BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Kyiv Ukraine Temple Closes Until Further Notice

Hello again, everyone! Late-breaking temple news was reported a short time ago. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kyiv Ukraine Temple has been closed, effective immediately, until further notice. While it is generally safer for Church members to be in the temple during a natural disaster or upheaval,  with the current ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Church is acting out of an abundance of caution.

All missionaries of the Church serving in Ukraine were relocated last month. In noting this development, the page for that temple was updated with the following note: "On Tuesday, the presidency of the Eastern Europe Area reassured members that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were fully aware of the unfolding events in Ukraine and that the situation is being closely monitored on an hourly and daily basis."

The situation that necessitated the closure of this temple is in flux at the present time. While we don't exactly know when the dust will settle, or when that temple will be able to reopen, the Lord is aware of what needs to happen here. My prayer is that we will all petition the Lord for His blessings to be upon all those affected by this current crisis. As we unite in prayer at this time, the Lord will bless that region with whatever is needed at this time. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

UPDATED: Lists of Temples Which Will Have an Extended Closure Period in 2022 and Temples for Which New Leaders May Be (or Have Been) Called in 2022

Hello again, everyone! Towards the beginning of the last two years, I have been able to provide updated documents showing which temples will have extended closure periods each year, and temples for which new leaders may be (or have been) called any given year. My hope was to provide completed versions of both before the Church began announcing temple leadership changes this year. But in view of ongoing health challenges (nothing serious, thankfully, just a lot to figure out), I am somewhat behind the times.

I have not yet completed either document for this year but wanted to share what I have compiled thus far. The documents will be updated as I am able to make those updates happen. So here they are: the list of temples that will have an extended closure this year, and the list showing which temples have had or may have new leaders announced this year.

I am committed to continuing to work on these lists as I can, but don't know how soon they might be fully completed. In the meantime, it's also worth noting that the Church News has shared biographies for new temple leaders on the following dates thus far: February 3; February 10; February 17; and today (February 24). The biographies speak for themselves and are well worthy of your time and attention.

I just wanted to share a couple of notes. There have been a few surprises in the announcements that are being made. The first leaders have already been identified for the Helena Montana and Feather River California Temples, which could both have construction concluded and dedications held in the next 4-8 months. 

But those callings were announced in advance of the announcement about the first president for the Quito Ecuador and Belem Brazil Temples, which may point to the Church focusing on getting US temples up and running as soon as possible after completion since COVID-19 is less of an issue in the nation now. In the meantime, taking that approach with US temples would allow them to open temples outside the US when that can safely occur.

Of course, the timing of any temple event, particularly with COVID-19 as the major variable, will be up to the Lord as revealed to His prophet, President Nelson. But it wouldn't shock me to see temples outside the US dedicated after some of their US counterparts, which may be further behind in the construction queue currently, but for which temple dedications can be more easily and safely held.

Whatever might happen in terms of major developments in temple construction or Church News, you can depend on my bringing word of those updates to you all here as I become aware thereof. For now, hope you enjoy the documents I shared above. I will continue to work on them as I can, and you can track my progress therewith via the placeholder note I have at the top of each document.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with 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. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Clarification on Blog Comments

Hello again, everyone! Since a good majority of the comments on this blog lately have come from me personally, I wanted to provide some clarification. I had one new comment submitted today on the threads of the previous post by Nancy, who also comments periodically on the threads of the Church Growth Blog. Though there wasn't anything wrong with Nancy's comment, she chose to delete it herself a few hours after it was posted.So I wanted to set the record straight regarding comments from you all here: Last year or the year before, any new development was covered in a new post, leaving the comments free for others to share their thoughts. As there have been more minor developments than major news items lately, I have begun providing a stream of those updates in the comments thread of other posts.

So I worry that many of you may have felt discouraged to share your feedback and input in the comments becausee a majority of the comments in each thread come from me. Here's the thing: As I'm sure many of you reading these posts know, there has been quite a lot more to cover in termis of general Church news on this blog. I no longer have time to devote new posts to every update, which is why I have shared the bulk of those in comments lately. But I never intended for any of you reading this blog to feel as a result of my increased comments that your input is no longer valid or necessary. To the contrary, as coverage of major developments continue, more than ever, I need the input of my readers.

I sincerely apologize if that hasn't been clear to you all. I also apologize if my large monopolization of the comments thread has been a deterrent to any of you from weighing in. I want to provide as much coverage of the ongoing developments of the continuing restoration as I can. But I also very much want to hear from you all in response to those reports, as often as any of you might want to weigh in. So if you have any feedback on what I can do to improve the comment threads here so it's not always just me sharing subsequent updates, I'd be happy to take those suggestions under advisement.

As the work accelerates, we need each other. I need to hear from you just as much as I want to ensure I provide the most thorough coverage of the ongoing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with 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. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Church President Russell M. Nelson Marks 4th Anniversary of His Ordination and Setting Apart as Prophet

Hello again, everyone! With today being January 14, it has been 4 years to the day since President Nelson became the Church President and prophet. In view of this milestone, I wanted to provide a look back and a look ahead at where the Church has been and where it could be as his ministry continues. I need not rehash the circumstances surrounding the death of Church Presidennt Thomas S. Monson or the introduction of the new First Presidency members in the Salt Lake Temple prior to the usual press conference. 

But I was touched by the account we heard just recently outlining the inspired process whereby the new prophet selected his counselors. I know a lot of people, myself included, who were not necessarily surprised to see President Nelson had appointed his longtime apostolic seatmate, President Oaks, as his First Counselor, but plenty of people appeared to be surprised that Elder Uchtdorf had not been retained in the new First Presiency. 

