BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Confirms Location and Preliminary Information for the Bercelona Spain Temple

Hello again, everyone! True to form, on this Monday at this 2:00 PM hour in Utah, the First Presidency has made the first major temple announcement of 2023. The location and preliminary details have been provided for the Barcelona Spain Temple, which, as we know, was originally announced in April of last year. Here are the details: 

A 5.4-acre site at the intersection of Avinguda de la Vía Augusta and Avinguda de la Clota, Sant Cugat del Vallès in Barcelona will serve as the location of the two-story 27,500 square foot temple, along with a 13,600 square foot ancillary building, which will include arrival and distribution centers and patron housing. 

This now brings the total number of temples with sites announced to 25, most (if not all) of which will likely have groundbreakings this year. To be perfectly honest, I was hoping we might get an announcement on opening arrangements for either the Bentonville Arkansas or Okinawa Japan Temples, if not for both of them. But I'm not in any way disappointed by this news. 

With 2 temples originally announced in April 2018, 1 each the following October and April, 3 from April 2020, 5 and 8 from April and October of 2021, respectively, and 6 and 14 respectively from April and October of last year (still weird to say that at this point), the Church has not yet announced any information on 40 of the 68 announced temples.

What does that mean for the future? Well, bearing in mind that there are 8 temples in the queue that might have opening arrangements announced in the next 4-6 months or so, and 25 temples with sites announced (with exterior renderings released for 11 of those), we are unlikely to be short on temple announcements. 

I seem to recall that, during the pandemic, since the Church could not hold General Conference leadership meetings as usual in 2020, over the course of two days, two significant announcements were made relating to temple construction instead. 

So I have a theory that, while Monday could be a day for some major updates like site announcements or exterior renderings, maybe Thursday, which has been a standard day for other major Church announcements, or another day of the week could be used to announce other major temple news. 

Since President Nelson said a couple of years ago that things were going to move forward at an accelerated pace, it would make sense that, to keep up with a rapidly-progressing queue, some weeks going forward may include 2 temple-related announcements.For my part, I will continue to monitor all such updates and will do my best to bring you word of those (along with any Church news updates) to the best of my ability.

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 the offered 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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. 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.

2022 Year-End Review of Temple Construction

Hello again, everyone! In these closing minutes of 2022, I would be remiss if I failed to pass along a look back at temple construction progress during this year. First, it's worth referring back to the three-part summary of temple construction developments published by the Church News. 

The first part highlighted temple dedications and rededications, when they occurred, and who presided at each one. A total of 4 temple rededications and 5 new temple dedications took place in 2022, and the Church has already set the first three temple dedications for next year.

The second part summarized key information about the 16 temple groundbreakingss held this year, which outpaced the 12 temples that had groundbreakings last year. The Church has already set the first temple groundbreaking for 2023, and a minimum of 27 others could also have groundbreakings next year.  

The second part also highlighted the fact that there are 37 other temples worldwide that are currently under construction (5 in Utah; 8 elsewhere in the United States, 3 in Central America, 6 in South America, 3 in Africa, 8 in Asia, and the final 3 in Oceania). The article also highlighted the 3 temples currently undergoing renovation and 3 others for which renovations have been scheduled.

The final article, published earlier today, highlighted information about the announced temples. With 35 new temples announced this year, that is a new record. Of all the announced temples, 1 has a  groundbreaking scheduled, and 27 others could also have a groundbreaking in 2023. 

That includes a total of 6 temples that had sites revealed and exterior renderings released prior to this year, and a whopping 17 others that had sites revealed this year alone, with 1 of those having an exterior rendering released at the same time as the site confirmation, and 4 others having exterior renderings released after the site confirmation.

Interestingly enough, two of those closest to a groundbreaking (the Montpelier and Teton River Idaho Temples) have had sites confirmed and cleared for likely groundbreakings, but neither of them have had exterior renderings released. I anticipate those two temples, along with the other 14 temples that have had sites confirmed, might soon have exterior renderings released in 2023 as well.

Regarding the the remaining 41 temples in the planning and design phase, the final 6 in the United States (which were announced in October of last year or April or October of this year) could soon have sites announced..4 others outside the United States could have official details announced soon after the first of the year, and the remaining 31 are announced. And I have another document showing information about the 41 temples for which no official details have been announced yet.

Having shared that information, by way of review, I wanted to look back at where temple construction stood as 2023 began, one day before the April 2022 General Conference at the mid-point of 2022, on the first morning of the October 2022 General Conference, and where things stand as 2022 concludes. I appreciated this chance to review temple construction progress for 2022. I will be back shortly with a final post for the year, looking back at the major developments in the Church in 2022.

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 the offered 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. 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 Confirms Site Locations for 3 Temples; Releases Renderings for 4 Others

Note: An original version of this post was published at 2:05 PM, with additional details, analysis, and context added from 3-5 PM.

Hello again, everyone! Another Monday afternoon has come, and, as has been customary, the latest major temple construction update was provided this afternoon. Because I have other obligations, I will have complete analysis of today's update later today. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

I am back as promised. Today's announcement involves the confirmation of initial information for 3 temples and the official release of exterior renderings for 4 others. Let's get right into the details. The site locations and initial details have been released for the Santiago West Chile Temple (first announced in October 2021), and the Cleveland Ohio and Austin Texas Temples (first announced in April of this year).

Although we are still awaiting an official name for the Santiago West Chile Temple, the Church has indicated that the single-story 12,500-square-foot temple will be constructed in Comuna de Maipu, a suburb of Santiago, at Primo de Rivera 1551. It occurred to me to wonder if the temple could be named the Santiago Chile Maipu Temple or the Santiago Chile Comuna de Maipu Temple, or simply the Comuna de Maipu Chile Temple. I look forward to finding out.

