BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Ste Location Confirmed and Official Details Released for Charlotte North Carolina Temple

Hello again, everyone! Contrary to what I had asserted, we got a major temple construction announcement today: official details for the Charlotte North Carolina Temple. This post will be updated with details later this afternoon. My thanks once again to you all.

(Added at 2:45 PM) I am back to provide a more detailed analysis of today's announcement. First, the Church News has also covered this announcement is significant, as the Charlotte North Carolina Temple was just announced 8 weeks ago in General Conference. The single-story edifice of 30,000 square feet will rise at 345 Providence Rd. S, in Weddington, North Carolina, on a 5.9-acre site. Given the size, it would not shock me if precast concrete panels were used to build this temple. 

There is no exterior rendering yet, nor has a groundbreaking been set. But if the Church has sufficient approvals for this temple to announce a site so soon after its' announcement, we might see quick action taken on this temple. Obviously, I was also not expecting any temple announcement today. So it begs the question: was this announcement made today because yesterday was Memorial Day in the United States, or is Tuesday now going to be the standard day on which major temple construction announcements are made?

Stay tuned for more on that as I figure it out. In any case, I am grateful for today's announcement and to have been able to pass it along to you all here. My assumption is that opening arrangements for the Orem Utah Temple could be released next week, with arrangements for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple being released either at the same time or a week or two later, with Lima Peru Los Olivos potentially following either in one or two weeks as well. 

I continue to monitor all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Set for the McAllen Texas Temple

Hello again, everyone! I mentioned in my most-recent comment on the threads of the previous post that I did not believe that the Helena Montana open house beginning would be the only major temple update noted today. That theory has now been proven correct. The opening arrangements for the McAllen Texas Temple have been officially confirmed. Let's get right into the details: A media day will be held on Monday, August 21, with VIP tours following for the next three days.

The public open house will then follow between Friday, August 26-Saturday September 9, excluding the Sundays of August 28 and September 3. The temple will be dedicated in two sessions (at 10:00 PM and 1:30 PM) by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, October 8, 2023. While the announcement of the arrangements for the McAllen Texas Temple was not unexpected, the timing of the dedication was a surprise. 

This dedication will occur on the same day as the previously-set dedication of the Feather River California Temple. And that opens the prospect that more US temples could be fit into the dedication schedule. I would therefore project that the dedication of the Red Cliffs Utah Temple might be set for October 22 or 29, or November 5. And if that happens, the dedication of the Lima Peru Los Olivos and Puebla Mexico Temples could take place in November as well, and that would still allow the Church to finish the year out with the dedications of the Layton Utah and Orem Utah Temples. 

But that's at a minimum. If two or more temple dedications occur on the same day again, the number of temples likely to be dedicated by the end of this year could be a lot higher than what has seemed likely with the more spread-out method of temple opening announcements. I will need to do some research and will try to pass along any updates on what we could potentially see ASAP. In the interim, I have started a new document to highlight the temple dedications and rededications by each of our current apostles during President Nelson's prophetic tenure.

I am grateful for this announcement. I continue to monitor all temple construction updates, along with all updates from the Church News and the Newsroom and will be sure to pass those along to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Rededication Set for Historic St. George Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, the First Presidency has announced the arrangements for the open house and rededication of the St. George Utah Temple. I was surprised that the announcement has been made already, and that it is apparently the only major temple news shared today. Let's get into the details: A media day will be held on Monday, September 11, with VIP tours held from Tuesday, September 12-Friday September 15, 2023.

Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, the First Presidency has announced the arrangements for the open house and rededication of the St. George Utah Temple. I was surprised that the announcement has been made already, and that it is apparently the only major temple news shared today. Let's get into the details: A media day will be held on Monday, September 11, with VIP tours held from Tuesday, September 12-Friday September 15, 2023.

