BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, I am pleased to share that the First Presidency has announced the opening arrangements for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. Let's get right into the relevant details: A media day will be held on Monday, January 19, 2026, with VIP tours following over the next two days. The public open house will then run from Thursday, January 22, 2026, through Saturday, February 7, 2026, excluding the Sundays of January 25 and February 1. 

The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, March 1, 2026, under the direction of Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. A few surprises were connected to this announcement, in my opinion. While I was sure that a temple dedication would be announced today, I thought Lindon would be the natural choice. Hopefully next week. 

The open house length was not surprising, but I am a little stunned that the dedication will only take place in March, about four weeks following the conclusion of the open house. So I  don't quite know what to make of today's news. It is good news, to be sure, but unexpected in many respects. I will update some relevant associated documents and link to those in the comments of this post.

  

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: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Alabang Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, I am suprised and pleased to report that the First Presidency has announced opening arrangements for the Alaabang Philippines Temple. Let's get right into the relevant details: The temple will host a media day on Monday, November 17, 2025, followed by three days of tours for invited guests. The public is intived to tour the temple between Friday, November 21, through Saturday, December 13, 2025. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, January 18, 2026, in one session, with Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding thereat.

This temple dedication announcement came sooner than I was expecting, and the open house and dedication dates are sooner than I anticipated as well. I had anticipated that, if opening arrangements were announced for any temples today, that the Lindon Utah Temple would be the natural choice. I'm sure finishing touches may need a little longer there, since that temple is slightly larger than Alabang. Despitethe fact that the timing of both the open house and dedication are sooner than I expected them to be, I'm glad we got them.

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: First Presidency Confirms the Site Location, Releases the Rendering, and Sets the Groundbreaking Arrangements for the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Judge Rules in Favor of the Church in the Heber Valley Utah Temple Dispute

Hello again, everyone! It is unusual for a breaking temple news update to be provided on a Wednesday, but there is one, so let's dive right into it: the judge has ruled in favor of the Church in the Heber Valley Utah Temple matter. This means that the temple in question will be built as planned, since the Heber City residents were found to have a lack of standing or say when it comes to how religious buildings are constructed, or the associated zoning granted by the county. 

This update was originally provided to me in this comment from Noah in the threads of the previous post, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank him here for making me aware of it. With that ruling coming in late today, the Church can proceed with construction of the temple at their earliest convenience. It will obviously take time for construction equipment to arrive at the site, and for full-scale construction to begin, but hopefully that will only take weeks, whereas resolving this matter in the courts has taken just over 2 years (since the groundbreaking). 

So stay tuned here for updates on the Heber Valley Utah  Temple as those updates cross my radar, in addition to the other 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: Opening Arrangements Annnounced for the Burley Idaho Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for the Burley Idaho Temple. As with the previously announced opening arrangements for the Bahia Blanca  Argentina Temple, the arrangements in question are for later than I originally thought or projected. Let's get down to the official details:

The media day for the Burley Idaho Temple will occur on Monday, November 3, 2025, with VIP tours the following two days. The public open house will be held from Thursday, November 6-Saturday, November 22, 2025, excluding the relevant Sundays (November 9 and 16). The dedication of the Burley Idaho Temple will follow on Sunday, January 11, 2026, in a single session, which will be broadcast to all congregations in the temple district.

Interestingly enough, the exact time of that dedication is not included with this update, nor is there any indication of who the presiding apostle will be. If I may, I'd also like to offer a word about the timing of this dedication: I had anticipated that both the Burley Idaho and Lindon Utah Temples might be dedicated before the end of the year, and to my knowledge, the cornerstone of the Burley Idaho Temple states "Erected 2025", so I thought that was an indicator that this temple will be dedicated this year.

I don't quite know what to make of this, or the fact that the presiding apostle was not identified with this announcement. It occurred to me to wonder if the same will be true of the Lindon Utah Temple opening arrangements, and what (if anything) that might indicate about the timing of the dedications for the Harare Zimababwe and Alabang Philippines Temples. 