In the meantime, the Cleveland Ohio Temple will not be built in Cleveland proper. Instead, the 9,900 square-foot single-story edifice will rise at Brecksville Rd., south of Longano Dr., Independence, Cuyahoga County, Ohio 44131. And the Austin Texas Temple will also not be built in Austin proper either. Adjacent to the existing meetinghouse at 1801 E. Park Street in Cedar Park Texas is a 10.6-acre site upon which the Church will build a 30,000-square-foot single-story edifice.

Having discussed the specifics of the 3 site locations, I am also pleased to report that exterior renderings have been provided for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (for which the site was confirmed on November 28), the Knoxville Tennessee Temple (for which the site was confirmed on October 31) and the Singapore and Modesto California Temples (for which the sites were confirmed on October 10), 

As a result of today's announcements, the status of the announced temples in the Church now stands as follows: With a total of 69 temples, 1 has a groundbreaking scheduled. And of the remaining 68, initial details have been provided for 28. That means the Church has not yet released any information about 40 temples, which includes 2 originally announced in April 2018, 1 each from the following October and April, 3 from April 2020, 5 from April 2021, 7 apiece from October of last year and April of this year, and the remaining 14 from April of this year. I continue to monitor those 40 temples.

And today's announcement means there are now a total of 27 temples awaiting a groundbreaking announcement, almost all of which could have that set for next year. There are now 6 temples in the US that were announced in October of last year and April and October of this year, and most if not all of those could have some information confirmed in the coming weeks. I am also keeping my eyes open for information on 4 other temples outside the United States. That leaves a total of 31 other announced temples.

We know that the Church is regularly releasing information about announced temples. It will be interesting to see the timing for future temple groundbreakings. If I might also add another thought, we did not hear this week about any opening arrangements for other temples currently in the construction queue. We know that major construction has been completed for the Bentonville Arkansas Temple, and that construction is nearing completion on the Bangkok Thailand, Feather River California, Brasilia Brazil, and Moses Lake Washington Temples.

And of course, with Christmas Day coming up on Sunday, only time may tell whether or not any temple updates will be announced by the Church on Monday of next week. Regardless of what happens on that date, it seems highly likely that the early weeks of next year will be chock full of temple announcements. I look forward to seeing what's ahead there. I continue to monitor all other temple construction and Church news updates and remain committed to bringing word of those to you all here as time and circumstances allow.

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 the offered 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. 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 Location and Initial Details Released for the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple

Note: This post was originally published just after 2:00 PM, with further analysis included throughout the afternoon.

Hello again, everyone! Following a one-week hiatus in which no new temple updates were reported, the First Presidency has released information about the site location and initial details for the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple. As noted above, I will update this report as time and circumstances allow today. I also continue to monitor all other temple updates and Church news reports and will be sure to bring word thereof to you here ASAP. 

Note: As I mentioned above, an initial version of this post was published at around 2; with subsequent analysis shared throughout the afternoon and evening as time allowed.

I am pleased to now be able to share a more detailed analysis of today's development. The Church noted today that the 87,000-square-foot three-story edifice will rise southwest of Hickman Avenue between North Grand Canyon Drive and Tee Pee Lane in Las Vegas, Nevada. With this being the second temple for the Nevadan capital city, the temple named for Lone Mountain is set to be 6,650 square feet larger than its' original counterpart.

The larger size of the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple and the fact that the Las Vegas Nevada Temple has not closed for renovation since it was originally dedicated in 1989, which was 3 decades ago. And, of course, as with any other temple announcement, today's announcement will impact the order and timing whereby temples with confirmed locations might subsequently see groundbreakings occur. I will have my revised thoughts on the timing of future temple events ASAP.

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 the offered 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. 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 Part Two: Site Locations and Initial Details Released for 6 New Temples

Note: The first paragraph of this report was published this afternoon, as shown by the time stamp for this post. The additional analysis followed throughout the evening once I'd concluded my other obligations.

Hello again, everyone! As anticipated, the next major temple news has been shared by the Church. Site locations and preliminary details have been confirmed for 6 new temples. Further analysis will follow this afternoon/evening as my situation allows. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

I am pleased to be back now to share the additional analysis I promised. Once again, the Church has shared the location and preliminary information for 6 temples. That news was released just one day after another new report in the Church News shared insights from the Presiding Bishopric about the location, design, and construction of temples. 

As you might recall, that article noted that the process whereby temple sites are selected has been considerably shortened. Where it once took the Church a minimum of two years to get initial approval for a temple site, two years is now the maximum length of time in general, with more site locations actually being able to be procured and confirmed sometimes within weeks or mere months of a temple announcement. And that accelerated timeline was certainly reflected again in the 6 locations announced today. 

The Church has confirmed the sites and initial information for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple (the one remaining temple of the six originally announced in October 2020); the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (originally announced in October of last year). the Wellington New Zealand and Santos Brazil Temples (originally announced in April of this year), and the Londrina and Ribeirão Prêto Brazil Temples (originally announced last month).

As an update to previously-shared information, this means that the Church has 3 temples remaining which were originally announced in April 2018, 1 each from the following October and April, 3 from April 2020, 5 from April of last year, 9 apiece from the following October and April, and 15 of the 18 from the temples announced last month in General Conference.

With that preliminary background in mind, let's now dive into details about each of the 6 temples had site locations confirmed and initial details announced. While both of the articles to which I linked earlier in this post listRibeirão Prêto Brazil Temple the 6 temples in unique order, I have chosen to provide the details on these 6 temples according to the same order in which they were originally announced.

So we'll start in Santa Cruz Bolivia, where a single-story temple of approximately 29,000 square foot temple will be built at Av. Quinto Anilla y Santa Rosa (Av. Radial 27), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The acreage of the site in question was not specified. I believe I recall opining that the Church could possibly announce the official details for the La Paz Bolivia Temple before we got an announcement for Santa Cruz, but the Lord has proven me wrong in that belief, which is never shocking.