A public open house will follow between Saturday, September 16-Saturday, November 11, 2023. The temple will then be rededicated in two sessions (at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM) on Sunday, December 10, 2023. Interestingly, the release doesn't say who will rededicate that temple. I believe that is the case because the Church is waiting to see whether Elder Holland will be well enough to preside at that event.

Not only was this announcement sooner than I expected but the open house and rededication windows are both a lot shorter than I anticipated. I thought the Church would have a similar-length open house to the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, and that this temple would only be rededicated next year. But the Lord knows what He's doing in inspiring these arrangements, so I have no doubt this was inspired.

That is the only temple announcement for today. So now we have an answer on the question of the St. George Utah Temple open house and rededication. I continue to monitor all such updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Exterior Rendering Released for Montpelier Idaho Temple

Hello again, everyone! On March 6, the Church announced a groundbreaking for the Montpelier Idaho Temple, but a rendering for it had not been released. Per a new update on the Church's home page for 2023 temple news, that news release has been updated to show an exterior rendering for the Montpelier Idaho Temple. 

So we now officially have a rendering for that temple. I am pleased we at least got this update. I continue to monitor all other temple construction, Church News, and Newsroom updates, and will be sure to pass those along to you all here as I become aware of them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Renovations Coming to the San Diego California Temple

 Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned at the tail end of my previous post, the Newsroom officially confirmed the dedication of the Okinawa Japan temple would occur, as specified in the Japanese Newsroom release. It also specified that  Elder Gary E. Stevenson will preside at that temple's dedication. That is fitting and proper since Elder Stevenson served his mission in Japan, later served as a mission president in that same nation, and came back again to Japan following his 2008 call as a General Authority Seventy when he served in the Asia North Area presidency and later as the president thereof.

But in addition to that, the Church's Newsroom release also indicated that renovations are coming to the San Diego California Temple, which will close in July 2023. That temple was originally dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then First Counselor in the First Presidency to President Ezra Taft Benson. The dedication occurred on April 25-30, 1992. 

Though no other details of this renovation are available, I wouldn't be surprised if electrical, mechanical, and ancillary systems are updated, and it's possible that some of the furnishings and fixtures will be replaced, that rooms could be reconfigured or that parts of the temple could be altered for greater efficiency and durability. An estimated completion and open house and rededication arrangements will be provided at a later time.

I am grateful for this unexpected announcement. I continue to monitor all Church News, Newsroom, and temple construction updates and will pass those along to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Set for the Okinawa Japan Temple

Hello again, everyone! The next major temple announcement has been made from an unexpected source. Though the main Newsroom does not show this update, the Japanese version of the Newsroom has announced opening arrangements for the Okinawa Japan Temple. According to the release, open house tours will be conducted from Saturday, September 23-Saturday, October 7, 2023 (except for the Sundays of September 24 and October 1).

Though this is not specified in the release, I'm assuming media tours will be conducted on Monday or Tuesday, September 18 or 19, with VIP tours following for a few days prior to the public open house. The temple will be dedicated in two sessions on Sunday, November 12. Though the session times are not specified, every other two-session dedications have been held at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM. 

The release also fails to specify who will preside at the dedicatory services. I am somewhat surprised by the timing of this dedication, but I'm glad the Church has set those arrangements. In any case, the timing on this dedication means that we might not see dedications for the Lima Peru Los Olivos and McAllen Texas Temples until November. 

The Red Cliffs Utah Temple dedication could either be held in November or December, with at least the Urdaneta Philippines and Puebla Mexico Temples dedicated before the end of 2023. That would then put the rededications of the St. George Utah Temple and the dedications of the Urdaneta Philippines, Layton Utah, Orem Utah, and Taylorsville Utah Temples in January or February. 

So beginning in 2024, I believe we will see a double-digit number of temples dedicated per year going forward. Once the main Newsroom page and the Church News cover this update, I will be sure to update this post with those links. In the meantime, I continue to monitor all Church News, Newsroom, and other temple construction updates and will bring those to you as they cross my radar.

