Hello again, everyone! In a surprise development I could not have foreseen or conjectured, the First Presidency tripled-up a temple announcement in more ways than one. Let me explain: first, today's announcement relates to the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple, which was announced during the April 2022 General Conference. And we got everything about that temple today. I'm referring to the site location confirmation, the release of an exterior rendering, and the setting of the groundbreaking ceremony.
Having reviewed the temple's announcement information, let's get into the relevant details: The planned temple will be approximately 10,000 square feet in area, meaning it is likely to be another modular temple. The temple's construction will occur in conjunction with the construction of adjacent patron housing and arrival facilities. The released exterior rendering appears to confirm that it will be another modular temple, or something very similar.
The temple project will be built upon a 1.5-acre site on Avenue de la Republique (T-Ville), ex rue de Lamonthe 103 et 109, Bacongo, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. And as for the groundbreaking, that, surprisingly enough, will also occur on August 23, 2025, with Africa Central Area President and GA Seventy Elder Thierry K. Mutombo presiding over that ceremony.
This will mark the Church's third temple groundbreaking to be set to occur on that date. The big difference is that Brazzaville time is ahead of Tampa Florida time, which in turn, as previously noted, is ahead of Vancouver Washington time. So Brazzaville will be the first of the three to have a groundbreaking, followed 5 hours or so later by Tampa, with Vancouver following roughly 3 hours after that.
These updates have been reflected in my document showing a side-by-side comparison of temple groundbreakings in 2024 vs.2025. 2025 is now well ahead in groundbreakings, with 16 this year so far as opposed to last year's 14. And there are now 3 scheduled to occur on the same day. Bearing in mind that the Church has not yet set any other groundbreakings for September, I have a feeling some may be scheduled in the coming weeks. In fact, that is an almost certainty. I am grateful for today's announcement.
And, as expected, the Church has not yet confirmed the opening arrangements for the Lindon Utah Temple. I would not anticipate those to be announced for at least the next 3-4 weeks. I have mentioned in the past that I heard an anecdotal report that President Nelson may have told both the Special Projects Division and the Temple Department that he didn't want the announcement of new temples every six months to amount to an IOU to Latter-day Saints around the world.
The latest announcements we have seen bears out the fact that the Department and Division in question listened to the prophet, and the announcements have accelerated accordingly. Having gotten groundbreaking announcements more regularly, and with more temples in the queue awaiting opening arrangements, I assume that dedication announcements are on track to continue in the coming weeks.
But aside from today's announcement, there are several temples with full-scale construction pending, and there are several others that lack a site location confirmation, exterior rendering, scheduled groundbreaking, or all three. So there is lots of work to be done with temple construction, and I hope the meaningful progress we are seeing is on track to continue for the foreseeable future.
Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest 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 to receive the applicable updates. 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.
The Church News has also reported on today's update. Additionally, I have also updated my document showing announced temples for which no information has been officially confirmed yet. And per the Church Temple site's statistics page, of the 119 currently-announced temples, 6 have groundbreakings scheduled, 48 have site locations confirmed (with 37 of those 48 also having exterior renderings released), and there are just 65 announced temples remaining that have no had any official information released. I have a strong feeling that number will diminish significantly more in the 2 months or so between now and the October 2025 General Conference. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteI just now realized that I hadn't actually included the Newsroom link on this development in the blog post above. I apologize for that oversight, which has been fixed. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteA new update on the Heber Valley Utah Temple indicates that the resident's group has appealed the district judge's decision to the Utah Supreme Court. That explains why the Church has not yet begun construction on that temple following the ruling last Wednesday. It's great that the Church is letting this play out, but I hope the Utah Supreme Court tosses this lawsuit out or upholds the decision of the 4th District Judge. Of course, even if that happens, I assume the resident group will just appeal to the US Supreme Court. So it'll be interesting to see how this process continues to impact the Church's ability to get the Heber Valley Utah Temple built. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Church News has shared this additional report, which speaks for itself. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteI was trying to look at all the temples announced, under construction and in renovation right now to calculate how many Monday announcements we will have to see over the next four or five years if site announcements, renderings, groundbreakings, and dedications are all announced separately. We'd have to see three to four announcements every Monday. However if like today for Brazzalvile where the site location , the rendering and groundbreaking were announced at the same time, We would need fewer weekly announcements for the same time frame. I still hope to see soon that we can catch up everything up and see a larger number of Monday announcements in the newsroom. And accelerate the pace from from announcement to groundbreaking in groundbreaking to dedication.
