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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Announced for the Piura Peru Temple

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

And if only one more groundbreaking is set to occur before the end of this year, we will be dead even with 2025's 20. I've got my eyes on several prospects. I am grateful for this news and for the chance to share it with you all here. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: October 2026 General Conference Speaker Lineup

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

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

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

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

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Salt Lake Temple Celebration Theme Announced

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

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Rendering & Groundbreaking Date Released for the Iquitos Peru Temple; Location Released for the Queen Creek Arizona Temple; & Exterior Rendering Released for the Charlotte North Carolina Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has made the next major temple announcement, with a rendering and groundbreaking date released for the Iquitos Peru Temple, a site location released for the Queen Creek Arizona Temple, and an exterior rendering released for the Charlotte North Carolina Temple.

Let's get right into the details: We start with the Iquitos Peru Temple. Today's news follows that temple's late January 2024 site announcement, which was preceded by its initial announcement by President Nelson in April 2023. The rendering speaks for itself. Ground will be broken for the Iquitos PeruTemple on Saturday, October 10, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Sandino Roman of the South America Northwest Area Presidency. 

Note that this groundbreaking will occur on the same date as the previously-announced groundbreaking for the Maceio Brazil Temple. Because Maceio time is 2 hours ahead of Iquitos, Peru time, the groundbreakings are likely to take place in that order. This announcement puts 2026 temple groundbreakings dead even with temple groundbreakings in 2025, and I have a feeling more groundbreakings are coming down the pike in the near term. The Church would only need to set three more groundbreakings to make that possible.

Since the exterior rendering for the Charlotte, North Carolina Temple also speaks for itself, I will just add that the release of this rendering follows the temple's April 2023 announcement by President Nelson, its original site location announcement in late May 2023, and its adjusted location in late March of this year. Hopefully, with a rendering now released, the groundbreaking for this temple may not be far behind.

That brings us to the details about the Queen Creek Arizona Temple, which will rise on a 15.5-acre site at the southeast corner of Ryan Road and Euell Drive, between Meridian Road to the west and Ironwood Road to the east, in Queen Creek, Arizona. That site location will not only host a multi-story 82,000-square-foot temple, but a meetinghouse and an ancillary building as well. This site confirmation follows the temple's October 2024 announcement. This brings the total number of announced temples with no official ifnroation confirmed down to 43.

I am grateful to have learned of this news and for the chance to share it with you all here. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple; Groundbreaking Ceremony Set for the Vienna Austria Temple

Hello again, everyone! About an hour later than usual, the First Presidency officially confirmed the opening arrangements for the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple and the groundbreaking arrangements for the Vienna Austria Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's dive right in! The media day for the first temple in American Samoa will take place on Monday, November 2, 2026, with invited guests touring the temple the next day. 

The public open house follows from Wednesday, November 4, through Saturday, November 21. The temple's dedication will follow on Sunday, December 13, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Contrary to what I had originally theorized, this announcement demonstrates that the Church will still conduct some temple dedications in December. The arrangements make sense, given the smaller size of that temple.

It did occur to me to wonder if the Church might also be able to dedicate the Smithfield Utah Temple before the end of this year as well, but since it is a larger temple and there's no announcement on that dedication yet, Smithfield's dedication will probably take place in January of next year at the earliest. I am grateful we got this temple dedication news today. I have added this dedication to my document showing current apostolic temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

That brings me to the other news: a groundbreaking for the first temple in Austria. That event will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2026, under the presiding direction of Elder Michael Cziesla of the Europe Central Area Presidency. This one is personal to my wife, as she served in what was then the Vienna Austria Mission (which became the Germany Munich/Austria Mission). This groundbreaking will be the seventeenth this year, and there are still plenty of Saturdays left in the year for other groundbreakings. 

So we may yet see 2026 surpass the 20 groundbreakings we saw last year. I'm sure others will be scheduled in the coming weeks. The dedication and groundbreaking are the only updates we got this week, but I was glad to see both of them and to bring you word of them in this post. It'll be interesting to see if other temple updates on the next several Mondays are similarly delayed. But whatever happens in that regard, you can count on my covering it here.