We now shift to the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple, where a 10,900 square-foot single-story edifice will rise on a 1.26-acre site near Dachang Road and Dehua Street, Niaosong District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Given that it is only slightly larger than the standard 10,000-square-foot modular design, I could see the Church doing a minor tweak to that standard floor plan so modular components could potentially be used.

Regarding New Zealand's third temple, the Church will construct the 14,900 square-foot two-story edifice on a 3.35-acre site. The Church seems to have a solid relationship with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (the niece of Elder Ian S. Ardern, formerly the Pacific Area president who now serves as Second Counselor in the Africa Central Area), so that might help expedite approvals for this temple.

Moving on to the final 3 temples, all in Brazil, let's break down the details for each. We start with the Santos Brazil Temple, where, at Avenida Doutor Waldemar Leão, 305, Jabaquara, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, a 23,000 square-foot two-story edifice will rise. The Santos Brazil Temple will be the third for the greater Sao Paulo area (with the others being the first Sao Paulo Brazil Temple and the Sao Paulo East Temple, and the site confirmation for the latter coming just under one month ago).

As for the Londrina Brazil Temple,  the single-story temple of 32,000 square feet. is planned for the Church-owned property at Avenida: Harry Prochet, S/N, Jardim São Jorge, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. And the Ribeirão Prêto Brazil Temple will be a single-story edifice of 32,000 square feet, rising at the Church-owned property at Av. Antonio Marcal and R. Jose Brandani in Ribeirão Prêto, Brazil.

What I see the Brethren setting up here is a situation where 2023 will be another year for a high number of temple groundbreakings. There are now 23 temples with groundbreakings that can safely be anticipated, which will be reflected in the announcement of groundbreaking arrangements in the months ahead. 2023 is thus likely to claim its place in history as the year with the highest number of temple groundbreakings.

As expected, today's announcement did not relate to the opening arrangements for any new temples, though the Bangkok Thailand, Bentonville Arkansas, and Brasilia Brazil Temples are all nearing completion. Next week's temple announcement could either relate to opening arrangements for any of these three temples, more site confirmations, or more likely new temple groundbreakings, since the last such announcement was made on Monday October 17, when groundbreakings were set for four temples in Latin America.

I continue to monitor all temple updates and Church news reports and will be sure to bring word of those to you as I become aware of such updates. 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 the offered 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. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content. 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 Part One: New Information Points to 20-30 Temples Opening in 2023

 Hello again, everyone! As those following along are undoubtedly aware, Monday afternoon has been the standard window for major temple news from the Church. Since that appears to be on track to continue, I have prepared this post for publication in advance of today's anticipated announcement. Because I have some other personal priorities to handle today that will prevent me from covering today's update in my usual timely manner, I am directing those interested to the general home page of the Newsroom that holds the releases relating to temples as those are announced.

I will have more complete coverage of today's temple announcements later this afternoon or evening as my personal situation allows. In the meantime, it is worth noting that I became aware of some information about the Church's plans for temple openings next year. The latest information of which I have become aware indicates that the Church's goal will be to open a total of closer to 20-30 new temples throughout 2023 than any other number I might have previously suggested. 

Without factoring in today's announcement, the Church has only set openings for 3 temples thus far for 2023. So this new information suggests that the Church may schedule dedications for some temples around or in advance of previously-announced openings. For temples that are considerably smaller (such as Okinawa Japan and Helena Montana), they will have shorter open houses and likely earlier dedications. So that is a couple of examples of how the Church could get to 20 or even 30 dedications later this year. 

It's also worth noting that, with 4 Utah temples in the queue currently anticipated to be completed in 2023 (Layton, Orem, Taylorsville, and Red Cliffs), openings for those temples could be easier to schedule than openings for temples in places like Abidjan Ivory Coast, Puebla Mexico, and Salta Argentina. Similarly, smaller temples elsewhere in the US (with Moses Lake Washington and McAllen Texas being two examples coming up in the queue soon) would have shorter open houses and potentially earlier dedications than some of their international counterparts. 

So there will be a certain amount of flexibility for the Church in scheduling upcoming dedications. In part two of my coverage of today's updates, I will delve into more details about today's announcement and what that means for the temple construction queue, and more specifically for the timing of temple events likely to be set to occur in 2023. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content. 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 Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

Note: The first paragraph of this post was published to this blog at 2:20 PM, with subsequent paragraphs added between 5:30-6:30 PM MST that same day.

Hello again, everyone! The Church has been announcing the newest major temple updates every Monday at around 2:00 PM. Today's announcement pertained to opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple. I have some appointments to take care of but I will have further analysis later this evening as time and circumstances allow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

Hello again, everyone! I am back with the additional analysis I promised this afternoon. The press is invited to tour the temple on Monday, April 10. VIP tours will follow from Tuesday, April 11-Friday, April 14. The public open house will follow between Saturday, April 15, and Saturday, July 8, with the exceptions of the Sundays of April 16, 23, and 30, May 7, 14, 21, and 28, and July 2.

President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, will preside over the 3 dedicatory sessions at 9:00 AM and 12:00 and 3:00 PM on Sunday, August 13, 2023. Since the scheduling of opening arrangements for larger temples like Richmond Virginia and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples are more spread out, I assume that will also likely be the case for the Bangkok Thailand Temple, which is also on the larger end of that spectrum. 

With that temple being the next to have a dedication announced, I'd anticipate it will be dedicated at some point in September, and that such an announcement is likely to occur in about two weeks since that temple has not yet been completed. And the Feather River California and Lima Peru Los Olivos Temples are also comparatively on the larger side, so the dedication of the former could be set for October and the latter for November. 