DeleteHey, Chris! Thanks, as always, for your feedback. Sorry I am delayed in addressing it. We were busy recording the second video for my corresponding YouTube channel that covers this update as well. I don't necessarily think it's realistic to assume we will get an announcement every Monday that's not a US holiday. But I could see the Church more frequently doubling (or tripling) down on announcements, either announcing multiple developments on single temples (like what we got today) or making announcements about multiple temples at the same time (an example that I expect before the end of the year is simultaneous dedication announcements for both the Philippines Temples that are now completed, though that will probably only occur in about 3-4 months).
DeleteAs I made a point to note in my post (and in the upcoming YouTube video covering the same thing), the Temple Department and Special Projects Division now have a specific impetus from the prophet to get temples moving into (and through and out of) the construction queue AQAP (as quickly as possible). And we are seeing that happen. Full-scale construction is underway on the Budapest Hungary Temple, and if the legal system rules in favor of the Heber Valley Temple either via the Utah or US Supreme Court, construction will soon begin in earnest there.
I likewise suspect that construction may begin soon on the Natal Brazil Temple, since we are a few months from that groundbreaking. And with 3 African temples having had a groundbreaking in the last 5 months, hopefully construction can begin on each of those soon as well. I am less than certain on how soon we can expect things to occur with the Singapore Temple. And we've got a bunch of US temples coming down the groundbreaking pike, or that will be ready for full-scale construction in the relative near term.
Yes, the fact that the temple announcements are not keeping up with the number of temples announced is frustrating, but for me, I just try to remind myself that it is the Lord inspiring these announcements, so it will be His prerogative to do whatever is needed to get full-scale construction started on any of them. We have four Mondays coming up in August on which any number of things could be announced, then Labor Day, then four other Mondays in September, so that's eight more before General Conference. I would expect Lindon's dedication to be announced before General Conference (in fact, within 1-3 Mondays) and then announcements for Harare, Alabang, and possibly even Davao to come before the end of the year. Then as more temples are completed in the coming months, dedications could pick up.
I think the announcements moving US temples along will also pick up. It's less clear how quickly international temples will clear the necessary hurdles. And there are clearly obstacles to US and international temples in general, and the larger ones in particular. But it's an inspiring process to watch. And I'm glad I get a front-row seat to it all. I hope some of this has proven helpful to you. Thanks, as always, Chris, for taking time to comment. I always apprecate hearing from you.
My first full-length YouTube video based on this post is now viewable on my channel. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteOn this Tuesday, the Church News has reported on the death of former Relief Society General President Bonnie D. Parkin at the age of 84. And Brother Thomas E. Mullen of the Young Men General Advisory Council appears to be the go-to guy for Church News articles, sharing various gems of counsel to bishoprics, advisers, and specialists. In his latest offering, he talks about the vital importance of leading young men in the Savior's way. With no other updates from either the Church News or the Newsroom, I will be publishing any new updates from either resource and the Church Temples site as quickly as I can make that happen after I learn about them.
DeleteIn the meantime, I wanted to note something else: We are now just 3 days away from the date on which the latest changes in general Church leadership will occur. To sum up, Elder Jose A. Teixeira will be released from the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Kevin R. Duncan will begin serving in his place, and all area and departmental assignment changes will go into effect. If you look at some of the Church's country and area pages, some of those changes are already noted in some areas, which makes sense, since the Church would want to have the new leadership ready to go right from the start.
And we have a unique situation this year. Elder Duncan has been serving as Executive Director of the Church's Temple Department (from which he will be released in view of his new assignment in the Presidency of the Seventy) and Elder Kevin S. Hamilton has been serving as Executive Director of the Church's Family History Department (he will be granted emeritus status on August 1). To my knowledge, this is the first time in decades that both departments are getting new Executive Directors in the same year (one or the other has changed in the past as they've either moved on to other assignments or been released, but not both at the same time).