We remember, of course, Elder Uchtdorf's response to the new First Presidency, and it has been a thrill to hear of the ways in which he has contributed to the furthering of the work. Under the dynamic leadership of President Nelson, so much has changed in so many positive ways. After promising in that first press connference that there would someday be "more flavors in the mix" President Nelson kept that promise by appointing the first Asian-American and Latin American apostles. 

And although it was generally believed that President Nelson would not change too much in terms of Church organizations, programs, or policies, what we have seen in the last 4 years has been a brilliant transformation of the Church that focuses more on doctrine and less on tradition or habit. As mentioned yesterday in the Church News article about the anniversary, he has issued numerous invitations, coupled with prophetic promises. 

Of course we know that he himself has only dedicated two temples personally (Concepcion Chile and Rome Italy) and would have dedicated a third (Arequipa Peru) if he had not been dealing with a mild illness. The remaining nine were dedicated by his apostolic colleagues. And all 10 of the temples rededicated during the past 4 years have been handled by other apostles. I am wondering if President Nelson might opt to preside at the rededications for the Washington D.C. and Salt Lake Temples.

In his first four years he has announced 83 temples, all but 1 of which were announced in General Conference. Yesterday, we were privileged to see that one of those had its' dedication announced. Since the Church News published the article about the status of those 83 temples, a groundbreaking was held in December 2021 for the Bacolod Philippines Temple, while the groundbreaking for the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple.

Providing a full list of the wonderful things the Church has accomplished in the last four years under his inspired direction is a nearly-impossible task. But one thing is certain: The prophetic mantle continues with him, and, as the scriptures put it, he has been "sanctified by the Spirit to the renewal of [his body]." I vividly remember in hiis first General Conference as Church President that Elder Andersen expressed hope that President Nelson will be around for the next decade or two. 

There have been numerous statements by his fellow apostles and his wife indicating that he is hard to keep up with, and that he has the physical and mental stamina of a man 30-40 years younger than he actually is. So barring a major shift in the status of his health, it could be that "the next decade or two" could be an underestimate of how long he might be around.

As he's observed, the work is moving forward at a very accelerated pace. We have seen that verified fully by the increase in the number of breaking news developments I've provided on this blog since January 2018. And I have no doubt there will be even more to report in the coming years. To the best of my ability, I am committed to monitoring all of that and bringing word of that to you ASAP.

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

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Calls 164 New Mission Presidents

Hello again, everyone! As reported by the Newsroom  and the Church News, 164 new mission presidents have been called. I will haive furter analysis on this news posted h. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

Added at 1:45 PM: I have completed my analysis of the new mission leafers. Here are some facts I pulled together about the newly-called mission leaders: Elders Peter M. Johnson and Ricardo P. Giminez will be released as the respective presidents of the England Manchester and California San Diego Missions,  

GA Seventy Elder Ciro Schmiel, currently serving as First Counselor in the Africa South Area Presidency, will serve as President of the Florida Orlando Mission.

In view of Elder Schmiel’s call as a mission president, and since Elder Christoffel Golden will turn 70 this year and will almost certainly be granted emeritus status in October, it seems likely that First Counselor Elder Edward Dube will be the new area president, with two other GA Seventies called as his counselors (perhaps Elder Alfred Kyungu and either Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran or Peter M. Johnson).

Current area seventies: Pablo H. Chavez, Aleksandr A. Drachyov, Pedro X. Larreal, K. Roy Tunnicliffe, and Luis G. Zapata.

Former area seventy: Elder Rulon F. Stacey

Brother Douglas D. Holmes, former First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency

I personally know two of the new mission presidents: David Sturt (whose parents are unofficially adopted grandparents for me and my siblings, and who, along with his siblings and their spouses, are unofficially adopted uncles and aunts to us) and Dave Hansen (who served for just one year as the president of my parents’ stake). My mom informed me today that she was notified of but sworn to secrecy about my Uncle David's call, and per her report, part of his role as president of the Kenya Nairobi Mission will be to supervise the construction of the temple in that city, so hopefully that can soon get underway

I am grateful to have assembled this data and that I have been able to pass that along to you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Will Deliver a Christmas Message on Thursday

Hello agsin, rveyone! This morning, prior to reporting the latest temple reopenings, the Churvh News shared another announcement: Church President Russell M. Nelson will deliver a Christmas message to the world on social media channels, similar to thr message he gave on gratitude in November of last year. I imagine the message was inspired in the same way that the earlier message came to be given: specific inspiration about the length and content of the address was given to President Nelson in his late night patterns.

The message will be published to those channels on December 16 ar 8:00 AM MST. I am grateful to have seen and been able to pass along this news. I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word thereof as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Creates New Mission in Rwanda

Hello again, everyone! One week ago, the Church announced a new mission, Hawaii Laie, that will be effective next month. I had thought that might be the only new mission created  in 2022, but that is not correct. A few minutes ago, the Church announced the creation of the Rwanda Kigali Mission, which will go into effect on July 1, 2022 as the 409th mission worldwide. The mission comes as a division of 3 other missions: Uganfa Kampala, Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa East, and Democratic Republic of the Congo Lubumbashi Mission.

The news release also notes that the new president of this mission will be announced in Januaey 2022, along wirh all other new mission assignments for 2022. I am grateful to have been able to share this news with you all. I continue to monitor all such updates, including those relating to general Church news and temple announcements, and will bring word thereof to you here as I become aware theof.