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: President Christofferson Will Rededicate the San Diego California Temple

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the First Presidency officially confirmed that President D. Todd Christofferson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, will preside at this Sunday's rededication of the San Diego California Temple. The dedicatory session is to take place at 11:00 AM PDT (10:00 AM here in Utah), with a rebroadcast at 2:00 PM.

It makes sense that the First Presidency would send out President Christofferson for this temple dedication. He is currently the youngest and healthiest member of the First Presidency, and I believe he has some personal ties to the San Diego area. This information has been added to my document showing current apostolic temple dedications and rededications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

I am assuming there was no new temple construction news yesterday due to the temple groundbreaking on Saturday and the two temple dedications on Sunday. I am hopeful it was only a one-week hiatus on such news, but we will have to see. As I have noted, there are two temples (Smithfield Utah and Pago Pago American Samoa) that are only awaiting the announcement of their respective opening arrangements, and there are multiple temples for which, due to semirecent status updates, are likely to have a groundbreaking. So I hope we resume regular weekly temple construction announcements next Monday.

I am grateful for today's update, and for the chance to share that news with you today. 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.

Church President Dallin H. Oaks Observes His 94th Birthday Today

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: our beloved prophet and Church President Dallin H. Oaks is celebrating his 94th 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, during which time, the chief justice presided over the infamous Watergate scandal. After that, Brother Oaks went on to 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 five months later, speaking in the October 1984 General Conference about 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 42 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. As we know, he became the senior apostle upon the death of President Nelson. As the Lord's senior apostle (and President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), he presided at the October 2025 General Conference, and on October 14, 2025, he was set apart and ordained by his fellow apostles as the prophet and Church President. President Oaks has given a total of 105 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 31 as a member of the First Presidency. He gave 1 in his capacity as President of the Quorum of the Twelve in the October 2025 General Conference, and the remaining 3 during the April 2026 General Conference. He currently ranks as both the most senior and the oldest member of the First Presidency, and the most senior and oldest current apostle. He currently ranks as the ninth oldest apostle in Church history.

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: President Oaks Will Dedicate the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! Thanks to Michael Worley's comment in the threads of the previous post, I am pleased to report that Church President Dallin H. Oaks will preside at the dedication of the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple this Sunday. This will be President Oaks' second temple dedication overall and his first international one since becoming President of the Church in October.

The news release doesn't indicate anything about any other stops, and the prophet continues to recover from a semi-recent hip replacement surgery, so a one-stop international visit makes a lot of sense. I am grateful he is well enough for this one stop. Hopefully he will also be well enough to preside at a few upcoming dedications and rededications as well. The prophet will celebrate his 94th birthday tomorrow, and I will have a tribute post in his honor published about 10 hours or so from now.

I am grateful for this morning's announcement, and for the chance I had to cover it. I am grateful to Michael Worley for first sharing this news here. I have added this information to my document showing current apostolic temple dedications and rededications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.  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 Fort Worth Texas Temple; Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Barcelona Spain Temple

Hello again, everyone! As anticipated, the First Presidency officially announced the next major temple construction updates. Today, it was opening arrangements for the Fort Worth Texas Temple and groundbreaking arrangements for the Barcelona Spain Temple. Let's get into all the relevant details:

We start in Fort Worth Texas. The media day for that temple will take place on Monday, November 2, 2026, followed by two days of tours for invited guests. The public is invited to tour that temple between Thursday, November 5, and Saturday, November 21, 2026. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, January 10, 2027, with the presiding apostle TBA. I had hoped that the Fort Worth Texas Temple might be dedicated before the end of this year, but I was clearly mistaken in that theory.

I don't know what that means for the Smithfield Utah Temple. Likely that dedication will occur in 2027, I assume, but we'll have to see. For whatever reason, it appears that the Church may be opting to not schedule any dedications for the month of December going forward, which would make sense so the focus can be on the Savior during the Christmas season. 

I will have to evaluate that and figure out how it may alter the estimates I have previously offered. This dedication has been added to my document showing apostolic temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure. I am grateful we got this announcement. and llook forward to seeing what the timing is on other upcoming dedications.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Barcelona Spain Temple is set to take place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, under the direction of Elder James W. McConkie III of the Europe Central Area Presidency. This is the second groundbreaking to be set between the August 29 groundbreaking for the Couer d'Alene Idaho Temple and the previously announced October 10 groundbreaking for the Maceio Brazil Temple.

