BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple; Location and Rendering Released for the Yuma Arizona Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency officially announced opening arrangements for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple and released the location and rendering for the Yuma Arizona Temple. Let's dive right into the relevant details:

The media day for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple will be held on Monday, April 20. 2026. with invited guests touring the temple over the next two days. Public tours will follow from Thursday, April 23 though Saturday, May 9, 2026, excluding the Sundays of April 26 and May 3. The dedication will follow on Sunday, June 7, 2026, with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding. The single-session dedication will be held at 10:00 AM, but will be rebroadcast at 2:00 PM. with both the dedication and rebroadcast shown in all congregations in the temple district.

This is just about when I had estimated the temple dedication would be, so it's nice to have that confirmed. And Elder Uchtdorf may have apostolic oversight for the Church's North America West Area, so it makes sense that he will preside over this temple dedication. I have updated that assignment on my document tracking temple dedications and rededications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

What I will be interested to see is, if any other completed temples are dedicated before August of next year. There has been precedent for temple dedications to occur in July (the typical recess month for the apostles), but there is also precedent for no temple dedications in July, so it could go either way. I will be interested to see what happens in that regard.

We biw turn to the information about the Yuma Arizona Temple. Originally announced by President Nelson in April 2024, an almost 7-acre site at the corner of East 36th Street and South 8 East Avenue, in Yuma, Arizona, will be home to the single-story temple of roughly 18,500 square feet and an ancillary building. The exterior renddering speaks for itself, but if any of you have any thoughts about it, I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below

This brings the number of temples with no official information confirmed down to 59, and hopefully that number will shrink more in the weeks between now and the April 2026 General Conference. I am grateful for today's announcements, and am glad to have been able to provide this analysis thereof 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: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, October 5, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 18 Church Presidents (including our new porphet,President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 29 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including our newest Quorum President, Jeffrey R.Holland).The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency not even making that list for the next 6 years), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) The clock on the current group reset when President Nelson died, then reset again when the First Presidency was reconstituted, and it will reset a third time once the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is filled, whenever that may be.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 14 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

This is the last such update for 2025.THe first update for 2026 will come your way on Sunday, January 11, 2026.

Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to ask anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here.

Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

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

BREAKING NEWS: Women Can Now Serve Missions at the Age of 18

The First Presidency just announced that, effective immediately, women can now serve missions at the age of 18. This puts the minimum age at which women can serve as equal to that of men. The announcement reiterates that for men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility, and for women, it is an optional opportunity. The First Presidency writes: "We recognize that for those young women who desire to serve a full-time mission, the choice of age to begin service will not be the same for everyone. We extend our love to the youth of the Church and commend them for their faithfulness."

I am grateful for this update, which allows women and men to serve at the same age. It follows the change mentioned previously that young people can receive their own endowment once they have graduated from high school. This is the next step in an evolving missionary program. And I believe it will have a widespread effect worldwide as far as missions are concerned. Others more qualified than I am can speak more to the perspective on the effect this could potentially have for the worldwide missionary program, so I will leave that to them to do so.

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: First Presidency Announces Changes in Mexico & United States Area Presidencies

Hello again, everyone! Effective immediately, the Church has announced changes in its Mexico & United States Area Presidencies. Let's break down the details: Bishop Sean Douglas, the new Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, has been released as Mexico Area President. Elder Jose L. Alonso has been released as the President of the United States Northwest Area. Elder Michael A. Dunn has been released as Assistant Executive Director in the Church Communication Department and as a member of the Church Communication and International Coordinating Committees.

Elder Moises Villanueva, who had been serving as the First Counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency, will now serve as the Area President. Elder Jose L. Alonso will be his new First Counselor, and Elder Brik V. Eyre continues his service as Second Counselor. In the United States Southwest Area Presidency, Elder Michael A. Dunn, the former First Counselor, will now serve as the Area President. Former Second Counselor Jonathan S. Schmitt will now serve as First Counselor, and Elder Steven C. Barlow has been called as the new Second Counselor in that area presidency.

Information on who has succeeded Elder Dunn in his former department and committee assignments remains unavailable. But it is good to at least have these changes identified. 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.