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

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency's Christmas Devotional Speakers Announced in Advance for the First Time

Hello again, everyone! For the first time in the 8 years since the format changed, the speaking lineup for Sunday's First Presidency's Christmas Devotional has been officially confirmed in advance. Speakers will include President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. I will cover that devotional in some way on Sunday. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

BREAKING NEWS: Hawaii Laie Mission Created; First President and Companion Called

Hello again, everyone! The Church made an unexpected annnouncement today. Rather than waiting for the typical time period (July), the Church has announced a new misswion, the Hawaii Laie Mission, which will become operational as the Church's 408th mission next month. Those details were also confirmed in the Church News, which also announced the first president and companion for that mission. Let's break down the details here.

As mentioned, the creation of the mission goes into effect next month, with the president and companion also beginning their service at that time. Missionaries in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission were advised that the mission would split just yesterday, marking another lightning fast move for the Church. The new mission includes the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitor's Center, the 3 young single adult stakes closest to the campus of BYU-Hawaii, and the Church's two outlier stakes in the nearby island of Oahu. The other stakes in Oahu and all other Hawaiian Islands.

The mission will allow closer contact with mission leaders for those serving at the Visitor's Center at the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and BYU-Hawaii. Steven J. Bassett, currently a ward Young Men's specialist, formerly served in a stake presidency, after having formerly served as a stake presidency counselor and in a couple of bishoprics. Sister Stephanie R. Bassett is a current ward missionary. Both have a long legacy of Church service to their credits. I am grateful for the unexpected development and testify that the creation of this mission was brought about by inspiration from the Lord, espeially regarding the timing of the creation of this mmission. I continue to monitor all Church News updates and temple developments and will bring you word thereof as those developments cross my radar.

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

BREAKING NEWS: Spontaneous Fire Erupts at Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Hello again, everyone! At the top of the 10:00 PM KSL newscast, a breaking news update was shared regarding a fire that erupted today at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The KSL news story shared an official Churh statement on the fire was provided by long-time Church spokesperson Brother Eric Hawkins:

"At around 7 this evening, a fire started on the second-floor roof of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The most likely cause of the fire is from combustible construction materials that ignited on their own.We are grateful for the quick response of emergency personnel, who were able to extinguish the fire and are on site conducting their investigation. We are also grateful that no one was injured in this incident and that property damage is minimal and the building will be operational tomorrow." Just wanted to pass that along here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News updates and reported temple developments and remain committed to bringing word of those to you all as I become aware thereof.

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Phased Reopening of Temples to Continue Worldwide Through October

Hello again, everyone! Another Tuesday has rolled around, as a result of which the latest information about temple reopenings has been released by the Church. Since there is just over a week of September left, the latest update shares some details about reopenings that are planned through the rest of September and into October. The updates are, as always, detailed in the updated Newsroom release, and through the Church News, with the latter also linking to the area-by-area temple reopening status tracker.

As I've mentioned in most (if not all) of the latest posts I've published to cover these updates, the Church has done remarkably well in understanding issues that will affect the reopenings, and there have been very clear signs that the Lord is inspiring these efforts. Parenthetically, I'd norote that the reason the Church has been able to make these changes work so smoothly appears to be due in part to the apostles taking an active role in checking in weekly with the presidencies of each Church area for which each of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have direct supervisory roles.

I am grateful for that inspired process. It has been humbling to see how that has worked out week-to-week. With that preamble, let's now get into the specifics that were detailed this morning. First, the Church has announced that 4 temples, including 3 in Mexico (Hermosillo Sonora, Mexico City Mexico, and Villahermosa Mexico) and the Kyiv Ukraine Temple will transition to phase 3 as early as Tuesday September 28.

Above and beyond that, 2 temples are unpausing, but have been downgraded in their reopening processes as a result of COVID-19 conditions and restrictions. The Cebu City Philippines Temple has been shifted back to phase 1, allowing only limited husband-to-wife sealings where both have previously been endowed. And the Papeete Tahiti Temple has been downgraded to phase 2, which will allow all living ordiances in priority order.

The Church has also noted one other previously-announced change that has not yet gone into effect. The Medford Oregon Temple was anticipated to transition to phase 3 at some point in August, but that has not yet happened, though it hopefully will occur soon. The Church News release also reiterated the information about the 11 temples not allowing any proxy work, which includes the changes announced today, in addition to all other temples not currently offering any proxy work.

As of next Tuesday (September 28), the Church's temple reopenings will stand as follows: 8 closed for major renovations (all but 2 of which have had phase 3 status granted to those within their districts),  with 3 temples "paused" in their reopening process (2 of which had reached phase 3, with 1 in phase 2 at the time their reopenings were paused); 3 in phase 1; 6 in phase 2; 3 in phase 2-B; and the remaining 145 in phase 3.

I am grateful to have been able to learn about (and pass along) these updates. I continue to monitor all Church News reports and temple developments, and remain committed to bringing word of those to you all here as I become aware thereof.  

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Continues Phased Reopenings of Temples Around the World

Hello again, everyone! As I observed in one of my comments posted yesterday on the previous thread, information I found appears to indicate that resurgences of COVID-19 in Tokyo Japan (especially after the recently-concluded 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games), Hamilton New Zealand, Yigo Guam, and Quito Ecuador have led to some limits on gatherings in general, but on large gatherings in particular. 