By contrast, the Bentonville Arkansas, Brasilia Brazil, Okinawa Japan, and Helena Montana Temples are on the smaller side, so as they are completed, their dedications could be set to occur between those of their larger counterparts. So it will be interesting to see how the Church balances all of that. In the meantime, I stated above that I believe that the dedication arrangements for the Bangkok Thailand Temple will be the next temple opening announced, but I think that announcement is two weeks out. 

It could also potentially be three weeks away. With that in mind, what could we expect in terms of temple announcements in late November and early December? I see a few possibilities. There are 17 temples with site locations confirmed (7 of which have had exterior renderings released), so any of those could have groundbreakings set. 

A site confirmation (whether or not the Church also releases exterior renderings and sets groundbreakings at the same time) could occur for any of the other 9 US temples announced in October of last year or in the two General Conferences of this year. And I am watching for news on 5 other temples outside the United States.

 It is also entirely possible that, for any of the other 37 announced temples, either individual or combined site confirmations, exterior renderings releases, and scheduled groundbreakings could be on the horizon in the near term as well. So I think we may have a lot to which we can look forward in the coming weeks, even if the next dedication announcement is three weeks out.

To the best of my ability, I will continue to cover all such developments, in addition to all temple construction updates and Church news reports, and to pass along word of those to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Dates Set For the Columbus Ohio and Richmond Virginia Temples

Hello again, everyone! Another Monday afternoon has rolled around, and the First Presidency has released another major temple construction announcement. Opening dates have been set for two temples in the United States: Columbus Ohio and Richmond Virginia. Let's break down the details: First up is information on the open house and rededication of the Columbus Ohio Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, April 24, 2023, followed by VIP tours from Tuesday-Friday April 25-28. 

The public open house will follow between Saturday, April 29, and Saturday, May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April 30 and May 7). The temple will be rededicated on Sunday, June 4 in three sessions at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM EDT, under the direction of Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

And for the Richmond Virginia Temple, the Church will hold a media day on Monday, March 20, with VIP tours between Tuesday, March 21-Friday, March 24. Public tours will be held from Saturday, March 25-Saturday, April 15, 2023, excluding the Sundays of March 26, April 9, and April 16, and General Conference weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2, 2023.

The dedication of that temple will follow on Sunday, May 7, 2023, under the direction of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in three sessions at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM EDT. Interestingly, no youth devotionals were mentioned in today's announcement. And I also found it interesting that the announcement did not include opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple. 

I was also somewhat baffled by the timing of the respective dedication and rededication of these two temples. Perhaps that indicates that all dedications will be more spread out than I have suggested. Hopefully next week, we get an announcement on the opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, whether or not that announcement is made in conjunction with any other temple updates.

I was grateful to have learned about this update and for being able to share this information with you now I am keeping my eyes open for any additional updates and will be sure to pass word of anything else along as I become aware of it. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces Christmas Day 2022 and New Year 2023 Plans: Construction Concludes on Columbus Ohio Temple

Hello again, everyone! A few years ago, the last time Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, the First Presidency announced that only Sacrament Meeting would be held Churchwide on that day to emphasize and underscore the importance of family time. According to a First Presidency announcement made this afternoon that will be the case again this year. Based on local needs, stake and district presidents may consult with bishops and branch presidents to determine the best time to hold that service on Christmas Day. 

The announcement also notes that, since the following Sunday marks New Year's Day 2023, stake and district presidents may opt to hold Fast Sunday in January on a Sunday other than January 1. Today's announcement further indicated that any Church functions (dances or other social events) occurring on New Year's Eve should promptly end at midnight on Sunday, January 1, 2023, which is consistent with the Church's policies relating to the Sabbath Day observance.

I am grateful to have been able to find out about this announcement and to pass that along to you all here. I also continue to monitor all other Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure to pass those along to you all as I receive them. Regarding that statement, the Church Temples site noted today that the renovation of the Columbus Oho Temple has officially been completed. 

With that in mind, I think that Monday's temple announcement, whether or not anything else is announced with it, will be the reopening arrangements for that temple. If that happens, my research shows that the rededication may occur on either of the last two Sundays in March or the second Sunday of April, following General Conference weekend. Stay tuned for news on any other fronts.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple

Hello again, everyone! As I've mentioned in the recent past, on Monday, between 1-3 PM here in Utah, the Church has been announcing major temple updates. Today is no exception, as the site location and preliminary information have been confirmed for the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple, yet another US temple announced last month by President Nelson. Let's break down the details:

The Grand Rapids Michigan Temple will be a single-story edifice of approximately 20,000 square feet that will be built at 2400 Forest Hill Avenue in Grand Rapids on a 10.5-acre site. Detailed plans are still being developed, and the rendering will be released and a groundbreaking scheduled (either separately or at the same time) at a later date.

Given the fact that the square footage of this temple is exactly twice the size of the modular temples in Helena Montana, Casper Wyoming, and Elko Nevada, it occurred to me to wonder if the Church might expand that modular design to this temple. If that turns out to be the plan, it will be interesting to see how the larger modular components might work. And in that case, that temple could be built in 2.75-3.25 years at the most.

It will be interesting to see what happens there. In the meantime, I have updated my document showing the status of announced temples which have not yet had any information officially confirmed. In summary of that document, of the 72 currently-announced temples, there are 50 remaining for which we do not have official information. If any of you have any questions about that document, feel free to ask them here.

While I was preparing this update, the Newsroom provided a new home page for the latest temple updates, so that will be an important resource for all of us going forward. I was grateful for this update, despite the fact that it only pertained to a single temple. I continue to monitor all other temple updates and Church news developments and will bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Locations Confirmed for 6 Temples in North and South America; Exterior Rendering Released for Fort Worth Texas Temple

Note: A brief version of this post, covering the announcement, was published at 1:55 PM, with additional analysis and details added between 6:00-10:00 PM (with the delay in providing these updates due to Halloween night.).

Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, major temple news has been announced by the Church. Site locations and preliminary information were released for the Mexico City Benemerito and San Luis Potosi Mexico Temples, the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple, and the Fort WorthTexas, Knoxville Tennessee, and Tampa Florida Temples. Additionally, the exterior rendering was also released for the Fort Worth Texas Temple. A more detailed analysis of this announcement will follow later this afternoon as time and circumstances allow. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

After a busy day in which I had other priorities to handle, I am finally returning this Halloween evening here in Utah to provide the updated analysis I promised. So let's get right into it: We start in Mexico, with the Mexico City Benemerito Mexico and San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, which were both announced in April of this year. 

The Mexico City Benemerito Mexico Temple will be built near the existing MTC in Mexico City. The address of the site in question is Tenayuca-Chalmita 828, Col. Zona Escolar, Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de México, CP 07230, Mexico. The acreage of the site in question was not provided, but the site will hold a two-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet. It's also worth noting that this is the first "second temple" in a major capital city for which the official name and region were already specified as part of the announcement.

As for the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, the single-story 9,300 square foot edifice will be built at Arboleda 100, Fraccionamiento del Parque, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, CP 78260, Mexico, on a 3.87 acre site. Given the size specified, I think we might see a similar design for that temple that has been used for the Yigo Guam, Praia Cape Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples, particularly with the two ordinance rooms that can alternately be used for endowment sessions or sealing appointments as the schedule requires.

That brings us to the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple. A comment left on this post by longtime contributor Kenny correctly noted we did not get an official name fandor this temple with today's announcement. But we got a site announcement and released rendering for the second temple in Guatemala City Guatemala first, with the confirmation of the official name coming later, and the groundbreaking scheduled after that. So I think similar situation could apply to the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temmple. It's also a fair observation that the official name for the second Sao Paulo Brazil Temple could be posted to the Church's official list of announced temples at some point before the official confirmation from the Church, which also happened with the second Guatemala City temple. Stay tuned for more on that.

In the meantime, as for the details about the temple, it was announced in October of 2020. The approximatelyy 46,050 square foot two-story temple will rise on a 10.7 acre site at the location of Av. Guilherme Giorgi, 1091, Vila Carrão São Paulo - SP, Brazil. Based on the location, I could see the Church giving it the official name of Vila Carrão São Paulo Brazil, ila Carrão Brazil, or the name of any of the stakes or landmarks in that region, with or without the city designation. The Church may also use any Spanish or Portuguese word, as they did with the Miraflores name for the second Guatemala City Temple.

In any case, given the fact that we have a Brazilian native in Elder Soares as an apostle, I assume that the First Presidency and Temple and Family History Executive Council asked for his opinion on the location, and may give him the prerogative of suggesting the official name, as they did with Elder Holland and the second temple in St. George. The second temple in that city was one of only two left in the queue that was originally announced in October 2020.

That brings us to the 3 temples in the United States. As mentioned in my initial version of this post, the exterior rendering for the Fort Worth Texas Temple was released with the site information, pushing that temple higher on the list of those likely to see groundbreakings soon than its' two US counterparts which also had locations and initial details confirmed today, and also ahead of the Modesto California and Singapore Temples, which had sites confirmed without a release of exterior renderings three weeks ago today. 

The Fort Worth Texas Temple will be built in nearby Burleson Texas, on a 9.37-acre site located North of SW Hulen Street and Greenridge Drive in that city and will be a single-story temple of 30,000 square feet. Hopefully, the release of a rendering with the site location means we could see a groundbreaking follow in the early months of next year, if not sooner. 

The Fort Worth Texas Temple is the second of the four US Temples announced in October 2021. The other two US temples were both announced in April of this year. Interestingly, the site locations for the Knoxville Tennessee and Tampa Florida Temples were revealed in the opposite order in which they were announced. So wnoe start with Tennessee's third temple, which will rise on a 4.99-acre site at 13001 Kington Pike, Farragut, Tennessee, where the Church will build a single-story temple of 30,000 square feet. 

And the newest temple for Florida will be the same size as Knoxville and will be built adjacent to an existing meetinghouse on a 16.2-acre site at 4806 Bell Shoals Road, in Valrico, Florida. Given the fact that the three US temples are the same size, I wouldn't be shocked if both the Knoxville and Tampa temples have similar or identical designs as the Fort Worth Texas Temple. 

It's also worth noting that none of the three US temples are actually going to physically be located in the cities for which they are named, which is kind of unique. I have some additional thoughts to share about today's announcements. For the first time in over a year, I have updated the document showing updated sections of my temple construction progress report. 

The sections in question show the 4 temples with groundbreakings scheduled, the now-16 temples for which I think groundbreakings could all occur at some point next year, the 6 temples for awhich official details might soon be confirmed, and the now-9 temples in the United States announced in October of last year and the two General Conferences this year which might have details confirmed sooner than their remaining 37 counterparts outside the United States.

Additionally, I have updated the list of announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet. That list now reflects the 2 temples originally announced in April 2018, one apiece from the next 2 General Conferences, 3 from April 2020, 1 from October of that same year, 5 and 9 respectively from April and October of last year, and 11 and 18 from the 35 announced in April and October of this year, respectively. 

And as a result of today's announcement, with 72 temples announced, the total number of temples that have not had any information announced comes to 51. I fully believe that there will be other announcements relating to some of those 51 in the coming weeks. Before I conclude this post, I wanted to also address some comments that have been left here recently which have expressed hope that the Church might soon announce the open houses and rededication for the Columbus Ohio Temple and the dedications of other temples nearing completion.

