BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location Confirmed for the Tacoma Washington Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency officially confirmed the site location and details for the Tacoma Washington Temple. Let's break down this announcement. A multi-story temple of 45,000 square feet will rise on an 11.6-acre site at approximately 1405 South 364th Way, Federal Way, Washington. An accompanying utility building will also be included in that project. 

The temple, originally announced in October 2022, will be the fifth such edifice in Washington state. As a result of today's announcement, there are now 45 announced temples for which no official information has yet been announced.  I am grateful for this announcement. Stay tuned here for updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. 

I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates. 

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 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: San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple Open House Begins; Groundbreaking Held for the Wichita Kansas Temple; Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple

Hello again, everyone! The latest temple news was shared this afternoon. The Newsroom has covered the start of the public open house for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple, confirmed the groundbreaking for the Wichita Kansas Temple, and set the groundbreaking for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple. Since the first two updates speak for themselves, all that remains is to cover the groundbreaking for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple.

The groundbreaking will occur on Saturday, November 2, 2024, with Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, who serves as Second Counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency, presiding. Prior to today's announcement, the Tarawa Kiribati Temple was the temple for which its site had been confirmed for the longest period without a groundbreaking announcement being made. Given the fact that this groundbreaking was scheduled for just under two months from now, I think we will see other groundbreakings set to occur between now and then.

I also wanted to take a look at how this changes temple groundbreakings in 2023 vs. 2024. As you can see, there will be 12 groundbreakings (if nothing else is scheduled between now and then)  this year in roughly the same amount of time it took for the Church to have 8 groundbreakings last year. So that's significant.

I will just add here that I was a little surprised that there was no site announcement for the Tacoma Washington Temple as I had previously reported, so the information I received about that was clearly in error. I apologize if I misled anyone to believe something that didn't turn out to be true.  

Stay tuned here for updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates. 

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 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: Updates Provided on Cagayan de Oro Philippines, Vancouver Washington, and Tallahassee Florida Temples

Hello again, everyone! As I was reminded in this comment on Saturday, Monday's Labor Day observance in the United States meant Church headquarters was closed. Therefore, the usual Monday major temple construction announcement was pushed to today. The First Presidency today confirmed that the groundbreaking for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple took place as scheduled on Saturday.

Further, they released a rendering for the Vancouver Washington Temple, The first update speaks for itself. If any of you reading this update know more about temple architecture and design than I do, please feel free to make any comments you like about this newest rendering. It reminds me a lot of the Burley Idaho and Temples. I will restrict my own comments on that rendering to that observation.

Finally, a change was announced to the previously scheduled dedication of the Tallahassee Florida Temple. While the open house and dedication dates remain the same, the dedication will now consist of a single session at 10:00 AM EST rather than two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM EST. As I mentioned in my original report on the Tallahassee Florida Temple's dedicatory arrangements, the dedication in question comes on the same day as the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. 

While the previously announced arrangements wouldn't have allowed Elder Kearon to attend or speak at that devotional, the new arrangements might. Something I will definitely take into consideration when making my predictions for that devotional later this year. So, the only really "new" news was the updated arrangements for the Tallahassee dedication and the exterior rendering for Vancouver.

Since the finishing touches are still being added to the Antofagasta Chile Temple, I assume the earliest the temple could be dedicated is February or March of next year. I was also somewhat disappointed by the lack of temple groundbreaking announcements, more exterior renderings released, or site locations confirmed. Hopefully, those will come next week. I will also correct what I said elsewhere about there likely not being such an announcement next week since the Church will, at minimum, cover the media day for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple.

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

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 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: Casper Wyoming Temple Open House Commences; Dedication Arrangements Updated (2,400th Blog Post)

Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, the open house for the Casper Wyoming Temple has commenced. Elder Randall K. Bennett, North America Central Area President, Elder James R. Rasband, Assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department, and Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson were on hand to welcome guests.

Ordinarily, that update would not require a new post and a comment on my previous post would suffice. But with this media day being held, the dedication arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple have been updated. Previously scheduled to occur on October 13 in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM MDT, the dedication will now occur in one session at 10:00 AM MDT on Sunday, November 24. 

No reason was given for the adjustment to the dedication arrangements. But what this means is that the dedications of the Salvador Brazil and Deseret Peak Utah Temples will actually precede the dedication of the Casper Wyoming Temple. And this also means that the Deseret Peak Utah Temple will be the 200th dedicated temple of the Church rather than the Salvador Brazil Temple.