That does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Added t 4:09 PM: The Newsroom published an update on the Okinawa Japan Temple, which indicated that Elder Gary E. Stevenson will preside over the two dedicatory sessions for that dedication. The Newsroom release also included new information about  a temple in California. I will discuss that in a new post here in the next few minutes. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

UPDATE: First Quarter 2023 Review of Temple Construction Progress

Hello again, everyone! With the final day of March coming to its' official conclusion, and as we head into April, I am pleased to provide a look back at temple construction progress through the first quarter of 2023. For this review, I have a link to what my temple construction progress report looked like on the first day of this year, and a look at where things stand as the first quarter of 2023 ends. 

We are still getting regular temple construction updates every Monday. I don't anticipate that this weekend's General Conference will change that, so I anticipate that Monday will mark the first major temple construction announcement since General Conference weekend. In the meantime, I will be sure to bring you all an analysis of any other major developments from this General Conference weekend,

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for Bangkok Thailand Temple; Groundbreakings Set for 3 Temples in Brazil and the Pacific Islands; Rendering Released for the Cody Wyoming Temple

Hello again, everyone! The Church's final Monday temple announcement before General Conference has just been shared. Today's update includes the opening arrangements for the Bangkok Thailand Temple, groundbreaking arrangements for the Belo Horizonte Brazil, Port Vila Vanuatu, and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temples, and the release of an exterior rendering for the Cody Wyoming Temple.

Let's get right into the details. We start in Bangkok Thailand. A media day will be held on Monday, August 28, with VIP tours held from Tuesday, August 29-Thursday August 21. Public tours will follow from Friday, September 1-Saturday, September 16, excluding the Sundays of September 3 and 10. Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Bangkok Thailand Temple in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM Bnngkok time on Sunday, October 22.

Although I had ventured an estimate of October 8, 15, or 22 for the Bangkok Thailand Temple, I was more than a little surprised that this dedication will occur on the last of those dates, given the Church's recent setting of 3 dedications for September 17. I don't know how or to what extent that might affect the timing of other temple dedications that I've protected, but I'll be looking into that ASAP and will provide updates as I make them.

I was also slightly surprised that the temple in Thailand will not be dedicated by one of our apostles with Asia connections. Elder Gerrit W. Gong served in the Asia Area presidency, and Elder Gary E. Stevenson served in the Asia North Area presidency. So I assume the Church is saving those apostles for other temple dedications. Despite the details of the announcement not being exactly what I anticipated, I am grateful to see this temple's dedication scheduled.

We now move on to the three temple groundbreakings. First up, the groundbreaking for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 8, with Elder K. Brett Nattress, Pacific Area President, pressing as originally announced (it had been set to occur on March 4 but was postponed due to two major cyclones) The Church released the site location and exterior rendering for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple on May 19, 2021. 

The groundbreaking for the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple will occur on Saturday, April 22, with Elder Peter F. Meurs, First Counselor in the Pacific Area, presiding. The site location and exterior rendering for Papua New Guinea's first temple was announced on September 15, 2020, so it's great to have a groundbreaking announced almost 3 years later.

Ground will be broken for the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple on Saturday, June 17, with Elder Juan A. Uceda, Second Counselor in the Brazil Area presidency, presiding thereat. The temple's site location and exterior rendering were originally released on September 23, 2021. Two of the other three temples for which site confirmations and renderings were released have had groundbreakings, leaving only the Cali Colombia Temple as the one from that group of four for which a groundbreaking has not yet been announced.

Finally, just two weeks after the Church confirmed the location of the Cody Wyoming Temple, the Church has today released its exterior rendering, which may suggest that the Church is fast-tracking that temple's construction start. With that in mind, this temple may also use the modular design to speed up construction. I am grateful to have learned of these updates and to be able to pass them along here. 

