Hello again, everyone! The next major temple construction announcement was just made by the First Presidency: the exterior rendering has been released for the La Paz Bolivia Temple. The site announcement for that temple occurred on August 28 of last year. Interestingly enough, this rendering was released before the rendering for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple, for which a site was confirmed on November 28, 2022. That suggests to me that the La Paz temple might be more fast-tracked, and that a groundbreaking could be coming soon for that temple.
I was likewise intrigued that this was the only temple update we got today. I had been hoping for a potential announcement of the opening arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple, but that obviously didn't happen. I also was optimistic that the Church might set more temple groundbreakings, release other renderings, or share the initial details for announced temples. But I am grateful we at least got this announcement today.
Regarding the Casper Wyoming Temple, the open house will likely be shorter, and the dedication may be set sooner than would be the case for larger temples. So despite not hearing about opening arrangements for that temple this week, if opening arrangements are announced for that temple within the next 3-4 weeks, I could still see Casper having a dedication scheduled in June.
As far as future groundbreakings go, some have expressed surprise that no other groundbreakings have been scheduled yet. What I see the Church doing in delaying those announcements is to make sure that the approvals process isn't rushed. We have seen delays in construction of the Heber Valley Utah and Kaohsiung Taiwan Temples, so perhaps the Church is wanting to clear all obstacles to the construction of future temples before groundbreakings are announced.
I still anticipate at least a few groundbreakings between now and the April 2024 General Conference weekend, but we'll see what happens there. I am likewise grateful the Church is approaching the release of exterior renderings and site locations more slowly for now, since that will likewise allow all obstacles to eventual construction to be cleared so work can begin properly on those temples promptly after groundbreakings.
So I for one am inclined to say that it's a wise move on the Church's part to take a more reserved approach to such announcements. I believe we will have many more surprise announcements in store in the coming weeks, and I can't wait to see that process unfold. Other than these notes, I will let today's rendering speak for itself, and will let others more qualified than I am make any comments they would care to offer about this exterior rendering.
I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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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The Church News has shared temple updates as well. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteHere's another update for any of you sports fans out there. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Tuesday, the Church News has shared a few new reports. The Bells at Temple Square are accepting applications for new members. A Saturday evening celebration was held prior to Sunday's dedication of the Orem Utah Temple. The latest edition of the Church News podcast has been released.
DeleteAnd today, Elder Patrick Kearon, the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met with the media. The Church News provided their introduction of him. KSL will cover their interview with Elder Kearon during the upcoming 5:00 PM hour. And other reports might follow from the Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, etc. I'm hoping we'll get some indication of what apostolic assignments Elder Kearon has been given. Stay tuned for more on that as those reports are made available. My thanks once again to you all.
The most informative report I could find currently on Elder Kearon's meeting with the media comes courtesy of ABC4 here in Utah. Among other things, that report notes that Elder Kearon has been given apostolic oversight for the Church in Europe, Asia, and the Philippines.
DeleteI'm going to do some conjecturing here based on common-sense analysis of some sources. For the current Europe Areas of the Church, the biography of Elder Brent H. Nielson categorically states that one area for which he has responsibility is the Europe Central Area, assisting Elder Bednar.
We also know, courtesy of this report from the Newsroom that when Iceland's ambassador visited Church headquarters, Elder Quentin L. Cook was the only member of the Twelve in attendance. It is common for members of the Twelve to be present when government leaders from the areas over which they have oversight visit Church headquarters. Therefore, I think we can safely assume that Elder Quentin L. Cook oversees the Europe North Area, which includes Iceland.
If Elder Bednar has oversight for the Europe Central Area, and Elder Cook has oversight for the Europe North Area, then, by process of elimination, Elder Kearon must have oversight of the Eurasian Area, which would fit in with the report that he oversees the work of the Church in Europe and Asia. It is also possible that he may have oversight for the Asia North Area as well, but I'm less sure of that. And with him also now having oversight for the Philippines Area, hopefully he can help the Church obtain approvals for the many temples that have been announced for the Philippines.
I wouldn't be shocked if he has also been given a role on one of the Church's three major Executive Councils, but that's not explicitly stated. With the death of President Ballard and the subsequent appointment of President Holland as the Quorum's Acting President, there may have been changes in the area, committee, and council assignments for each of our apostles. I wish the Church was a little more transparent about those apostolic assignments. I know they used to be. I'm not sure why it changed, but I'd love to know more about the roles each of our apostles have in furthering the work of the Lord. My thanks once again to you all.
From the Deseret News comes another report about Elder Kearon. That report explains more about his apostolic call, including that he was asked to meet with President Nelson after he attended a meeting in which the First Presidency and the Twelve were all present. The call was extended, and with barely time to catch his breath, he and President Nelson joined the other apostles, at which point he was ordained, given his apostolic charge, and had just enough time to catch his flight to Hawaii for his previously-assigned commencement speech.
DeleteHe also mentioned that Elder Christofferson has been assigned as his apostolic mentor, and that he is spending 3 two-month rotations with each of the Church's 3 major Executive Councils. He's spending this month and next month sitting in with the Missionary Executive Council, followed in March and April by the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, and finishing in May and June with the Temple and Family History Executive Council. The article otherwise speaks for itself. My thanks once again to you all.
Bishop W. Christopher Waddell spoke at this week's Ensign College devotional, while Elder David A. Bednar was the featured speaker at BYU-Provo. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Newsroom just shared a new video about Elder Kearon's meeting with the media. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd construction status updates have been shared for the Elko Nevada, Montpelier Idaho, and Queretaro Mexico Temples. In addition, there has been a change for the queue of temples anticipated to be completed in 2026. It's just a subtle change. The Torreon and Queretaro Mexico Temples were both anticipated to be completed in mid-2026. At some point today, the Church Temples site moved the Modesto California Temple (anticipated to be completed in mid-to-late 2026) ahead of the Queretaro Mexico Temple, and changed the estimate of the Queretaro Mexico Temple to mid-to-late 2026. My thanks once again to you all.
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