Since the open house commencement was reported during this 10:00 AM hour, I fully expect and believe that an additional major temple construction announcement will be made as usual during the 2:00 PM hour. I will have another breaking news report on that announcement as soon as possible after it is made. 

I also continue to monitor any and all other Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. With that in mind, while this post was being prepared for publication, the Church News also covered this update.

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

If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a comment I posted earlier today, I noted the open house commencing for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple and theorized that it would not be the only major temple construction announcement today. As it happens, I was correct. The First Presidency has confirmed the site location and preliminary information for the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple. Let's get right into the details:

As you might recall, the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple was announced by President Nelson last October. Unless I am mistaken, Tulsa is the first US temple originally announced at that time to have a site confirmed. At the northwest corner of a 25.7-acre site at 51st St. and 136th E Avenue, Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, the Church plans to build a single-story temple of approximately 29,600 square feet.

As a result of this update, the Church now has 105 announced temples, 5 of which have groundbreakings scheduled (with 3 of those groundbreakings set to take place this weekend). Of the remaining 100, sites have been confirmed for 54 others (with renderings having been released for 22 of those 54), and the remaining 46 lack official information.

Those numbers are getting better all the time. I am grateful for today's announcement and the opportunity to share it with you all here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Exterior Rendering Released and Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Wichita Kansas Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, in a First Presidency announcement, the groundbreaking arrangements and the exterior rendering have been released for the Wichita Kansas Temple. The Wichita Kansas Temple was originally announced in April 2022, with the site confirmed in June of last year. Ground will be broken for this 9,950-square foot single-story temple on Saturday, September 7, with Elder Steven R. Bangerter, who will begin serving as First Counselor in the North America Central Area Presidency one month prior, on August 1, presiding at that service.

I will let others more qualified than myself comment on this news as they may choose to do so. I would only add a couple of things: I have updated my side-by-side comparison of temple groundbreakings this year vs. last year and my document showing the announced temples for which no information has been officially confirmed yet. These latest updates indicate that the Church is on track to have a high number of temple groundbreakings occur this year. 

And if all of those with a groundbreaking scheduled can promptly begin construction thereafter, that, in turn, will increase the number of temples likely to be completed by sometime in 2028. So I look forward to any additional groundbreakings that might be announced over the next few weeks. It's also worth noting that we are probably a month or two minimum out before we get word of the next scheduled temple dedication(s). I think we are likely to see at least one temple dedication announced in the fall, with such announcements picking up as we hit winter here in Utah.

Stay tuned for more information, analysis, and discussion of all of these developments. For my part, I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Exterior Rendering Released and Groundbreaking Set for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple; Rendering Released for the Joao Pessoa Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! As July continues, I wasn't sure we'd get another major temple construction announcement, but I had hopes that we would. And those hopes were justified. Today, the First Presidency released a rendering and set a groundbreaking for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple and released a rendering for the Joao Pessoa Brazil Temple. The two renderings speak for themselves, and I will allow others more qualified than I am to comment on the renderings released today. 

So let's get right into the details of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: The groundbreaking will be held on August 31, 2024, with Elder Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr. presiding. Elder Revillo is the current Second Counselor in that area presidency, but by the time the groundbreaking is held, he will have been the new Area President for about a month. The Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple was originally announced in April 2018, with the site location confirmed on December 18, 2023. 

With this groundbreaking set, the number of temple groundbreakings set so far for 2024 now rises to a total of 10, well ahead of the 8 we saw last year. And with 4 more months left in the year, and with President Nelson encouraging the Special Projects Division to get moving on the queue of announced temples, I have no doubt we will continue to get other groundbreaking announcements this year. Just as a general note: most of the temples that have had groundbreakings recently are in the queue for completion sometime in 2027, which means many of those with a groundbreaking scheduled might be dedicated in 2028.

Having noted these things, I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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 the Tallahassee Florida Temple; Elder Patrick Kearon to Preside at First Temple Dedication

Hello again, everyone! Today, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for the Tallahassee Florida Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, October 28, with VIP tours for the following two days. The public open house will run from Monday, November 4-Saturday, November 23, excluding the Sundays of November 10 and 17. The temple dedication will follow in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM EST on Sunday, December 8 (the same date as the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional). 