This brings the number of scheduled 2026 temple groundbreakings to 16. Last year, the 16th temple groundbreaking took place on September 25, so I hope we see one or two more groundbreakings set to occur in September to even things out. Time will tell on that hope. I am grateful for this announcement as well. On my blog a little while ago, someone had mentioned that a groundbreaking committee had been formed for this temple, so I knew that the groundbreaking announcement was only a matter of time.

So the Barcelona groundbreaking was on my radar for the near term, as was the announcement of opening arrangements for the Fort Worth Texas Temple, even if said arrangements were on a different timeframe than I had projected. Hopefully we soon hear news of the opening arrangements for the Smithfield Utah Temple, other temple groundbreakings, and more exterior renderings and site location confirmations.

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do. 

Elder Neil L. Andersen Observes His 75th 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 75th 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 months.

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 40 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 35 since his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).

Elder Andersen is now the fourth in both seniority and chronological birth order among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ranks seventh 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 Elder Andersen's 75th 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Elder Clark G. Gilbert Will Dedicate the Cody Wyoming Temple

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the Church announced that Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication of the Cody Wyoming Temple. on October 25, 2026 This marks Elder Gilbert's first temple dedication assignment. Elder Gilbert, who was called to the apostleship in February of this year, currently serves on the Missionary Executive Council, and it appears that Elder David A. Bednar has served as Elder Gilbert's apostolic mentor.

This is an interesting development. Elder Gérald Caussé, called to the apostleship in November of last year (a few months before Elder Gilbert) has not yet been assigned to dedicate a temple. But since Elder Gilbert received this assignment, hopefully Elder Caussé's first apostolic temple dedication assignment isn't far behind. I have added this information to my document showing current apostolic temple dedication assignments under President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

Interestingly enough, we still have no word as of yet regarding which apostle will dedicate the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple next Sunday (August 16), or who will rededicate the San Diego California Temple the following Sunday. That kind of makes me wonder if President Oaks will be presiding over either or both of those events. I will keep my eyes open for more details on all of that and will share those details ASAP after I learn about them.

In any case, I am grateful we got this news today. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson Marks His 71st Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 6, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is celebrating his 71st 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 Gérald Caussé: 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 at 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 Gérald Caussé in November 2025 and Elder Clark G. Gilbert in February 2026, Elder Stevenson is now the sixth in seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the ninth in seniority among all current apostles. In terms of his age, he is the eighth among the Quorum of the Twelve and the eleventh among all 15 apostles.

In his 18 years of service as a general authority, he has given 25 addresses in General Conference (1 as a General Authority Seventy, 2 more as Presiding Bishop, and the remaining 22 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 New Anchorage Alaska Temple; Closure Announced for Current Anchroage Alaska Temple

Hello again, everyone! An unexpected temple announcement came down the pike today: opening arrangements for the new Anchorage Alaska Temple, along with a closure for the current Anchorage Alaska Temple, which will close for demolition on March 22, 2027. As a reminder, the new Anchorage temple is being built where the former chapel stood, so the plan is for a new chapel to be built where the current temple sits once the existing structure is razed. The Church will want to be able to dedicate the new meetinghouse when the new temple is dedicated, so closing the existing structure a couple of months before the new temple is dedicated will allow the Church to do that.

That brings us to the opening arrangements for the new Anchorage Alaska Temple: the new temple's media day will occur on Monday, May 10, 2027, with invited guests touring the temple the next couple of days. The public open house will occur between Thursday, May 13, and Saturday, May 29, 2027. The new Anchorage Alaska Temple and the adjacent chapel will be dedicated (not rededicated) on Sunday, June 13, 2027. The session will be broadcast to all units in the temple district. The presiding official will be named closer to the time, making it likely that a member of the First Presidency or a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside thereover.

This marks a change from the Church's original plan to dedicate the new temple, then raze the existing structure and build and dedicate the meetinghouse. But it is a welcome change that makes sense when outlined as done herein. I will confess I was not expecting this temple's opening arrangements to be announced this soon, nor did I anticipate that the first temple event announced for 2027 would be this rededication. But it is welcome news nonetheless.

