Stokes Sounds Off: 12/31/22

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Saturday, December 31, 2022

2022 Year-End Review of Developments Covered On This Blog

 Hello again, everyone! Although the Newsroom and the Church News have already provided multiple reports to cap off the year, and although more of those have come through today, I would be remiss as we close out the year if I did not look back myself at the major highlights covered on this blog this year. Either this year or last year, someone in the comments of this blog said that the content I provide was comparable to "the Church News on steroids". While I don't know if that's an accurate assessment of my work, there has been a lot going on this year. Let's take a look back at key highlights from 2022.

Temple updates, as noted in my last post, were outstanding and significant. Numerous reports covered the day-to-day ministry of our apostles and General Officers of the Church, including birthday tributes to the apostles and female general officers. Breaking news often came down the pike, not all of which was related to temple construction. I hit the outstanding milestone of 2,200 posts earlier this year. And of course, there were the unique projects and milestones of which I took note.

So many of the major announcements were developments I wasn't necessarily anticipating. But with the Church finding ways to hasten temple construction, and with the ongoing ministry of general leaders, updates were never in short supply. And I continued my personal tradition of praying in advance of every maojr announcement. As those developments were reported, I felt they were exactl;y what the Church needed for this period of time.

In the midst of global disasters, the Church stepped up in big ways to help in any way possible. Numerous Church leaders met with dignitaries and major representatives of governments around the world. The Church expanded its' golobal reach, and missionaries continued to find innovative ways to expand their reach as well. If there is one hting I hope my readers take away from coverage of these developments here in 2022, I hope it is that the Lord is very much at the helm of His work, that prophets and apostles continue to provide inspired direction, and that all is well in the Lord's kingdom here on Earth because of that.

And so, as I close out this look back, I also want to look ahead to the future. As I mentioned in my last post, I will not be shocked if 2023 is another big year for temple developments. The Church is on track to dedicate 20-30 temples in 2023 alone, and around the same number of groundbreakings appear to be anticiapted. I also expect the Church will announce a minimum of 35 temples again this year.

As far as content unique to this blog, I have complied a list of anticipated projects for the upcoming year. And the day-to-day updates from the Church News, the Newsroom, the Church Temples site, and the Church Growth Blog will also be shared here as time and circumsstances allow. 2022 has also been a big year for feedback from all of you, my readers, in the way of corrections, clarifications, or additional observations.

I could not do what I do here to the extent that I do it were it not for the extensive intinerest and support provided by those of you who follow along here, who often share feedback and thoughts, and who continue to encourage me in those ongoing updates. So as we look back at 2022 and ahead to 2023, "thank you" seems woefully inadequate, but it will have to do.

For my part, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple construction updates and will be sure to pawss word of the latest developments to you all here as time and circumstancs allow going forward. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

2022 Year-End Review of Temple Construction

Hello again, everyone! In these closing minutes of 2022, I would be remiss if I failed to pass along a look back at temple construction progress during this year. First, it's worth referring back to the three-part summary of temple construction developments published by the Church News. 

The first part highlighted temple dedications and rededications, when they occurred, and who presided at each one. A total of 4 temple rededications and 5 new temple dedications took place in 2022, and the Church has already set the first three temple dedications for next year.

The second part summarized key information about the 16 temple groundbreakingss held this year, which outpaced the 12 temples that had groundbreakings last year. The Church has already set the first temple groundbreaking for 2023, and a minimum of 27 others could also have groundbreakings next year.  

The second part also highlighted the fact that there are 37 other temples worldwide that are currently under construction (5 in Utah; 8 elsewhere in the United States, 3 in Central America, 6 in South America, 3 in Africa, 8 in Asia, and the final 3 in Oceania). The article also highlighted the 3 temples currently undergoing renovation and 3 others for which renovations have been scheduled.

The final article, published earlier today, highlighted information about the announced temples. With 35 new temples announced this year, that is a new record. Of all the announced temples, 1 has a  groundbreaking scheduled, and 27 others could also have a groundbreaking in 2023. 

That includes a total of 6 temples that had sites revealed and exterior renderings released prior to this year, and a whopping 17 others that had sites revealed this year alone, with 1 of those having an exterior rendering released at the same time as the site confirmation, and 4 others having exterior renderings released after the site confirmation.

Interestingly enough, two of those closest to a groundbreaking (the Montpelier and Teton River Idaho Temples) have had sites confirmed and cleared for likely groundbreakings, but neither of them have had exterior renderings released. I anticipate those two temples, along with the other 14 temples that have had sites confirmed, might soon have exterior renderings released in 2023 as well.

Regarding the the remaining 41 temples in the planning and design phase, the final 6 in the United States (which were announced in October of last year or April or October of this year) could soon have sites announced..4 others outside the United States could have official details announced soon after the first of the year, and the remaining 31 are announced. And I have another document showing information about the 41 temples for which no official details have been announced yet.

Having shared that information, by way of review, I wanted to look back at where temple construction stood as 2023 began, one day before the April 2022 General Conference at the mid-point of 2022, on the first morning of the October 2022 General Conference, and where things stand as 2022 concludes. I appreciated this chance to review temple construction progress for 2022. I will be back shortly with a final post for the year, looking back at the major developments in the Church in 2022.

In the meantime, that does it for now. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.