But then I had another theory: what if the Church delaying the Burley Idaho & Lindon Utah Temple dedications means that either or both the Harare Zimbabwe and Alabang Philippines Temples will be the last temples dedicated this year? Why might the Church do that if Burley and Lindon are finished sooner? Then it hit me that the Saints in Harare and Alabang have waited comparatively longer than the Saints in Burley and Lindon for their respective houses of the Lord to be completed.

So, wiht that in mind, it would make sense if the Church is prioritizing getting Harare and Alabang dedicated by the end of this year, so that the faithful Saints who have had to wait longer for their temples might be blessed to have them sooner. But there is also the outside chance that all of the other three temples might possibily have their dedications deferred until 2026 for reasons of which we might be unaware.

What does this mean? We will have to wait and find out. I will be watching and waiting along with you all. And if all four dedications are deferred until early 2026, that in turn will impact my estimates for the temples that follow, which might also mean that it may take longer for the Church to have 300 operating temples than what I have conjectured. I certainly hope that's not the case.

But I've got my eyes on all major temple construction news and announcements, in addition to all updates from the Church News, Newsroom, Church or Jesus Christ Temples site, and LDS Church Growth Blog, and I will have my usual insights and analaysis on all of it as usual, both here and on my official YouTube channel (once I get that up and running). 

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 PERSONAL NEWS: I Have Started My YouTube Channel

Hello again, everyone! The purpose of this post is to advise those who are interested that I have started my YouTube Channel. That channel will allow me to share the updates I have customarily shared here. I do not expect that the creation or operation of this channel will impact my ability to share my reports as usual here. This will just allow my analysis of such updates to reach a wider audience. Stay tuned for more information on my YouTube channel as I get more content added to it. 

And, as always, also 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 Tampa Florida Temple

 Hello again, everyone! As anticipated, the First Presidency announced the next major temple construction update today: another temple groundbreaking: this one for the Tampa Florida Temple.Let's get to the details: The groundbreaking in question will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025. Presiding at the temple's groundbreaking will be Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with him set to fill that assignment just two weeks to the day after his birthday. 

If memory serves me correctly, Elder Andersen was either the first president of the Tampa Florida Stake folllowing its' creation, or he served as the president of the existing stake in Tampa during his tenure as stake president, so it's altogether fitting and proper that he has been asked to fill this assignment, since he and his wife still have ties to the area the temple will serve.

The announced arrangements for the Tampa Florida Temple follow that temple's announcement in April 2022, an original site announcement roughly six months later, the release of an exterior rendering in March 2023, and the announcement of a new location for that temple in April of last year. The law school building that formerly occupied the second location announced for that temple was demolished a short time ago, so the announcement of this groundbreaking was not totally unexpected.

This will mark the second groundbreaking set to occur on August 23: the Church previously announced the groundbreaking for the Vancouver Washington Temple on that date, and that information remains unchanged, marking the first time in a few years that two temple groundbreakings have been set to occur on the same day. Since Florida is in the Eastern time zone, the groundbreaking for Tampa will take place before that of Vancouver.

As a result of today's announcement, the groundbreakings for the Vancouver Washington and Fairbanks Alaska Temples are moved down on the list to now being the 14th and 15th such ceremonies planned to be held this year, which means that 2025 outpaces 2024 by one so far, and the Church is not done with temple groundbreakings for this year yet, so I think we may come closer to 20 or 30 by the end of the year, if not more.I am grateful for this update and for the chance to share it with you all. 

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. 

Review of Temple Construction Progress During the First Half of 2025

Hello again, everyone! Now that June 30 has become July 1, the first half of 2025 is officially over, which means it's time to provide an overview of temple construction progress during the first half of this year. I will let the following documents speak for themselves, and just add that this one shows where things stood at the beginning of 2025, with this one reflecting where things stood a few days before the April 2025 General Conference, and this one highlighting where temple construction progress stands at the conclusion of the first half of this year.

