Hello again, everyone! The report of the Birmingham England Temple groundbreaking has now been shared on the main Newsroom, but above and beyond that, the First Presidency just made the next major temple construction announcement, and it is a doozy.
Opening arrangements (an open house and dedication) have been announced for the Farmington New Mexico Temple, with groundbreakings set and renderings released for the temples in Lagos Nigeria, Benin City Nigeria, Budapest Hungary, and Natal BrazilTemples. There's a lot to get to, so let's dive right in!
A media day will be held for the Farmington New Mexico Temple on Monday, July 14,followed by VIP tours the next two days. The public will be able to tour that temple between Thursday, July 17 and Saturday, August 2, with the exception of the Sundays of July 20 and 27. The single-session dedication will follow on Sunday, August 17, with Elder Neil L. Andersen presiding thereat.
I am glad we got the dedication news for this temple, and the dedication is actually about when I thought it would be. I was a little surprised that we only got one dedication announced, but I hope for subsequent dedication announcements in the next few weeks. Having covered the first update, we move on to the four groundbreakings announced today.
The groundbreaking for the Lagos Nigeria Temple will take place on Saturday, May 10. with Elder Alfred Kyungu, Africa West Area President, presiding. There was an exterior rendering released with the temple, which speaks for itself. The groundbreaking for the Benin City Nigeria Temple will occur on Saturday, May 24, with Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, First Counselor in the aforementioned Africa West Area presidency, presiding. An exterior rendering was also released for that temple as part of the announcement, and it speaks for itself.
The groundbreaking for the Budapest Hungary Temple will occur on Saturday, June 21, 2025, under the direction of Elder Ruben V. Alliaud, Europe Central Area President. An exterior rendering and site announcement were previously released. The groundbreaking for the Natal Brazil Temple will occur on Saturday, May 17, with Elder Mark D. Eddy, Second Counselor in the Brazil Area presidency, presiding. The site announcement and exterior rendering of that temple were also released earlier.
As you can see from these announcements, the calendar of temple events this year is filling up. I have updated my document comparing groundbreakings in 2024 vs. 2025. By the time the Budapest Hungary Temple groundbreaking occurs, that will be the ninth to occur this year. As the document shows, the ninth groundbreaking last year occurred on August 17, while the ninth for this year will occur on June 21, which puts us ahead of 2024 by about 6 weeks.
I am grateful for this mammoth announcement. I think there's much more to come. I will admit that the four groundbreakings we got today weren't even on my radar for the near term, but I am glad we got this significant announcement, as I always rejoice over any new major temple news. I hope you join with me in rejoicing. My thanks to you all for tuning in for this report.
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.
I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates.
If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 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.
Since President Nelson became prophet, the mist groundbreakings in one year was 21 in 2000. That year the 9th groundbreaking didn't occur until October 10th. The last time the 9th groundbreaking occured before June 21st was in 2022 when ground was broken in Yorba Linda on June 18th. That year had 16 groundbreakings. I have a feeling this will be another big year for groundbreakings.
ReplyDeleteI have the exact same feeling, Scott. Thanks for that historical perspective. The context was very helpful. If the Church can announce four groundbreakings at once, as they did today, or even if the groundbreaking announcements continue in a steady stream, I could easily see the groundbreakings for 2025 totaling 30+. I'm glad we also got an announcement on the Farmington New Mexico Temple dedication. I hope that dedications can be announced in the near term for Grand Junction Colorado, Bahia Blanca Argentina, and Antofagasta Chile. I also hope we get more site confirmations and temple renderings. And given the release of the rendering for the temple here in Lehi, I'm hoping it's one of the ones that will have a groundbreaking soon. The temple site is within the boundaries of my stake, so I assume that my stake president will conduct that groundbreaking whenever it does occur. Anyways, just some additional thoughts in response to your feedback, Scott. Thanks, as always, for stopping by to comment. Your comments provide crucial context, so they are greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work and stay sare out there.
