Hello again, everyone! As I had anticipated, there was an official temple construction announcement today, in which the First Presidency officially confirmed the site locations and preliminary information for two temples in the United States: Kahului Hawaii and Flagstaff Airzona. Let's get right into the details for both temples:
The Kahului Hawaii Temple was originally announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2023. The single-story 19,000 square foot edifice will rise on a 7.6-acre site along Kuikahi Drive next to an existing meetinghouse at 1300 Maui Lani Parkway, Kahului, Hawaii. An ancillary building will also be constructed as part of this temple project.
And for the Flagstaff Arizona Temple,, originally announced by President Nelson in his last General Conference as Church President (April 2025), a 10.43-acre site at the southwest corner of Butler Avenue and South Fourth Street in Flagstaff, Arizona, will be home to the single-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet, and will also include an adjacent ancillary building.
In view of today's announcement, there are now only 12 US temples awaiting official information, and the number of temples for which no information has been officially confirmed now sinks down to 56. That number is getting smaller all the time. The data on the document to which I linked abovespeaks for itself. Just a couple more thoughts about today's announcement, if you will indulge me therein:
I had thought that, with 3 temples completed and awaiting the announcement of their opening arrangements, at least one of them might have a dedication announced in the near term. But clearly, that did not happen this week. Maybe that will be the case next week. I still think that at least one more temple dedication might be scheduled to occur in the first halfof 2026, but I guess we'll have to see.
I will also be interested in finding out whether any temple dedications will be set to occur in July. If memory serves me correctly, during the temple-building boom of the late 1990s-early 2000s, having a few dedications in July was the status quo for a while. Could we see some July dedications in 2026? Only time will tell. Unless any other dedications are announced within the next month, the Brethren may opt to wait until August to begin building up the queue of temple dedications again.
And for groundbreakings? What can we expect? I've got a few temples in my crosshairs for which I hope a groundbreaking announcement will be made and the ceremony held in the near term. I likewise hope we will see some movement in the queue of temples for which groundbreakings have been held, but for which full-scale construction is pending. In any case, there is a lot to which we can look forward in the coming weeks and months, and I'm sure this prolific season of temple building will continue, even if it is slower than I currently am predicting and projecting.
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.
Surprisingly, July is not the month with the fewest dedications. That distinction belongs to February with 5 dedications. There have been seven in July with four in the year 2000. The next fewest is January with 13. The most is June (26 plus two more scheduled)
ReplyDeleteHey, Scott S! Thanks for that overview. Unless I am mistaken, the last time we had a July dedication of a temple was during President Hinckley's prophetic administration. Could it happen again this year? Perhaps, but also, perhaps not. It all depends on what the slow rate of dedication announcements does to affect how far out the dedications are scheduled. I have a couple of dedications projected for this July, but could see them being delayed until the beginning of August. I will be interested to see what President Oaks decides to do in that regard.Thank yu, Scott S., for taking time to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteThe Church News has also covered today's site announcements, along with sharing the latest edition of the Church News podcast. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Church News has also released the text of the prayer offered by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to dedicate the Alabang Philippines Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThank you as always for your ongoing updates
ReplyDeleteThank you, as always, for your kind comments and your longtime readership and friendship.I always appreciate hearing from you, Chris.
DeleteOn this Wednesday, the Church News has shared counsel pertaining to baptism and confirmation preparation meetings, and a summary of remarks by new GA Seventy Elder Edward B. Rowe, who spoke at Ensign College and highlighted the importance of asking in faith. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Newsroom has shared the latest edition of "Latter-day Saints Around the World", which highlighted content from Belize, South Korea, & Uruguay.. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared the awe-inspiring success story resulting from member missionary work in the DemocrtaticRepublic of the Congo.
DeleteAnd, in the wake of his father's passing, Elder Matthew S. Holland filled an assignment to speak at the BYU-Provo devotional yesterday, where he not only paid tribute to his father, but turned to a favorite theme of his father: clinging to the Book of Mormon. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Newsroom shared an official statement from the South America South Area Presidency regarding the recent fires in Chile. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Thursday, the Church News has provided an overview of speakers slated to participate in the BYU Women's Conference this year, which is scheduled to be held from Thursday, APril 29-<May 1, and will feature keynote addresses by Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson, Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, and Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThis afternoon, the Newsroom shared this overview of instructions for both Palm Sunday and for General Conference weekend (which will coincide with Easter). I am still working on refining my April 2026 General Conference predictions as a result of the new apostles and the announcement that the Saturday Evening Session will be discontinued. I will share those updated projections at some point after the next new apostle is announced (which I anticipate may happen in the next week or two).
DeleteIn the interim, this document shows the latest adjustments to the completion order of temples under construction or undergoing renovations. The main change of note is that the Managua Nicaragua Temple (for which there is also a statusupdate) has moved ahead of the Bel Horizonte Brazil Temple, although both retain their completion estimate of early 2026. The main difference is that Belo Horizonte has its' first leaders named, while that is not yet true for Managua.
Additional updates were also reported on the status of the Santa Cruz Bolivia and Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temples. My thanks once again to you all.
The letter from the First Presidency outlining the parameters & guidelines for Easter Sunday are now available online for noncommercial Church andhomeuse.My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has also covered the letter in question. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteYesterday (January 23), the Newsroom reported on how the President of Zimbabwe and several Cabinet members and ministers toured the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. Meanwhile, from the Church News comes this additional report from the 22nd, in addition to the biographies of 16 new miswsion leader couples, the obituary for the widow of another emeritus general authority, the donation of food and supplies to displaced Cambodians, Applications are open to join the Bells at Temple Square and violinists for the Orchestra at Temple Square. And the latest edition of "This Week on Social" featured posts from the following general Church leaders:
DeletePresident D. Todd Christofferson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; and the following members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elders David A. Bednar, (from whom two posts were shared), Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong, and Gérald Caussé; Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson; Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and her Second Counselor, Sister Andrea Munoz Spannaus; a new post on Primary Worldwide featured Church President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, who shared an important family story with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and Sister Tracy Y. Browning, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, also posted via Primary Worldwide.
And around 70,000 Seminary and Institute teachers worldwide, who reside in 170 countries around the world, received instruction from Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a GA Seventy and Comissioner of Church Education and Brother Chad H. Webb, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency who also serves as the administrator for Seminaries and Institutes.
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom posted one other report yesterday that I almost forgot to mention. My thanks once again to you all.
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