BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Knoxville Tennessee and Smithfield Utah Temples; Groundbreaking Arrangements Set for the La Paz Bolivia and Cincinnatti Ohio Temples

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency just announced the next major temple construction milestones, and they are somewhat significant in that we got two dedications (Knoxville Tennessee and Smitithfield Utah) and two more temple groundbreakings (La Paz Bolivia and Cincinnati Ohio). There's a lot to get into, so let's get right into the details!

We start in Knoxville, where a media day will be held on Monday, January 25, 2027, with VIP/guestt tours the following day. The public open house will run from Wednesday, January 27-Saturday February 13 (excluding the Sundays of January 31 and February 7). The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, March 7, 2027, under the direction of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This announcement follows the temple's April 2022 announcement,  its late October 2022 site announcement, the mid-December 2022 release of the exterior rendering, and its late January 2024 groundbreaking.

As for Smithfield, the media day will take place on Monday, February 22, 2027, with invited guests touring the temple the next couple of days. The public open house will run from Thursday, February 25, through Saturday, March 27, 2027. The temple dedication will take place on Sunday, April 18, 2027, under the presiding direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This dedication announcement follows the temple's original announcement in April 2021, the site announcement 5 months later, and the rendering released two months after that.

Both of these temple dedications are occurring later than I thought they would, but I'm glad for these announcements in any case. It's also worth noting that, with the Smithfield Utah Temple dedication set, the Church may release the Logan Utah Temple renovation plans at some point following the April 2027 General Conference. And with the Fort Worth dedication in January, Knoxville in March, and Smithfield in April, hopefully, a couple of other dedications might fill in the gaps between the set dedications. It'll be interesting to see how all of that works out.

Let's move on to the groundbreakings: Elder Juan Pabo Villar, South America Northwest Area President, will preside at the groundbreaking for the La Paz Bolivia Temple on Saturday, November 21, 2026. That groundbreaking follows the temple's October 2021 announcement, the late August 2023 site announcement, and its mid-June 2022 groundbreaking. Meanwhile, ground will be broken for the Cincinnati Ohio Temple on Saturday, November 7, 2026, under the direction of Elder Alan T. Phillips of the United States Northeast Area Presidency.

In light of these updates, I have updated my documents showing current apostolic temple dedications/rededications and a side-by-side comparison of temple groundbreakings this year vs. last year. As the latter document shows, we have now officially surpassed the number of temple groundbreakings we saw last year, and, as the document shows, it is 21 (this year) vs. 20 (last year). I still think we might see additional temple groundbreakings this year. 

We've still got one Saturday in November and two or three Saturdays in December on which groundbreakings could be set to occur. As to which or how many other temples might still have ground broken this year, that's harder to say. I will have some ideas about that that I will share with my end-of-third-quarter 2026 report. 

The only other thing to note is that I don't know how soon we might get other temple dedications set. Not for at least a month, I'd wager. But I do think that we can continue to expect these 2:00 PM MDT announcements at least until the time change in November. I appreciate the chance to share these thoughts with you all.

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.

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data roughly every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, July 26, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 18 Church Presidents (including our current prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 30 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including current Quorum President, Henry B. Eyring). 

The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency not even making that list for the next 6 years), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). The tenure clock on the current groups (the Quorum of the Twelve and the 15 apostles overall) reset when Elder Gilbert was ordained.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group, plus apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 15 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 13 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

With these updates being published every 7 weeks, the next one will be provided here on Sunday, September 13. Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. 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. 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Announced for the Piura Peru Temple

Hello again, everyone! Right when I had given up all hope for a new temple announcement today, a new announcement from the First Presidency has set a gorundbreaking for the Piura Peru Temple. That event willl take place on Saturday, November 14, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Steven C. Barlow of the South America Northwest Area Presidency. Given that there are four Saturdays between the October 17 groundbreaking for the Vienna Austria Temple and the Piura Peru Temple groundbreaking, the schedule could and probably will fill out.

And if only one more groundbreaking is set to occur before the end of this year, we will be dead even with 2025's 20. I've got my eyes on several prospects. I am grateful for this news and for the chance to share it with you all 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.

Elder Quentin L. Cook Celebrates His 86th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share some thoughts about Elder Quentin L. Cook in honor of his 86th birthday today. Let's dive right into that subject: Quentin LaMar Cook was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook on this day in 1940 in Logan, Utah. His ancestry includes his great-great-grandfather, Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was one of the original apostles of the Church and who was instrumental in bringing the gospel to England and supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith at key moments when apostates made efforts to replace Brother Joseph as the Lord's mouthpiece.