I
In both cases, I assume that one of the current Assistant Executive Directors or one of the other GA Seventies returning to Church headquarters from international assignments will take over for Elders Duncan and Hamilton. Who will those individuals be? That has not yet been publicly disclosed. But the updates should be reflected on the relevant biographies in the coming weeks, so watch out for that.
DeleteA couple other things: The current Young Men General Presidency will also be released in a few days, and the Church's biographies website for GA Seventies has not yet been updated to either include a full list of those called to serve beginning in early April of this year, nor are the biographies of all 16 new GA Seventies available yet. And the area leadership chart shown on the same page of general Church leadership has not yet been updated to this year's chart. So there are a lot of updates still pending on those pages.
I mentioned earlier in this comment that the list of General Authority Seventies did not yet include either a full list of those called in April or the biographies for each of these newest leaders, which is weird, since they have been serving since April. It looks like the current list is missing the names of Elders Ronald M. Barcellos, Steven C. Barlow, Michael Ciziesla, James E. Evanson, Brik V. Eyre, and Ozani Farias. And aside from these names being conspicuously absent from that list, there are also no linked biographies for Elders John D. Amos, Kevin G. Brown, and B. Corey Cuvelier. So that is a little unusual, as the new GA Seventies were called almost four months ago. Hopefully the Church fixes these problems and is in the process of making all relevant updates to the existing biographies.
Wow! Apparently I had more to say than just a "couple other things" as I noted. Sorry about that. Hope this information and perspective is helpful to you all. Thanks again, everyone!
The Newsroom also reported on the aforementioned death of Sister Bonnie D. Parkin. And oddly enough, the recently-published biography of new GA Seventy Elder Aaron T. Hall was featured as a regular news release on the Newsroom a few days ago, and not just in the member news section.
DeleteAs I also mentioned, insofar as I have been able to ascertain, the Church News has not yet done a biographical introduction to new GA Seventy Elder Ozani Farias, though, as also previously noted, the Church News has featured articles now for both Elder Aaron T. Hall and Brian J. Holmes. So I'm unsure what's happening there as well. Hopefully, Elder Farias' biographical introduction is coming this weekend. I also hope for some additional biographies of the first leaders for the Church's newest temples that are closest to completion but for which the first leaders have not yet been featured. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has reported on recent Primary service activities worldwide. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteIn this week's episode of the Church News podcast, Sister Mary N. Cook, a former member of the Young Women General Presidency, joined reporter Mary Richards to discuss the growth of the Church in Mongolia, and how her decades of service there led to lasting ties in that nation that still endure today. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd from the Newsroom comes an inspiring update on flood recovery currently underway in Central Texas. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnother article from the Church News has been updated. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe European Newsroom just published this release. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd I am also pleased to report that full-scale construction is now underway on the Natal Brazil Temple, which has been given a preliminary general completion estimate of early-to-mid 2028, which may mean, unless my estimates are off (which they might be), that the temple dedication might follow within a year from that. Ground was just broken for that temple in May, so the fact that construction is now underway on that temple just two months later is tremendous. And despite estimates and the latest report on the Budapest Hungary Temple, the status of that temple remains unchanged, and shows that full-scale construction is still pending. Insofar as I am aware, these are the only two temple construction updates for the time being. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteCyclones have swept the Philippines, in the aftermath of which there has been flooding, but all missionaries have been reported as safe. 1.85 million families, or roughly 6 million people, have been impacted. The Church is helping those displaced by these conditions by opening their meetinghouses to the affected victims. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd the Newsroom and the Church News have both provided an update on the flooding in Texas. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared two new reports thus far on this Wednesday. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church continues to provide answers to common questions on subjects relating to the Church. As reported by the Newsroom, such answers have been recently provided on the subjects of the Book of Mormon translation process, the character of Joseph Smith, and the Church's practice of plural marriage. Information on all of these topics can be found in the Topics & Questions section of the Gospel Library online and in the app.