Initial Predictions for the April 2026 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned in my previous post, I had already done a rough draft of my initial predictions for the April 2026 General Conference before today's announcement discontinuing the Saturday Evening Session of General Conference. 

That announcement took me back to the drawing board as far as those predictions were concerned. I am pleased to now present my revised initial predictions for the April 2026 General Conference. As per my usual custom, I have my projected speaker lineup, my predictions regarding changes in general Church leadership (which also includes my projected data for the 2025 statistical report), and my masterlist of possible locations in which temples could be announced.

With reference to the last document, I would not be surprised to either just see a few new temples announced or for the current hiatus on temple announcements to continue until the queue of announced temples is significantly smaller, although I am hoping by the time this General Conference rolls around that the queue will be much smaller than it is right now. This masterlist is being included in these predictions just in case there are new temples announced.

The rest of the predictions speak for themselves, I think. If any of you have any questions, I welcome the opportunity to address them in the comments section below. 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: First Presidency Discontinues Saturday Evening Session of General Conference; Places Renewed Focus on 4 Daytime Sessions

 Hello again, everyone! Roughly 45 minutes ago, the First Presidency officially announced that, in an effort to place renewed focus on the 4 daytime sessions of General Conference, the Saturday Evening Session of General Conference will be disctoninued, effective immediately. I had already put together a tentative projection for what I expected the lineup of General Conference to be. Now it's back to the drawing board.

But since the Church has already reduced the number of talks given by the First Presidency and increased the number of general Church leaders speaking in General Conference, that may give some indication of what the schedule will look like going forward. It will be interesting to see what happens in this regard. In any case, I do not expect the current First Presidency to reverse course in a month, as happened the last time the Saturday Evening Session was discusntinued. I thinik this one will stick. What that means for the future is anyone's guess.

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 Jacksonville Florida Temple; Site Locations Confirmed and Exterior Renderings Released for the Couer d'Alene Idaho and Calabar Nigeria Temples

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the First Presidency officially announced the next major temple construction updates: a groundbreaking for the Jacksonville Florida Temple, and the site locations and exterior renderings for both the Couer d'Alene Idaho and Calabar Nigeria Temples. There is a lot to get into, so let's get started!

The first temple groundbreaking in 2026 will be for the Jacksonville Florida Temple. The service will be held on January 24, 2026, with Elder Massimo De Feo, First Counselor in the United States Southeast Area presidency, presiding thereover. The groundbreaking announcement follows the temple announcement by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson in October 2023, the site location confirmation in February 2024, and the release of its exterior rendering in mid-December 2024. 

I had recently estimated that the groundbreaking for that temple would occur in either late 2025 or early 2026, so this announcement was not surprising.I don't know if that means we may not see any other groundbreakings this year, but I have my documents for 2024 vs. 2025 and 2025 vs. 2026 for your review. That being said, there are a rew temples I have my eyes on for more information, so we'll have to see what happens in that regard.  

With that said, let's move on to the site locations and renderings that have been released for the other two temples. We start with the Couer d'Alene Idaho Temple, which was announced by President Nelson in October 2024. The single-story edifice of approximately 29,630 square feet will rise on a 10.91-acre site at the corner of Hanley Avenue and Coeur Terre Boulevard in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In addition to the temple, the construction project will also include an adjacent meetinghouse and ancillary building.

We now conclude with the information on the Calabar Nigeria Temple, which was originally announced by President Nelson in October 2023. A 7-acre site at Atekong Drive, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, will be home to the single-story edifice of approximately 26,000 square feet, in addition to patron housing and arrival facilities and a meetinghouse. In view of these latest announcements, there are now only 60 temples for which the confirmation of any official information is pending.

I am sure that number will continue to decrease in the 19 or so weeks between now and General Conference weekend. There are approximately 19-21 Mondays between next Monday and the Monday before General Conference. If an average of 5 temples have their official information released every 3 weeks or so, then around 35 more could have official information confirmed prior to General Conference weekend.

Of course, I have no way to know for sure that we will see that kind of progress by then, but it is interesting to think about. I am sure the prophet is doing all he can to reduce the existing backlog. I had hoped we'd get the announcement of opening arrangements for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple today, but I am happy to see what was announced. And maybe those arrangements will be announced in the next week or two.