I hope you all will find these updates enlightening. It is wonderful to have tracked and chronicled that progression thus far, and I look forward to further progress being made during the back half of 2025. 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. 

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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 Confirmed for the Budapest Hungary Temple; Groundbreaking Set for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency confirmed that the groundbreaking for the Budapest Hungary Temple took place as scheduled on Saturday, with that report (speaking for itself) coming courtesy of the European Newsroom. The First Presidency additionally announced the groundbreaking arrangements for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple. SInce the former report speaks for itself, let's move on to the latter report.

First, a brief historical revieiw: Today's groundbreaking announcement follows the temple's October 2023 announcement, followed by the simultaneous release of its' site location and exterior rendering in November of last year. The groundbreaking for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple is set to occur on Saturday, September 27, 2025, under the direction of Elder Peter M. Johnson, the First Counselor in the United States West Area Presidency (known until August 1 as the North America West Area Presidency). 

Given that this groundbreaking is being set for the last Saturday in September, I think other groundbreakings announced in subsequent weeks could be set to occur earlier in September, which is what we saw take place with the scheduled groundbreakings in August. In the unlikely event that the Church does not set any other groundbreakings to occur before Fairbanks, the groundbreaking for the newest temple in Alaska will be the 14th such ceremony to occur this year, now tying with the number of groundbreakings last year. 

Given that the announcement of these groundbreakings have been coming as regularly as they have, I have no doubt there are more to come for 2025. 2025 could very well set new records for the number of groundbreakings. It will be interesting to see what happens there. I am grateful to have learned of this news and for the opportunity to pass it along to you all. 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.>/p>

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.

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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 Ceremony Announced for the Winchester Virginia Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency announced the groundbreaking arrangements for the Winchester Virginia Temple this afternoon. That announcement caught me off guard, as I was only personally expecting that temple's groundbreaking sometime next year. Let's get right into the details:

Ground will be broken for Virginia's newest temple on Saturday, August 9, 2025, under the direction of Elder Robert M. Daines, Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area Presidency. The groundbreaking for this temple follows that temple's April 2023 announcement, the location confirmation six months later, and the release of its exterior rendering in  December of last year.

The Winchester Virginia Temple groundbreaking will be the eleventh this year, knocking the previously announced Vanoucver Washington Temple groundbreaking to the twelfth spot this year. By the time that temple's groundbreaking occurs (two weeks after Winchester's), we will be 10 weeks ahead of where we were in terms of groundbreakings in 2024.

I am grateful to have been able to learn of this news and pass it along to all of you in this post. 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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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 NEWS: Church Releases 11 New Hymns

Hello again, everyone! This just in from the Newsroom: Eleven new hymns have been released for the new hymnbook. The release of the latest batch of hymns fulfills the promise made earlier this month that the next batch would soon be released. The new hymns include the following selections:

“Look unto Christ”, “Oh, How Great Is Our Joy”, "I'm a Pioneer Too”, “As I Keep the Sabbath Day”, “Read the Book of Mormon and Pray”, “I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”, “The Lord's My Shepherd” (not to be confused with "The Lord Is My Shepherd", which is in our current hymnbook), “Because”, “His Voice as the Sound”, “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me”, and “Still, Still, Still. ” 

Most of these new hymns are in the section "Sabbath & Weekday", which now includes 41 selections, but "Still, Still, Still" is now grouped with the "Easter and Christmas" selections, which now number 7. Only "Still, Still, Still" was familiar to me from this newest batch. Some of the origins of these songs were detailed in the news release to which I linked above. There have now been a total of 48 new selections released.

I don't know when to expect the next batch, but  Additional information was shared in the above news release, and I think I will let that additional information speak for itself so that I don't add or detract from that. I will just add that I was impressed by the accounts of several Church members who have described their experiences with the new hymns.