Given the fact that the Church tries to encourage its' members and friends all over the world to be good global citizens, I'm reasonably certain that might lead to a slight delay in the next few months before any of those temples can have opening or reopening arrangements announced. With that in mind, I'm thinking that we might not see the number of temple dedications or rededications going up significantly until after next year's annual July recess for General Authorities has concluded.

I'd love to be proven wrong on that, but until further evidence suggests otherwise, I'm sure the Church will probably want to be safe rather than sorry. Having acknowledged that, it's also worth noting that, despite the COVID-19 variants in various parts of the world, the Church remains committed to a cautiously-coordinated and carefully-planned reopening of temples worldwide, and that has been again proven correct with the latest adjustments which have been aannounced in the last little while here.

As has been the case for the last 1.5 years or so in wihch the Church has announced weekly reopening updates. thoae latest adjustments have been detailed in the updated official Newsroom release, the customary Church News update, and the updated temple reopening status tracker. Having provided that overview, let's now look at the specific adjustments that have been noted today.

First up is an announcement that I was not necessarily expecting, but probably should have anticipated. Given COVID-19 conditions in Idaho, once the Pocatello Idaho Temple is dedicated, the Church will have it operating in phase 3 right from the start. That temple's dedication is set for the first Sunday of November, so following its' dedication, the temple will be able to start off in phase 3, offering all living ordinances in priority order, along with limited proxy work as scheduled. It has additionally been noted that the Curitiba Brazil Temple will transition to phase 3 as early as September 21 (next Tuesday). And as has been the case the last several weeks, it's again been noted that the Medford Oregon Temple will reopen in phase 3 at some point when it is safe to do so. The original plan was to reopen that temple in that phase by the end of last month, but, again, the Church has adjusted plans due to COVID-19 conditions and restrictions.

The Church News also again recapped the nine temples still in phase 1 or phase 2 (not yet allowing any proxy work), and again noted that the Tokyo Japan and Hong Kong China Temples, currently closed for renovation, have not yet been granted any phased reopening designations. With the updates announced today, by next Tuesday (September 21), the 168 operating temples of the Church will break down as follows: 8 closed for major renovations, all but 2 of which have been granted phase 3 designations for the members in their districts; 5 temples currently paused. of which 4 had reached phase 3, and the remaining 1 was in phase 2 at the time the pauses went into effect; just 2 temples will remain in phase 1, with 6 each in phases 2 and 2-B; with the remaining 141 temples of the Church now in phase 3, offering living ordinances in priority order and limited proxy work as scheduled.

If anyone anywhere has any questions about whether prophets and apostles are inspired for our day, they only need to look at the methodical week-by-week adjustments that have been made, and how that has been done by always keeping the well-being of Church members in mind. I am grateful to have been able to pass along these updates to you all.  I continue to also monitor all other Church news updates and reported developments and remain committed to bringing those to you all here as I become aware thereof. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Phased Reopening of Temples Continues Into September

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the Church released the latest information in the ongoing process of reopening all temples Churchwide, which continue to bring more temples worldwide yet another step closer towards resuming normal operations. The latest changes have, as always, been detailed in the latest update from the official Newsroom, with updates also mentioned by the Church News, and reflected in the latest updates to the temple reopening status tracker, The strategy observed by the Church remains the same: focus on a cautiously-coordinated carefully-planned approach to changes in temple reopening stauses, and adapt to circumstances as necessary.

The results of that strategy speak for themselves. Let's now explore the changes that have been most recently announced this morning. The Church has announced updates that will impact the status of 8 temples in total, with 6 that will now offer proxy ordinancces in either phase 2-B or phase 3, and the remaining 2 unpausing and resuming an operational phase. 1 of those 2 is retruning to the same phase it had been in, while another is tranisitioning to a different phase.

Now, regarding specifics: As soon as one week from today (Tuesday September 7), 5 Brazilian temples (Campinas, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, and Sao Paulo) and 1 European temple (The Hague Netherlands) are expected to tranisition to phase 3, and offer all proxy ordinances on a limited availability basis, so that the Church can thus ensure that they are doing their best to keep Church members who are able to work in and attend the temple ast patrons are safe. 

I am not sure how temples elsewhere in the world might work, but I do know that when I worked at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple for 6 years (2006-2012), although a fair porition of the workers there were older retired individuals and couples, there were also a fair number of young adults, both single and married, who rounded out the workforce for the temple. 

I imagine that age, health, and likely susceptibility to COVID-19 would factor into the decisions each temple makes about who staffs the various areas  Most temples are probably using the proverbial "skeleton crew" and having areas staffed by individuals who are either younger, not as susceptible to catching the virus, or those that have been fully vaccinated.

In the meantime, the other two temples having changes announced are the two in South Africa (Durban and Johannesburg). Both have come out of recent pauses in their reopening process. For Durban, the unpausing also involves a shift to phase 2-B, which will allow limited proxy baptisms to occur, in addition to all living ordinances in priorirty order. And with the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, following the conclusion of its' recent pause, it's going back to phase 3, which will allow all living and proxy ordinances by appointment.

Additionally, the Church had previously noted that the Medford Oregon Temple was anticipated to transition to  phase 3 at some point this month, but that change has not yet been able to occur, likely because the Church prefers to be cautious in that temple's particular case, but hopefully, during any one of the 4 Tuesdays in September, that change might be able to go into effect. And the Church News again shared the list of 10 temples that have not been able to offer any proxy ordinances yet, with no phase designation given to the Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan Temples (both of which are closed for renovations).