I continue to monitor Churchwide developments and will be sure to pass along Church News updates, Newsroom reports, and other temple construction updates as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for Feather River California Temple; Rendering Released for Tampa Florida Temple; and Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the Church made announcements about 3 temples: 2 in North America and one in Central America. The opening arrangements have been confirmed for the Feather River California Temple; the exterior rendering has been released for the Tampa Florida Temple; and the site location and preliminary information has been confirmed for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple. Let's break down the relevant details:

First, we start with the Feather River California Temple. There will be a media day on Tuesday August 15, followed by VIP tours Wednesday, August 16-Friday, August 18. Public open house tours will then be conducted from Saturday, August 19-Saturday, September 9, except for the Sundays of August 20 and 27, and September 3. The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, October 8 in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM, with Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding thereat.

Over this last weekend, I had reconfigured my estimates for temple events yet again, and my updated projection for the Feather River California Temple dedication was for October 8, 15, or 22. With October 8 confirmed now for Feather River, I wouldn't be shocked if the dedications of the Bangkok Thailand and Okinawa Japan Temples were set for any of those 3 dates as well. Given the fact that the Church will dedicate 3 temples on Sunday September 17, multiple dedications on the same day in October, November, and December may be in store for the Church.

Of course, the timing of any temple event is up to the Lord, so unless and until official announcements confirm, clarify, or correct any of the estimates I offer for such events, as a disclaimer, I want to ensure my readers understand that these are no more and no less than my own best projections. Until an official Church announcement sets the actual details, no one reading those estimates of mine should take them as gospel. I am just as elated when proven wrong as I am on days like today, where an announcement verifies any of my projections.

Let's move on now to the rendering released for the Tampa Florida Temple. The site location for Florida's newest temple was announced on October 31 of last year, so to have the official rendering released today is a clear indicator of progress made towards being able to hold a groundbreaking ceremony. With that temple planned to be roughly 30,000 square feet, the rendering released today seems reminiscent of other Southwestern US temples in general, but also, more specifically, of a couple of other recently-announced Florida temples of the Church. 

If anyone else has any observations about the rendering, their assessment would likely be better than mine. I don't know whether or not I've mentioned this, or how recently I last shared it if I did, but as part of my day-to-day health challenges, I do have some visual perception issues that may not prove helpful in analyzing such renderings. So if any of you have feedback on the rendering, please feel free to comment, because I love hearing from those who can see things I might miss.

That said, today's final announcement pertains to Guatemala's newest temple in Huehuetenango. The 10,787-square-foot single-story edifice will rise at 18 Avenida, Zona 4, El Terrero in Huehuetenango. That temple, originally announced in October of last year, may either use a slightly larger modular design or else have the dual-purpose ordinance rooms that can rotate between being used for temple sealings or endowment sessions as the need arises.

With today's announcement, the number of temples for which no official information has been confirmed now stands at 36. I am grateful to have been able to provide a look at this latest update, and it's good to see the Church continuing to announce such developments regularly. Today's announcement marks the second-to-last one the Church will make on a Monday before General Conference, which is now just under two weeks away.

Between now and General Conference weekend, I continue to monitor all updates from the Church News and the Newsroom and will be sure to pass those along ASAP after they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for Moses Lake Washington Temple; Site Location and Initial Details Released for the Cody Wyoming Temple

Hello again, everyone! As you are undoubtedly aware, the Church has recently habitually made major temple construction announcements nearly every Monday afternoon at some point during the 2:00 PM hour. Today's announcement relates to two temples in the western United States (Moses Lake Washington and Cody Wyoming). Let's get right into the details:

The opening arrangements have been set for the Moses Lake Washington Temple.  A media day will be held on Monday, July 31, with VIP tours between Tuesday, August 1, and Thursday, August 3. The public open house will follow from Friday, August 4 to Saturday, August 19, 2023. That temple will then be dedicated on September 17, with Elder Quentin L. Cook presiding over the two dedicatory sessions, which will be held at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM.

