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.

Honoring President Dallin H. Oaks on His 93rd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 12, it's time to pay tribute to the third (and last) apostle who has his birthday this month. President Dallin H. Oaks is celebrating his 93rd birthday. Let's take a look at key highlights from his life: Dallin Harris Oaks was born on this day in 1932 to Dr. Lloyd E. and Stella Harris Oaks in Provo, Utah. Included in his mother's ancestry is Martin Harris, who, as we know, was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. President Oaks' first name was given in honor of the last name of an artist with whom his mother had worked (as the model) for a statue in Springville Utah. His father was an ophthalmologist, and he died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis. Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave young Dallin some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken.

After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor. In the meantime, young Dallin attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer.

Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games. At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. 

He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later. He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis. He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that same period of time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. 

Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter resulted in lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. Dallin also served on the foundational board of a Mormon thought periodical and was the chairman of the university's disciplinary committee. He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. 

He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court. He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade, but the Lord had other plans.

A surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled prior to the April 1984 General Conference. Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference. Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained.

President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."

Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained, having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3. He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 41 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998.

Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since. In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile. With the death of President Thomas S. Monson in January 2018, Elder Oaks became the second most-senior apostle.

President Nelson, in becoming the new Church president, felt impressed to call his apostolic seat-mate, Elder Oaks, to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency. He was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018. President Oaks has given a total of 100 addresses in General Conference, the first of which was given during his service as BYU-Provo President. Interestingly enough, that address from the early 1970s is somehow not listed in the Church's repository webpage of his General Conference addresses). He gave 68 additional addresses in General Conference as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the remaining 31 (so far) as a member of the First Presidency. He currently ranks as both the second most senior member and the second oldest member of the First Presidency, while he is the second in overall apostolic seniority, and the second-oldest apostle who is currently serving.

I am honored to have been able to pay tribute to him as he observes this milestone. I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, have indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks thereof.

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 Neil L. Andersen Celebrates His 74th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! Let's get right into the latest apostolic birthday tribute I'm posting. Today's is in honor of Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is celebrating his 74th birthday today. Elder Neil Linden Andersen was born on this day in 1951 to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen in Logan Utah. His family relocated to Pocatello when he was five to run a dairy farm. He served a full-time mission in France, then obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, eventually earning his MBA from Harvard, also in economics.

During his time at BYU, he met and married his wife, Kathy Sue Anderson, and together they raised four children. He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president (assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission) from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.

Through the next couple of decades as a Seventy, he served in a wide variety of Church assignments, including as executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West ,Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he also served as the area president).

In 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy (alongside Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who would eventually become Elder Andersen's apostolic seatmate). While serving in that Presidency, he was assigned to preside over the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007). By the time his stewardship switched to the North America Southwest Area (2007-2009), he had gone from being the second-least senior member of that Presidency to being the third-most-senior member. In 2008, with Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in April) and the release of Senior President Elder Earl C. Tingey (in August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference), Elder Andersen then became the Senior President of the Seventy, a role in which he would only serve for around 8 mon

With the December 2008 death of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. An interesting bit of trivia is the fact that Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband were all seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy as of August 2007, and they would all go on to be apostolic seatmates, with their apostolic calls occurring in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015 respectively.

Since Elder Andersen's original call as a General Authority Seventy in April 1993, he has given a total of 38 addresses in General Conference (3 of which he gave as a General Authority Seventy, with 2 others given while he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 33 since his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).

Elder Andersen continues to be the seventh in both senirotiy and chronological birth order among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ranks tenth among the 15 total apostles in both seniority and birth chronology. I gladly sustain him and each of his 14 apostolic colleagues as prophets, seers, and revelators, and am grateful to have been able to publish this tribute in honor of his birthday today. 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 Gary E. Stevenson Marks His 70th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 6, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is celebrating his 70th birthday. This post is in honor of that milestone. Gary Evan Stevenson was born to Evan and Jean Stevenson on this day in 1955 in Ogden, Utah. He grew up in the Cache Valley. He served full-time in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, after which he continued his secondary education at Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. 

During the course of his studies there, he met Lesa Jean Higley, whom he later married in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, and with whom he would raise four sons. He spent his professional career working as the COO of ICON Health and Fitness, and served on both the Marriott School of Management Advisory Council and also the USU Foundation Board.

In the Church, he has served as a bishop and a stake president's counselor. From 2004-2007, he and his wife presided over the Japan Nagoya Mission. Less than a year after his return, he was among the first general authority seventies called during President Thomas S. Monson's prophetic administration in April 2008. In August of that same year, he was called to serve as First Counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency, marking his third return to Japan as a representative of the Church. 

The following year, he became the president of that same area, and he served in that assignment until April 2012, at which point, he was released as a General Authority Seventy and sustained as the Church's 14th Presiding Bishop. In October 2015, with three vacancies in the apostleship due to the deaths of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott, Elder Stevenson was unexpectedly summoned to meet with the First Presidency. 

He related that he felt sure that he was being notified that one of his counselors (Bishops Gerald Causse or Dean M. Davies) were being called to the apostleship. He was stunned when the apostolic call was instead extended to him personally. He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015, and was ordained an apostle on October 8, then released as Presiding Bishop one day later. His call to the apostleship marked the second time a current General Authority Seventy who had subsequently been called as Presiding Bishop was also eventually called to the apostleship. Previously, that had been the case with Elder Robert D. Hales, who was called as a General Authority in 1975, and as Presiding Bishop of the Church in 1985 before being called to the apostleship in 1994. Those two former Presiding Bishops of the Church would serve together in the apostleship for approximately two years before Elder Hales' passing on October 1, 2017.

