Hello again, everyone! Given the coverage of the open houses for the San Diego California and Cleveland Ohio Temples, I wasn't sure anything else would be announced today. But it was. The First Presidency has officially confirmed opening arrangements for the Modesto California Temple, a scheduled renovation for the Apia Samoa Temple, and confirmed official details for the Hamburg Germany Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's jump right in!
We start with the Modesto California Temple, which will have a media day on Tuesday, October 13, followed by VIP tours the following two days. The public open house will run from Friday, October 16 through Saturday, October 31, excluding the Sundays of October 18 and 25. The temple's dedication will follow on Sunday, November 22, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The time of the dedicatory session has not been identified as of yet, but I imagine a 10:00 AM session with a 2:00 PM rebroadcast is the likely scenario. I have added this information to my document showing apostolic temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic administration.
Given that there is a two-Sunday gap where no temple dedications have been set (yet), I am reasonably certain we will see at least one dedication apiece of other temples on November 8 and November 15. I could be wrong on that, but I don't believe that I am. I am keeping my eyes out for information on the temples in Pago Pago American Samoa, Torreon Mexico, and Smithfield Utah, any of which could have dedications scheduled on either of those Sundays. The Modesto temple was behind those three in the queue, insofar as I have been able to ascertain. I am also keeping my eyes open for news of the opening arrangements for the Fort Worth Texas, Neiafu Tonga, and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temples.
And, having referred to the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple, that leads me into the details of the renovation for the Apia Samoa Temple. That temple will close for extensive renovations on December 23, 2026. Other details remain unknown at this time, but the timing of the closure will probably mean that the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple will be operational by (if not before) the closure of the Apia Samoa Temple.
The news release notes: "During the closure, members from the temple district are encouraged to attend other temples as their circumstances permit. Those desiring to receive their own ordinances should contact a temple in the surrounding area to make the necessary arrangements." I wouldn't be surprised if the plan is to enlarge the temple and bring electrical and mechanical equipment up to date, and/or remodel the existing floor plan. But until such details are known, that is merely my own opinion.
We now turn to the Hamburg Germany Temple. The announcement states: "The Hamburg Germany Temple will be built on a 1.4-acre site located at Wartenau 20, Hamburg, Germany." Other details, including the temple's size and an exterior rendering, will apparently be released at a later time. The confirmation of the temple's size an an exterior rendering will be released at a later date. This is the last temple originally announced in April 2023 to have any official details confirmed. I have accordingly updated my document showing announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet.
I am grateful for this announcement and the opportunity to share these thoughts with you here. 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 shared coverage of the Modesto dedication, the Apia renovation and the Hamburg location, in addition to President Christofferon's ministry in Philly (with a corresponding Newsroom article linked to in the threads of the previous post). My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteOn this Tuesday, Elder Neil L. Andersen, speaking at the media day for the San Diego California Temple, noted that the open house presented a key opportunity for him to share his testimony of Jesus Christ. The latest editionof the Church News podcast featured Deseret News reporter Tad Walch talking about AI and the principles he has learned while covering Elder Gerrit W. Gong's teachings about it. Studying and teaching resources have been provided for the April 2026 General Conference talk by Elder Dale G. Renlund. And applications are open for volunteers and performers to lend their talents for the 2027 Salt Lake Temple Celebration. The Church is requesting Temple Square guides, performers, and other volunteers for that purpose. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
DeleteI just want to reiterate here something I have previously noted: The Church has shared that the open house tours of the Salt Lake Temple will occur between Monday, April 5, and Friday, October 1 of next year. Some have assumed (incorrectly, in my opinion) that the dedication of that temple will follow before the end of next year. But the Church has had a longstanding practice of thoroughly cleaning each temple between the conclusion of the open house and its' subsequent dedication or rededication. And given that the Salt Lake Temple has the largest floor area of any temple in the Church, I don't see that post-tour cleaning period wrapping up before the end of next year. In fact, unless the Church also calls for volunteers to assist in that post-tour cleaning period, it will likely take at least a few months to complete that process, and the Church habitually schedules dedications to occur several weeks following the completion of those final cleaning efforts. As a result, I really don't see that process wrapping up any sooner than the early summer months of 2028. I hope I'm wrong, and I'd love to see the Salt Lake Temple dedicated before the end of next year, but I just don't see that happening, based on what I know about the period between the conclusion of a temple open house and its' subsequent dedication (or rededication). So that's why I'm personally estimating the rededication of the Salt Lake Temple to be likely deferred until August 2028. My thanks once again to you all.
There have been a number of temple construction updates that I may or may not have remembered to share here, so I'm playing catch-up this evening. The latest update on the Knoxville Tennessee Temple indicates that major construction is nearing completion, with updates showing progress on the zCagayan de Oro Philippines and Cali Colombia Temples. It appears that construction on the Vancouver Washinton Temple may be progressing ahead of schedule, with steady progress on the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple as well. The latest updates on the Kona Hawaii Temple now put it ahead of the Anchorage Alaska Temple in the renovation queue. And new updates on the temples in Des Monies Iowa, Colorado Springs Colorado, Buenos Aires City Center Argentina, Florianopolis Brazil, and Couer d'Alene Idaho may give us more of an indea of how close each of those temples might be to a groundbreaking. I have updated my temple construction progress report accordingly and will have my latest revised estimates for all future temple construction milestones available in my end of second quarter/first half of 2026 temple construction updates, which will be posted here two weeks from now at around the time that June 30 becomes July 1. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThanks to a social media alert on my phone, my attention was drawn back to this report of Elder Causse's Sunday evening remarks to a BYU-Idaho audience. Of particular note, aside from the fact that he played the piano during the devotional, right at the top thereof, the article notes: "In 2030, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will commemorate the bicentennial of the organization of the Church. It will also commemorate the beginning of the Savior’s mortal ministry 2,000 years ago." I don't know what form that commemoration may take,but it's something to consider. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteApparently, I didn't post any new updates yesterday. Let me now rectify that: On Wednesday, the Church News shared the following new updates: study and teaching resources were provided for the April 2026 General Conference talk by Elder Thierry K. Mutombo; Sister J. Anette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, ministered in Central America, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ministered in the Philippines; GA Seventy Elder Robert M. Daines spoke at a BYU Law Rceligious Freedom conference; and GA Seventy Elder Mark A. Bragg, the new Executive Director of the Family History Department, spoke to archivists in Khazhkstan. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Newsroom also published two new updates on Wednesday, illustrating how the Church is celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence by providing donations to food banks/food pantries in each of the United States' 50 states. My thanks once again to you all.
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