6 others are in Latin American nations, and 1 of those 6 remains in phase 1, while 1 other had reached phase 2 but has since paused. And the remaining 2 temples are in Eastern Europe and Asia. In view of the changes announced today, the Church has the 8 temples closed for renovations (all but the previous 2 Asian temples I mentioned above have had a phase 3 designation given to the patrons in their districts). And in view of updates announced today, 5 temples remain "paused" in their reopening due to local COVID-19 conditions (of which 3 had reached phase 3 at the time of their pauses, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 20.

Of the temples not closed for renovation or currently impacted by a pause in their reopening statuses, only 1 remains in phase 1, with 6 in phase 2, 10 in phase 2-B, and the remaining 138 are now in phase 3. I willingly and gratefully testify to the inspired nature of the latest announced adjustments, and am grateful that process continues to go as well as it has. For my part, I continue to monitor all developments announced by the Church News and the Newsroom, and remain committed to continuing to provide those reports as I become aware thereof.

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Temple Reopenings Announced for August and September

Preliminary note: An initial version of this post was preset to publish on this blog at 10:35 AM MDT this morning, which coincided with the exact time at which the latest temple reopening developments were reported by the Church News and the Newsroom. Due to personal circumstances today, I was unable to complete the process of updating the post with today's announced adjustments until 5:00 PM-6:00 PM MDT. The post still shows the original timestamp.

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share the latest temple reopening updates, which were released by the Church this morning. This post will highlight those updates, as they in are found in the updated official release from the Newsroom, with coverage also provided through the Church News update and the updated temple reopening status tracker. 

Let's get into what these changes are, when they will go into effect, and the updated data about how many temples will be open in each operational phase as of next Monday (August 16). According to today's report,  barring any unexpected readjustments, by the end of August, all but 11 of the Church's temples worldwide are anticipated to be able to offer some proxy ordinances (through phases 2-B and 3).Of the 157 temples which have seen phased reopenings, 6 of the 8 temples closed for renovation have had phase designations given to their temple districts, which allows patrons in those districts to schedule phase 2-B or 3 ordinances at the nearest temples offering those phases.

The only two temples closed for renovation which have not yet been given a desiganted reopening phase are Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan. The remaining 9 temples not yet open in a phase which would allow proxy ordinances are the Barranquilla and Bogota Colombia, Arequipa Peru, Kyiv Ukraine, Montevideo Uruguay, and Seoul Korea Temples (which are each in phase 2); the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple (which is in phase 2 until one week from today); the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple (which had reached phase 2 before being currently paused in its' reopening); and the San Jose Costa Rica Temple (currently in phase 1). 

Today's update also notes that the Kyiv Ukraine Temple moved to phase 2 operations effective yesterday. Additionally, the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple transitioned to phase 2-B as of Saturday August 7, with the Campinas, Curitiba, and Recife Brazil Temples doing the same, effective today. The Porto Alegre Brazil Temple might also transition to that phase, as soon as next Tuesday (August 17). The Cordoba Argentina and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples unpaused their operations, with the former resuming phase 2-B, and the latter resuming phase 3. Additionally, the Spokane Washington Temple will move to phase 3 as early as next Monday (August 16), with the Medford Oregon Temple following at a yet-to-be-determined date in August as well.

In view of today's reported updates, as of next week, 8 temples remain closed for renovation (6 of which have had their districts designated into a reopening phase), with 7 more "paused" in their reopenings. Of those 7, 5 had been in phase 3 when they were paused, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 2. Of the remaining temples in various phases of reopening, the Church has just 1 in phase 1, 7 in phase 2, 20 in phase 2-B, and the reamining 125 in phase 3. 

I am grateful for the measured approach and week-to-week adaptability the First Presidency has shown in their efforts towards reopening temples as quickly and as safely as possible. I remain committed to bringing you all the latest in Church news and temple developments (relative to temple reopenings, temple construction, and temple milestones).

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Temple Reopenings Announced for July and August

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the latest temple reopening updates were released through the Newsroom, with those same updates noted in the Church News and reflected as well in the temple reopening status tracker, with each of those showing the changes that will go into effect throughout the rest of this month and into August.

18 more temples have moved or will move into phase 3 as early as this week. Those temples break down by area as follows:

Caribbean: Port-au-Prince Haiti

Europe: Frankfurt and Freiberg Germany, Bern Switzerland, Copenhagen Denmark, Lisbon Portugal, Madrid Spain, and Rome Italy.

Philippines: Cebu City Philippines

North America Central: Calgary and Edmonton Alberta

North America Southeast: Fort Lauderdale and Orlando Florida; Columbia South Carolina; Louisville Kentucky; Memphis Tennessee; Raleigh North Carolina

South America Northwest: Guayaquil Ecuador

The Anchorage Alaska Temple (which falls under the North America West Area) has also reopened, but patrons in those districts have been able to schedule limited phase 3 proxy ordinances for the last several weeks. The Church also announced other temples projected to move to phase 3 in July and August, which are likewise listed by Church area:

Brazil: Manaus Brazil

Mexico: Tijuana Mexico

North America Northeast: Toronto Ontario

North America West: Vancouver British Columbia; Medford Oregon and Spokane Washington (The Church had originally planned to reopen the latter two temples later this month, but that's been pushed back to August, likely due to COVID-19 conditions).