As most of us might recall, the Church has already set the dedications for the Bentonville Arkansas and Brasilia Brazil Temples for September 17 as well. So that means that 3 temples of the Church will be dedicated on a single day, which is a first for the Church unless I am mistaken. The order of those dedications will be Brasilia Brazil, Bentonville Arkansas, and Moses Lake Washington.

I was honestly stunned by this announcement, as I had been expecting news on the Feather River California, Okinawa Japan, Bangkok Thailand, and Lima Peru Los Olivos Temples before anything was announced for Moses Lake. Even though I wasn't expecting this announcement now, 3 temple dedications held on the same date will be wonderful and may suggest that more temples could be dedicated this year than I had projected previously.

That being said, we move on now to the news about the Cody Wyoming Temple. The single-story edifice, which will be roughly 9,950 square feet, will rise on the northwest side of Skyline Drive at Cody Canal. Based on that, either a slightly-downscaled modular design could be used, or the Church could opt to use two dual-purpose ordinance rooms which could serve alternately as either endowment or sealing rooms as the need and schedule may require.

That temple was the final one in the US originally announced in October 2021. So the only US temples remaining in the queue of those without an announcement now include 2 from April of last year and 3 from last October. With 68 announced temples in the current queue, today's announcement brings the number of temples with no information officially confirmed down to 37. I am certain that number will decrease further in the two Mondays remaining before General Conference weekend.

The better question is how soon we might hear news on any other temple openings, and that's a harder question to answer. I think we could see at least one or two more dedications, groundbreakings, and/or site locations announced in those two weeks. And if the Church is setting a new precedent of 3 temple dedications in one day, it's not s stretch to believe that 4 or 5 could potentially take place over a two-week period.

Whatever might happen in that regard, I am keeping my eyes open for all such updates, and will be sure to pass them along to you all here as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Set for the Montpelier Idaho Temple; Site Location and Preliminary Details Confirmed for the Maceio Brazil Temple

 Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned a few minutes ago, there was no new temple update at 2:00. However, here we are at around 2:30, and such an update has been published. The First Presidency has announced the groundbreaking arrangements for the Montpelier Idaho Temple and the site location and initial details for the Maceió Brazil Temple. Let's get right into the details:

Ground will be broken for the Montpelier Idaho Temple on Saturday, June 17, 2023, with Elder Ryan K. Olsen, a GA Seventy, presiding. An official rendering for the temple, and additional details about the groundbreaking, will be released closer to that time. By way of review, the Montpelier Idaho Temple was announced in April 2022, with the site location and initial details confirmed just 1 month later. 

As for the Maceió Brazil Temple (which was also announced in April of last year), the single-story 19,000-square-foot temple will rise at the location of  Avenida — Dr. Durval de Góis Monteiro, S/N, Quadra 0522, Lote 0228. Project leaders will work with government officials through the planning and approvals process, and an exterior rendering will likely be released closer to the time of its groundbreaking.

I'm a little surprised about the timing for the Montpelier Idaho Temple groundbreaking. My assumption is that the Church wanted to lock in a date for the groundbreaking now and then do the work to ensure the approvals can go through so that the exterior rendering can then be released once it gets the go-ahead from the governmental leaders with whom the Church will work. I think this may be the first time (at least in a couple of decades) that the Church has set a groundbreaking for any temple without a rendering being simultaneously released or released before the groundbreaking is announced.

To get these two updates in the same announcement was exciting. It's interesting to see how these announcements have come about. I will likewise be curious to see how the scheduling of other groundbreakings, dedications, and rededications works in the months ahead. I am watching out for word on all of these updates and will do my best to pass word thereof along to you all here, in addition to all Church News and Newsroom updates as they cross my radar. 

