Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned this morning in my birthday tribute to Elder Rasband, I anticipated that, as has been traditional for most Monday afternoons (with the exception of US national holiday observances), the next major temple construction announcement would likely be made today at this time. That has proven to be correct. The First Presidency just announced the next major temple construction announcement. This week,the opeing arrangements were announced for the Helena Montana Temple. Let's take a closer look at the details.
A media day will be held on Monday May 15,followed by VIP tours the next couple of days. Public tours will be conducted between Thursday May 18 and Saturday June 3, with no tours conducted on the Sundays of May 21 and 28. Given that temple's smaller size, only 2 dedicatory sessions will be held on Sunday June 18, 2023, at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM, with Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding thereover.
I am grateful to have been able to find and publish all such updates as they are provided. I continue to monitor all other temple construction developments and Church News and Newsroom updates and will bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. 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.
I failed to mention that the Church News also covered the Helena Montana Temple opening arrangements:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2023/2/6/23584286/helena-montana-temple-dedication-open-house-dates
And 4 new Church News reports from today speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/7/23587886/rootstech-2023-online-in-person-global-family-history-gathering-march
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/7/23588147/major-school-improvements-benefit-children-in-uganda
https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2023/2/7/23589263/cotopaxi-founders-davis-asialene-smith-mission-leaders-brazil
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/6/23587835/europe-central-area-presidency-statement-turkey-syria-earthquake
Meanwhile, the Newsroom has shared 3 new reports as well, 1 from yesterday and 2 from today:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/new-testament-augmented-reality-study-tool
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-donation-provides-mobility-and-independence-to-guatemalans
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/relief-society-in-action-february-2023
If there are any additional Church News or Newsroom updates, or temple construction developments, I will be sure to pass those along here as time and circumstances allow today. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
5 additional Church News updates speak for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/2/7/23588477/gatorade-national-boys-cross-country-player-of-the-year-daniel-simmons-latter-day-saint
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/2/7/23589623/elder-mark-bragg-byu-devotional-3-leadership-principles-from-the-savior
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/2/7/23587365/elder-soares-portuguese-devotional-utah-area-tornadoes-spiritual-shelter
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/2/7/23589340/elder-meredith-byu-idaho-devotional-5-principles-receiving-revelation-major-life-decisions
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/2/7/23589751/raise-ourselves-spiritual-journey-jose-teixeira
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Wednesday, the Church News has shared 4 new reports, which spek for themselves:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/8/23588065/cape-verde-autoclave-donation
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/2/8/23584856/members-small-island-niue-attend-temple-for-first-time-in-30-years
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/8/23589614/zurich-switzerland-donated-warm-meals-groceries-incontro
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/8/23591295/new-mexican-consul-general-to-utah-visits-church-leaders
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Thursday, the Church News has shared 4 new reports. 3 of them are self-explanatory:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/2/9/23590557/love-is-a-choice-says-bishop-budge-to-mtc-missionaries
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/9/23588846/actor-comedian-narrator-kirby-heyborne-emcee-rootstech-2023
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/2/9/23591669/byu-engineers-ai-technology-analyze-football-footage-super-bowl
The final update from the Church News (thus far today, at least) shares the biographhies of 8 new couples who will begin serving in temples worldwide lateer this year:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2023/2/9/23588359/new-temple-presidents-in-california-australia-philippines
Among the newest group of 8 temple presidents are the first presidents for the Taylorsville Utah and Puebla Mexico Temples, who will begin their service when those temples are dedicated, and new leaders for the Cebu City Philippines Temple, whose assignments are effective immediately. Additionally, it appears that the change in the Cebu City Philippines Temple leaders will be effective immediately because the current president, who has served for two years, is now 70. A new president and matron have also benn announced for the Toronto Ontario Temple, which I did not have on my list of potential changes, but probably should have, since the current leaders have served for 3 years. Here is a link to my updated list of temples for which new leaders have been called thus far this year:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZFxVX_M7JfchmzNG_7QAMP00a6jLLvfZjFIy-ka1Ut0/edit?usp=sharing
Traditionally, the Church tries to call the first leaders for new temples within a year of their anticipated completions. Obviously, in some cases (Abidjan Ivory Coast, for example), delays in completion can lead to a delay in the commencement of their service. The Abidjan Temple presidnt and motron were originally called in 2021:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-calls-new-temple-presidents-and-matrons-for-2021
And, as we know, construction on that temple isn't expected to wrap up until either the end of this year or the beginning of 2024. Aside from that, it's worth noting that, of the 8 presidents announced today, 1 is a current temple presidency counselor in the temple for which he will assume oversight; 1 is a former counselor in the presidency of a different temple in Mexico, 3 are temple ordinance workers/sealers, 1 is an area temple and family history adviser, 1 is a former mission president.and 1 is a stake patriarch.
