Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for the Syracuse Utah Temple. Let's break down the details: a media day will be held on Wednesday, May 7, with tours for invited guests the next two days. Open house tours will be offered from Saturday, May 10-Saturday, May 31, except for the Sundays of May 11, 18, and 25. The temple will be dedicated in a single session on Sunday, June 8, 2025, a few months before I had projected. I am also stunned that the Syracuse Utah Temple had its' opening arrangements announced well before any of the others that have been ahead of it on the Church of Jesus Christ Temples construction status page.
This announcement does not include any indication of who will preside at that dedication. That suggests to me that it could be President Russell M. Nelson, assuming he feels well enough to do so. It is also possible that any other apostles could be assigned to that dedication. I will keep my eyes open for any updates on this and will pass that along as time and circumstances allow. I am grateful to have heard about this announcement and to be able to share it with you all.
Stay tuned here for updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 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 all such feedback is made per the established guidelines.
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I hope President Holland dedicates the temple. He is the only apostle who has never presided at a dedication.
ReplyDeleteScott, while that is technically true, I don't think it will be President Holland who dedicates this temple. I say that because the last two times a temple dedication or rededication occurred in Utah and the announcement thereof did not include the presiding apostle's name, it has been President Nelson who has done so, health permitting. This year, an article released by the Deseret News featured Elder Rasband talking about the rededication of the Manti Utah Temple. in that article, Elder Rasband talked about the preparations for that rededication. He mentioned that for that rededication, the First Presidency came up with two plans: one for if President Nelson was able to be there, and the other in case he wasn't able to be there. President Holland is able to travel internationally, which President Nelson is not able to do at present or perhaps for however long he lives. So they might save President Holland for other temple dedications/rededications outside the United States. Back in 2002, President Holland was sent to preside over what was then the Chile Area of the Church. So I think it may be more likely that President Holland will be sent to preside at the Antofagasta Chile Temple rather than a temple in an area to which he has no known connection. Just my own theories and reasoning here, for whatever they may be worth to you. Thanks, Scott, as always, for taking time to comment.
DeleteHello again, everyone! On this Wednesday, the Church News has published a few new reports. Before I get to those, I failed to mention two other reports that were shared by the Church News yesterday: Sister Kristin M. Yee, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke at BYU-Idaho and gave counsel to missionaries at the Provo MTC, Elders D. Todd Christofferson and Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in company with Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson, gace counsel to BYU-Hawaii students.
ReplyDeleteAnd several new updates have been noted on the Church Temples site within the last few days. Finishing touches are being provided to the Antofagasta Chile and Grand Junction Colorado Temples. And construction progress has been provided for the following additional temples: Elko Nevada (which has moved ahead of the Alabang Philippines Temple, for the latter of which the status has not changed.
Continuing the list of temples with construction updates in the last few days, we have updates on the following temples: Bacolod Philippines, Neiafu Tonga, Freetown Sierra Leone, Kaohsiung Taiwan, Santa Cruz Bolivia, Wichita Kansas, Cody Wyoming, Austin Texas.
Continuing the construction updates: Santiago West Chile, Londrina Brazil, Teton River Idaho, Grand Rapids Michigan (where full-scale construction has begun in earnest), the renovation process for the Anchorage Alaska Temple, and new information on the Lethbridge Alberta and Vancouver Washington<=/a> Temples which hopefully mean that groundbreakings could be set for these two temples soon. My thanks once again to you all.
Just wanted to note some errors in the above comment: The link for the Santiago West Chile Teton River Idaho, Grand Rapids Michigan, and Lethbridge Alberta Temples were all broken. In addition, the Vancouver Washginton Temple link has an unintentional stray closing tag. I apologize for the errors and oversights.