But the intriguingly significant part of this announcement is that our newest apostle, Elder Patrick Keaorn, will preside at his first temple dedication. Oddly, the dedication will be held on the same day as the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. Still, considering that fact, it seems unlikely that Elder Kearon will represent the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in speaking at that devotional that evening. What does this mean for upcoming temple dedications? 

Barring anything unexpected, I anticipate that no other temples will be dedicated before the end of this year. Subsequent announcements may prove me wrong, but until then, I suspect that the Tallahassee Florida Temple will be the last one dedicated in 2024. That means that the beginning of 2025 will likely be swamped with temple dedications. I had estimated that this temple would be dedicated in mid-November, but I was also clearly wrong about that.

I am grateful for this announcement, and am glad I was right about us getting temple announcements in July. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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.

UPDATE: Second Quarter (and First Half) of 2024 Temple Construction Progress Review

Hello again, everyone! With the final day of June coming to its' official conclusion, and as we head into July, I am pleased to provide a look back at temple construction progress through the second quarter (and first half) of 2024. For this review, I have a link to what my temple construction progress report looked like on the first day of this year, a look at where things stood at the end of the first quarter of 2024, and where things now stand at the end of this second quarter (and first half) of 2024.

The Church continues to announce major temple updates almost every Monday, so there will be much more to come this year in terms of temple construction progress and updates. The big question is, as we head into July (which is the typical recess month for the Church's General Authorities), whether any such announcements will be forthcoming during the next month. We might still see announcements weekly, but it's also possible we might only get one or two if we get any at all. 

Whatever might happen in that regard, you can count on my covering it. I also continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Groundbreaking Held for the Riberao Preto Brazil Temple; Groundbreaking Set for the Santiago Chile West Temple; Site Location Announced for the Springfield Missouri Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today the First Presidency announced several major temple construction updates. They provided a summary of the groundbreaking for the Riberao Preto Brazil Temple. That part of the report speaks for itself. But they also announced a groundbreaking for the Santiago West Chile Temple and the site location and preliminary information for the Springfield Missouri Temple. Let's get into all the relevant details:

The Santiago West Chile Temple's original announcement occurred in October 2021. The site location was announced in December 2022. The exterior rendering of the temple was released in conjunction with the groundbreaking announcement. I will let others more qualified than I comment as they will on the exterior rendering. 

In the interim, the groundbreaking will take place on Saturday, August 17, the same day as the previously announced groundbreakings for the Londrina Brazil and Austin Texas Temples. It has been quite a while since more than two groundbreakings have been held on the same date. Elder Alan R. Walker, Second Counselor in the South America South Area presidency, will preside at this temple's groundbreaking. 

Additional details, including the official name of this temple, will be announced at a later date. This groundbreaking announcement indicates that the queue of announced temples is moving, albeit slowly, towards construction.

We now turn our attention to the details about the Springfield Missouri Temple. The temple, originally announced in April 2023, will rise on a portion of a 38-acre site located at 2720 East Farm Road #188, Springfield, Missouri. According to the news release, plans call for an approximately 29,000-square-foot temple.

I have heard through the grapevine that President Nelson is urging the Special Projects Division to move forward with greater urgency to secure the necessary approvals to build the many announced temples that are not progressing up the queue quickly enough. So I'm hopeful we'll have many more announcements of groundbreakings, exterior renderings, and site announcements in the days ahead.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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 Deseret Peak Utah Temple; Artistic Rendering Released for Wellington New Zealand Temple; Site Location and Prelminary Details Released for the Brussels Belgium Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the traditional Monday major temple construction announcement came half an hour later than I had anticipated. But what an announcement it was! Today, the First Presidency officially confirmed the opening arrangements for the Deseret Peak Utah Temple, shared the exterior rendering for the Wellington New Zealand Temple, and provided the site confirmation and preliminary details for the Brussels Belgium Temple. There's a lot to break down, so let's get right into the relevant details:

We start with the opening arrangements for the Deseret Peak Utah Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, September 23, with invited guests touring the temple the next two days. The public open house will occur from Thursday, September 26-Saturday, October 19, excluding Sunday, September 28, Saturday and Sunday, October 5-6 (General Conference weekend), and Sunday, October 13.

The Deseret Peak Utah Temple will then be dedicated on Sunday, November 10. The number of dedicatory sessions, their times, and the presiding apostle will be announced at a later date. That could indicate a hope that President Nelson might preside thereat, at which point he would be two months past his 100th birthday. But that is merely my own theory, based on how little information was released about this dedication today.