And it's probably a no-brainer that Church leaders, specifically those involved in music callings, are invited to add these newest hymns to the collections available in meetinghouses worldwide, and to continue to incorporate the new hymns as a regular part of Sabbath Day worship. Meanwhile, Church members everywhere are invited to familiarize themselves with these new hymns.

I will also note that I continue to be surprised by the chosen numbering scheme, which seems to be topical. I don't know how the numbering of current hymns and children's songbook selections will factor into that numbering scheme, but I look forward to finding out in roughly 2 years when the new hymnbooks are officially available.

I am grateful to have learned of these new releases almost as soon as they were announced. 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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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: Site Locatiion and Exterior Rendering Released for the Chihuahua Mexico Temple; Exterior Rendering Also Released for the Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! At the top of this 2:00 PM hour, I am pleased to report that the next major temple construction announcement has been made. The First Presidency has confirmed the site location and released a rendering for the Chihuahua Mexico Temple, and an exterior rendering for the Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple has also been released. Let's get right into the details:

We start with the Chihuahua Mexico Temple, which will be built on the corner of Avenida de la Cantera and Avenida Real Escondido, Reserva Territorial la Hacienda, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31216. The single-story templle, planned to be roughly 19,000 square feet, will rise on a 5.87-acre site at that address. The accompanying exterior rendering speaks for itself. 

Given its comparatively smaller size, it shouldn't take too long to build. The announced location and the release of the exterior rendering follow the announcement of this temple by Church President Russell M. Nelson during his April 2024 General Conference address. I will be intrigued to see how quickly this temple's approvals go through, as they are reportedly already being worked on by the Church.

We now turn our attention to the rendering of the Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple rendering, which follows its announcement  in October 2022, and the confirmation of its site location two months later. It appears that the Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple will be a multi-story edifice, similar in design to the Bangkok Thailand Temple, which is built up rather than out.

As I am not great at analyzing exterior renderings, I will let others comment on anything I may have msised. I am grateful we got these two exterior renderings and the site location confirmation today. I had hoped we would get the dedication information for at least the Burley idaho Temple today, if not also the arrangements for the Alabang Philippines Temple, both of which have been mostly sitting completed for several weeks/a couple of months. 

I still hold out hope, based on information I've received on my end, that there will be at least a couple more dedications before the end of the year, so hopefully such an announcement will come in a week or two. 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. 

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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 NEWS: Church Releases New Details About Hymns--For Home & Church

Hello again, everyone! Through the newest episode of the Church News podcast, and a corresponding update found on the Newsroom website, we now have some additional information about the forthcoming new hymnbook, Hymns—For Home & Church. 

According to the new information in the podcast and corresponding news release, the next batch of new hymns will be released in English later this month, the total number of hymns in the new hymnbook will be around 375 (only about 30 more than the current hymnbook), Church members are being encouraged to continue to hold on to our current hymnbooks after the new ones come out, and the timeline for the full release of the English version of the new hymnal has moved up to mid-2027 (roughly 2 years from now).

There is valuable information about the new hymnal in both the podcast episode and the news release to which I linked above, and I will actually let most of that speak for itself, as I'd rather not add or detract from the subject matter in this particular case. But I will say that I look forward to the release of the new hymnal, and I am personally elated that it will be out sooner than expected. This is a most fitting way to celebrate today, which marks a year from when the first batch of hymns was released.

For my part, I continue to remain committed to providing 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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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: Church President Russell M. Nelson Will Dedicate the Syracuse Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the Newsroom provided an official update indicating that President Nelson will preside at the upcoming June 8 dedication of the Syracuse Utah Temple. I had projected that he would do so, but now we have official confirmation of that feeling on my part. The prophet will be accompanied at the dedication by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is a native of nearby Cache County here in Utah.