DeleteThere will definitely need to be a push this year, next year, and very early 2027 to reach 300 temples by April 2030. 38 More groundbreakings will need to occur in this time, 40 if current plans fall through or continue to be delayed in Bangalore and Heber. There are currently 30 announced temples with renderings released, 31 including McKinney, and over 20 more with sites announced, notwithstanding procured sites not yet released to the public. The Church is in a great position to reach this goal, but should more delays happen like we've seen/are seeing in Bangalore, Heber, Cody, Bakersfield, Fairview, and Vegas - it may make it a nailbiter come April 2030. Possibly even the 300th dedication on that Saturday. The Boston Massachusetts Temple (100th) was the last temple to be dedicated on a day of General Conference (Oct 1, 2000).
DeleteHey, Noah! Sorry about my delayed acknowledgement of your comment. Someone with a connection to someone else at Church headquarters indicated that President Nelson told the Temple Department and Special Projects Dvision that he didn't want the announcement of new temples to amount to an IOU to Church members. Assuming that report is correct (and I have no reason to doubt that it is), that could be why we saw so many temple developments announced latetly. I for one am not worried. There are still 5 years for the Church to get to 300 temples, and that's more something I have been expecting myself, rather than anything the Church has officially confirmed as a set goal. I personally still think the Church can and will make that milestone. But either way, we are in an unprecedented era of temple building, and I have no doubts that will continue. The Lord knows what He's doing in inspiring the prophet to announce temples every six months, so I'm sure He can remove any obstacles to temple building that may exist, whether that's in getting temples to construction, or anything else that may come along the path to each temple's dedication. Hopefully that's a comforting thought. Thanks for taking time to comment, Noah. I always appreciate hearing from you. Stay safe out there.
DeleteI should clarify: GA Seventy and Utah Area President Elder Kevin W. Pearson has indicated that the Church is on track to have 500 temples in any phase by that bicentennial date (Saturday, April 6, 2030). If the goal is to have 500 temples in any phase by that date, then that suggests to me that the Church could have 300 operating temples by that same date. It's also worth mentioning that the bulk of temple dedications held last year occurred during the last 5 months thereof, so if that happens again, then the Church can load up the queue with completed temples and assign 2 or 3 Apostles at a time to cover 2 or 3 dedications. Based on the number of temples completed and those that are nearing completion, we are headed in that direction again this year. I hope the Church will have 300 temples, but that is just a hope on my part, not anything I can attribute to any one resource. Thanks again.
DeleteAlso, Noah, I looked it up online, and the October 2000 General Conference was convened on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8, 2000. So the Boston Massachusetts Temple actually wasn't dedicated on a General Conference Sunday. You can confirm that information yourself on this page. The October General Conference was probably planned that way so that the Church could reach President Hinckley's goal. Just wanted to let you know that.
DeleteJust prior to today's announcements, the Newsroom provided this report, while the Church News provided two others. The Church News covered the announcements of today with one article covering the temple dedication, a second article covering the most recent groundbreaking, and a third covering the 4 announced groundbreakings. Following their coverage of those updates was this update covering the death of the widow of Elder Per G. Malm, a former General Authority Seventy. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteOn this Tuesday, the Newsroom has published two new reports about a "Caring Summary" highlighting Church donations and other conributions, with the Church News publishing one report on that same subject. The Newsroom also provided a look at a bridge-building visit made by Acting President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to a black Canadian trailblazer. Speaking of President Holland's visit to Canada, the Church News also shared the text of the prayer President Holland offered to rededicate the Toronto Ontario Temple.
DeleteA couple new Church News articles relate to General Conference, including a request for life-changing experiences from General Conference and a behind-the-scenes look at guest services. Two other reports were shared, the latest edition of the Church News podcast and the reported death of emeritus GA Seventy Elder Richard D. Allred. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church Temples site has reported an updated status for three temples: Burley Idaho, Alabang Philippines, McKinney Texas. I should also note that a recent update on the Heber Valley Utah Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteSorry. The last link I shared was to the Heber Valley Utah Temple. You all probably knew that. I'll try to be more coherent going forward. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Wednesday, the Church News has shared four new reports, including an apostolic ministry visit, a mission preparation counsel, the Church's energy independence efforts in Hawaii, and this update based on a corresponding Newsroom article I shared yesterday. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Thursday, the first temple leaders for the Alabang and Davao Philippines Temples have been featured among the biographies of 8 new temple leader couples. I have updated my document tracking these changes. But it seems that both Alabama and Davao are a lock for completion this year. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteWhen I said "Alabama" in my above comment, I obviously meant "Alabang". Autocorrect strikes again. Aside from the news of the new temple leaders, the Church News also provided two other reports. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News also provided this update. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteHello again, everyone! As you may have noticed, I took another 3-day hiatus from commenting here. But I am back now to share the developments that have been reported since I last commented on Thursday. On Friday, the Church News shared 16 more incoming mission leader biographies. I will allow those to speak for themselves. The Church News also reported on the death of a widow of a former GA Seventy, and shared the latest edition of "This Week on Social", which featured posts from the following general Church leaders:
ReplyDeleteActing President Jeffrey R. Holland (from whom 2 posts were mentioned) and Elders D. Todd Christofferson and Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Sister Andrea Munoz Spannaus, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency (via Young Women Worldwide); Primary General President Susan H. Porter; and Brother Dradley R. (Brad) Wilcox, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.