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.

UPDATE: PDF Versions of November 2025 Magazines Bring Surprises; October 2025 General Conference Predictions Results & Associated Document Updates

Hello again, everyone! The PDF versions of the November 2025 Magazines are now available. Along with the latest editions of the magazines come a few surprises, including one of the first changes signed off on under President Oaks' prophetic guidance: A decision has been made that, rather than listing the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by name in every edition of each magazine, instead, going forward, it will merely be noted that "Church mgazines are produced under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles." 

2 of the 3 November magazines reflect that change. There have likewise been changes noted to the editors/advisers for each of the Church magazines. I have tracked those adjustments as they have occurred. But another change has taken place as well: starting with the November 2025 Liahona. Instead of the traditional three columns per page, the General Conference Liahona now has two. This means that some talks that would have ordinarily been featured in 3-4 pages are now featured in 2-3. The change in layout now gives those who put together that edition of the Liahona more space for photographs and text.

So those changes have been noted. I find them to be very effective. Having said that, I am pleased to be able to finally share the results of my October 2025 General Conference predictions. Sorry it has taken me so long to do so, but obviously, other reports were more important. As always, we have my projected speaker lineup, predicted changes in general Church leadership, and my masterlist of prospective temple locations. Based on my traditional method (which any of you can inquire further about if you have any questions), I have scored these predictions.

I didn't count against me anything I either did not predict (President Oaks opening the conference as well as closing it) or was not counting on (as I had correctly asserted that the First Presidency would not be reorganized until after President Nelson's funeral), and I also did not factor my temple predictions into this year's result (as I could not have anticipated there would be no new temples announced). As the scorecard shows, this time around, I was on the lower end of my typical 50-70% accuracy rate. But I am grateful for the events of General Conference weekend, and it was very special to have that overseen by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as the presiding authority of the Church this time around.

I had made some predictions about the possible table of contents for the November 2025 Liahona, but obviously, I also could not have anticipated the shift to 2 columns, which changed the typical layout we have seen. That projection was not included as part of my General Conference predictions, but I thought it might be of interest to some of you. I should also note that I have created my initial predictions for the April 2026 General Conference, but will be presenting those here at a later time.

I am grateful to have been able to put together this report today. As I noted in comments on other recent posts, I anticipate that a new Presiding Bishop will be announced this week, and also anticipate that a new official photograph of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be released. And since there are no new temple open houses starting this week, I think we will see the traditional major temple construction announcement during the 2:00 PM MDT hour here in Utah. I anticipate the potential announcement of opening arrangements for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple, along with perhaps 1 or 2 additional temple groundbreakings (which may or may not be the final ones for this year), 1 or 2 new exterior renderings, and 1 or 2 new site location confirmations.

Stay tuned here for my coverage of these developments, in addition to my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, the Newsroom, and the 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 APOSTOLIC NEWS: Elder Gérald Caussé Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

 Helllo again, everyone! Just 20 minutes ago, the Church officially announced that Presiding Bishop (now) Elder Gérald Caussé is the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was ordained an apostle today by President Dallin H. Oaks and the other 13 apostles.  I am thrilled by this news. Bishop Caussé (now Elder Caussé again) was one of my top 3 theorized candidates for the existing apostolic vacancy. 

And I had a feeling the new apostle would be announced in short order after the First Presidency was reorganized. In fact, when the only temple news this week was about the Burley Idaho Temple media day, I theorized (I can't remember whether publicly or privately) that the newest apostle might be announced this week.

Elder Caussé becomes the third current European apostle of the Church (joining Germany's Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and England's Elder Patrick Kearon). Elder Caussé was born on May 20, 1963, so he is now also the Church's newest youngest apostle. Elder Caussé is also the second current apostle (after Elder Gary  E. Stevenson) to have been the Presiding Bishop at the time of his apostolic call.

Elder Caussé is also the second current apostle with a May birthday, joining President Henry B. Eyring (whose birthday is on May 31). His impressive biography speaks for itself. His wife is also a French native, so they join Elder and Sister Uchtdorf to become the second current apostolic couple where both spouses were born outside the US (if memory serves, Sister Jennifer Kearon is American).

