Hello again, everyone! With the First Presidency reorganized, they have hit the ground running and have made significant announcements on this Monday relating to four temples: a groundbreaking for the Brussels Belgium Temple, exterior renderings for the Savaii Samoa and Tulsa Oklahoma Temples, and the site location confirmation and exterior rendering for the Houston Texas South Temple. So let's get right into exploring these latest updates:
Elder Jack N. Gerard, First Counselor in the Euorpe Central Area Presidency, will preside at the Saturday, November 22, 2025, groundbreaking for the Brussels Belgium Temple, While the groundbreaking in question will not include any turning of the soil (as the edifice is being built within an existing building rather than on empty ground), there will be a short program followed by a dedicatory prayer over the construction process.
It appeasrs that the Church is still trying to obtain the necessary approvals to turn the existing building intto a religious building with accommodations, but that the Church was able to get the go-ahead for this program and dedicatory prayer. Unless any other groundbreakings are scheduled between this Saturday (the groundbreaking for the Cape Town South Africa Temple) and November 22, 2025, the "groundbreaking" for the first temple in Belgium will be the 20th groundbreaking in 2025. But I still have a few temples I am anticipating will have groundbreakings this year, so we'll see what happens there.
Moving on to the Savaii Samoa Temple, the release of the exterior rendering today follows the March 11, 2024 site confirmation and the October 2023 announcement of that temple by President Russell M. Nelson. Hopefully a groundbreaking will follow either later this year or soemtime next year. Meanwhile, the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple was also originally announced in October 2023, and the confirmation of its' site location on August 12, 2024. I have no particular insights about the temple renderings in question, so I will let them speak for themselves. if any of you have anything to share about either rendering, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
Finally, we wrap things up with the details on the Houston Texas South Temple. Following its April 2024 announcement, also by President Nelson, the dual confirmation today of the location and the exterior rendering is fantastic. The single-story edifice of approximately 46,000 square feet, along with a meetinghouse and an ancillary building, will rise on a 15.7-acre site along Fort Bend Parkway, just north of Sienna Parkway in Missouri City, Texas. I guess I wsas somewhat confused by the rendering because it looks in some ways similar to the modular temple designs we've seen, but since it is the wrong size for a modular temple, I'm not sure why that was my first assumption.
With the release of the information about the Houston Texas South Temple, this document shows the latest count of temples for which no information has been released. That number now sits at only 64, and I'm sure that will go down further in the coming weeks. I am grateful to see that the First Presidency is (thus far) sticking to the Nelsonian practice of 2:00 PM Monday announcements. Hopefully that continues. And the fact that we got major announcements about four temples meanss we had just about everything I projected, except temple dedications. Hopefully those will follow in the coming weeks.
I invite you all to 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 covered the announced updates for Brussels Belgium, Tulsa Oklahoma & Savaii Samoa, and the second temple in Houston Texas. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteRelief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and Primary General President Susan H. Porter share their reflections on kind, gentle, & persistent President Dallin H. Oaks. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteLate last night, construction status updates were reported for the Lone Mountain Nevada and Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temples. Thus far this morning, the Church News has shared two updates, which speak for themselves. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteAnd at some point during the last 24-36 hours or so, the Church Temples site shifted the completion estimate of the San Diego California Temple down from late 2025 to a now-generic 2026. But given that it is still ahead of the Anchorage Alaska Temple, the San Diego renovation may be completed before late 2026. That being said, I am personally projecting that the temple dedication might occur in October 2026, in the weeks following the October 2026 General Conference. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThis week's edition of the Church News podcast features representatives who supervise Church education on a global level, with their discussion surrounding the record number of enrollees to seminary and institute classes. In addition, the Church News has also provided the text of the prayer offered on Sunday by President Jeffrey r. Holland (who also wrote the prayer) to dedicate the Grand Junction Colorado Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has published one additional report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Wednesday, the Church News has reposted study resources for the October 2025 talk by Elder Gary E. Stevenson. The Church News has also posted updates from Colorado Srpings and Norway. Meanwhile, Elder Gerrit W. Gong spoke in Rome about how AI needs moral grounding and a moral compass, and Bishop L. Todd Budge, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, spoke at the Provo MTC to highlight how missionaries can extend invitations with love. Meanwhile, delegates from 47 nations met at BYU to discuss challenges relating to religious freedom. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared one additional report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd updates have been noted today on the Natal Brazil and Tampa Florida Temples. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Thursday, the Newsroom has reported on a new healthcare center near Beirut that has been co-sponsored by the Church. But above and beyond that, the Newsroom today reported about a visit the First Presidency had yesterday with the Mongolian ambassador at Church headquarters.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly of note is the fact that President Eyring was also there. I had mentioned a few different times prior to President Nelson's death that President Eyring may not have felt well enough to actively be at Church headquarters, since he had been absent for several meetings with dignitaries who came to Church headquarters. So I can only assume that his recent setting apart as First Counselor to President Oaks came with a promised blessing of restored health for President Eyring. So I'm hopeful we will see more of the new First Counselor in the First Presidency at such meetings, and that the setting apart of President Eyring might also help to extend his life.
