BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Loacation and Preliminary Details Announced for the Puerto Montt Chile Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency officially confirmed the site location and preliminary details for the Puerto Montt Chile Temple, which was originally announced by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson in October 2024. Let's get right on into the details:

A single-story temple of nearly 18,500 square feet will rise on a 5.8-acre site at Avenida Chamiza Lote 2 2015, Pelluco, Comuna de Puerto Montt. An exterior rendering and groundbreaking date will be announced later, when the time is right for that announcement. As a result of this update, there are now only 14 temples from the 17 originally announced during that conference. And this means that the number of temples with no official information announced is now down to 55, with that number hopefully continuing to go down before the April 2026 General Conference. 

And speakingof that General Conference, I need to issue a correction to what I have stated in the past. When the First Presidency announced the Portland Maine Temple in December through the area president, I had stated my opinion that this new method of announcing temples might not necessarily mean no temples would be announced in General Conference anymore. But as many of you know, President Oaks was interviewed by the media in conjunction with his presiding at the Burley Idaho Temple dedication.

During that interview, he was asked the following questions, with theanswers following:

President Oaks, you recently announced a temple for Portland, Maine, at a devotional, not in general conference. Why did you announce that temple?

President Oaks: That was a strong impression that came to me early in my knowledge that President Nelson had transferred to heaven. It has occurred to me for a long time that the best place to announce a temple is in that temple district. And the best person to announce it is the file leader in that area, which can be an Apostle on assignment to a stake conference or another meeting, or it can be the area president if there’s no Apostle in the district when a decision is made by the First Presidency to have a temple there.

So, this is a pattern we can expect to see again?

President Oaks: It’s a pattern that we will follow as long as I have influence in determining those things. This does not change the pattern of decision-making or gathering facts and determining the agreeable timing and the need. And all those things will continue to be analyzed. But when it comes to making a decision from all those facts, the First Presidency will continue to make the decisions. But they’ll assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built.

So it appears from that interview that any other temple announcements made while President Oaks is the prophet will be announced locally. That makes sense in a big way. While President Nelson loved to announce new temples in General Conference, I know I was bothered by the audible vocal reactions to those announcements. If new temples are instead announced unexpectedly and locally under the direction of the First Presidency, that particular problem goes away.

I am sharing all of this to note, with my apologies, that I now assume temple announcements in General Conference will go away, and the local announcements, as approved, will be the status quo. I had believed and asserted that we could still see temple announcements in General Conference, but that assertion was, simply put, incorrect. I will look forward to hearing more of these local announcements going forward.

In the interim, I am nire than a little surprised that we only got an announcement about one temple today. I had hoped we'd perhaps see 1 or 2 temple dedications, 1 or 2 groundbreakings, the release of 1 or 2 renderings, and more than 1 site confirmation. But it occurs to me to wonder if there might be something else coming down the pike in terms of major announcements this week. Will that happen? Only time will tell.

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.

Tribute to President D. Todd Christofferson For His 81st Birthday

Hello again, everyone! In view of his birthday today, President D. Todd Christofferson is now 81 years old. So let's get right on into a birthday tribute to him: 

David Todd Christofferson was born on this day in 1945 in American Fork, Utah (a place I proudly claim as my hometown) to Paul Vickery and Jeanne Swenson Christofferson. He spent his formative years in Pleasant Grove and Lindon, and his family subsequently relocated to Somerset, New Jersey. While there, he participated in the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant, and, having been urged by his bishop to do so, he earnestly sought a personal testimony of the gospel. 

Although he felt for a while that his prayer at that time had not been answered, the witness he was seeking came about a month later. At around this same time, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery for it. While his father learned later that he had gathered his brothers to pray for their mom, it would be years later that President Christofferson learned about his father's personal sacrifices to supply what his wife needed to help her with the housework.

Young Todd Christofferson also stepped in to help his mom by making homemade bread for his family, after being taught how to do so by his grandmother. After graduating from high school, he studied for a year at BYU prior to serving full-time in the Argentina North Mission, where he had two mission presidents, Ronald V. Stone, and his future colleague in the Quorum of the Twelve, Richard G. Scott. Following the conclusion of his missionary service, he returned to BYU, and there he met Kathy Jacob, whom he married in May 1968. 

He earned his bachelor's degree from BYU, and went on to get a doctor of law degree from the School of Law at Duke University. During his years as a young attorney, he clerked for Judge John J. Sirica at the time the Watergate hearings were occurring. When his clerkship ended, he took active duty with the US Army for a year, after which he served in the Army reserves for 8 years, by which time he had achieved the rank of Captain. 