The Presiding Bishopric will be reorganized at a later date. Until that time, Elder Causse's counselors will together share the load of the Presiding Bishopric. I could not have been more surprised, elated, and excited by this news. I just knew that the Church wouldn't leave the apostolic vacancy unfilled until April.

I will let the rest of Elder Causee's impressive biography speak for itself. I am pleased by this news of the newest apostle and by the opportunity to share it with you all here. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

Elder Diieter F. Uchtdorf Celebrates His 85th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being November 6, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is celebrating his 85th birthday, so I am pleased to offer this post in tribute to him. Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf was born to Karl Albert and Hildegard Else Opelt Uchtdorf on this day in 1940 in the city of Ostrava in what was known at that time as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but is now identified as the Czech Republic. With his family twice becoming refugees, he grew up in Germany, where his family joined the Church in 1947. 

Due to developing an early interest in airplane flying, he studied engineering, business administration, and international management, after which he joined the German Air Force in 1959, where he trained to be a fighter pilot. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot, working as an airline captain from 1970-1996. He held many responsible executive positions with German Airlines. He reported feeling discouraged about having to learn English, but he has also described how he was able to do so.

He married Harriet Reich (whom he had met when the missionaries brought her and her family to Church while he was a young man) on December 14, 1962,and they both have different recollections of the details whereby they actually got together). They raised two children and now have several grandchildren, along with a few great-grandchildren. He served as a stake president before his call as a General Authority. During that time, he gave an instrumental interview to the press in which he tackled tough topics related to his faith as the Frankfurt Germany Temple prepared to open. 

He was subsequently sustained as a General Authority on April 2, 1994, and was initially assigned to the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Roughly two years later, on April 6, 1996, he was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 15, 2002, and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 2, 2004, and ordained an apostle 5 days later (becoming the eleventh apostle born outside the United States).

On February 3, 2008, he was set apart as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency to President Thomas S. Monson. Although 12 men born outside the United States have served as apostles, he became only the sixth apostle born outside the United States to be called to serve in the First Presidency. At the time of his call to the First Presidency, he was the thirteenth in apostolic seniority. During the period of almost a decade in which he served alongside President Monson and First Counselor President Henry B. Eyring, the deaths of six apostles senior to him meant he had become the seventh in apostolic seniority. 

And with the death of President Monson occurring just three months after the death of Elder Robert D. Hales, the First Presidency was dissolved.The new Church President, Russell M. Nelson, chose as his counselors his seatmate Elder Dallin H. Oaks and President Eyring. As a result, Elder Uchtdorf returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When he departed that Quorum to serve in the First Presidency, he had been the tenth most senior member of that Quorum, and he returned to it as the third in seniority, with only Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ahead of him. 

In recognition of his administrative capacities and capabilities, his assignments as a reassigned Quorum member were those that had previously been held by the three who had been the most senior members of the Quorum prior to that time (Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard). He became the chairman of the Missionary and Correlation Executive Councils, ad was also assigned to oversee the work of the Church in the Europe and Europe East Areas.

In 2021, he concluded his oversight of the Missionary Executive Council and was assigned as the Chairman of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council. Elder Uchtdorf has spoken frequently about ways in which Church members should consider themselves called to action. I enjoy hearing what he has to say in his General Conference addresses every six months.

Throughout his 30.5 years as a general authority, and his now 2 decades as a special witness of the Savior, (including almost a decade of service in the First Presidency), he has now given 83 addresses. Of those, 2 were given prior to his apostolic call, though the Church's list for some reason omits the first address he gave as a new General Authority Seventy.  He also gave 7 addresses between the time of his call to the apostleship and his subsequent call to the First Preidency. He then gave 58 more addresses in General Conference during the near-decade in the First Presidency, and has given 14 more addresses since resuming his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Uchtdorf is a man of great personal warmth and charm, and we are blessed indeed to have him among the Special Witnesses of Christ at this time. He has always struck a very warm and welcoming tone in his public discourses, and his current assignments are a clear testament to the great faith the Brethren have in him. In addition to being the second-most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he is also the second-oldest, behind only Elder Quentin L. Cook. He is also the fourth in overall apostolic seniority and also the fourth-oldest of the 14 apostles overall. I am grateful for the life and ministry of this charismatic servant of the Lord, and appreciate the opportunity I had to offer this post in tribute of his 85th birthday 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: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Lindon Utah Temple; Site Location and Exterior Rendering Released for the Piura Peru Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency officially confirmed the opening arrangements for the Lindon Utah Temple and provided a site confirmation and exterior rendering for the Piura Peru Temple. Let's get into the relevant details:

We start with the Lindon Utah Temple. The media day will take place on Monday, March 9, with invited guests touring the temple over the next two days.  The public open house will run from Thursday, March 12 through Saturday, April 11, excluding the Sundays of March 15, 22, and 29, and General Conference weekend (Saturday April 4 & Sunday, April 5). The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 3, 2026, with the dedicatory session broadcast to all stakes within the temple district. The presiding apostle will  be announced at a later time, but that fact makes me strongly suspect that President Oaks himself will dedicate Utah County's newest temple.

We now move on to the details about the Piura Peru Temple: The single-story edifice (with an estimated 18,850 square feet), along with an adjacent ancillary building, will rise on a 2.6-acre site on the northwest corner of Ave. Tallanes and Ave. Prolongacion in Piura, Peru. The temple was originally announced iduring the October 2023 General Conference. The exterior rendering largely speaks for itself, but if any of you have anything to share about it, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

In the interim, one other note that may be of interest to you all. With the information released about the Piura Peru Temple today, there are now 63 temples for which no information has been officially confitmed yet. That number will continue to decrease in the coming weeks, I am sure. And given the fact that there are now 21 Mondays between now and the Monday before the April 2026 General Conference, there could be a drastic reduction of that number by then, especially if there are several weeks wherein multiple new temples have official information confirmed.

With all of that in mind, I suggest we buckle up and do as President Nelson advised in terms of eating our vitamins and getting our rest. It truly is exciting that the new First Presidency is making major headway on the construction queue. I am particularly personally grateful for the announcement of the opening arrangements for the Lindon Utah Temple, as my nephew has been waiting for news on that for a while.

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: 55 New Missions to Open in 2026

 Hello again, everyone! I am back with a stunning announcement from the First Presidency: Due to the continually rising number of missionaries, the Church will add 55 new missions in 2026. These additional missions will bring the total mission count worldwide to 506. Church President and Prophet Dallin H. Oaks offered the following statement: 

"It is inspiring to see the number of young Church members who continue to answer the call to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. These missionaries are helping to bless the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year who are choosing to be baptized into the Lord’s Church."

The total coount of young teaching, servicee, and senior missionaries has steadily risen and is currently at a total of more than 84,000. Elder Quenntin L. Cook, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council, offered the following statement: "It’s a blessing to see how each missionary contributes to the individuals they teach and serve as they share the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. These additional missions help to balance the number of missionaries in each mission, allowing mission leaders to better support and mentor the missionaries they lead."

Here is the list of new missions, grouped by alphabetical geographical Church areas, then alphabetically within those areas:

Africa Central

1. DR Congo Kinshasa North

2. DR Congo Mwene-Ditu

3. Kenya Kisumu

4. Uganda Kampala East

Africa South

5. Angola Luanda North

6. Malawi Lilongwe

7. Mozambique Nampula

8. South Africa East London

9. Zimbabwe Harare West

Africa West

10. Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan South

11. Cote d’Ivoire Daloa

12. Ghana Accra South

13. Ghana Sunyani

14. Liberia Monrovia West

15. Senegal Dakar

16. Togo Lomé

Asia North

17. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar West

Brazil

18. Brazil Guarulhos

19. Brazil São Bernardo

20. Brazil Sorocaba

Canada

21. Canada Halifax

22. Canada Toronto East

Europe Central

23. France Paris South

24. Greece Athens

25. Spain Madrid East

Europe North

26. Cape Verde Mindelo

México

27. México Tula

Pacific

28. Australia Brisbane South

29. Papua New Guinea Daru

30. Papua New Guinea Madang

31. Samoa Apia East

32. Solomon Islands Honiara

Philippines

33. Philippines Lingayen

34. Philippines Lipa

35. Philippines Ormoc

36. Philippines Ozamiz

37. Philippines Puerto Princesa

South America Northwest

38. Perú Lima Northwest

39. Perú Tacna

South America South

40. Paraguay Asunción South

41. Uruguay Salto

United States Central

42. Missouri Kansas City

43. Wyoming Cheyenne

United States Northeast

44. Indiana Fort Wayne

45. Virginia Norfolk

United States Southeast

46. Mississippi Jackson

United States Southwest

47. Arizona Phoenix East

48. Oklahoma Tulsa

49. Texas Dallas North

50. Texas Houston North

51. Texas San Antonio South

United States West

52. California Oceanside

53. California Ontario

54. California Victorville

55. Idaho Coeur d’Alene

This announcement is a huge surprise, but also a welcome one. I am grateful for the many missionaries that are making tthe announcement of these 55 new missions possible. I will just add here that, apparently, since the Church's last announcement of new missions in 2024, one new mission has been created that I can't quite account for. On another note, I was kind of hoping that, if the Church had breaking news to report today, it would be the announcement of the newest apostle. But clearly it's not time for such an announcement now.

So I will just cap off today's news by saying I am grateful for this announcement, despite the fact that it wasn't what I had expected/hoped for. There will be a lot of new mission presidents for the First Presidency to call, in addition to however many other missions are due to have a new mission president. And I expect that the announcement of almost 200 new mission presidents will soon follow. I will just addthat while I was composing this post, the Church News also reported on today's announcement.

I am grateful for today's announcement, even though it wasn't what I had hoped for. 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 Brussels Belgium Temple; Renderings Released for the Savaii Samoa and Tulsa Oklahoma Temples; and Site Location Confirmation and Exterior Rendering for the Houtson Texas South Temple

Hello again, everyone! With the First Presidency reorganized, they have hit the ground running and have made significant announcements on this Monday relating to four temples: a groundbreaking for the Brussels Belgium Temple, exterior renderings for the Savaii Samoa and Tulsa Oklahoma Temples, and the site location confirmation and exterior rendering for the Houston Texas South Temple. So let's get right into exploring these latest updates:

Elder Jack N. Gerard, First Counselor in the Euorpe Central Area Presidency, will preside at the Saturday, November 22, 2025, groundbreaking for the Brussels Belgium Temple, While the groundbreaking in question will not include any turning of the soil (as the edifice is being built within an existing building rather than on empty ground), there will be a short program followed by a dedicatory prayer over the construction process. 

It appeasrs that the Church is still trying to obtain the necessary approvals to turn the existing building intto a religious building with accommodations, but that the Church was able to get the go-ahead for this program and dedicatory prayer. Unless any other groundbreakings are scheduled between this Saturday (the groundbreaking for the Cape Town South Africa Temple) and November 22, 2025, the "groundbreaking" for the first temple in Belgium will be the 20th groundbreaking in 2025. But I still have a few temples I am anticipating will have groundbreakings this year, so we'll see what happens there.

Moving on to the Savaii Samoa Temple, the release of the exterior rendering today follows the March 11, 2024 site confirmation and the October 2023 announcement of that temple by President Russell M. Nelson. Hopefully a groundbreaking will follow either later this year or soemtime next year.  Meanwhile, the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple was also originally announced in October 2023, and the confirmation of its' site location on August 12, 2024. I have no particular insights about the temple renderings in question, so I will let them speak for themselves. if any of you have anything to share about either rendering, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Finally, we wrap things up with the details on the Houston Texas South Temple. Following its April 2024 announcement, also by President Nelson, the dual confirmation today of the location and the exterior rendering is fantastic. The single-story edifice of approximately 46,000 square feet, along with a meetinghouse and an ancillary building, will rise on a 15.7-acre site along Fort Bend Parkway, just north of Sienna Parkway in Missouri City, Texas. I guess I wsas somewhat confused by the rendering because it looks in some ways similar to the modular temple designs we've seen, but since it is the wrong size for a modular temple, I'm not sure why that was my first assumption.