Based on some research on my end, it seems most likely that the reopening arrangements for Columbus will be coming next, and when that is set, it could happen on the last Sunday in February or the first two Sundays in March. The dedications of the temples in Saratoga Springs Utah (to which I will be assigned once it is dedicated), Richmond Virginia, and Bangkok Thailand would then follow later in March or April. And the dedications of other temples would be after that. 

My revised estimates come as a result of receiving word of supply chain delays that will delay the finishing touches on these temples, and the revised estimates are made with that in mind. That being said, at some point, if the supply shortages are addressed and sufficiently resolved, that could accelerate the timeline for temple open houses and their associated dedications or rededications. For now, it seems more prudent to be more conservative in those estimates.

I continue to monitor all temple construction updates, in addition to all Church News, Newsroom, and other reports and will do my best to continue to bring you word of those developments as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Dates Announced for Four Latin American Temples; Official Details Released for the Managua Nicaragua Temple

Hello again, everyone! Breaking temple news has once again been announced by the Church. And this announcement is a huge one. The announcement includes a site confirmation, the release of an exterior rendering, and the groundbreaking announcement for the Managua Nicaragua Temple, which was announced by President Nelson in April 2018.  Let's break down the details:

The single-story 25,000 square foot Managua Nicaragua Temple will be built in the area of Departamento de Managua, Nicaragua, at km 9.3 Carretera Masaya, between 2nd and 3rd entrance streets to Residencial Las Colinas, Distrito V – (5).  Elder Taylor G. Godoy, First Counselor in the Central America Area Presidency, will preside at the temple groundbreaking on Saturday, November 20, 2022. I don't know at this point if the site location in question is in fact the one the Church has been holding in reserve for years, but we may find that out later.

If that was the only temple update today, it would be wonderful enough. But groundbreakings have also been confirmed for the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (first announced in October 2020) and the Torreon and Queretaro Mexico Temples (which were both announced in April 2021). The site locations and exterior renderings were revealed for the Torreon Mexico and Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temples on September 23 of last year, with the official name for Guatemala City's second temple being confirmed on July 1 of this year.  

As you might recall my mentioning, the Torreon Mexico Temple will be the first built outside the United States to use the 10,000 square-foot modular components. Oficial information was released for the Queretaro Mexico Temple on December 7, 2021. So, having reviewed the history of the stage-by-stage announcements for the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala, Torreon Mexico, and Queretaro Mexico Temples, when will those groundbreakings take place? And who will oversee them?

The groundbreaking for the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple will take place on Saturday, December 3, 2022, under the direction of Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, Second Counselor in the Central America Area Presidency. One week later, the groundbreaking for the Torreon Mexico Temple will take place under the direction of Mexico Area President Elder Hugo Montoya (his biography mistakenly notes him as serving in the South America Northwest Area Presidency, which has not been true for several years).

And the groundbreaking services for the Queretaro Mexico Temple are set to take place on Saturday, January 7 of next year, with Elder Adrian Ochoa, First Counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency, set to preside thereat.

Having shared this information, if I might do so, I'd like to interject a few other general comments: While I've been hoping for 3 of these temples to have groundbreakings in the near term,  Managua Nicaragua was not on my radar as a temple that could have a site location confirmed, a rendering released, and a groundbreaking set in one fell swoop.

Above and beyond that, however, I do not necessarily believe that the Torreon Mexico Temple will be the last one to have a groundbreaking announced and set to occur by the end of this year. I fully anticipate that more official information (particularly exterior renderings and groundbreaking arrangements) could be set for both the Teton River Idaho and Montpelier Idaho Temples in the coming weeks and that either or both could still potentially occur this year. Other temple groundbreakings could also be set to occur before the end of this year as well. 

A few prospects there: we know that the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple site is being cleared and that the Tarawa Kiribati and Port Vila Vanuatu could also see groundbreakings in the near term. And it's still possible that the Belo Horizonte Brazil and Cali Colombia Temples, which had their sites confirmed and exterior renderings released at the same time that both the Torreon Mexico and Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temples had their official information announced, could see groundbreakings set soon as well.

If I had to venture a guess as to the most likely other temples that might have a groundbreaking before the end of this year, I think that the Teton River and Montpelier Idaho Temples, and the Port Moresby Papua. New Guinea Temple top that list. Whether or not any or all of them might actually see that occur remains to be seen. But in any case, I continue to monitor all such updates, in addition to anything else relating to temple construction or general Church news, and will be sure to pass those updates along as they cross my radar. I am grateful to have been able to find out about this announcement and to share the analysis thereof here with you all.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Announces Locations and Initial Details for Temples in Singapore and California

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the Church announced locations and initial details for temples in Singapore and California. Let's get right into all of the details. A temple for the city of Singapore within the Republic of Singapore was first announced during the April General Conference last year. Today's news release only references this temple as the Singapore Temple, so a decision might have been made to reduce and simplify the name. 

Plans for this temple call for an 18,000-square-foot two-story temple and an adjacent meetinghouse and an arrival center to be built on a one-acre site at 33 Pasir Panjang Road in that city. The other temple for which the location and initial details were announced is the Modesto California Temple, announced in April of this year. will be a single-story 30,000 square-foot edifice that will be built on a vacant 17.63 site adjacent to the meetinghouse at 4300 Dale Road in Modesto. 

As a result of today's announcement, and bearing in mind that ground was broken for the Heber Valley Utah Temple on Saturday, there are currently 73 announced temples in the Church. Of those 73, a groundbreaking has been officially set for 1 (Willamette Valley Oregon, which is scheduled to take place later this month), and sites have been announced for an additional 13 (with exterior renderings released for all but 4 of those).

