Stokes Sounds Off: 05/01/23

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Monday, May 1, 2023

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Locations Identified for Kumasi Ghana and Oslo Norway Temples; Rendering Released for Oslo; Renovations Coming to Toronto Ontario Temple

Hello again, everyone! The latest temple announcement has just been released. Locations have been confirmed for the Kumasi Ghana and Oslo Norway Temples. Additionally, a rendering has been released for the Oslo Norway Temple. And renovations are coming to the Toronto Ontario Temple. Let's get right into the details: The two-story 22,750 square-foot Kumasi Ghana Temple will be built at Y11 Suntreso Rd, Bantama, in Kumasi on a 2.08-acre site  

As some of you might recall, the African Newsroom shared a report on December 1, 2021, highlighting a visit from Elder Larry S. Kacher, then First Counselor in the Africa West Area presidency, to the king of the Ashante people of Kumasi. During that visit, a rendering, purportedly of the Kumasi Ghana Temple, was presented. If that rendering proves to be official, hopefully with the release of site information about the site announcement, the release of the exterior rendering could follow soon.

Moving on to Oslo Norway, not only do we have a site confirmation, but an exterior rendering as well. A single-story edifice of approximately 10,800 square feet will rise in Hvalstad, Norway, on an 8-acre site at the corner of Smedsvingen and Ravnsborgveien roads. Based on the exterior rendering, it seems likely that modular components could be used. Both the Oslo and Kumasi temples were announced in April 2021. 

In view of today's announcement, official information has been announced for all but 3 of the 20 temples originally announced during the April 2021 General Conference. And now, the number of announced temples that have not had any official information confirmed is down to 49. That brings us to the announced renovation of the Toronto Ontario Temple. 

The renovation closure will only last around 9 months and is set to begin in October 2023. So this may be a similar situation to the San Diego California Temple, where the work needed is sufficient enough to close the temple, but not sufficient enough to require a long-term closure. A nine-month closure beginning in October 2023 means that the Toronto Ontario Temple could be rededicated (whether publicly or privately, and whether in one or multiple sessions) in August or September 2024.

I am grateful to have learned of all of these updates and to be able to pass them along to you all here. I continue to monitor all such updates in addition to Church News and Newsroom updates and will bring word of those to you all here as they cross my radar. 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.

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