His professional career took his family to Washington DC, Nashville Tennesee, and Charlotte North Carolina. During that same period of time, he would serve as a bishop, stake president, and in the now-defunct calling of regional representative to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After being called as a general authority in April 1993 (at the same time as Elder Neil L. Andersen, alongside whom he now serves in the apostleship), he served in a variety of capacities (including as a member of area presidencies outside the US) until his call to the Presidency of the Seventy in August 1998. 

During his service in that presidency, he first served as the executive director for the Church's Family and Church History Department (which have since been split into two departments), where he worked to negotiate with Jewish religious leaders on the matter of performing temple ordinances for Holocaust victims, which in turn shaped the policy of Church members only being allowed to perform such ordinances for direct-line family members. 

In 2004, the First Presidency announced that the Presidency of the Seventy would be relieved of responsibility for the Church Departments and would instead oversee areas in the United States and Canada. Elder Christofferson was given responsibility for the North America Southeast Area of the Church from August 2004-August 2007, at which time he was reassigned to oversee the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. 

He continued that assignment for 8 months, then, as we know, he was the first apostle called by President Thomas S. Monson in April 2008. At the time of his release from the Presidency of the Seventy, which came in conjunction with his call as an apostle, he had become the second-most senior member thereof. During his first seven years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as noted, Elder Christofferson served alongside his former mission president, Richard G. Scott. 

Since his ordination as an apostle, Elder Christofferson has filled a wide variety of assignments, and he was serving as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve assigned to oversee the Church Public Affairs Committee when he was asked by President Nelson to introduce the new First Presidency in a worldwide broadcast on January 16, 2018. After President Nelson died last year, President Christofferson was called by new Church President Dallin H. Oaks to serve as his Second Counselor in the First Presidency. Given that the last two Solemn Assemblies have been led by the Second Counselor in the First Presidency, I am projecting that President Christofferson will lead the Solemn Assembly to sustain President Oaks in April. 

President Christofferson has given 42 addresses in General Conference so far, 1 of which was given in the conference following his call as a General Authority, with 5 others given during his near decade in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 36 as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Christofferson currently ranks as the junior and youngest member of the current First Presidency. He is now the sixth in overall apostolic seniority and the fifth oldest among all of the apostles.

I am grateful for the life and ministry of President Christofferson. I had a couple of choice opportunities to meet him. His niece and her family lived in my parents' ward, so when their newest baby was blessed, then-Elder Christofferson presided at our Sacrament Meeting. A few years later, our paths crossed again while I was a temple worker, and he was the speaker at our yearly devotional. As one who has had the opportunity to chat informally with him on these two occasions, I testify that his call as one of the Savior's special witnesses is divinely inspired.

I greatly appreciate the chance to share these thoughts with 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locationns and Preliminary Details Released for the Kahului Hawaii and Flagstaff Arizona Temples

Hello again, everyone! As I had anticipated, there was an official temple construction announcement today, in which the First Presidency officially confirmed the site locations and preliminary information for two temples in the United States: Kahului Hawaii and Flagstaff Airzona. Let's get right into the details for both temples:

The Kahului Hawaii Temple was originally announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2023. The single-story 19,000 square foot edifice will rise on a 7.6-acre site along Kuikahi Drive next to an existing meetinghouse at 1300 Maui Lani Parkway, Kahului, Hawaii. An ancillary building will also be constructed as part of this temple project.

And for the Flagstaff Arizona Temple,, originally announced by President Nelson in his last General Conference as Church President (April 2025), a 10.43-acre site at the southwest corner of Butler Avenue and South Fourth Street in Flagstaff, Arizona, will be home to the single-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet, and will also include an adjacent ancillary building.

In view of today's announcement, there are now only 12 US temples awaiting official information, and the number of temples for which no information has been officially confirmed now sinks down to 56. That number is getting smaller all the time. The data on the document to which I linked abovespeaks for itself. Just a couple more thoughts about today's announcement, if you will indulge me therein:

I had thought that, with 3 temples completed and awaiting the announcement of their opening arrangements, at least one of them might have a dedication announced in the near term. But clearly, that did not happen this week. Maybe that will be the case next week. I still think that at least one more temple dedication might be scheduled to occur in the first halfof 2026, but I guess we'll have to see. 

I will also be interested in finding out whether any temple dedications will be set to occur in July. If memory serves me correctly, during the temple-building boom of the late 1990s-early 2000s, having a few dedications in July was the status quo for a while. Could we see some July dedications in 2026? Only time will tell. Unless any other dedications are announced within the next month, the Brethren may opt to wait until August to begin building up the queue of temple dedications again.

And for groundbreakings? What can we expect? I've got a few temples in my crosshairs for which I hope a groundbreaking announcement will be made and the ceremony held in the near term. I likewise hope we will see some movement in the queue of temples for which groundbreakings have been held, but for which full-scale construction is pending. In any case, there is a lot to which we can look forward in the coming weeks and months, and I'm sure this prolific season of temple building will continue, even if it is slower than I currently am predicting and projecting.