South America Northwest: Caracas Venezuela

As of next Monday (July 19), the status of the Church's 168 temples will break down as follows: 8 closed for major renovations (6 of which have been given phase 3 designations); 9 paused (5 in phase 3, 1 in phase 2-B, and the remaining 3 in phase 2); 3 in phase 1; 10 in phase 2; 21 in phase 2-B; and the remaining 117 in phase 3.

I am grateful for the Church's continued measured and cautious approach to reopening temples. I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will bring word of those to you all as I receive it. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra At Temple Square Plan a Phased Return to Normal Operations

Hello again, everyone! This morning, there was an unexpected update from the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square. Although the development in question was reported earlier this morning, I'm still classifying it as breaking news. So let's look at the relevant details here. First, the daily organ recitals, which have been offered virtually for the last several months, will reopen to the public beginning Monday July 19. On Monday-Saturday, those daily recitals are scheduled for noon MDT, while they are scheduled to occur at 2:00 PM MDT on Sundays. 

But with the return to daily organ recitals that are again open to the public, the Church will continue to provide a virtual edition of those recitals in the ongoing Piping Up! series will continue to be live-streamed through the Choir's Youtube channel every Wednesday at noon. Meanwhile, a phased reopening plan has been announced for the Choir, Orchestra, and Bells. The Choir will resume in-person rehearsals on Thursday August 26, which will be open to the public starting on Thursday October 7.  The Bells at Temple Square resume regular rehearsals onWednesday September 1, which will again open to the public beginning Wednesday October 6. 

The Choir has also announced that the completely-live Music & the Spoken Word broadcasts will replace the hybrid version of the broadcast (prerecorded performances with a new Spoken Work message) beginning Sunday September 19, and that beginning Sunday October 10, the live broadcasts of "Music and the Spoken Word" will again be open to the public. The Choir further announced that, for the October 2021 General Conference, rather than using prerecorded music, the Choir will provide music for three of the four General Conference Sessions. 

Although the particulars of that are not spelled out specifically, I'm reasonably certain that the three sessions in question will be the Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions. As far as how that will work, I imagine that the Choir will be in either the otherwise-empty Conference Center or possibly the Tabernacle at Temple Square, with the feed of their performances piped in to the Conference Center Auditorium, from which the rest of the sessions will originate. 

Today's announcement also noted that the Choir hopes to be able to present a live Christmas Concert this year, but official confirmation on the details will be deferred until they are more firmly set and able to move forward. I am grateful to see that the Choir, Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square have announced a phased plan to move towards normal practices and performances, and will be be interesting to see how all of that turns out.

On an unrelated note, Iu had recently mentioned that I anticipated at least a few major temple-related announcements in the near term, but when I made those statements, I had somehow spaced the fact that July has been the typical recess month for the General Authorities and General Officers of the Church. As a result, although we could see a few other breaking news updates this month, I imagine that July could potentially be a much quieter month than we have most recently seen in terms of major general developments or specific temple announcements. 

I will keep my eyes open for word on all such developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware thereof. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do. 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Announces Additional Temple Reopenings Which Will Occur Throughout July

Hello again, everyone! As many of you are no doubt aware, in recent weeks, every Tuesday, that the Church has released the latest updates on the ongoing process of reopening temples. Since the Church switched the weekly announcements from Monday to Tuesday, those announcements have traditionally been made around or within the 10:00 AM hour. 

I don't know if there was a lag today due to the recent federal holiday in the United States, but the announcement was made today just a short while ago. At the time this post was published, the updats from this week were only available through the Newsroom. Whenever coverage of these updates is available in the Church News, I will be sure to pass that along.

Update (added at noon): Apparently, while I was composing this post, the corresponding updates have been shared by the Church News, including coverage of the latest reopening announcements and the updated status tracker. The latter two updates additionally mentioned that 19 more temples had opened in phase 3 this week. 

They include the following, broken down first by area, then listed in alphabetical order within those areas (except in cases where two or more temples in any states are announced, in which case those in the same state are listed together, followed then by temples in other states in each area)::

North America Central: Denver and Fort Collins Colorado; Bismarck North Dakota; Chicago Illinois; Regina Saskatchewan; St. Paul Minnesota

North America Northeast: Manhattan and Palmyra New York; Boston Massachusetts; Columbus Ohio; Detroit Michigan; Hartford Connecticut;  Indianapolis Indiana; Philadelphia Pennsylvania; Washington D.C.

North America West: Columbia River and Seattle 'Washington; Los Angeles California; Portland Oregon

The information from the Church News also specified that the Medford Oregon and Spokane Washington Temples, which had previously been announced for phase 3 reopenings before the end of July, have had that channge pushed back into August out of concern about COVID-19 conditions and restrictions.

The Anchorage Alaska Temple will begin phase 3 operations next Monday (July 12, after having been in phase 2-B since May 24). On that same date, the Calgary Alberta Temple will transition to phase 2-B, which will allow all living ordinances and limited proxy baptisms by appointment. Additonal note (also added during the noon hour): The Church News coverage also reiterated that, as previously announced, the Manila Philippines and Stockholm Sweden Temples will transition to phase 2-B next Monday (July 12), assuming COVID-19 assessments allow that to occur on scheduled. The Church News also provided an updated list of 21 temples for which phase 3 openings have been set for later this month or sometime next month. Having added that, let's return to the previously-published content.