Elder Neil L. Andersen was also present at that meeting, which is significant, since he recently traveled to Mongolia to share interior and exterior renderings of the Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple, for which approvals are currently pending. Hopefully this visit from the Mongolian ambassador might lead to a swifter approval for that temple than many, myself included, may have anticipated.
Moving on to updates from the Church News, another look back at the October 2025 General Conference has now included a new review of the talk given by Sister Tracy Y. Browning. And the Church News has also provided more information about the forthcoming worldwide event for youth, which will feature President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Young Men General President Timothy L. Farnes. That event is coming up on October 26, though individual congregations can determine the best time for them to watch it.
Temple updates, if any, will follow shortly. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has shared yet another update highlighting how the Church is involved in humanitarian work in many nations. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Newsroom shared this update about the aforementioned upcoming Wolrdwide Event for Youth featuring President Holland, President Freeman, and President Farnes. My thanks once again to you all,
DeleteThe Newsroom and the Church News have both highlighted adjustments recently made to section headings in the Doctrine & Covenants (and chapter introductions in the Book of Mormon) based on new information found in the Joseph Smith Papers Project. The Church News has also shared the excitement of Mongolian Saints for more information about their temple. Elder Neil L. Andersen, in a Spetember ministry trip, shared exterior and interior renderings of the temple with the Saints in Mongolia. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd the Church News has shared their coverage of the Mongolian ambassador's recent visit with the First Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe HTML version of the November 2025 Liahona is now available. The General Authorities and General Officers chart reflects the new First Presidency and the current 11-member Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I am hoping that the new apostle could be announced soon. That said, the November 2025 Liahona also includes a brief tribute section in honor of President Nelson, but it also indicates that a supplement to the Church magazines in honor of President Nelson will be included with the Church magazines for November. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe new First Presidency has really gotten so work. The first leaders have been called for the Torreon & San Luis Potosi Mexico Temples, and for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple, and new leaders have been called for the San Diego California Temple. Hopefully all of these temples will be completed in the coming months. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has also looked back at the October 2025 General Conference talk by Elder Ronald M
DeleteBarcellos. My thanks once again to you all.
Here is my updated list of temples for which new presidents have been or may be called this year. It now includes 10 new temples estimated to be completed through mid-2026, 17 currently-operating temples (or temples that have recently undergone or are currently undergoing renovations), the 1 temple with leaders called last year who began serving this year, and the 78 temples for which new leaders have been called thus far this year.
DeleteI would just add here that, in view of the calls of the first leaders for the Willamette Valley Oreon, Torreon & San Luis Potosi Mexico Temples, it is possible that any or all of those temples could be completed and/or dedicated sooner than I thought. So stay tuned for my revised thoughts on that as new temple dedications are scheduled in the coming weeks. My thanks once again to you all.
Yesterday, the Middle East Newsroom posted this update that was featured on the main Newsroom page today. My thanks once again to you all.
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