Between now and my next update, here is a revised copy of the document showing temples for which no official information has been announced. Of the 68 temples currently announced, 38 have not yet had any official information confirmed. If the First Presidency continues to announce preliminary information about other announced temples, either in conjunction with or separate from other temple construction announcements, those numbers are likely to change in the weeks ahead. 

I look forward to seeing what other updates will be announced between now and the upcoming General Conference. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKIN TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Brasilia Brazil and Bentonville Arkansas Temples

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for both the Brasilia Brazil and Bentonville Arkansas Temples. Let's break down the details: The Brasilia Brazil Temple open house will begin with a media day on August 1, followed by VIP/invited guest tours from Wednesday, August 2-Friday August 4.

The public open house will run from Saturday, August 5 to Saturday, August 26, except for the Sundays of August 6, 13, or 20, so tours will be offered for roughly 19 days. The temple's dedication will follow on Sunday, September 17, in two sessions held at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM, and will be carried to all units in the new temple district.

The First Presidency has asked Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to preside over those sessions, due to his personal connection to the area while serving in the Brazil South Area Presidency in the early 2000s.

And for the Bentonville Arkansas Temple, a media day will be conducted on Monday, June 12, followed by VIP/invited guest tours between Tuesday, June 13, and Friday, June 16. The temple will be open to the public between Saturday, June 17-Saturday, July 2, except for the Sundays of June 18 and 25, which means tours will last approximately 14 days.

The temple's dedication will follow in two sessions at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM, also on Sunday, September 17, 2023. The First Presidency has asked Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to preside at that dedication. He lived in that area for nearly two decades and also presided over that temple's groundbreaking remotely during COVID-19.

So a couple of takeaways here: This is the first time (to my knowledge) that a news release on this has indicated the reason for the assignment of these apostles to dedicate these temples. Hopefully that continues. We also know that the Church has set the dedications of these two temples for the same day, so they could do something similar with other temple pairs. Additionally, the Okinawa Japan Temple has not yet had opening arrangements announced, but it's possible that when that announcement is made, the dedication of that temple could take place between the June 18 dedication of the Helena Montana Temple (announced last week), and the August 13 dedication of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple dedication.

Additionally, the fact that these dedications are set for mid-September leads me to believe that, at least for the time being, the scheduling of dedications will be further out than I have hoped or projected previously. Bryan Dorman, who is my Church contact from Mexico, mentioned the hope that the Puebla Mexico Temple might be dedicated in October or November.

But since the two dedications announced today are not taking place until September, and since there are 7 other temples in the queue between Brasilia/Bentonville and Puebla, we may only see the dedication of the Puebla Mexico Temple either towards the end of this year or the beginning of the next year, unless that temple moves ahead in the queue of the 5 other current temples in various phases between it.

That also likely means that the dedications of the 3 Utah Temples which are back-to-back in the queue might only occur next year as well, which would mean the Provo Utah Temple will likely not close for reconstruction until early-to-mid 2024, which might mean the reconstructed temple will only be rededicated in 2027 or 2028.

I am analyzing various factors on this and will have updated estimates for you here ASAP. I am grateful to have found today's update, and for the opportunity to pass those along to you all here. I continue to monitor all temple construction developments and updates from the Newsroom and the Church News and will pass those along to you all here as I become aware of them.

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangments Announed for the Helena Montana Temple

Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned this morning in my birthday tribute to Elder Rasband, I anticipated that, as has been traditional for most Monday afternoons (with the exception of US national holiday observances), the next major temple construction announcement would likely be made today at this time. That has proven to be correct. The First Presidency just announced the next major temple construction announcement. This week,the opeing arrangements were announced for the Helena Montana Temple. Let's take a closer look at the details.

A media day will be held on Monday May 15,followed by VIP tours the next couple of days. Public tours will be conducted between Thursday May 18 and Saturday June 3, with no tours conducted on the Sundays of May 21 and 28. Given that temple's smaller size, only 2 dedicatory sessions will be held on Sunday June 18, 2023, at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM, with Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding thereover.