ReplyDeleteOn this Thursday, the Newsroom and the Church News have highlighted a new statement from the Church outlining principles and guidelines for immigration that focus on law, love, and family. Another emeritus GA Seventy (ElderWon Yong Ko) has passed away. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ministered to members and missionaries in Costa Rica and Colombia on two recent weekends. And the first 8 new temple leadership couples for 2025 have been identified today, including the first president and matron for the Lindon Utah Temple. That seems to be an indication that the Church hopes to dedicate that temple before the end of this year, so that will require another reevaluation of my previously offered estimates for temple dedications within the next year. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Newsroom and the Church News have each provided one more unique report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAs this Friday draws close to its' conclusion here in Utah, the Church News has shared based on a previously shared update from the Newsroom. The next 16 mission leader couples' biographies have also been provided. While each couple has, both separately and together, served in a wide range of assignments, the most pertinent notes for the 16 incoming presidents include the following:
Delete1 is a current area seventy (Christian C. Chigbundu); 1 is a stake presidency counselor and temple ordinance worker; 1 is a bishop and temple ordinance worker; 1 is a former stake president who currently serves as a For the Strength of Youth conferences director, Sunday School teacher, institute teacher and temple ordinance worker; 1 is a former stake president and current ward mission leader; 1 is a current district president; 1 is a stake high councilor who formerly served as an area seventy (Edgar P. Montes); 1 is currently a bishopric counselor who formerly served in a stake presidency; 1 is a current stake presidency counselor; 1 is a former stake president who currently serves as an institute teacher; 1 formerly served a senior mission with his wife, and is currently serving as a stake patriarch and a ward pianist; 1 is a temple ordinance worker who formerly served as an area seventy executive secretary; 1 (alongside his wife) were formerly senior missionaries, and the incoming president now serves as a Sunday School teacher and ward mission leader; 1 is a stake president and temple ordinance worker; 1 is an area seventy executive secretary and former stake presidency counselor; and 1 is a former stake president currently serving as a ward mission leader. More news to follow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom released this new report, and the Church News published the newest installment of "This Week on Social". The following general Church leaders were featured therein:
DeleteElders David A. Bednar, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman (who posted via Young Women Worldwide) and her Second Counselor, Sister Andrea Munoz Spannaus; Primary General President Susan H. Porter and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Amy A. Wright and Tracy Y. Browning (who cross-posted with the "Primary Worldwide" page); Sister Tracy Y. Browning, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency (in a separate post); and the Young Men General Presidency (President Steven J. Lund and Brothers Bradley R. (Brad) Wilcox and Michael T. Nelson, via Young Men Worldwide).
The Church News also shared two additional reports: thoughts from Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen about the recent misrepresented portrayal of Church history by the media, and how self-reliance classes have strengthened individuals and stakes. My thanks once again to you all.
At some point yesterday, construction status updates were provided for the following temples: Alabang Philippines, Davao Philippines, Yorba Linda California, and Managua Nicaragua.
DeleteAnd on this Saturday, the Church News has shared a few new updates: Staff writer Scott Taylor provided his thoughts on being a witness of one-by-one ministering. Primary children in Oregon had unique opportunities to engage in missionary work through a recent carnival. And the text of the message that will be presented by Derrick Porter during tomorrow's "Music & the Spoken Word" has also been provided. My thanks once again to you all.
And the Newsroom provided one additional report yesterday. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Sabbath Day, the Church News has provided a few new updates: First is the inspiring story of three brothers who began their senior missionary service on the same week. That one's a little long, but is well worthy of your time. The top 9 developments reported by the Church News during this last week are recapped in "In Case You Missed It: WEek in Review". And the "Come Follow Me" curriculum this week will focus on D&C 6-9. Read what Church leaders have said about those passages.
ReplyDeleteBy way of information, tonight was the "Worldwide Devotional for Young Adullts", featuring Elder Dieter F. and Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf. I dozed off at some point this afternoon/evening and thus missed the start of the devotional. But it is available to stream anytime on the Church's usual channels, and the Church News and Newsroom will likely have summaries of those devotionals later tonight. My thanks once again to you all.
And the Newsroom has shared this summary of the devotional, with Church News coverage likely to follow tomorrow. It's also worth noting that the Cali Colombia Temple groundbreaking appears to have taken place as scheduled on Saturday morning last week, but that has not yet been confirmed by either the main Newsroom page or the Colombian Newsroom page. Hopefully that confirmation also comes later today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday).
DeleteThis upcoming week, I anticipate we will have another breaking temple construction news update to pass along here, but I don't know for sure if that will happen later today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday) during the 2:00 PM MST here. I also don't know if the Cali Colombia Temple groundbreaking will be the only update we get this week, but I am hopeful that we will see maybe 1 or 2 more dedications announced, perhaps 1 or 2 additional groundbreakings, and also perhaps 1 or 2 more exterior renderings or site announcements.
Stay tuned for all of that coverage as it crosses my radar. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
And with Sunday having transitioned into Monday, a construction status update has been noted on the Bacolod Philippines Temple. Again, I don't know when the next major temple construction announcement may be released, but I am guessing it will probably be on Tuesday during the 2:00 PM MST hour. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteEarlier this Monday morning, the Church News shared this report about yesterday's devotional. Prior to that update, the Church News shared this report. My thanks once again to you all.
Delete