The temple's sole dedicatory session will take place at 4:00 PM MDT, will be carried live to all stake centers in the temple district, and will be rebroadcast at 7:00 PM MDT, again to all stake centers in the temple district. While this is huge temple news, I do not believe it will be the only major temple construction update we will get today. So stay tuned here during the 2:00 PM MDT hour for my coverage of whatever additional updates we may get.

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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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: Africa Newsroom Reports on the Groundbreaking for the Benin City Nigeria Temple & Dedication of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple; Groundbreaking Arrangements Set for the Vancouver Washington Temple

Hello again, everyone! During the last few days, the African Newsroom has confirmed Saturday's groundbreaking for the Benin City Nigeria Temple and Sunday's dedication of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple. I wondered if those would be the sum and total major temple construction updates we will get for the week, but still privately theorized that something else was likely to be announced today, in view of Memorial Day yesterday in the United States. 

That impression was proven correct with today's announcement of groundbreaking arrangements for the Vancouver Washington Temple. The confirmation of these arrangements, which I will detail shortly, follows that temple's original announcement during the October 2023 General Conference, the confirmation of the site location io February 2024, the release of the exterior rendering in September 2024, and the March 2025 announcement that preliminary site work was beginning.

As for the groundbreaking arrangements, that ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025. Elder Mark A. Bragg, the outgoing president of the current North America West Area (which will be renamed the United States West Area on August 1), will preside at that ceremony. Interestingly enough, he will have been released from that assignment on August 1, so by the time of the groundbreaking, he will be filling other assignments at Church headquarters. 

Having previously served in the Family History and Church Communications Department, I could see him presiding at this groundbreaking in a new role, perhaps as the Executive Director of either the Family History or Temple Departments, either of which would make him a natural choice to preside at this groundbreaking.

Given that the Wellington New Zealand Temple groundbreaking will be on August 2, with this one set for August 23, I could potenitally see a couple others scheduled for groundbreakings in between those for Wellington and Vancouver. If nothing else is announced to occur before the latter date, this will be the twelfth temple groundbreaking in 2025. Last year, the twelfth temple groundbreaking was conducted on Saturday, September 27, so we are currently 35 days ahead of where we were, and other groundbreakings are forthcoming.

We also currently have some degree of a backlog in terms of temples that have had a groundbreaking recently but have not yet had full-scale construction begin, so hopefully some of those will be able to have construction begin soon. And with 3 temples completed and awaiting the announcement of their opening arrangements, I was a little surprised we didn't get any dedication announcements. Hopefully that is coming down the pike in the next week or two.

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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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 Singapore Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced a groundbreaking for the Singapore Temple. The announcement follows that temple's announcement in April 2021, with the site confirmed in October 2022, and the release of its exterior rendering just two months later. The Church selected its general contractor in May of last year, and the existing structures on the site were demolished beginning in December of last year.

I had projected that the groundbreaking for this temple would occur in the relatively near term, and I had also projected that the Church could break ground for other temples before that of the recently announced Welington New Zealand Temple on August 2, and I was correct on that as well. As for the groundbreaking for Singapore's first temple, it is set to occur on Saturday, June 28, under the direction of Elder Kelly R. Johnson, First Counselor in the Asia Area Presidency.

This announcement will now make this temple the tenth to have a groundbreaking this year, and knocks the Wellington New Zealand Temple down to being the eleventh. The eleventh temple groundbreaking last year took place on September 7, so the Church is now 5 weeks ahead and counting for temple groundbreakings in 2025 vs. 2024.

I am grateful for this fantastic news and the chance to share it 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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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: Exterior Rendering Released for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple

 Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency released the next major temple construction announcement: an exterior rendering for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple. The release of this rendering follows the announcement of that temple in October 2023 and the site confirmation and preliminary details being released just six months ago, in November of last year.