With the release of the information about the Houston Texas South Temple, this document shows the latest count of temples for which no information has been released. That number now sits at only 64, and I'm sure that will go down further in the coming weeks. I am grateful to see that the First Presidency is (thus far) sticking to the Nelsonian practice of 2:00 PM Monday announcements. Hopefully that continues. And the fact that we got major announcements about four temples meanss we had just about everything I projected, except temple dedications. Hopefully those will follow in the coming weeks. 

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.

2,500th Blog Post: BREAKING NEWS: New First Presidency Announced

Note: This post was originally published at 9:30 AM, when the broadcast was announced, and was updated following the broadcast, just after 1:00 PM the same day.

Hello again, everyone! As was reported this morning, a new First Presidency was announced just after 1:00 PM MDT today. Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted the broadcast to announce that. It goes without saying that President Dallin H. Oaks is the 18th Church President in this dispensation, having been ordained and set apart in that role on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. He has selected Presidents Henry B. Eyring and D. Todd Christofferson as his respective First and Second Counselors. 

President Jeffrey R. Holland is the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I did not see President Christofferson's call coming, but as the Lord said to Isaiah, His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. I fully sustain this new First Presidency, and I hope that is true for each of you.

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

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

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, August 17, it is time to publish the newest such data on this General Conference Sunday. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents, in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency now moving up on that list), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). and an overview of when each of those current groups will move up on the list. As previously noted, the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and apostolic group will not join that list until late next year, assuming no other apostles pass away between now and then.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 3 of the current 15 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

With these apostolic data updates coming every 7 weeks, the next update will be posted here on the morning of Sunday, November 23 (which will be the last such update for this year)..

Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to ask anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here.

Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

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

October 2025 General Conference Predictions (Final Version)

Hello again, everyone! With just 36 hours left until the October 2025 General Conference, I wanted to present the final version of my General Conference predictions. I would like to note that I once again made adjustments that I felt would be appropriate. So with that introduction, let's review those:

First up, my projected speaker lineup (which has been slightly tweaked and restructured)/ Next is my predictions for changes in general Church leadership (which now includes the prospective call of one or twp additional counseelors in the First Presidency, one or two potential new membes of the Quorum of the Twelve as a result of the prospective First Presidency changes, possible changes to the Presiding Bishopric, and definite changes to area seventies).

And the final two elements of these projections are my master list of all prospective locations in which I feel a temple could be announced soon, and the more specific locations I most anticipate being announced in this General Conference (my selections for October are at the bottom of the document). As I've noted before, I fully anticipate that 18 temples will be announced, which will bring the worldwide total to 400 in any phase.

Well, there you have it: my complete predictions for the upcoming General Conference. This is the final version, so I don't plan on making any additional changes unless there is a very good reason to do so. I welcome any questions or comments on these predictions that any of you might have. As much as I enjoy making and sharing these predictions, I am most looking forward to the opportuniies we will have to hear from and sustain our leaders.

I will be watching General Conference weekend carefully, and will bring any major announcements and my analaysis thereof to you all here in either new comments or posts, including the much-anticipated announcement of new temples. 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: Tribute Broadcast and Funeral Services Announced for President Nelson

Hello again, everyone! The funeral arrangements for President Nelson have just been confirmed. A special tribute broadcast will air on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 10:00 AM MDT, featuring remarks from several Church leaders, Public funeral services, including a public viewing, will be held the week after the October 2025 General Conference, which will proceed as scheduled. The public viewing will be held on Monday, October 6, from 9 AM-8 PM.in the Conference Center. The official funeral services will follow on Tuesday, October 7, at 12:00 PM MDT. A private burial service will follow the funeral proceedings.

This released information answers a slew of questions. The only unknown factor is how soon the First Presidency might be reorganized. My feeling is that such a reorganization may only happen on Wednesday, October 8, after President Nelson is laid to rest. But at least we have more information now than we had this morning.

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 APOSTOLIC NEWS: Church President Russell M. Nelson Passes Away at Age 101

Hello again, everyone! As reported by the Newsroom and the Church News, Church President Russell M. Nelson passed away just after 10:00 PM on this Saturday September 28, 2025, at the age of 101. His biography speaks for itself. With the passing of the prophet, the First Presidency is now dissolved, and Presidents Oaks and Eyring return to their places in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which now becomes the leading Quorum of the thChurch, and President Oaks assumes a de facto role as the Acting President of the Church.