2015 marked the first time since 1906 that the Church needed to fill more than two apostolic vacancies ar the same time. In 1906, following the resignations of Matthias F. Cowley and John W. Taylor over the Church's repeal of the doctrine of plural marriage, and the death of another apostle, Marriner W. Merrill, the Church called George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay, Of the three, then-Elder McKay was the youngest, with Elder Whitney being the oldest, and Elder Richards between the two. 

This was an exception to the general rule that when more than one apostle was called on the same day, they have typically been called and ordained from oldest to youngest. The three apostolic calls in 2015 marked a similar anomaly in that respect. Although Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund were all called to the apostleship on the same day of the week in the week prior to General Conference, Elder Rasband is the oldest, Elder Stevenson is the youngest, and Elder Renlund is in the middle of those three.

At the age of 60, Elder Stevenson was the youngest man called to the apostleship since Elder David A. Bednar (who was 52 at the time of his October 2004 apostolic call). He would retain his status as the youngest currently-serving apostle until the April 2018 call of Elder Ulisses Soares, who was 59 at the time of his call. With the apostolic calls of Elder Patrick Kearon in December 2023, Elder Stevenson is now the 8th in seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the 11th in seniority among all current apostles. In terms of his age, he is the third-youngest among both the Quorum of the Twelve and the apostles overall.

In view of his 70th birthday today, there are now only two current apostles under the age of 70: Elders Ulisses Soares and Patrick Kearon

In his 17 years of service as a general authority, he has given 23 addresses in General Conference (1 as a General Authority Seventy, 2 more as Presiding Bishop, and the remaining 20 since his call to the apostleship). All of these addresses, covering a wide variety of topics, are well worthy of your time, attention and review. I gratefully sustain Elder Stevenson as a prophet, seer, and revelator, and appreciate this opportunity to post this tribute to him for his birthday. 

I similarly greatly admire and sustain each and every one of the other apostles in their God-given roles and responsibilities, and I am grateful to them for giving their time and talents to build up the kingdom of God, and to go wherever they are sent, bearing witness of the Savior at all times and in all circumstances. I share my witness that these men are called of God, and that we will be blessed as we give heed to their words.

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: 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.

UPDATE: Most Likely Specific Locations For Which a Temple Could Be Announced During the October 2025 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Several of you have asked about this, so here it is: my list of the most likely specific locations for which I feel a temple could be announced during the October 2025 General Conference. Note that to find those estimated picks in that document, you will have to scroll down to the bottom thereof. 

For any of you who don't want to go to the trouble of scrolling to the bottom of that document, here is the list in question:

Africa Central–Likash/Ruashi Democratic Republic of the Congo

Africa South–Pretoria/East London South Africa 

Africa West–Port Harcourt Nigeria

Asia–Taichung Taiwan or Asia North–Kobe/Hiroshima Japan

Brazil–São Paulo (Fourth)/Santa Maria Brazil

Canada–Ottawa Ontario

Caribbean–Port of Spain Trinidad/Kingston Jamaica or Central America–Villa Nueva Guatemala/Comayaguela Honduras

Europe Central–Zurich Switzerland

Mexico–Mexico City South Mexico

Pacific–Christchurch New Zealand

Philippines–Angles or Olangapo Philippines

South America Northwest–Otavalo/Guayaquil (Second) Ecuador or South America South–Osorno Chile

United States Central–Pueblo/Boulder Colorado or Rigby/Nampa Idaho

United States Northeast–Concord New Hampshire or Charleston West Virginia

United States Southeast–Jackson Mississippi or Shreveport Louisiana

United States Southwest–Mesa East Arizona or Las Cruces New Mexico

United States West–Juneau Alaska or Long Beach California

Utah–Herriman Utah or Preston Idaho/Evanston Wyoming

Also of note, although I have this list of my more specific picks, I still go off of my larger list of potentital new temple locations when "grading" my temple predictions vs. what will be announced in October. So while the larger list is still more relevant to the accuracy of these predictions, those of you who wanted it now have my more specific list of what seems to me to be the most likely picks this go-round.

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. 

UPDATED: October 2025 General Conference Predictions (Second Edition)

Hello again, everyone! Something wasn't quite sitting right with me about my predictions for the October 2025 General Conference. So I took another look at them, doing some further research to refine them. I have now completed my second edition of these predictions. We have the revised projected speaker lineup, an expanded list of projected changes in general Church leadership, and an expanded list of prospective new temple locations.

The commenting period on these predictions remains open until Thursday, October 2, at 10:00 PM MDT. So if any of you have any feedback on anything, including questions, suggestions, enhancements, and improvements, please feel free to share 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.

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.

Initial Predictions for the October 2025 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Yesterday, I took another hiatus from crafting new content on this blog. I will be posting a comment about the Church News, Newsroom, and Church Temples updates ASAP this evening, but for now, I wanted to share my initial predictions for the October 2025 General Conference. Although I will, in general, let them speak for themselves, I am more than happy to engage in answering any questions any of you may have about them.

As usual, we have my projected speaker lineup, an overview of potential changes in general Church leadership, and my latest updated list of prospective locations in which a temple could be announced. I have taken the liberty to expand my net a little bit, based on the trends of Nelsonian temple announcements.

If I am overlooking any potential or likely locations, please let me know. I will also add that I am projecting that 18 new temples will be announced in October, which will bring the number of temples in any phase to an even 400. I will have a more specific list of what to me are the most likely temple announcements by area at some point between now and the October 2025 General Conference weekend.

I will be happy to add any viable locations that I may have missed if there is a strong enough rationale for doing so. I look forward to any feedback any of you have for me. I am pleased to declare that the window for any feedback on these predictions is now open, and it will remain open until Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM. 

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.