The rendering largely speaks for itself. I currently estimate (based on recent trends) that the groundbreaking for this temple may likely occur early next year at latest, but certainly sooner if approvals go through quickly. I am grateful this update was announced today, and am happy to have been able to cover it 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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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 Set for the Wellington New Zealand Temple; McKinney Texas Temple Will Be Renamed the Fairview Texas Temple

 Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency set a groundbreaking for the Wellington New Zealand Temple, and also announced that the McKinney Texas Temple will be renamed the Fairview Texas Temple. While the latter development primarily speaks for itself, let's get down to the details about the Wellington New Zealand Temple.

The Wellington New Zealand Temple had a site announced in late November 2022. An exterior rendering was initially released in mid-June of last year and was included in today's announcement of its groundbreaking. As for the groundbreaking itself, that will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2025, under the direction of Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, the First Counselor in the Pacific Area presidency. 

The "two-story temple of approximately 14,900 square feet and an ancillary building with arrival facilities and patron housing" will likely take 2-3 years to construct once full-scale construction begins. And given the slower pace at which the latest temples have gone from groundbreaking to full-scale construction, it could be around 4-6 weeks after the groundbreaking occurs before full-scale construction begins. I hope I'm wrong on that, but time alone will tell.

Aside form the renaming of the McKinney Texas Temple to the Fairview Texas Temple (which was one of the conditions proposed by the planning and zoning commission for the city council approval process), today's news release confirmed the new exterior rendering as official, and that the temple will be built "on an 8.16-acre site located along Stacy Road adjacent to and east of an existing meetinghouse at 651 East Stacy Road, in Fairview, Texas." 

The revised plans for the temple are for a single-story edifice of 30,742 square feet. This marks the second name change for this temple. It was initially announced as the Prosper Texas Temple before being changed to the McKinney Texas Temple, and it will now be the Fairview Texas Temple. Hopefully, the latest concessions agreed upon between the Church and the city will allow city council approval to be granted in an expedited manner. 

Those revised plans go before the Fairview City Council tomorrow. If they are approved, especially in light of the concessions made, a groundbreaking announcement for Texas's next temple may be forthcoming as well. Sorry. I droned on longer about that temple than I meant to. Anyways, I am grateful for today's announcements. 

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. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 

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: Site Announced for the Eket Nigeria Temple; Exterior Rendering Released for the Huntsville Alabama Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a very unexpected early morning announcement, the First Presidency confirmed the initial details for the Eket Nigeria Temple and released an exterior rendering for the Huntsville Alabama Temple. Let's get right down to the details:

The Eket Nigeria Temple, which was announced in October 2022, along with 17 others, will be a single-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet, which will rise on a 7-acre site at Eket/Oron Road in Ikot Ibiok, Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A new meetinghouse will also be built as part of the project. The Eket temple is one of six planned for Nigeria. Groundbreakings have been announced for the temples in Lagos and Benin City, while we await more official details for the temples in Calabar, Abuja, and Uyo.

The rendering for the Huntsville Alabama Temple largely speaks for itself. I will just add that it follows a site confirmation on January 25 of this year, and the temple's announcement in the October 2024 General Conference. Given the accelerated pace of the site announcement and now the exterior rendering, I would not be shocked if we had a groundbreaking for this temple later this year, though it might only happen early next year.

Stay tuned here for 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 for the applicable updates. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 

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 NEWS: 2025-2026 Area Presidency Assignments Announced

Hello again, everyone! Hot on the heels of the announcements I covered a couple of hours ago, the First Presidency has also announced the area leadership assignments for the next year. Significantly, in addition to those assignments, the areas now covering just the United States (because of the creation of the Canada Area) will now be known as United States Areas, with the obvious exception of the Utah Area. 

So we now have the United States Central, United States Northeast, United States Southeast, United States Southwest, and United States West Areas. I will have additional analysis of these assignments later tonight or tomorrow, which will be shared in the comments of this post. I am still trying to do updates for the temple news, which is why I will just let the assignments speak for themselves until I can share that analysis.

Stay tuned here for 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 for the applicable updates. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required.

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.