Young Quentin was a middle child, having an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in a very gospel-centered home, although his father eventually lost interest in Church activity. At age 15, he had a discussion with his brother Joe that changed his life. Joe was unsure whether to continue with his medical school studies, or to delay them in order to serve a mission, with their father favoring the former. During that conversation, they determined that either the gospel was true or it wasn't, and that if it was, serving a mission would be the best use of Joe's time. Joe’s decision to go resulted in young Quentin eventually accepting his own call to serve in the British Mission.

One of his two mission presidents was Elder Marion D. Hanks, who simultaneously served as a general authority. At one point during his mission, his companion was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Though the two didn't know it at the time, both would go on to serve as General Authority Seventies and as colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Cook later noted the following in relation to Elder Holland:

"Sometimes we receive revelation even when we do not know the Lord’s purposes. Shortly before Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was called to be an Apostle in June of 1994, I had a beautiful revelatory experience that he would be called. I was a regional representative and could see no reason I would be given that knowledge. But we were companions as young missionaries in England in the early 1960s, and I had a great love for him. I considered the experience a tender mercy for me. In recent years, I have wondered if the Lord was preparing me to be junior in the Twelve to an incredible missionary companion who was my junior companion when we were young missionaries. I sometimes warn young missionaries to be kind to their junior companions because they never know when they might be their senior companion."

Elder Cook returned from his mission with a strong testimony of the Savior and a resolve to associate with people who love the Savior, both within and outside of the Church. He married his high school sweetheart Mary Gaddie in the Logan Utah Temple on November 30, 1962. Their posterity includes three children and numerous grandchildren.

He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in political science and from Stanford University with a juris doctorate degree. As a managing partner in a San Francisco Bay area law firm, he specialized in business law. He later became president and chief executive officer of California Healthcare System, and vice chairman of Sutter Health Systems. His church service has included being a bishop, stake president’s counselor (during a period of time when his brother Joe was president of that same stake), stake president, regional representative, and area authority. While he was in the stake presidency, he was instilled with a love of people from all nations when he had responsibility for Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations.

He was named a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6, 1996, and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 1998. He served as a member of area presidencies in the Philippines, the Pacific, and North America, and he also served executive director of the Church Missionary Department during the period of time that "Preach My Gospel" was developed and instituted as the standard guidebook for missionaries, and was subsequently called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2007.

Nine days after that, the death of President James E. Faust, who had been serving as Second Counselor to Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, would wind up having an unexpected impact on Elder Cook's life. As the October General Conference rolled around, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring was called as President Hinckley's new Second Counselor, which created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 6, 2007, Elder Cook was sustained to fill that vacancy, and he was ordained an apostle five days later.

Elder Cook has spoken 40 times in General Conference: twice as a General Authority Seventy and 38 additional times in the almost-17 years since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for his service as a special witness of Christ, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other apostles.

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.

UPDATED: October 2026 General Conference Speaker Lineup

Hello again, everyone! I am coming to you today with an updated version of my October 2026 General Conference predictions. I deemed that necessary because it appears that the Church may be opting to have members of the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric speak on the same rotating basis that has typically been used for the other General Authority Seventies (once every 5-6 years). I say that because we last heard from someone in the Presidency of the Seventy in April 2025, which was also the last time we heard from someone in the Presiding Bishopric.

We also have a unique situation occurring in April 2027, when two current members of the Presidency of the Seventy will be released and granted emeritus status, effective that August. So I had that to consider as well. As a result, my revised speaker lineup includes Bishop Sean Douglas and Elder Marcus B. Nash, both of whom last spoke in October 2021. And since the last General Conference featured speakers who last offered remarks in April 2021, the October 2021 window seems like the right interval from which to pull speakers.

That being said, Elder Edward Dube last spoke in April 2021, so I wondered if he'd somehow fit into this conference as well. But he won't turn 70 until 2032, so we've got plenty of time to hear from him probably a few more times before Elder Dube himself is granted emeritus status, whereas that is not the case for Elder Nash. And with the Presiding Bishopric likely not changing until 2029 at the earliest, Bishop Douglas is the one who has not spoken since October 2021, making it likely he will do so in this General Conference.

My projected changes in general Church leadership and my masterlist of all locations in which a temple could be announced in the near term remain largely unchanged. I am looking forward to whatever major temple construction news will be shared on Tuesday during the 2:00 PM MDT hour here in Utah (because Monday is Labor Day, a federal holiday in the United States, and Church headquarters is closed on that date). 

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Salt Lake Temple Celebration Theme Announced

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the Salt Lake Temple Celebration theme was officially announced by President Dieter F. Ucthdorf, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Chairman of the Salt Lake Temple Celebration Committee, with that theme being Rejoice in Christ. That announcement came from the new West Entrance of the Salt Lake Temple. Rather than doing a detailed recap of that broadcast, I will instead refer any of you who are interested in either watching or reading more about the broadcast to the official Newsroom release I linked to above.

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.