The Wellington New Zealand rendering as released today reflects the originally announced details released about this temple on November 28, 2022. Hopefully the release of this rendering puts this temple closer to a groundbreaking. How soon that might happen is not for me to say, but the Church has surprised us in the past, so it will be interesting to see Others more qualified than I can comment further on the details of this rendering as they choose to do so below.

That brings us to the new information released today about the Brussels Belgium Temple. According to today's release, "The temple will be built within an existing building at Ave des Arts 52, Brussels, Belgium. Plans call for a multistory temple of approximately 25,500 square feet, a meetinghouse, and arrival facilities. This will be the city’s first temple." The fact that temple facilities will be built within an existing building is surprising to me. But I look forward to seeing how all of that will work out.

As a result of today's update, 48 temples have no official information confirmed yet. Also, all but 1 of the temples originally announced in April 2021 have now had some official information announced. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Dedication Held for Coban Guatemala Temple; Groundbreaking Held for Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple; Groundbreaking Set for the Londrina Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today's major temple news pertains to 3 Latin American temples. The Coban Guatemala Temple was dedicated on Sunday by Elder Dale G. Renlund. The groundbreaking was held for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple on Saturday. Then today, the groundbreaking was announced for the Londrina Brazil Temple. The first two developments speak for themselves. 

So let's discuss the groundbreaking for the Londrina Brazil Temple. The Londrina Brazil Temple will have its' groundbreaking on August 17, the same date as the previously announced groundbreaking for the Austin Texas Temple. Since Londrina Brazil time is two hours ahead of the time in Austin Texas, it's possible that the Londrina groundbreaking will occur before Austin.

Elder Ciro Schmiel, First Counselor in the Brazil Area Presidency, will preside at the temple groundbreaking. This groundbreaking announcement follows the temple's October 2022 announcement, a site location released roughly 7 weeks later, and the artistic rendering released on January 8 of this year.

This news is a very good sign. It means that groundbreakings this year will officially outpace groundbreakings last year. Last year, we only had 8 groundbreakings, with the last one taking place on November 25. So this year, the 8 groundbreakings we will have so far will occur by August 17, with 3.5 months left in the year for additional groundbreakings.

Hopefully, other groundbreakings will be announced soon. For my part, I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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 Set for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple

Hello again, everyone! Because yesterday (Monday) was Memorial Day in the United States, the next major temple construction announcement was deferred to today. We received word of the opening arrangements for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple. Let's get right into those details:

A media day will be held for this temple on Monday, September 9, with invited guests touring the temple the following two days. Public tours will be offered between Thursday, September 12, and Saturday, September 28, 2024. Two dedicatory sessions will be held for the temple at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM CDT (Central Daylight Time), which is 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM MDT, on Sunday, October 13,  2024, under the direction of Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple dedication will be held on the same day as the previously announced dedication of the Casper Wyoming Temple and one week prior to the previously announced dedication of the Salvador Brazil Temple. Due to the fact that San Pedro Sula's first dedicatory session begins at 9:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time and Casper's first dedicatory session begins at 10:00 AM MDT, San Pedro Sula will be the first of the two dedicated on that date.

While there were no other major temple construction announcements today, I am grateful we at least got this announcement of the opening arrangements for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Groundbreaking Set for the Ribeirão Prêto Brazil Temple; Renderings Released for the Maceió Brazil and Huehuetenango Guatemala Temples

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced updates for 3 temples in Latin America. The updates include a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ribeirão Prêto Brazil Temple and the exterior renderings being released for the Maceió Brazil and Huehuetenango Guatemala Temples. Let's get right into the analysis of this news:

First, the groundbreaking of the Ribeirão Prêto Brazil Temple will take place on Saturday, June 22, 2024, under the direction of Elder Joni L. Koch, the Brazil Area President.  The temple was originally announced in October 2022. The site location was confirmed just one month later, and the exterior rendering for it was just released in January of this year. I was stunned but gratified to hear this announcement. 

This means the groundbreaking announced last week for the Austin Texas Temple will be at least the seventh groundbreaking held this year. And since we'll be reaching the milestone of the seventh 2024 groundbreaking by August 17, the final currently scheduled groundbreaking will be held two months ahead of the seventh groundbreaking held last year (the Fort Worth Texas Temple on October 28, 2023).