With no other temple news announced this week, hopefully next week will bring opening arrangements for the Pago Pago American Samoa, Smithfield Utah, or Fort Worth Texas Temples, in addition to one or two more temple groundbreakings. I suspect we will continue to see announcements every Monday this month. 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: Dedication Set for the Torreon Mexico Temple; Groundbreaking Set for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the major temple construction announcement from the First Presidency set the opening arrangements for the Torreón Mexico Temple and the groundbreaking arrangements for the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple. Here are the details: We start with the Torreon Mexico Temple, which will have a media day on Monday, October 19, with invited guest tours the following two days.

The public will be invited to tour the temple between Thursday, October 22, and Saturday, November 7, excluding the Sundays of October 25 and November 1. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, November 22, under the presiding direction of Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. That will be the same date as the previously announced dedication of the Modesto California Temple. By that date, daylight saving time will have ended, so Torreon will then be 1 hour ahead of Modesto, so if the two dedications are held at 10:00 AM, Torreon will be the first of the two to be dedicated.

The dedication announcement follows the temple's April 2021 announcement, with the site location confirmed in mid-September 2021 (the exterior rendering was simultaneously released on that same date) and the groundbreaking announcement in mid-October 2022, with the groundbreaking subsequently occurring in mid-December of that same year. I am grateful we got news of this temple dedication.

We now turn to the Colorado Springs Colorado Temple groundbreaking, which will be held on Saturday, September 12, under the direction of Elder Karl D. Hirst of the United States Central Area Presidency. The groundbreaking announcement follows the temple's October 2023 announcement by President Nelson, with the site location confirmed in early November 2024 and the release of its' exterior rendering occuring in early May 2025. I am grateful that my theory of other groundbreakings between Couer d'Alene Idaho and Maceio Brazil has proven correct. There are now 

In view of these announcements, I have updated my documents showing apostolic temple dedications under President Oaks' prophetic administration and my side-by-side comparison for groundbreakings in 2025 vs. 2026. I still think at least a couple other groundbreakings could be set to occur between Colorado Springs Colorado and Maceio Brazil, or that perhaps one more could be set between Couer d'Alene and Colorado Springs, but time will tell on that.

I am grateful we got these two announcements. While I was doing the research to prepare the full post covering this news, the Church News covered both the Torreon Mexico dedication and the Colorado Springs Colorado groundbreaking. I still think the Church will set dedications for a few more temples to occur before the end of this year, and I have a feeling that additional groundbreakings are coming down the pike as well.

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 NEWS: 10 Additional New Hymns Released

 Hello again, everyone! Today, I am pleased to share that 10 additional new hymns have been released. These newest hymns focus on"simple, Christ-centered truths". The ten have been released in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, and will be available in the Gospel Library app later today. These 10 hymns are:

“Peace, Peace, Be Still”

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

“Isaiah Said”

“Fight the Good Fight”

“It’s Joyful to Live the Gospel”

“To God Be the Glory”

“Speak to Us, Lord”

“The Miracle”

“What God Calls Us To”

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

Of these 10 newest selections, I have familiarity with "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" & "To God Be the Glory" (courtesy of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Sqaure) & "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (courtesy of the ward choir in my parents' ward a decade or two ago). These 10 additions bring the total number of released hymns to 82. 

The Newsroom release also noted that "Additional hymns are being released in other languages, including 22 in Armenian and Malagasy, nine in Cebuano, Indonesian, Italian, Samoan, and Tongan, and 12 in German, Korean, and Tagalog."

We may be just about a year ahead of when the new hymnbooks are available for release, so I project that we may have about 3-4 more batches of new hymns released before the new hymnbook is widely available in our congregations. And while we don't know how big the "core collection" of current hymns and children's songs will be, taking a look at some of the current hymns that have been sung in the most recent General Conferences may give us clues.

I am grateful for these newest releases, and for the chance to pass this analysis on to you all. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now.

 All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Announced for the Maceio Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency set groundbreaking arrangements for the Maceió Brazil Temple. Let's break down those details: the groundbreaking for this temple is set to take place on Saturday, October 10 (just one week after the October 2026 General Conference). Elder B. Corey Cuvelier of the Brazil Area Presidency will preside over that ceremony. This announcement follows that temple's announcement in April 2022, the site location confirmation in March 2023, and the release of its exterior rendering in May 2024.