Yesterday, Sister Emerson Manning, an intern for the Church News, shared her experience being part of the "Savior of the World" pageant cast, and how that experience helped her on her own road to Emmaus. The Church News also shared a report on how RootsTech's effect is being experienced through severall South American nations, provided the helpful tips to get the most out of General Conference weekend, before, during, and after the conference.
That brings us to today's updates. The Church News introduced a deaf woman who helps translate Gospel messages into ASL for other deaf Chinese Church members and friends around the world. The Church News also highlighted the top 10 developments covered this week in the latest edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review". With "Come Follow Me" focusing on D&C 29 this week, the Church News shared this counsel from Church leaders about that section. A new video uses President Henry B. Eyring's remarks from the October 2024 General Conference to highlight the importance of reaching out to family members with gospel messages. And following the recent devastating earthquake in Thailand and Myanmar, the Asia Area Presidency released this message of condolence and comfort. My thanks once again to you all.
A few temple construction updates have been noted. shows the latest updates to the general completion estimates for temples under construction and undergoing renovation. Most notably, the estimate for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple has been shifted down from early to mid-2025 to now just being mid-2025. And construction status updates have been noted for the Elko Nevada, Davao Philippinesand Salt Lake.Temples. These updates will be noted on my first quarter 2025 temple construction progress report, which will be published here in around 23 hours. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteA few temple construction updates have been noted. This document shows the latest updates to the general completion estimates for temples under construction and undergoing renovation. Most notably, the estimate for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple has been shifted down from early to mid-2025 to now just being mid-2025. And construction status updates have been noted for the Elko Nevada, Davao Philippines and Salt Lake Temples. These updates will be noted on my first quarter 2025 temple construction progress report, which will be published here in around 22 hours. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Monday, when it's looking as if we will not get another major temple construction announcement before General Conference, the Newsroom has provided three new updates, each of which speaks for itself. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News just provided this update. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteI think the general authorities, the temple department, and the newsroom are busy preparing for conference this weekend. That might delay any major announcements this week. I anticipate the next few weeks we will all see a lot of temple activity and temple news. I wonder if this has been the norm the past few conference weeks?
ReplyDeleteL. Chris Jones, I believe that it has been the norm for General Conference weeks. I had hoped that would change starting with this General Conference, but I was obviously mistaken. And any new temple announcements on Sunday might be the big news for the next week too, especially since Elder Kearon will dedicate the Auckland New Zealand Temple one week after conference. Thanks for the inquiry, Chris!
DeleteA rather late announcement, but they just revealed the site location for the Retalhuleu Guatemala Temple and its rendering. Notably, this is the first rendering release in a while that did not include the estimated floor area of the structure. This puts the Church at 294 temples with at least an official rendering.
ReplyDeleteHey, Noah! I saw that update as well. Since it was further down in the Newsroom feed than I usually expect to go, it was probably up for a while before you saw it and mentioned that here. So I have covered that update in a new post published just a few moments ago, and predated it back to around 2:45 PM or so, since it easily could have been there without my noticing it. For all who are interested, see the preceding post. Also, for all who are interested, I will be publishing my end-of-first-quarter 2025 temple construction progress update here on the blog at around 11:45 PM or so tonight, so stay tuned for that. My thanks once again to you, Noah, for sharing that here, and my thanks once again to you all.
Delete