Meanwhile, plans have also been announced for 3 temples in Canada (Calgary and Edmonton Alberta and Halifax Nova Scotia) 2 in the North America West Area (Medford Oregon and Spokane Washington) and one in Asia (Sapporo Japan) to transition to phase 3 on yet-unspecified dates in July or August, depending on COVID-19 conditions in each location..As of next Monday (July 12), the Church's temple reopenings will break down as follows (Please note: In the initially-published version of this post, I used the breakdown of numbers provided by the Newsroom, which mistakenly listed the data as if all the announced phase changes has already occurred. The corrected numbers below are featured courtesy of the Church News):: 

8 temples closed for renovation (6 of which have been granted phase 3 designation, which allows those residing in those districts to schedule proxy work at whichever temple closest to them is in phase 3); 9 temples remain "paused" in their reopenings (of which 4 had reached phase 3, with 2 more in phase 2-B and 3 others in phase 2); 3 others in phase 1; 10 in phase 2; 38 in phase 2-B; and the remaining 100 in phase 3.

I am grateful for these latest updates, and for the Church's measured methods of reopening temples through using a week-by-week, temple-by-temple consideration of relevant factors. I am also likewise grateful for all other Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to bring you all word of those as I become aware thereof. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Temple Reopenings Announced

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the latest temple reopening updates were released through the Newsroom, with those same updates noted in the Church News and reflected as well in the temple reopening status tracker, with each of those showing the changes that will go into effect during the first couple of weeks in July.

The Church has annrounced today that 17 more temple transitioned to phase 3 this week include 6 in Arizona (The Gila Valley, Gilbert,  Mesa, Phoenix, Snowflake, and Tucson), 4 more in Utah (Draper, Jordan River,   Oquirrh Mountain, and Salt Lake) and the following 7 elsewhere:Birmingham Alabama,  Houston Texas, Montreal Quebec, Nauvoo Illinois,  Panama City Panama, Star Valley Wyoming, and Tegucigalpa Honduras).

For the Mesa Arizona and Salt Lake Temples, still closed for renovation, their phase 3 designation will allow those rresiding in the two temple districts to schedule phase 3 proxy work at the next closest temple to them. Today's announcement means that all but 2 of the Church's 60 temples which were originally anticipated to open by the end of July. The remaining two are Los Angeles California and Port-au-Prince Haiti, which join the 36 temples announced last week for which reopenings are also planned by the end of July.

Today's announcement also indicated that the Manila Philippines and Stockholm Sweden Temples would move to phase 2-B, allowing all living ordinances and limited proxy baptisms by appointment. Both temples will shift to that phase on July 12. And the Church's plan to reopen The Hague Netherlands, Mexico City Mexico, and Vancouver British Columbia Temples in phase 2-B and the Kyiv Ukraine Temple in phase 1 next Monday remans intact.<

Additionally, the Durban and Johannesburg South Africa Temples have paused in their rheir reopenings due to local COVID-19 (both temples had recently transitioned to phase 3). As a result of changes announced today, next Monday (July 5), the Church's breakdown of temples by reopening status will stand as follows: 8 temples remain closed for renovations (4 of those 8 temple districts have been given phase 3 status, with 2 others in phase 2-B); 10 temples are currently paused in their reopening, of which 5 had been in phase 3, 2 had been in phase 2-B, and the final 3 had been in phase 2.

With 3 temples operating in phase 1, 13 in phase 2, and 50 in phase 2-B, the remaining 84 temples are all in phase 3. I am grateful to have learned about this updates and to have been able to pass them along to you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news and teple updates and will be sure to pass word of all such developents along to you all here as I becoe aware threof.

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Temple Reopenings Announced

Hello again, everyone! Last night, knowing that the Church would be making its' weekly temple reopening announcements this morning, I repeated the process I've used to prepare for that announcement by scheduling a post to be published here not long after the anticipated announcement was made. I prepared a scheduled post for that purpose by copying and pasting the content of my last update into that scheduled post.

The post I'd prepared in advance was published roughly 2 hours ago as arranged, but I had yet another rough night last night and I wound up sleeping through the Church News alert on temple reopenings that was sent at around the same time the post was published here. We have seen major temple reopening developments reported weekly within the last month, and today was no different. When I got the chance to go over today's report, there were some very significant developments reported today alone.

So I opted to delete the previously-published post and start fresh. There is actually more to the coverage of today's announcement than the usual 2 articles from the Church News and the Newsroom release. Let's get into specifics. This week, the Newsroom noted that the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, which has not reopened in any phase since the closure of all operating temples was first announced, will reopen in phase 1 (allowing living husband-to-wife sealings where both are previously endowed, with limited guests in attendance and COVID-19 guidelines strictly observed). That temple is set to reopen next Monday (July 5). That development was further confirmed by the Church News.

Aside from that long-awaited announcement, the Church also noted this morning that 4 temples (Mexico City Mexico, Paris France, the Hague Netherlands, and Vancouver British Columbia) will transition from phase 2 (allowing all living ordinances in priority order) to phase 2-B (continuing to offer all living ordinances in priority order, but also allowing the baptistries in each of those temples to reopen to small groups). Additionally, the Church reported that 16 more North American temples reopened in phase 3 yesterday (Monday June 21). Those temples, broken down by the area of the Church under which they fall, are as follows:

North America Central: Boise, Idaho Falls, Meridian, and Rexburg Idaho; Billings Montana

North America Southwest: Monticello Utah; 

North America West: Fresno, Newport Beach, Oakland, Redlands, Sacramento,  and San Diego California

Utah: Manti, Mount Timpanogos, Payson, and Vernal Utah

The Church has now announced phase 3 reopenings for 25 of the 60 temples mentioned in that announcement, which means there are 35 temples remaining from that announcement. By area, that includes the following temples:

Caribbean: Port-au-Prince Haiti

Central America: Panama City Panama and Tegucigalpa Honduras

North America Central: Nauvoo Illinois and Star Valley Wyoming

North America Northeast: Montreal Quebec

North America Southeast: Birmingham Alabama

North America Southwest: The Gila Valley, Gilbert, Phoenix, Snowflake, and Tucson Arizona; Houston Texas; and the Mesa Arizona temple district (which will allow patrons to schedule phase 3 proxy work at the nearest temple.)