I am not sure how long it will take to arrange a funeral or reorganize the First Presidency, but we will see. The most likely scenario I see at this point is the apostles leading the Church through General Conference weekend, with the funeral potentially following the concluding session of General Conference on Sunday, and the reorganization of the First Presidency coming the week after that. I'm sure the apostles had a heads-up that President Nelson's death was imminent, so I have no doubt there is a plan in place. The other option I see would be to delay General Conference, but we will see what happens there as well.

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News and the Newsroom on this and all other subjects. I'll be sure to pass along such updates, including updates from the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site and the Church Growth Blog, as soon as I can after 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 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: Ground Broken for the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple

 Hello again, everyone! In the Newsroom today, it was reported that ground was broken for the Lone Mountain Nevada Temple this morning. This was a surprise, as this groundbreaking had not been announced in advance. The history of that temple is available via the links shared above.Elder Michael A. Dunn, First Counselor in the North America Southwest Area, presided over the ceremony, I gather it was not announced in advance because the approval of that temple had been fought at every governmental approval level and even litigated in the courts, although a recent court complaint about the approval for that temple was dismissed for what I understand was a lack of legal standing.

This groundbreaking marks the 16th such ceremony conducted this year. On Saturday (2 days from now) ground will be broken for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple. With those and the other two recently announced  groundbreakings for the Kumasi Ghana and Cape Town South Africa Temples, the 2025 groundbreaking total through late October now rises to 19 total before the end of October. I think it is highly likely that other temples will have groundbreakings confirmed soon, based on where some of them are in the current temple construction approval process.

The latest such updates will be available to view in my end-of-third-quarter 2025 temple construction overview which will be provided about 5 days from now. I am grateful to have learned about this latest temple update and for the opportunity to share that information 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: Groundbreakings Announced for Kumasi Ghana and Cape Town South Africa Temples; Preliminary Information Released for the Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency announced two temple groundbreakings (for the Kumasi Ghana and Cape Town South Africa Temples) and the preliminary information for one other temple (Ulaanbaatar Mongolia). Let's get into all the relevant details:

We start in Kumasi Ghana. The temple bearing that name was announced in April 2021, with the site announcement following in May 2023, and an exterior rendering is yet to be released at a later date. As for the groundbreaking, it has been scheduled to occur under the direction of Elder Iaaac K. Morrison, Second Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency, on Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, the Cape Town South Africa Temple, which was also announced in April 2021, and its' site location and exterior rendering were both released on December 7 of the same year. The groundbreaking for that temple is scheduled to occurt under the direction of Africa South Area President Elder Carlos A. Godoy on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Today's groundbreaking announcements bring the total number of temple groundbreakings set thus far this year to 18, vs. the 14 we had last year. My mom is a South African native, so she's familiar with all three South Africa cities with temples: Johannesburg, Durban, and now Cape Town. She was very pleased to hear this news.

Having discussed the temple groundbreakings, let's break down the details for the Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple: Mongolia's first temple (planned to be a one-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet will rise on a nearly 11 acre site located at Naadamchid Road, Khan Uul, 8 Khoroo in Mongolia. The project will also include a patron housing facility and a meetinghouse. The rendering speaks for itself but it reminds me a lot of other temples as well. Hopefully a groundbreaking will shortly follow.

I will just add that the site location confirmation and exterior rendering follow that temple's announcement in October 2023. And in view of today's announcement, 64 of the 114 announced templessI know of people with connnections to Mongolia, so I am happy for today's news on that temple. I had been hoping we would get groundbreakings, site confirmationse, and renderings, and the fact that they released information for 3 temples at the same time is exciting.

I am not sure when or how soon the next temple dedication might be announced. I do know there has been major movement in the temple construction queue over the weekend. This document shows where those estimates stood as of early Saturday, and this one details where those estimates and the queue stand now. I will continue to provide updates on the shifts in the construction queue as they occur. I am grateful for today's announcements, and I hope my analysis herein haas proven to be helpful and contextual.

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.