I think we will see other temple groundbreakings this year as well. And hopefully many of those will swiftly move to full-scale construction. Having said that, we now move on to the exterior renderings. The Maceió Brazil Temple was announced in April 2022, with the site location confirmed almost a year later. The rendering shows a very Brazilian temple. I will let others make more particular comments on this design if they wish to do so.

The Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple was also announced in October 2022, and its site was also confirmed in March 2023. That temple reminds me of other temples that have been built throughout Latin America. Again, I will defer to others to comment on these exterior renderings if they wish to, primarily because I have visual perception issues that make it harder for me to make distinctions or notice unique features.

With the release of these two renderings, hopefully groundbreakings won't be far behind. And I likewise hope for other temple groundbreakings to unexpectedly be announced. I now have new updates to make to other documents. I think we will see more site locations confirmed during the last two updates of this month. In the interim, it seems likely that any other dedication announcements will potentially be about a month out from today.

Whatever those updates might be for each Monday going forward, you can count on my bringing analysis thereof to you all here as quickly as I am able to make it happen. I likewise continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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 the Salvador Brazil Temple; Exterior Rendering Released and Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple; Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Austin Texas Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced the next major temple construction update. Today's announcement includes the opening arrangements for the Salvador Brazil Temple, the exterior rendering released and groundbreaking scheduled for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple, and a groundbreaking scheduled for the Austin Texas Temple. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's jump right in!

We start with the opening arrangements for the Salvador Brazil Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, August 19, followed by VIP tours the next two days. From Thursday, August 22-Saturday September 7 (except for the Sundays of August 25 and September 1). The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, October 20, with Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding at the two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM UTC (which, unless I am mistaken, is 3:00 AM and 6:30 AM MDT).

I will just note here that the Salvador Brazil Temple dedication comes after the previously announced dedication for the Casper Wyoming Temple, which suggests that no other temple might be dedicated before Casper, and I had hoped one or two other temple dedications would happen before that. I had heard through the grapevine that there were some bureaucratic issues that were delaying the announcement of opening arrangements for this temple, so I'm glad to hear that has been resolved.

I also seem to recall that Elder Andersen served in the presidency of whichever Brazil Area covered Salvador, so this is yet another example of President Nelson recognizing those connections and sending an apostle to a dedication that holds personal significance to them. As a result of today's announcement, I have updated my document showing apostolic temple dedication assignments.

We now move on. The site for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple site was announced on November 28, 2022. The exterior rendering of the temple largely speaks for itself. I will just note that I see a lot of Spanish architectural elements in the rendering, and with that, I will leave it to others more qualified than I am to comment on the specifics of the rendering. The groundbreaking for Bolivia's second temple will be held on June 8, 2024, with Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, the president of the South America Northwest Area, presiding. 

Given the size of the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple, I estimate that construction will take roughly 2 years to complete, give or take a few months. We now move on to the groundbreaking for the Austin Texas Temple. Previous reports suggested that that groundbreaking would occur in June. However, it is set to occur on Saturday, August 17, 2024, with Elder Michael A. Dunn, currently the Second Counselor in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, who is set to become the First Counselor in that presidency by the time the groundbreaking occurs.

I likewise project that the construction of the Austin Texas Temple will take roughly 2 years. I can't remember who it was at the moment, but I distinctly remember someone in General Conference urging us to pray for the approvals and construction of temples worldwide. That is something I would likewise strongly encourage from my readers. As a result of today's announcements, there are now 4 temples with scheduled groundbreakings, and I have a feeling more will follow.

The Church seems to have some pattern of alternating site announcements, exterior renderings, and groundbreaking announcements, but I am not sure what that pattern is. The announcements today have given me much to think about, and will necessitate more updates to the files of information that I keep. I will try to remember to link to those updated files here as those updates and adjustments are made.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Exterior Rendering Released for the Lethbridge Alberta Temple; Preliminary Information Released for the Des Moines Iowa and Cincinnati Ohio Temples

Hello again, everyone! Just before this 2:00 PM hour, the First Presidency released an exterior rendering for the Lethbridge Alberta Temple and the initial details for the Des Moines Iowa and Cincinnati Ohio Temples. There's a lot to get into, so let's dive right in! First, the site location for the Lethbridge Alberta Temple was announced on September 5, 2023. 

The exterior rendering for the Lethbridge temple, as released today, reminds me a bit of the Burley Idaho and Syracuse Utah Temples, but I will defer to others to share their observations about this newest exterior rendering. That brings us to the two newest site locations announced today. Both temples were just announced earlier this month in General Conference by President Russell M. Nelson. 