Utah: Draper, Jordan River, and Oquirrh Mountain; and the Salt Lake temple district (which will allow those in that district to schedule phase 3 proxy work at the nearest temple).

Having said that, we now similarly break down by geographic area of the Church the 36 additional temples which are set to open in phase 3 by the end of July:

Europe: Frankfurt and Freiburg Germany; Bern Switzerland; Copenhagen Denmark; Lisbon Portugal; Madrid Spain; Rome Italy

North America Central: Denver and Fort Collins Colorado; Bismarck North Dakota; Chicago Illinois; Regina Saskatchewan; St. Paul Minnesota; 

North America Northeast: Manhattan and Palmyra New York; Boston Massachusetts; Columbus Ohio (which, while undergoing renovation, will allow patrons to schedule phase 3 proxy work at the next nearest temple); Detroit Michigan; Hartford Connecticut; Indianapolis Indiana;  Philadelphia Pennsylvania; Washington D.C. (which, while awaiting rededication, will allow patrons to schedule phase 3 proxy work at the next nearest temple).

North America Southeast: Fort Lauderdale and Orlando Florida; Columbia South Carolina; Louisville Kentucky; Memphis Tennessee; Raleigh North Carolina

North America West: Columbia River, Seattle and Spokane Washington; Medford and Portland Oregon; Anchorage Alaska; Los Angeles California

Philippines: Cebu City Philippines

South America Northwest: Guayaquil Ecuador

As of next Monday (June 28), the reopening status of all temples will break down as follows: 1 temple (Kyiv Ukraine) remains closed but is set to reopen in phase 1 next week; 8 others are undergoing renovation (2 of those districts have been granted phase 3 reopening status; with 4 granted phase 2-B opening status); 8 others remain paused (2 in phase 2-B, and 3 others each in phase 3 and phase 2); 2 remaining in phase 1; 18 in phase 2; 62 in phase 2-B; and the remaining 69 now in phase 3. The latest changes are also available in an area-by-area update of the temple reopening status tracker

I am grateful to have been able. to learn about and share these latest updates with you all. I continue to monitor all Church news reports and temple developments, and will be sure to pass word of those on to you all here as I learn about them.

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Phased Reopening of Temples Continues with Additional Adjustments Announced Today

Hello again, everyone! Within the last few minutes, I have been able to confirm that the the Newsroom has provided this week's updates on temple reopenings. But in what I believe is a first for me, I am sharing the Newsroom updates before today's updates are reflected in the Church News or shown in the status tracker by the same source. This post will be updated to include those resources as they are made available. 

Additional note (updated at roughly 10:40 AM): While I was making preparations to publish updates on this post, the Church News covered that as well, in addition to updating their weekly status tracker. Those updates reflected the changes I noted later in ths post. Having acknowledged that update, we now reutrn to the previoously-composed content of the post.

As has become a weekly tradition, I will detail those adjustments in this post. Before speaking in terms of the specifics regarding today's announcement, I did want to note that the Church continues to use a measured and cautious approach in the weekly determinations that are made and announced. So when our prophet notes that the safety of Church members around the world is foremost in their minds as they consider how to safely reopen tesmples on a week-to-week basis. 

I am grateful for the way those reopenings have been allowed to occur, and I testify that the Lord knows what needs to be done, and inspires His servantss the apostles and prophets Having acknoleged that right at the outset, we now explore the specifics of the temple status changes announced by the Church this morning.

Effective next Monday  (June 21), the following  10 temples will begin phase 2-B, allowing all living ordinances in priority order, in addition to limited proxy baptisms as scheduled: Ciudad Juarez, Colonia Juarez Chihuahua, and Villahermosa Mexico; Fort Lauderdale and Orlando Florida; Detroit Michigan; Manhattan New York; St. Paul Minnesota; Freiberg Germany; and Lima Peru. 

Meanwhile, the following 11 temples have moved to phase 3 this week: Bountiful, Cedar City, Logan, Provo City Center, Provo, and St. George Utah (the latter of which is closed for renovation, but for which the Church's page for that temple can schedule phase 3 ordiances at the nearest phase 3 temple open to them); Dallas and San Antonio Texas; Albuquerque New Mexico and Twin Falls Idaho. And due to changing conditions in Peru and Chile, the temples in Arequipa and Santiago will be pausing in their phased reopening.

The changes that will be effective on Monday will result in the following dmographic changes: 1 temple (Kyiv Ukraine) has not reopened in any phase since last year; 8 others are closed for major renovations (with 2 given phase 3 status, and 4 others given phase 2-B status); 8 temples paused (3 in phase 3; 2 in phase 2-B; and 3 in phase 2); 2 in phase 1; 18 in phase 2; 80 in phase 2-B; and the remaining 51 in phase 3.

With these updates having been detailed, I continue to monitor all other Church news and temple updates, and will be sure to pass word of those along to you alll as I become aware thereof. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.