If there are any new temple construction updates, or any further Church News or Newsroom reports, I will do my best to pass those along as time and circumstances allow today. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Thank you for your updates. How have you been?
DeleteSince you posted as "Anonymous", I'm not sure to whom I am replying here. I don't know why Bloggeri is apparently now listing some of the regular commenters here as either Anonymous" or Unknown. I will tryi to look into that on my end within the next week as I can. Whoever you are, thanks for the question. I am okay. My wife and I caught something going around the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and ws're still trying to shake that off. I also have a couple new health issues I'm trying to work through, but other than all of that, I've been doing okay. As always, passing along the updates I share here has continued to prove a welcome distraction from all that's going on health-wise for me. Hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks again for your kind inquiry.
DeleteHello again, everyone! I just wanted to reiterate something I may or may not have said since Monday's announcement about the opening arrangements for the Helena Montana Temple. THe fact that the Church announced that in February but will have the dedication thereof occur in mid-June seems to suggest that the bulk of temple dedications for 2023 will happen in the second half of the year. Last year, the Church had the rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple on the first Sunday in July. Given the slower pace of setting opening arrangeements, we might see one or two new temples dedicated in July for the first time since the early 2000s.
ReplyDeleteFurther, the Okinawa Japan Temple has had a welcome tent set up and the parking lot epanded in preparation for that temple's open house. So although there has been no word about whether an open house and dedication committee has been formed for that temple, it wouldn't surprise me if Okinawa is the next temple dedicated. If that turns out to be the case, my new projection is that it will be dedicated on either the last Sunday in June, any of the 5 Sundays in July, or the first week in Augst.
Since representatives from the Temple Department have met with the open house and dedication committee in Brasilia Brazil, that temple could also see a July/August dedication window. The opening arrangements for both the Feather River California and Bentonville Arkansas Temples could be affected by how soon the open house and dedication committees will meet with Church headquarters, but August/September dedications seem likely for both temples.
Any other temple in the US or elsewhere would likely have opening arrangements announced in coming months. Given the fact that the Bangkok THailand and Lima Peru Los Olivos Temples appear to be larger than Bentonville and Feather River, they may have longer open houses for those. So it's possible that the Moses Lake Washington and McAllen Texas Temple dedications could be announced after the opening arrangements are released for Bangkok and Los Olivos, but with the former two temples being stateside rather than foreign, and being a smaller size, their dedications could be set to occur before Bangkok and Los Olivos, even if they are announced after the announcement of the arrangements for the two foreign temples.
And I'd anticipate that the open house for St. George Utah will be much longer than what has been announced for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, which could result in the renovated temple's rededication either being the last temple event this year or one of the first next year. And based on how soon announcements are made about the other new temples I've mentioned here, the three Utah temples anticipated to be completed by late this year (Orem, Taylorsivlle, and Red Cliffs) might only be dedicated after New Years' Day in 2024.
Just some additional thoughts. For anyone curious about my projected estimates for temple events between now and 2026, you can find them in the following document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z6J40d4WLeWPo4vTpJvOOnY_koAwatZEpq12RfD3YAQ/edit
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom and the Church News have each provided two new updates apiece:
Deletehttps://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-celebrates-10-year-collaboration-with-unicef
https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-of-jesus-christ-helping-earthquake-turkiye-syria
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history/2023/2/9/23590070/remembering-pioneer-exodus-from-nauvoo-illinois-with-reenactment-mississippi-river
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/9/23589783/church-donation-renovate-cambodia-hospital-equipment-malaysia
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! My last comment yesterday included a link to an article about the Church's contributions to relief efforts in Syria and Trukiye. On this Friday, the Church News has also covered that development:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/2/10/23593570/church-of-jesus-christ-turkey-syria-relief-efforts-aid-quake-victims
And with today being Friday, the Church News has published the next 16 mission leader biographies:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2023/2/10/23588037/16-new-mission-presidents-to-serve-from-temple-square-to-tijuana
While all 16 couples have served extensively in the Church, among the 16 incoming presidents are 1 current mission presidency counselor; 2 current stake presidents; 4 former stake presidents (1 is currently serving as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and temple ordinance worker, and another is an institute teacher and temple ordinance worker); 1 former stake presidency counselor; 2 current members of the stake high council (1 of whom also serves as a temple ordinance worker); 1 former stake high councilman; 1 district president; 1 district presidency counselor; 1 curret bishop; 1 Elders' Quorum presidency counselor who formerly served as a counselor in the presidency of his stake; 1 MTC branch presidency counselor; and 1 current seminary teacher who previously served as a bishop. Unless my count is off, that is some information about all 16 incoming mission presidents. My thanks once again to you all.