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 Yorba Linda California Temple; Groundbreaking Arrangements Announced for Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple; Site Locations Confirmed and Preliminary Information Released for the Beira Mozambique and Spanish Fork Utah Temples

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially confirmed the opening arrangements for the Yorba Linda California Temple, groundbreaking arrangements for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple, and the preliminary details for the Beira Mozambique and Spanish Fork Utah Temples. There's a lot to get to, so let's dive right in!

A media day for the Yorba Linda California Temple will be held on Monday, April 27, 2026, with invited guests touring the temple for the next two days. A public open house will be held from Thursday, April 30, through Saturday, May 23, 2026. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM, with a rebroadcast of those services at 2:00 PM. 

The dedication will be carried to all units in the temple district. A presiding apostle has not yet been announced, but I am sure any apostle with ties to the area the temple will serve will be the one assigned to dedicate that temple. Who that might be is less certain. As soon as a presiding apostle is assigned, I will note that on this blog in a subsequent comment.

The time frame announced for these arrangements took me by surprise a bit. I was anticipating that the next temple dedication announced would only occur in July or August at the earliest, so it also gives me hope that other temple dedications may be set to occur in June as well. Incidentally, this is the same date previously announced for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple dedication, so the Church could easily double- or even triple-up on other Sundays in June. So it's back to the drawing board as far as those estimates are concerned, and I hope I'm wrong on those estimates as well.

As for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple, groundbreaking services will take place on Saturday, March 14, 2025, with Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, Central America Area president, presiding. The temple dedication follows its announcement in October 2022, with the site location confirmed in mid-March 2023, and the release of its exterior rendering 14 months later. This will be the third groundbreaking this year, and will be occurring at around the same time as the third temple groundbreaking last year.  

That brings us to the new information about the temples in Mozzambique and Utah. Mozambique's first temple, planned to be approximately 10,000 square feet (which could mean it will be a modular temple), and with plans including patron housing and arrival facilities, will rise on a 2.5-acre site located at Avenida 24 de Julho, Beira, Mozambique. This announcement follows the temple's April 2021 announcement by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson.

And Utah's newest temple will rise on a 8.7-acre site at the corner of 100 South and 2550 East in Spanish Fork, Utah. The multistory temple of 80,000 square feet will be accompanied by an ancillary building. As confirmed by the Church Temples site, design work for that temple is already underway, and groundwater and soil samples have been evaluated as well. With that in mind, hopefully this temple will have an exterior rendering and groundbreaking announced in the near term. This announcement follows the temple announcement by President Nelson in April last year.

In view of these announcements, there are now 58 temples for which the confirmation of any official information is pending. I am grateful for today's announcements, and hope to see more temple news next Tuesday (since next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day here in the United States). I also hope we will see the new apostle announced on Thursday or Friday of this week. I will be covering all such updates if/when/as they occur.

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: 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, November 23, 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 current prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 30 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including our new Quorum President, Henry B. Eyring). 

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 Holland died and will reset again whenever the new apostle is appointed in his stead.

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 first update for 2026, and, with these updates being published every 7 weeks, the next one will be provided here on Sunday, March 1. Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to 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. 

UPDATED: Final 2025 Temple Construction Progress Review

Hello again, everyone! As the final moments of 2025 turn into the first moments of 2026, it is my honor to now provide a final overview of temple construction progress during this momentous year. For reference, this Newsroom report shares the rundown of most temple-related announcements made this year, though for some reason, it omits the mention of the announcement of the Portland Maine Temple and of the most recent First Presidency tour of the Salt Lake Temple. The Church News has also covered temple news throughout the year.

As for myself, I have continued to track temple construction on my end throughout the year. This document shows temple dedications & rededictions in 2025, with this documents showing a side-by-side comparison of temple groundbreakings in 2024 vs. 2025, and this one shows the same data for 2025 vs. 2026. This document shows current apostles' temple dedications & rededications during President Nelson's prophetic tenure, and this one shows the same data during President Oaks' prophetic tenure. And this one shows thea nnounced temples for which no information has been officially confirmed yet .

Pertaining to the actual progression of the temple construction queue, this document shows where things stood as 2025 began, this one shows wheret things stood a few days before the April 2025 General Conference, this one shows progress at the mid-point of this year, this one shows where things stood a few days prior to the October 2025 General Conference, and this one showing where things stand as 2025 is becoming 2026.

There is a lot more data to get through this year, but I hope the extra documents are helpful. There are others I could have included, but these are sufficient for my purposes today. As these documents and sources reflect, a lot has happened with the temple construction queue in 2025, and we are almost certain to see a significant increase of such developments in 2026.  