Therefore, the total number of announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet has now been lowered to 59. And hopefully, that number will continue to be lowered in the remaining weeks of 2022 ahead. I am grateful to have learned about and been able to share this development. And the timing thereof seems to indicate that Monday may indeed be a new standard day for such announcements.

I am a bit surprised that the next temple announcement was not reopening arrangements for the Columbus Ohio Temple or opening arrangements for the Saratoga Springs Utah, Bangkok Thailand, and/or Richmond Virginia Temples, but I am assuming that there is a reason for the delay in all of those announcements. I continue to track such updates and will be sure to pass those along to you all as I become aware thereof.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Prophet Announces 18 New Temples, Including Multiples for Major Metropolitan Areas, as the October 2022 General Conference Concludes

Hello again, everyone! The October 2022 General Conference concluded a short time ago, and I am pleased to report that, in the final minutes of his concluding remarks, Russell M. Nelson, the Prophet and President of the Church, announced 18 new temples to be built in the following locations:

Busan Korea; Naga and Santiago Philippines; Eket Nigeria; Chiclayo Peru; Buenos Aires City Center Argentina; Londrina and Riberao Preto Brazil; Huehuetenango Guatemala; Jacksonville Florida; Grand Rapids Michigan; Prosper Texas; Lone Mountain Nevada; and Tacoma Washington. 

Additionally, President Nelson noted that, in view of the growing Church, large metropolitan areas of the world will need multiple temples to serve the members and save them from unnecessary hardship for temple worship. Since the above total was only 14, four new temples were also announced to serve the greater Mexico City area: Cuernavaca, Pachuca, Toluca, and Tula Mexico.

Of those 18, I had the exact location correct for 8 (Santiago Philippines, Chiclayo Peru, Buenos Aires #2 (no surprise it will be built in the center of the city), Ribeirao Preto Brazil, Huehuetenango Guatemala, Jacksonville Florida, Grand Rapids Michigan, Tacoma Washington) and the right general location but the wrong specific one for the temples in Nigeria, Texas, and Nevada. For Brazil and the Philippines, I had one of the two locations correct and the other incorrect.  

Since I also had no way to predict multiple temples in major metropolitan areas, it goes without saying that I didn't see the 4 Mexico City area temples coming all at once. The Lord has once again proven, as He always does, that His ways ad thoughts are higher than my ways and thoughts (I know that will come as a great shock to so many of you). The total number of temples has now risen to 300 in any phase, and hopefully, the temple-related announcements will continue to finish out the year and for the foreseeable future.

For my part, I am monitoring all such developments and will bring word of those to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATE: Third Quarter Temple Construction Progress

Hello again, everyone! With General Conference now less than 12 hours away, the third quarter of 2022 is almost in the history books. But before it completely passes away, I couldn't let it go without reporting on the latest temple construction updates. As has been customary for all such reports in the past, we will look back on that progress from the beginning of the year until now. 

So as a refresher, you can look back at where things stood as this year began, one day before the April General Conference, and at the rough mid-point of 2022. And as we conclude the third quarter of 2022, one last report shows where things stand now. So much has happened with temple construction thus far this year, and with General Conference weekend upon us, even more milestones are anticipated throughout the end of this year.

That includes the likely announcement of new temples this weekend. So, concerning temple construction developments, buckle up! It's going to be a wild ride. For my part, I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring the highlights to you all here through breaking news updates in new posts or progress updates on the comment threads of existing posts.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location, Rendering, and Groundbreaking Arrangements Released for Heber Valley Utah Temple; Site Location Confirmed for the Teton River Idaho Temple

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the First Presidency provided updates on two temples in the United States. In a single announcement, the location, exterior rendering, and groundbreaking arrangements were confirmed for the Heber Valley Utah Temple and the site location has been confirmed for the Teton River Idaho Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's jump right in.

The three-story 88,000-square-foot Heber Valley Utah Temple will be built southeast of 1400 East Center Street in Heber City on a 17.9-acre site. The groundbreaking for that temple has been set to occur on October 8, 3 weeks before the previously-announced groundbreaking for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple, and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, the executive director of the Church's Temple Department, will preside at that event. 

Turning now to the Teton River Idaho Temple, the three-story130,000 square-foot temple will be built northwest of Second East 2000 North in Rexburg Idaho on a 16.6-acre site. Although no exterior rendering has been released for that temple yet, since the Church has already cleared the site, hopefully, confirmation of that rendering and the groundbreaking arrangements will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The Heber Valley Utah and Teton River Idaho Temples were 2 of the 4 US temples announced last October, so it's nice to see these official announcements. And it gives me hope that additional announcements about US temples may also come soon. Likewise, I hope for other official announcements about temples outside the United States. And this is the second Monday in a row in which major temple announcements have been made in the afternoon, so it could be the start of a new trend.

I continue to monitor all such updates and will be sure to pass those along as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for San Juan Puerto Rico Temple; Renovation Plans Announced for Stockholm Sweden Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency made a major announcement regarding two temples of the Church: opening arrangements for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, and a planned renovation for the Stockholm Sweden Temple. Let's break down the details: A media day on Monday, November 28 will be followed by invited guest tours on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 29 and 30. 

The public open house for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple will be held from Thursday, December 1-Saturday, December 17, 2022. Although a youth devotional is not mentioned, I assume that will occur on Saturday, January 14, followed the next day by the dedication of that temple in three sessions at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM Puerto Rican time, which is 7:00 AM, 10:00 AM, and 1:00 PM the same day here in Utah. 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication. I had recently shared my theory that since August has come and gone without the announcement of temple dedications or rededications, any that were set would occur next year, and that appears to be the case. The one exception might be the Columbus Ohio Temple, which is nearing completion and could probably have an open house and rededication prior to the end of this year.