The Des Moines Iowa Temple will be a single-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet. The temple will rise on a 19.576-acre site at 9050 NW 62nd Avenue, Johnston, IA 50131.  I have mentioned this previously, but Iowa has a Mount Pisgah stake, and the Mount Pisgah name has significance in the pioneer history of the Church. Could the new temple be renamed the Mount Pisgah Iowa Temple? I think there may be more than an outside chance. 

As for the Cincinnati Ohio Temple, a 35-acre site located at the intersection of Mason-Montgomery Road & Cedar Village Drive, Mason, OH 45040 will be home to the single-story edifice, with the square footage estimated to be approximately 29,630. As a result of today's announcements, of the 109 announced temples, 2 have groundbreakings scheduled, an additional 58 have had site locations confirmed, and 49 lack official information. Of the 58 temples with site locations confirmed, 21 have also had exterior renderings released.

Once again, we didn't get any additional temple dedications or temple groundbreakings. But as today's updates clearly note, the Church is working through the approvals process for those 58 temples with site locations that have been confirmed, so at some point, groundbreakings will pick up. As for new dedications, not sure what is delaying an announcement on the Tallahassee Florida Temple. I was alerted to some bureaucratic issues impacting the Church's ability to announce the opening arrangements for the Salvador Brazil Temple, and the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple just barely had major construction completed.

I think each of these temples could have dedications announced in the next month or two, which would put their dedications likely in October/November. And other temples are also drawing closer to completion. At this point, I'm not too unduly concerned about the lack of dedication/groundbreaking announcements. I would prefer that the Church take their time to get everything done right rather than rushing to get temples to a groundbreaking or dedication and run into problems as a result. I will be sure to monitor any updates I get on any of this on my end and will pass them along to you all here ASAP.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: New Location Announced for the Tampa Florida Temple; Site Locations and Preliminary Information Released for the West Jordan and Lehi Utah Temples

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency announced the relocation of the Tampa Florida Temple and the site locations for the West Jordan Utah and Lehi Utah Temples. There's a lot to get to, so let's jump right in! 

The site location for the Tampa Florida Temple was originally announced in late October 2022. No reason was given for the relocation, but hopefully approvals will be easier to get on the new location. The single-story edifice of approximately 29,000 square feet will now rise on a 12-acre site at 9445 Camden Fields Parkway, Riverview, Florida. 

The announcements of site locations for the two newest Utah temples caught me off guard a little, as I didn't anticipate them so soon since those temples were just barely announced earlier this month in General Conference. But I am pleased to report that the Lehi Utah Temple will rise a short distance from where I currently live.  The multi-story temple of approximately 85,000 square feet will rise on a 22.48-acre site northwest of the intersection of 3950 North and Center Street in Lehi. 

A meetinghouse will also be built at that location.  The West Jordan Utah Temple will have the exact same square footage and multistory as the Lehi Utah Temple (the two might even be twins). The project will also include a meetinghouse. Both the temple and meetinghouse will rise on a 16.10-acre site at approximately 7148 South and west of Highway 111. 

The fresh-out-of-the-gate announcement of the site locations for the two newest Utah temples may suggest that the Church is already beginning to secure approvals for those temples. If that is the case, hopefully, exterior renderings and groundbreaking announcements can follow shortly. Likewise, hopefully the decision to relocate the Tampa Florida Temple (whatever might have been behind it) will enable approvals to be expedited for that temple.

As a result of today's announcement, I have updated my document showing announced temples for which no information has been officially confirmed yet. Of the 109 announced temples, 51 lack any official information. Given how many temple sites the Church has been able to confirm this year alone, I'm sure other site location confirmations are pending.  While I was working on getting this report ready for publication, the Church News also covered this update. 

I am grateful for this news and to have been able to share it with you all. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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 & APOSTOLIC NEWS: President Nelson Rededicates the Manti Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! We have breaking temple and apostolic news this evening: after previously announcing earlier this month that Elder Ronald A. Rasband would preside at the single-session evening rededication of the Manti Utah Temple, the official report on that dedication has noted that our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, actually did so. This is a stunning and welcome development, which hopefully indicates President Nelson's recovery from his back injury is progressing well.