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: President Jeffrey R. Holland Passes Away at the Age of 85

 Hello again, every9one! As confirmed by both the Newsroom and the Church News, President Jeffrey R. Holland, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has passed away. According to the reports, he died at about 3:45 AM this morning. I paid tribute to him earlier this month for his 85th birthday, and will let that tribute speak for itself. The Church News posted this video in his honor. I would just like to note in addition that, although funeral arrangements are still pending, he will likely be laid to rest within the next week.

As the result of President Holland's passing, President Eyring is now the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the next in line of apostolic succession) and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is now the Acting Quorum President and will be granted again the title "President Uchtdorf". This will also be President Oaks' second apostolic vacancy to fill before his Solemn Assembly sustaining takes place in April. I expect he will act quickly to fill this vacancy as he did a month ago in appointing Elder Caussé.

As far as who might be appointed to fill the vacancy in question, my top predictions are either Eduward Dube of the Presidency of the  Seventy, or Elder Michael John U. Teh, a GA Seventy. I expect that will occur in the next month, if not sooner. But I will, of course, support and sustain whomever is called. In any case, Church leadership is going to look a lot different in April.

Aside from that, the already linked tributes, and those that will subsequently be posted in the coming days, there's not much else I can add. I now have several documents to update. Stay tuned here for my end-of-the-year temple construction update, which will be posted on New Year's Eve. I also 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: First Presidency Announces New Temple Will Be Built in Portland, Maine

Hello again, everyone! At a Christmas devotional for the Portland Maine Stake this evening, Elder Allen D. Haynie, United States Northeast Area President, read the following statement from the First Presidency: 

"We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Portland, Maine. The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and thank God for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants, and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord."

The First Presidency

This is the first temple to be announced under new Church President Dallin H. Oaks, and confirms what President Oaks said in his talk in October: "We will now move forward in providing the ordinances of the temple to members of the Church throughout the world, including when and where to announce the construction of new temples."

I had postulated that this would allow members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to announce new temples with the approval of the First Presidency in the course of their global ministry, so it makes sense that area presidencies would have similar authorizations to read official statements like this. The number of temples worldwide now sits at 383, with others to come in time, I'm sure.

Will any other temples be announced between now and the April 2026 General Conference? That's above my paygrade to know, but I conjecture that this could and likely will happen again. In view of this announcement, will anything else be announced tomorrow at 2:00 PM MST? I conjecture that will occur, since there is still a backlog of announced temples, and this just adds to it. But it also occurs to me to wonder how soon other updates will be announced for this first temple in Maine.

I had conjectured that, if temples were announcedoutside of General Conference, those announcements might come as temples are further along in the planning phase. So we could also potentially see a site location confirmed, rendering released, or groundbreaking set for this temple or any others in the near term. It's also worth noting that this is, to the best of my knowledge, the first temple since the Hinckley era to be announced in December.

Either way, this is wonderful news. 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 Davao Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for the Davao Philippines Temple, the only major temple construction update announced today. Here are the relevant details: A media day will be held on Monday, March 23, 2026, with invited guests touring the temple over the next two days. 

The public is invited to tour that temple between Thursday, March 26, and Friday, April 10 (with the exception of the Sundays of March 29 and April 5. General Conference in the Philippines will air April 11-12, which is why tours will still take place on Saturday April 4. Following the conclusion of the public open house, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the May 3, 2026, single-session dedication (with that session being broadcast live at 10:00 AM to all units that will be served by the Davao Philippines Temple district). 

The dedicatory service will be rebroadcast to those same units the same day at 2:00 PM in the Philippines. While the announcement of this dedication is not surprising, the dedication date certainly is. That will be the same date as the previously announced dedication of the Lindon Utah Temple. And, because the time in Davao Philippines is 15 hours ahead of Utah time, the Davao dedication will take place 15 hours before the Lindon dedication, even though both are occurring on the same date.

Today's tremendous announcement gives me hope that we will see more temple dedications to round out the first half of next year than I had originally hoped or predicted. To be completely honest, I was half-expecting the Yorba Linda California Temple dedication to be announced today, but I am grateful for today's unpexted announcement either way. This temple dedication has been added to my document tracking current apostles' temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

As I said, today's announcement gives me hope that other temple dedications will occur sooner than I thought or have projected. The latest announcement reminds me that it is a given that the Lord's ways and thoughts are higher than mine. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get an announcement about any other temples today, but I think we will see other major temple construction announcements over the next two weeks to close out the year.

And I remain convinced that more temple dedications, groundbreakings, exterior renderings, and site location confirmations are in the works for the near term. With the two other weeks we have before the Christmas/New Year's observances, hopefully major momentum can round out the year. 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 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.