around 4 months in Arizona, where he served as a Sunday School teacher. A young woman in his class belonged to another religious denomination, but upon agreeing with her Latter-day Saint friend to attend one another's religious services, she wound up in then-Brother Uchtdorf's class, which led to her conversion. She became a pioneer member of the Church in that part of Arizona, and recently had the chance to reconnect with Elder Uchtdorf, who was on an apostolic assignment in the area:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/15/23457486/elder-uchtdorf-1962-sunday-school-nonmember-teen-reunited-arizona
Next, regarding temple updates, for some reason, the staus of the Elko Nevada Temple has been removed, and only a note that construction is anticipated to be completed in mid-to-late 2024 remains:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/elko-nevada-temple/
I am also pleased to be able to report that an update on the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple shows that full-scale efforts are now underway:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/willamette-valley-oregon-temple/
The Church Temples site has placed that temple in the queue between the Smithfield Utah and Davao Philippines Temple, with a general completion estimate of mid-2025. As I mentioned recently, based on new photographic or status evidence, it appears likely that the Church might be able to get full-scale efforts underway soon on the Yorba Linda California, Lubumbashi Democratic Repubic of the Congo, and Heber Valley Utah Temples:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/yorba-linda-california-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/yorba-linda-california-temple/photographs/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/lubumbashi-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/lubumbashi-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-temple/photographs/#Construction-1
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/heber-valley-utah-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/heber-valley-utah-temple/photographs/#Construction-1
So there is a lot to think about, consider, and anticipate in terms of temple construction. I will keep my eyes open for any subsequent updates and will be sure to pass those along to you all as I become aware thereof. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Here is one more report:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2022/11/15/23460472/episode-110-first-two-women-appointed-church-military-advisory-committee-serving-church-country
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church has released a statement pertaining to the "Respect For Marriage Act" being deliberated by the US Senate and House of Representatives:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/respect-for-marriage-act-statement
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/15/23461104/church-releases-statement-respect-for-marriage-act
My thanks once again to you all.
Here is one more report, courtesy of the Church News:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/15/23460786/elder-peter-johnson-byu-devotional-come-unto-christ-find-rest
My thanks oce agian to you all.
An update has been provided for the Moses Lake Washington Temple:
Deletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/moses-lake-washington-temple/
As a consequence of that update, the current status of that temple appears to have some similarities with the current status of the Helena Montana Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/helena-montana-temple/
I'm no temple construction expert, but it did occur to me to wonder if the Helena Montana and Moses Lake Washington Temples might be closer to completion than some of their counterparts which are currently ahead of them in the queue. Perhaps only time will tell. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! On this Wednesday, the Church News has shared two new reports, which speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/16/23423097/sunday-relief-society-meetings-counseling-together-increase-unity-revelation
My thanks once again to you all.
I just now realized I only shared one report above. Here are 3 additional ones that each speak for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/11/23452163/elder-rasband-in-brazil-facebook-live-videos
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/16/23462630/sister-anette-dennis-mtc-devotional-always-remember-who-you-are
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/16/23448352/elder-andersens-ministry-pacific-fiji-new-zealand-australia-members-increased-faith-jesus-christ
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom also reported on Elder Rasband's ministry in Brazil, which wrapped up last week, just prior to Elder Renlund being in Brazil to preside over this weekend's dedication of the Belem Brazil Temple:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/in-brazil-elder-rasband-testifies-of-the-savior-in-facebook-live-messages
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Thursday marking one week before Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, the Church News has provided 5 new reports, which each speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/history/2022/11/17/23453418/joseph-smith-papers-illinois-legal-records
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/17/23462847/2022-light-the-world-christmas-initiative-25-days-of-kindness-daily-prompts-giving-machines
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/17/23464369/elder-gilbert-u-of-u-president-randall-prospective-institute-students
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/11/17/23464974/video-president-ballard-our-message-exciting-story-restored-gospel
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/11/17/23464328/jennie-taylor-church-video-life-is-unfair-brent-taylor-killed
And, in what I can only describe as a stunning development not on my radar for the near term, a new report courtesy of the Church Temples site indicates that full-scale efforts are now underway on the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/freetown-sierra-leone-temple/
With construction also anticipated to get underway on the Lubumbashi DR Congo Temple soon, it is possible that the two could be the second pair of African temples anticipated to be completed within the same general time-frame The first current set, of course, is Nairobi Kenya and Harare Zimbabwe, with both anticipated to be completed in mid-to-late 2024, which would likely put the dedicaion of those two temples sometime during either late 2024 or early 2025.
Given the fluctuation of temple construction, I am making an effort just about every day to do a new update on temple time-frames. I will have updated general estimates available to post at some point in the near term, with updated specific estimates likely to be reflected in other reports at a later time. But for any who are curious about what my day-to-day process has been in tracking temple construction, you can see that by checking out the "Version history" option under "File" when you open the following document, to which I've granted access for anyone on the internet with a link to view it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13KK_4EjdzjSIDgRURXF1LcqEIVeZac_H8IArNPNsTwI/edit?usp=sharing
My thanks once again to you all.
Although the Church News provided the previous recent updates on new stake presidents 5 days ago, a new update was made available earlier this evening:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022/11/17/23464547/new-stake-presidents-called-from-spanish-fork-to-south-africa
My thanks once agian to you all.