This dedication was personal for both President Nelson and Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who accompanied the prophet. Both apostles have family ties to the Manti area. But for me, it does beg the question: what, if anything, does this indicate about the health of our prophet? To me, it's a positive sign that President Nelson's recovery from his back injury is progressing well. And it may be an indicator that he will be able to gradually resume a normal apostolic ministry.

What will that look like? My gut instinct is to say that President Nelson will allow the other apostles to continue to preside at most temple dedications, and I believe that he and his counselors will also continue to have the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conduct three of the five sessions of General Conference. But hopefully, it means our prophet may be able to be out among the people more, at least here in the state of Utah.

Whatever this might mean for the future, you can count on my covering it here. In the meantime, I testify to the fact that President Nelson's participation in today's rededication is a clear fulfillment of the promise of the oath and covenant of the priesthood that President Nelson has indeed been "sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewal of [his body]."

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: Groundbreaking Set for the Cleveland Ohio Temple; Opening Arrangements Set for the Mendoza Argentina and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temples; Site Location Confirmed for the Kananga Democrtaic Republic of the Congo Temple

Note: This post was composed during the 5:00 PM hour due to my appointment with the eye doctor, but is timestamped during the 2:00 PM hour as it would have normally been. My thanks once again to you all.

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency made the next significant temple construction announcement. We received word of the groundbreaking date for the Cleveland Ohio Temple, the opening arrangements for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Mendoza Argentina Temples, and the initial details for the Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. There's a lot to get into, so let's dive in:

We start with the groundbreaking for the Cleveland Ohio Temple because it is taking place before either of the two temple dedications announced today. The groundbreaking is scheduled to take place on June 1, the same date as the previously announced groundbreaking for the Teton River Idaho Temple. Because Ohio is two hours ahead of Idaho, the Cleveland groundbreaking will likely occur first. Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, who serves as First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area of the Church, will preside at the groundbreaking for Ohio's newest temple.

We now move on to the two dedications announced today. Contrary to what I had supposed and predicted, both dedications will occur prior to the previously announced dedication of the Casper Wyoming Temple. For the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple, a media day will be held on Monday, August 12, with VIP tours following the next two days. The public open house will follow from Friday, August 16 through Saturday, August 31. The temple dedication, under the direction of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will take place in two sessions on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM EDT (8:00 AM and 11:30 AM MDT)

For the Mendoza Argentina Temple, a media day will be held on Monday, August 19, with tours for invited guests for the next two days.  A public open house will occur from Thursday, August 22, through Saturday, September 7, except for the Sundays of August 24 and September 1. The temple dedication, under the direction of Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will take place in two sessions on Sunday, September 22, 2024, at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM UTC (which, unless I'm mistaken, is 3:00 AM and 6:30 AM MDT).

Finally, we turn to the information released about the Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. The temple, which will be a single-story edifice of approximately 11,000 square feet, will rise on a 1.6-acre site at Avenue Ilunga and N1 in Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and will also include arrival facilities and patron housing. As a result of today's announcements, I have updated my documents showing apostolic temple dedications under President Nelson and the document showing the now 53 temples for which no official information has been announced.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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: President Nelson Announces 15 New Temples To Conclude the April 2024 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! During the final minutes of the April 2024 General Conference, President Nelson announced 15 new temples to be built in the following locations: Uturoa French Polynesia; Chihuahua, Mexico; Florianópolis Brazil; Rosario, Argentina; Edinburgh Scotland; Brisbane Australia South Area; Victoria British Columbia; Yuma Arizona;  Houston Texas South Area; Des Moines Iowa; Cincinnati Ohio; Honolulu Hawaii; West Jordan Utah; Lehi Utah; and Maracaibo Venezuela.

I had the following exact locations correct: Chihuahua Mexico; Florianopolis Brazil; Rosario Argentina; Edinburgh Scotland; Victoria British Columbia; Des Moines Iowa; Cincinattti Ohio; Honolulu Hawaii; West Jordan and Lehi Utah; and Maracaibo Venezuela. I had projected Bora Bora Tahiti, which is just an airplane ride away, so I'll count myself half-right on that. I was also half-right, as I was expecting an Arizona Temple, but not in Yuma. And I wasn't expecting a second Brisbane or Houston temple.

So 11 correct down to the exact location, 2 half-right, and 2 that I wasn't anticipating. I'm apparently getting better at my projected guesses. This brings the total number of temples to an even 350. I will have updated copies of my documents available in the comments section as I can get those updates made. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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.