That being said, let's move on to the Stockholm Sweden Temple. That temple will close sometime next year for an extensive renovation that will nearly double the size of that temple from 16,366 square feet to approximately 31,000 square feet. That will increase the capacity of the temple, which will now have two rooms for the endowment that will include 40 seats apiece. 

A rendering of the redesign was also released in conjunction with this announcement. Due to the extensive work planned, the temple will remain closed for approximately three years, reopening sometime in 2026 or 2027. So we now have three temples that are set to close for extensive renovations next year: Kona Hawaii, Provo Utah, and Stockholm Sweden. Each of those renovations involves an overhauled exterior look and expansions.

I am grateful to have learned about this and to have passed it along to you all. I continue to monitor all such updates and will be sure to pass them along here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Renovations, Expansions, and a Redesign Scheduled for Kona Hawaii Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency announced this afternoon that renovations, expansions, and a redesign are planned beginning around October 2023 for the Kona Hawaii Temple. The updates are anticipated to be completed sometime in late 2025. Plans call for an increase in the square footage of that temple from 9,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet. The rendering for the temple after the change reflects a slightly different look.

The temple is the 70th in operation, originally dedicated by President Hinckley on January 23 and 24, 2000. This continues the Church's efforts to expand the floor plan of Hinckley-era temples to accommodate an increased need. During the renovation process, the Church encourages patrons in the Kona temple district to participate in ordinance work at the Laie Hawaii Temple. I am grateful to have heard about this news and for the opportunity to share it with you all here.

I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word of those here as I become aware of 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 the offered 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 enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Text of the Washington D.C. Temple's Second Dedicatory Prayer Published Official Name Confrimed for Rexburg North Idaho Temple; Name Clarified for the Newest Temple in the United Kingdom

Hello again, everyone! I have three major temple announcements to cover in this post. First, as I mentioned in the comment threads of my previous post, I have been anticipating that the text of the second dedicatory prayer written by President Nelson and offered by him in the first session and each of his counselors in the final two sessions of yesterday's rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple has been published. 

In all honesty, although I expected that to happen this week, I was surprised to see it already released today. As I've previously noted, as a general rule, the links I provide for any content I share are usually for any of you to pick and choose which ones you'd actually like to read based on your personal interests, but from time to time, an article crosses my radar that I recommend to all of my readers. This is another such article.

However, that report is a secondary reason for this latest post. The primary reason is that a new announcement from the First Presidency has provided the first major temple update since yesterday's rededication. And contrary to what I had supposed, the update did not relate to any new temple groundbreakings, or opening or reopening arrangements for temples nearing completion. 

Instead, there has been an official confirmation of the name of the Rexburg North Idaho Temple, and a clarification of the name of the newest temple in the United Kingdom. As reflected on the official temple list, the new name of the second temple in Rexburg Idaho, set to be built in the northern part of that city, will be the Teton River Idaho Temple.

As previously mentioned, the current status of that temple and a similar status for the temple in Montpelier Idaho means those two top the list of the temples most likely to have a groundbreaking announced soon. That being said, for the Teton River Idaho Temple, we are also awaiting confirmation of the official site. Even so, I'm glad we at least have confirmation of the name now.

Now, regarding the newest temple in the United Kingdom, when President Nelson announced it in April, he referred to it as the Birmingham United Kingdom Temple. However, as we know, the other two temples in England use the name of England rather than the UK moniker. Either is technically correct. But conventionally, the other two temples use England. 

So the official name there is the Birmingham England Temple. While I'm glad that has been officially confirmed, we do not have a site confirmation on that temple yet. And thus we see that temple-by-temple, the Church is confirming official names for temples that only had generic or directional ones up to this point. I am pleased to have been able to provide this update.

I continue to monitor all such developments and will be sure to pass them along as I learn of 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 the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Hello again, everyone! I have three major temple announcements to cover in this post. First, as I mentioned in the comment threads of my previous post, I have been anticipating that the text of the second dedicatory prayer written by President Nelson and offered by him in the first session and each of his counselors in the final two sessions of yesterday's rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple has been published. 

In all honesty, although I expected that to happen this week, I was surprised to see it already released today. As I've previously noted, as a general rule, the links I provide for any content I share are usually for any of you to pick and choose which ones you'd actually like to read based on your personal interests, but from time to time, an article crosses my radar that I recommend to all of my readers. This is another such article.

However, that report is a secondary reason for this latest post. The primary reason is that a new announcement from the First Presidency has provided the first major temple update since yesterday's rededication. And contrary to what I had supposed, the update did not relate to any new temple groundbreakings, or opening or reopening arrangements for temples nearing completion. 

Instead, there has been an official confirmation of the name of the Rexburg North Idaho Temple, and a clarification of the name of the newest temple in the United Kingdom. As reflected on the official temple list, the new name of the second temple in Rexburg Idaho, set to be built in the northern part of that city, will be the Teton River Idaho Temple.

As previously mentioned, the current status of that temple and a similar status for the temple in Montpelier Idaho means those two top the list of the temples most likely to have a groundbreaking announced soon. That being said, for the Teton River Idaho Temple, we are also awaiting confirmation of the official site. Even so, I'm glad we at least have confirmation of the name now.

Now, regarding the newest temple in the United Kingdom, when President Nelson announced it in April, he referred to it as the Birmingham United Kingdom Temple. However, as we know, the other two temples in England use the name of England rather than the UK moniker. Either is technically correct. But conventionally, the other two temples use England. 

So the official name there is the Birmingham England Temple. While I'm glad that has been officially confirmed, we do not have a site confirmation on that temple yet. And thus we see that temple-by-temple, the Church is confirming official names for temples that only had generic or directional ones up to this point. I am pleased to have been able to provide this update.

I continue to monitor all such developments and will be sure to pass them along as I learn of 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 the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.