I am grateful to have been able to find and publish all such updates as they are provided. I continue to monitor all other temple construction developments and Church News and Newsroom updates and will bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Grounbreaking Announced for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple

Hello again, everyone! The next major temple announcement was made a few minutes ago: groundbreaking arrangements have been set for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple, the second temple to have a groundbreaking in 2023. Elder K. Brett Nattress will preside at the ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023. As you might recall, the site locations and renderings for both the Port Vila Vanuatu and Tarawa Kiribati Temples were both released on May 19, 2021.

This announcement came as a complete surprise to me. I had anticipated that the first of the first 3 Pacific Island temples announced by President Nelson that would have a groundbreaking would be the first one announced: Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, where the demolition of the meetinghouse on the existing site is underway. But hopefully, that temple and the Tarawa Kiribati Temple might not be far behind Port Vila Vanuatu. 

And I was also slightly shocked that today's announcement didn't relate to the Montpelier Idaho Temple, where the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a height exemption earlier this month. But hopefully, a lot of groundbreaking announcements will be forthcoming in the next month or so. I know I had said previously that I anticipated dedication announcements in the near term, but as I subsequently mentioned, the Church has been spreading out the announcement of dedications, and might only dedicate 3-4 more than the 2 already set to have dedications in the first half of 2023.

Among the most likely 4 I'd expect within that window are Brasilia Brazil, Feather River California, Okinawa Japan, and Helena Montana. It is also possible that the Church could announce other dedications in the first half of this year, but that those might take place in the second half of the year. So I think that the next several weeks could see other temple groundbreakings announced, and/or site locations revealed and/or exterior renderings released.

I continue to monitor all temple updates and reports from the Newsroom and the Church News and will bring word of those to you all as I become aware of them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Anchorage Alaska Temple Location to Be Moved and Reconstructed; Current Temple Site Will Have Meetinghouse

Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned previously, the Church has established a home page on the Newsroom website to keep track of major temple news for 2023. That page was updated a short time ago with the latest development: the Anchorage Alaska Temple will be reconstructed. Let's dive right into the details:

First, the Church announced that the existing Anchorage Alaska Temple will remain in operation through the reconstruction of that temple. How will that work? The Church will demolish the existing meetinghouse adjacent to the temple, and a new 30,000-square-foot temple will be built on the former meetinghouse site at 3111 Brayton Drive, Anchorage, AK. Construction on the new temple is anticipated to begin early next year, and the Church is hoping to complete the new temple by the summer of 2026.

Once the new temple is dedicated, the existing 11,900-square-foot Anchorage Alaska Temple will be decommissioned and demolished to make way for a mew meetinghouse. I'd have to check, but I think that this is the first time ever that the Church has built a new larger temple while keeping the existing one in operation, then demolishing the existing one to make way for a new meetinghouse. 

I'd assume that the current plot on which the temple now stands is smaller than the plot occupied by the meetinghouse. It's also worth noting that this announcement wasn't anywhere on my radar. I had thought for sure we'd be getting an announcement of one or more temple dedications, groundbreakings, exterior renderings, or additional temple site locations confirmed. Clearly, I was wrong. But this is a most intriguing development, and I am grateful to have been able to find out about it and pass that along to you all. 

I continue to monitor all temple construction developments and Church News reports and will keep sharing those here as time and circumstances allow. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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

2022 Year-End Review of Temple Construction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Confirms Site Locations for 3 Temples; Releases Renderings for 4 Others

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS Part One: New Information Points to 20-30 Temples Opening in 2023

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

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

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

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

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

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced For Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To the best of my ability, I will continue to cover all such developments, in addition to all temple construction updates and Church news reports, and to pass along word of those to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I was grateful to have learned about this update and for being able to share this information with you now I am keeping my eyes open for any additional updates and will be sure to pass word of anything else along as I become aware of it. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

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