BREAKING NEWS: Europe East Area Presidency Changes

A comment on my blog tipped me off to the information I had been seeking about what changes had taken place with the Europe East Area Presidency as a result of the release in early December and subsequent death of Elder Bruce D. Porter. As I had expected, Elder James B. Martino, who served as Elder Porter's First Counselor, succeeded him as the new area president. Elder Larry S. Kacher, Elder Porter's second counselor, is the new First Counselor. But what blew me away is that the new second counselor is an Area Seventy, Alexey V. Samaykin. As I observed in response to the comment that shared this news, I am not sure of how long it has been since we last had an area seventy serve as an area presidency member. In the days of President Hinckley, it was not that uncommon to have several Area Presidencies comprised either mostly or entirely of area seventies But that role has shifted again of late to General Authority seventies, presumably enabling  area seventies to focus more fully on their local occupations and Church service. I know that when an area seventy has served in recent years as an area presidency member, it is almost always a temporary assignment, lasting only until the annual area presidency changes happen in August. I fully anticipate the same being true for the assignment of Elder Samaykin. But time will tell. In the meantime, I am grateful to have learned of this and to have now been able to report it after waiting so long to do so. I welcome any feedback. Wonderful news!

Land has been purchased for a temple site in Missoula Montana

Hello.  I am doing this blog post to share that land has been purchased in Missoula Montana for  a temple. I have before mentioned in other blog posts how such a temple had been proposed in 2014 by Elder David A. Bednar during his assignment to a stake conference in the area. Missoula now joins three other locations that I know of in the world where land for a temple site has been purchased: Managua Nicaragua, Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, and Bentonville Arkansas. The report of the land purchase in Missoula has come from an unimpeachable source. And I know that some will argue that the purchasing of a temple site is in no way a solid indicator of how imminent a temple announcement might be for that site. But I disagree. Someone else, who has no small familiarity on the matter, has advised me that such sites will have a temple announced when Church unit growth and activity in the area such a temple would cover warrants that happening. So I have no doubts that we will see all of those temples announced soon, and that is why those four sites are at the top of my list of most imminent future temple announcements. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this developments. Thank you.

Churchwide Change in Calling Title/Elder Stevenson Visits South America

Due to some personal issues, now is my first opportunity to blog about two major Church news stories that I first became aware of a day or two ago when they were first published.

First, the Church officially announced a change in the title of a calling. Those presently referred to as "Family History Consultants" will now work under the designated expanded title of "Temple and Family History Consultants". The intent is that such consultants will be focused on working with the end goal of enabling people to take names to the temple. It has been a long time in coming, but the change is most welcome and definitely needed. As one who has previously served as a Family History Consultant, my main job was to help those members of my Elders' Quorum prepare and take names of their ancestors to the temple. The change was announced during the Family History Leadership Session at RootsTech, the annual family history gathering held by the Church. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was the one who made the announcement. That was exciting to read about. Click here to read more on the change.

In the meantime, those who read my post about the apostles asked to represent the Church at the inauguration of now-President Donald Trump (got to get used to saying that, however much I hate to) will recall that one of them, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, departed directly after the inauguration to fill another assignment, an extensive visit to South America. The Church News ran a report on that visit. Click here to read about what he did during that visit. His experience there, returning as an apostle to a place he had visited as Presiding Bishop, was significant. And based on the Church News report, there is even more evidence than before that this particular apostle could truly claim international experience. If more evidence was needed that our apostles truly are apostles to the world, there it is.

Thanks for reading this, and, if you feel so inclined, commeting on it. I hope to do several blog posts this weekend, including a long-overdue report of the Seminar for New Mission Presidents. With everything that has happened in my personal life lately (which I hope I will share in another blog post), I somehow overlooked getting that taken care of sooner. So I will make it happen this weekend. Thanks again.

Church Loses Another Emeritus General Authority

A comment on my blog reminded me that I had forgotten to report on the death of another emeritus General Authority, Elder Rulon G. Craven. He died on Friday at the age of 92. He actively served for the six years spanning 1990-1996. Funeral arrangements are still pending. To read the Church News article published in tribute of his life, click here. Though I was still a toddler when he was called and a preteen at the time of his release, I  have some memories of having heard his name before, though I can't say how or why that is. Elder Craven gave two remarkable addresses in his years as an active General Authority. Click here to read those talks.

Another great one in the kingdom has fallen. He will be missed. Funeral arrangements are still pending.

Thanks to you all for your readership, interst, and support.

Yet Another Temple Construction Progress Report Update

Given the fact that my last temple construction progress report was just yesterday, and given the fact that there has not been all that much to note in that progress, I thought today would be one where I did not post an update on that subject. However, while not much has changed with temples under construction, there has been a slight alteration in the way announced temples are listed on the LDS Church Temples site. All of them, no matter how close to a groundbreaking they might be, have now been termed to be in planning and approval. In light of that change in wording, I have felt it wise to downgrade the order of the Urdaneta Philippines temple. Doing so made a lot of sense in view of the fact that any other temple now announced might potentially have a groundbreaking announced and done well before anything is resolved in terms of the factors affecting what is causing the construction to be stalled. Let me know in the comments below if you disagree on that point. That said, here's the new report:

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 2/7/17)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 groundbreakings scheduled; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: In addition to the two groundbreakings already scheduled this year, the chances are very good that we will see several others also have a groundbreaking in 2017.