I qill likely have some temple construction updates later today. In the interim, the Church News reports that open house reservations are now available for the Richmond Virginia Temple:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2023/2/10/23591418/richmond-virginia-temple-open-house-reservation-tickets-tours
The Church News also shared an article written by the Young Women General Presidency and the members of their advisory council:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/2/10/23581808/for-the-strength-of-youth-guide-helps-increase-discipleship
My thanks once again to you all.
Also, here is a report from the Newsroom, sharing the exciting development of the first FSY conference held for youth living in the Middle East/Africa North Area, which included a surprise remote apperance by Elder David A. Bednar, who has apostolic oversight for that area:
Deletehttps://news-middleeast.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/youth-from-across-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-gather-for-historic-conference
Incidentally, as you might recall, the Church has announced a temple in Dubai UAE, where the FSY conference was held. The Church Temples site noted last year that once Expo 2020 in Dubai wrapped up, the UAE would turn land over to the Church for the construction of a temple and an adjacent meetinghouse. I don't know whether or n ot that turnover took place as planned, but once it does, we should be able to get an announcement on the Dubai Temple not long after.
Also, based on some calculations I was able to run over the last couple of days, I think we could probably soon see the announcement of opening arrangements for the Okinawa Japan and Brasilia Brazil Temple, with either or both having an announcement the same day. Likewise, I had checked some data on the Church Temples site against what I had on my end, and I am in the process of adjusting previously-offered estimates for temple dedications/rededications yet again. Additionally, in view of the latest update on the Puebla Mexico Temple, the Church Temples site took action yesterday to move Puebla up in the queue from its' previous position (between Abidjan Ivory Coast and Salta Argentina) to now being between the Uradenta Philippines Temple (which has an estimate of mid-to-late 2023) and the Orem Utah Temple (with a completion estimate of late 2023). The new estimate for Puebla is now late 2023.
As another quick thought, the Church Temples site has also taken action to note the calls of the first presidents of the Feather River California, Bangkok Thailand,P McAllen Texas, Puebla Mexico, and Orem and Taylorsville Utah Temples on the construction status for each temple. Since the first presidents of the Brasilia Brazil, Okinawa Japan, Lima Peru Los Olivos, Moses Lake Washington, Urdaneta Philippines, and Red Cliffs Utah Temples have not yet been announced, the Church News may provide the biographies of those leaders within the next 3 weeks (if not sooner).
One final thought: I looked back at last year's February posts here, and was reminded that the announcement about the Saturday Evening Session parameters for the April 2022 General Conference were announced on Friday, February 11. It is now February 10, so an announcement on the parameters for the April 2023 General Conference could be forthcoming either later today, tomorrow, or early next week. I am keeping my eyes open on all of these developing updates and will pass word of anything I find along to you all as time and circumstances allow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello James, Bryan from Puebla here.
DeleteThe temple in Puebla is currently gunning for dedication towards October or perhaps November of this year. My in-laws are going to assist people in the open house, they have been asked to do so by the temple committee. Of course, all the official news and everything will go through Church HQ when that river is crossed, but locally, they are gunning for an October dedication and September open house.
Great to hear from you, Bryan! Hope all is well with you and yours. Yesterday, when I discovered that the Church Temples site had moved Puebla up, I tried to reconfigure my estimates for several temple events. Since I am also aware that supply chain issues have caused delays in completing temples, and since the Church appears to be rolling out dedication announcements more slowly and spread out, my reconfigured estimate for the dedication of the Puebla Temple had been adjusted to December of this year or January of next year. But since you said that those involved were gunning for an October dedication, I will probably need to make adjustments and recalculate again. Thanks for the information, and for taking time to weigh in. Stay safe out there.
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