Given the timing of this temple's groundbreaking, I'm sure other temple groundbreakings could be set to occur before it. But currently, this announcement marks the fourteenth in 2026. 2026 is currently 48 days behind 2025. But, as noted, I do anticipate other groundbreakings perhaps being set to occur before this one does. Time will tell how correct that notion is. This will mark the sixth Brazilian temple to join the current construction queue.

I had been hoping we might see other temple dedications announced, or additional information released about other temples, but I'm glad we at least got this announcement today. 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: Preliminary Details Confirmed for the Campo Grande & Goiania Brazil & Medellin Colombia Temples; Exterior Redering Released for the Spanish Fork Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! With the Newsroom still being intermittently down, I wasn't sure there would be any temple news released today. But I accessed the repository page for temple news in 2026, which lead me to finding today's temple news: The First Presidency has announced the preliminary information for the Campo Grande Brazil, Goiânia Brazil, & Medellín Colombia Temples & also released the rendering for the Spanish Fork Utah Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's get started!

We begin in Brazil. The Campo Grande Brazil Temple was announced in April 2025 by President Russell M. Nelson. The 11,300-square-foot, single-story edifice will rise on a 5.6-acre site at the intersection of Nelly Martins Avenue, Cigana Street, and Rio Negro Street, Carandá Bosque, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. As for the Goiânia Brazil Temple, it was announced in October 2023 by President Nelson. The 18,850-square-foot, single-story edifice will rise on a 5.54-acre site at the intersection of Rio Verde Avenue, Captain Breno Street, and Professor Hélio França Boulevard in Loteamento Faicalville, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil,

And for the Medellín Colombia Temple, it was originally announced by President Nelson in October 2024. The 10,471-square-foot edifice and an accompanying ancillary building.will rise on a 3.05-acre site located at Carrera 52#4-96, Guayabal, in Medellín, Colombia. The rendering of the Spanish Fork Utah Temple speaks for itself, but the release thereof marks an important step towards a groundbreaking. The Church Temples site notes that core soil samples & groundwater have been measured, and that design plans are well underway, so this temple's subsequent groundbreaking may be just a matter of time. That temple was also originally announced in April 2025, with the site location confirmed in mid-January of this year.

I have nothing much more to add as far as the rendering goes, but if any of you have any insights on that, please feel free to weigh in on that subject. I am grateful for the announcements about these 4 temples, though I was slightly surprised when, yet again, there were no dedications or groundbreakings announced. But I am pleased to report that 61 temples now have site locations announced (42 of those 61 have renderings published), which brings the queue of announced temples with no information officially confirmed down to 44.

I am very pleased by today's announcement, and hope my analysis thereof here is helpful to you all. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now.

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Announced for the Couer d'Alene Idaho Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency set a groundbreaking date for the Couer d'Alene Idaho Temple. The groundbreaking will take place on Saturday, August 29, 2026, under the direction of Elder Hutch U. Fale of the United States West Area Presidency. This will be the 13th temple groundbreaking in 2026. 

The 13th temple groundbreaking in 2025 occurred on August 23, so we are only a few days behind last year's groundbreakings. I am hoping many other groundbreakings will take place during the remainder of this year, and that 2026 groundbreakings will well surpass 2025 groundbreakings. I am more than slightly surprised that we didn't also get either one or two more groundbreakings or another temple dedication set. Right now, we have 4 temples with major construction wrapped up, and 5 more nearing completion.

But maybe we'll see one or more dedications and one or more groundbreakings announced next week. Given that the First Presidency announced this today, I'm hopeful we can count on Monday announcements continuing through the remainder of this month and for the foreseeable future. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: Temple Construction Progress During the Second Quarter (and First Half) of 2026

Hello again, everyone! As the second quarter (and first half) of 2026 draws to a close, I am pleased to provide a look back at temple construction progress during this quarter. This report shows where things stood at the beginning of the year, with  this report showing where the temple construction progress stood a few days prior to the April 2026 General Conference, and this report  showing where things stand at the end of this second quarter (and first half) of 2026. There have been several pretty significant updates during this quarter. Anhd heading into the third quarter (and second half) of 2026, there is a lot to which we can look forward.

I am assuming that will continue to include Monday or Tuesday announcements most weeks. So to the best of my ability, I will try to continue to share updates on that front here as soon as possible. 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.