DeleteIn addition, the Church News has shared two new reports. To the best of my knowledge, there are no new updates from the Church Temples site for now, but I am keeping my eyes open in case that changes later today. My thanks once again to you all.
Here is one more report from the Church News. My thanks once again to you all. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd there has actually been one temple construction update reported, for the Ephraim Utah Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has sharedone new report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared two new reports. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd here is yet another report from the Church News. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared coverage on the latest updates to the "Gospel Topics & Questions" resource. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThis new report was shared by the Newsroom a short time ago. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd the Newsroom Event page also shares this information about the October 2025 General Conference. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared this new report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAlthough both retain their general completion estimates of late 2026-early 2027, the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple (with a construction status update as well) has now moved ahead of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (for which the status remains unchanged). There was also a status update provided for the Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Friday, it is also August 1, 2025. And that means that the previously announced area leadership changes (including the two changes affecting the Presidency of the Seventy), the as yet unknown changes in Church Department assignments, the changes in area seventies (including the Canada Area going into operation, and its' area seventies belonging to the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy) and the changes to the Young Men General Presidency are all effective now. More news to follow as time allows. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has announced four special guest artists for their upcoming tour in Argentina. And recent donations in Central America will benefit more than 18,000 students. Meanwhile, the Church News has shared three new updates. The latest edition of "This Week on Social" will be analyzed today here once it is published. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd this August 1 is a great day for temple construction updates. Firstly, major shifts have occurred throughout the queue just since my last check last night. This document shows those estimates as of last night, while this one shows the queue as it now stands today. I will have much to update on my temple construction progress report, and I will share any status updates once that document is updated. The latest changes will also be reflected in my overview of temple construction progress throughout this third quarter of 2025 when that update is posted here on October 1. My thanks once again to you all.,
DeleteI have decided to do the temple construction updates in blocks of time. We start with those estimated to be completed in mid-to-late 2025: the words "nearly completed" have replaced "nearing completion" for the Phnom Penh Cambodia, Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala and Willamette Valley Oregon Temples, while the remaining elements of their construction status remain unchanged. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteApparently I forgot the link for the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAside from the status updates and updates to the queue I have already noted, the only other update is for the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe latest edition of "This Week on Social" has been published, featuring posts from the following general Church leaders: President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, D. Todd Christofferson, and Gerrit W. Gong, all of whom are members of the Quourum of the Twelve Apostles; Sister Amy A. Wright, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency; and outgoing Young Men General President Steven J. Lund and his outgoing First Counselor, Bradley R. (Brad) Wilcox.
DeleteThe Church News also provided coverage of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's guest artists for their Argentina concerts. My thanks once again to you all.
I think Elder Rasband will be the Executive director of the temple department. He has served as an assistant since 2023. Elder Kopischke also has served for 2 years, but he is due for emeritus status next year. Elder Christensen is also fue for emeritus next year and he has only served in the department for a year. Elder Held is the only other assistant director eho wasn't reassigned.
ReplyDeleteIf you find anything that verifies that theory, let me know. Is there any indication on the new Executive Director of the Family History Department, or do you have any theories on who that might be? I think it's been a while since the Executive Directors of both departments were simultaneously reassigned. Thanks, Scott.
DeleteI am checking CDOL regularly, but no Executive Directors yet. Interestingly, two Area Seventies still have not been released yet. (Marvin Turvey from the 7th Quorun and Nathan Pace from the 10th)
DeleteThank you. Please keep us informed here.
DeleteThe Newsroom shared this update on the changes in general Church leadership that have now gone into effect. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Wellington New Zealand Temple groundbreaking is live now. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared this update on the August 1 changes in general Church leadership. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteJames, do you think it is likely that the Church will have 300 dedicated temples by its 200th anniversary?
