BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for Knoxville Tennessee Temple; Sites Identified for Iquitos and Cusco Peru Temples

Note: An initial version of this post was published at 2:07 PM today. Updated analysis was added between 4:30-5:30 PM.

Hello again, everyone! I had wondered if today's announcement on the Red Cliffs Utah Temple media day was the only announcement we'd get. I am pleased to be able to report that we got more than that. The Church has confirmed that ground was broken for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple on Saturday as scheduled. As I mentioned previously, barring anything unexpected, I anticipate that full-scale construction will begin on that temple either later this week or early next week.

And those aren't the only updates the Church shared in terms of temple construction today. The First Presidency also released official information for 2 temple sites in Peru: Cusco Peru (announced by President Nelson in April 2022) and Iquitos Peru (announced by President Nelson in April 2023). Let's break down the relevant details: 

A 2.48-acre site at Avenida Arcopata 452 Cusco, Cusco, Peru will be the location of what I presume will be a single-story edifice of approximately 9,950 square feet. And a 1.75-acre site at Calle San Marcos 117–137, San Juan Bautista, Maynas, Loreto, Peru will be home to what I believe will be a single-story temple that will be approximately 20,000 square feet.

The good news is that with both of these temples on the comparatively smaller side, approvals will likely be more easily obtained than for their larger counterparts elsewhere in the world. Exactly how soon that might occur is anyone's guess. But I imagine that these temples will have similar exterior designs as other temples of similar sizes.

I was somewhat surprised we have not yet heard about opening arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple, but even if that is not announced until mid-February, the odds seem pretty good that a dedication could still occur for that temple by the end of June. I know many of you might be surprised also by the fact that no groundbreakings have been announced today. I would count on an uptick of those announcements in February.

I would also like to note that I am not concerned about the lack of more groundbreaking announcements at this time. As was observed on the Church Growth Blog, approvals were accelerated for the Hinckley-era smaller temples, and many of them are seeing problems crop up now. I would prefer the Church take their time to get the necessary approvals to ensure we avoid that scenario going forward. As I have previously observed on this blog, President Nelson doesn't seem to be afraid of or deterred by a temple backlog.

As a result of today's announcements, of the now-95 announced temples, only 45 now lack an official announcement. I expect that number will go down further before General Conference in April. And when spring hits in the northern hemisphere, I expect to see an uptick in the number of temple groundbreakings, though we are also likely to see groundbreakings in the southern hemisphere between now and June, when winter hits that part of the world.

 In any case, I trust that the Brethren know what they are doing and how to work through the necessary approvals, so I have no doubt groundbreakings will pick up throughout the rest of this year. And I am not worried in the slightest about any sort of "backlog" of announced temples. Looking ahead to April, I think we will see anywhere between 15-20 new temples announced. The Brethren also seem to be more deliberate in how they schedule temple dedications and groundbreakings, so we can trust that process fully.

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. 

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.