ReplyDeleteScooter, that is what I'm projecting, especially if dedications pick up in the next year or two. Currently, the Church would have to dedicate roughly 20 temples per year to make that possible, but with construction gaining momentum, that average will drop in the coming years as each dedication is scheduled. Thanks for the great question. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteOn this Saturday, there have been a couple of changes noted in the temple construction queue. Of particular note is that construction has apparently not officially wrapped up on the Davoa Philippines Temple, and that temple has moved back into the construction queue for now, where it joins the Phnom Pehn Cambodia and Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temples in a status of "Major construction nearly completed. The temple construction queue for the next 18 months has received a major overhaul, and you can see the latest changes reflected in the latest edition of my documents tracking these general time-frame updates. You will also note on that document that the Bengaluru India Temple has been moved down further in the construction queue. No completion estimate is available for that temple at this time, and the complexities surrounding the resolution of the issue halting construction of that temple means that those factors remain unresolved for the foreseeable future.
ReplyDeleteAside from those shifts to the construction queue and their associated adjustments, the Church Temples site has also reported on updates for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple, which now has a status of "Major construction nearing completion", in addition to construction status updates for the following temples: Managua Nicaragua, Pago Pago American Samoa, Montpelier Idaho, and Bacolod Philippines Temples. The statuses of all other temples remain unchanged, including those temples undergoing renovations. Church News updates will follow as time allows this evening. My thanks once again to you all.
I forgot to also note that the Church Temples site has moved the Wellington New Zealand Temple into the queue of temples under construction, and we will see a report on that groundbreaking either by or before Monday. Also, just as a reminder regarding Church assignment changes that were effective yesterday: I believe both the Newsroom and the Church News articles on those changes mention that the biographies of the affected general authorities and general officers will be updated (or published) ASAP in the coming weeks.
DeleteThat being said, the Church has featured the biographies of just about all the new GA Seventies called in April on its' official list of GA Seventy biographies, so that was good to see. That being said, let's get to those Church News updates I spoke of in my last comment.
The Church News has published the text of the message that will be offered tomorrow during "Music & the Spoken Word" by Brother Derrick Porter; Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen shares his thoughts on charity as the foundation of a godly character; the Church News explores the powerful impact of senior missionary service, and the Church News has also introduced new GA Seventy Elder Clement M. Matswegothata. My thanks once again to you all.
On this Sabbath Day, the Church News has shared a few new reports: Caring for those in need is helping Saints worldwide to connect with sacred covenants. what a group of youth recently learned from a 150 mile bike ride, the latest edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review" highlights the top 9 updates reported by the Church News this week, and with this week's "Come, Follow Me" study focusing on D&C 85-87, see what Church leaders have said about those sections. And the Church Temples site highlighted the groundbreaking for the Wellington New Zealand Temple, which occurred late Friday evening here in Utah (which was 12:00 PM Saturday afternoon in New Zealand). No Newsroom report on that yet, but hopefully that comes later today or tomorrow, whether or not that is the only major temple news for this week (which I don't think it will be). My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteFrom the Pacific Newsroom comes this report on the Wellington New Zealand Temple groundbreaking. That report is now featured in the Newsroom collection of temple news announcements for this year. Since that report was published today, that update will likely not be the major temple news for tomorrow.
DeleteI'm hoping a dedication announcement for Lindon Utah, one or more September groundbreakings and/or exterior renderings/site location confirmations are coming down the pike for tomorrow. Stay tuned for my coverage on that tomorrow during the 2:00 PM MDT hour here in Utah. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News also covered the groundbreaking for the Wellington New Zealand Temple. So with both the Newsroom and the Church News releasing those reports on that today, it's pretty much a guarantee that there will be something else announced tomorrow during the 2:00 PM MDT hour.
DeleteI still hold out a great deal of hope that we will either get the opening arrangements for the Lindon Utah Temple (with the dedication likely to occur before the end of this year), or else one or more additional site confirmations, exterior renderings, and/or groundbreakings. I have another commitment in the early afternoon, but hope to have that wrapped up by 2:00 for my customary report as that announcement is made. My thanks once again to you all.
I almost forgot to mention: at the end of the day yesterday, the open house for the Farmington New Mexico Temple wrapped up. That temple is now being prepared for its' August 17 dedication by Elder Neil L. Andersen. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Monday, the Church News has provided one new report thus far on this Monday. As I mentioned yesterday, I have another commitment early this afternoon, but I will be sure to provide an update on whatever major temple construction news is announced at 2:00 PM MDT here in Utah ASAP after that commitment concludes. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
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