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Interior artwork being shipped for hanging inside the temple; dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.

157. Tucson Arizona Temple: Exterior architectural details gilded; installation of interior art glass and millwork nearing completion; president’s home undergoing renovation; dedication scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Interior painting and millwork underway; dedication scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.

159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Installing art glass windows; hanging drywall on interior; dedication scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.

Under Construction:

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.

161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Applying waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; setting rebar; roughing in plumbing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.

162.  Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Concrete walls poured for steeple; attaching waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.

163. Concepcion Chile Temple: Exterior cladding going up on north wall; framing the interior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Applying waterproof mastic to temple foundation; pouring exterior walls for missionary housing building; staking site for ancillary buildings; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

165. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Setting concrete forms for parapet walls; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

166.  Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation underway for temple; structural framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

Construction pending:

167. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019 (assuming the delays that may be preventing construction are sufficiently resolved.)

Groundbreaking Scheduled:

168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking; environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.

169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking; Erecting construction barrier; clearing and leveling site; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.

Rededication Scheduled:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededicatiemon scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and-mid 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and mid-2018.

Announced:

170. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval; official site announcement anticipated in 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.

171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: The LDS Church Temple website indicates that a potential site has been identified, though it has yet to be officially verified.

172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: As the above-mentioned website indicates for this temple, while no official temple site has been announced, there may be a possibility that a Church office building may be repurposed to function as a temple, meetinghouse, and office building under one roof, in a similar fashion to those temples in Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York. This is most likely to be confirmed sooner rather than later.

173. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement. 177. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.

Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress report. 

First Presidency Announces BYU-Pathway Worldwide/New President Announced for BYU-Idaho

In a huge windfall announcement affecting people seeking higher education around the world, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, represented Church leadership in a press conference that focused on the creation of a program called BYU-Pathway Worldwide. An online option meant to more fully assist those students worldwide that are seeking to complete their higher education, this new program will be based out of the Church's worldwide headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. This program, which is considered to be another branch of the Church's higher educational institutions, will initially be overseen by President Clark Gilbert, the man who, until today's announcement, had been serving as president of BYU-Idaho. This of course made necessary the calling and assignment of a new president for BYU-Idaho. And for that position, the Church has selected none other that renowned and well respected educator, who also uniquely happens to be the son of President Henry B. Eyring, Henry J. Eyring.

In annoucing the BYU-Pathway Worldwide Program, President Uchtdorf was accompanied at the press conference by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Kim B. Clark, the commissioner of Church education. In the meantime, Elder Oaks also traveled to BYU-Idaho to make the announcement of the new president for BYU-Idaho. In his service as president, Henry J. will follow in the footsteps of his own father, who presided over the institution while it was still known as Rick College. The new President Eyring has for years been a fixture at the university as an academic vice president.

That said, I am sure that there will be more than a few who will make the argument that the appointment of Henry J. smacks of nepotism, and was influence or encouraged by his own father. But I'm sure in this, Henry B. would speak out to debunk those rumors, and, the the spirit of the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley as he responded to such concerns in speaking of his son's call as al general authority, would make no bones about the fact that he (Henry B.) did not advance his (Henry J.)'s name for that position, that he recused himself from participating, and that this call has come to Henry J. because he had a wonderful mother, not that he could recommend his father. I am sure that this decision had more to do with Henry J.'s scholastic achievements and contribution to the institution over which he will now preside than it has to do with any motivation on Henry B.'s part to see his son ascend to that position. Any other theory is ridiculous, unwarranted, and absolutely untrue.

That said, more information may be desired by my readers about this program and about the new president of BYU-Idaho. After I had heard the new program mentioned on the noon news locally, along with the promise that a new president would be announced later today for BYU-Idaho, I had to go to work. So this is my first chance to really read about both developments.

For that reason, to benefit any who might want to know more in either regard, I post links to this article (which focuses on the new BYU-Pathway Worldwide Program) and this article (discussing the appointment of President Henry J. Eyring.) Enjoy!

Any thoughts and feedback are welcome and appreciated. Thanks to you all for your kind attention to important developments like this.

Promised Updated Timeline by Which Future Temple-related Events Might Be Announced and Scheduled

And here I am yet again with the third post I promised. Just within the last 15 hours or so, I have had several reasons to want to update, refine, and retune my best guess estimates and predictions for when temple-related events might be announced and scheduled to take place. I will try to move as quickly as possible. As with other recent updates of this sort that I have done, please bear in mind that I will not be restating what has developed in terms of temple construction progress milestones. Those have been explored in the previous post or two.

That said, as you are all aware, the next temple-related events will be the already scheduled groundbreaking in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and the newly announced groundbreaking in Arequipa Peru on March 4. The Arequipa groundbreaking will be done by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa, the most senior General Authority Seventy who has served for almost six years as president of the Church’s Brazil Area. Presiding at the groundbreaking for the Arequipa Peru Temple will be Elder Carlos A. Godoy, who presides over the South America Northwest Area of the Church.

It is so wonderful to have learned that these events will be held the same day. Not since October 17 of 2015 have we had two temples that have had a groundbreaking on the same day. On that day, ground was broken for the Tucson Arizona and Concepcion Chile Temples. So it is a very rare thing to have another two groundbreakings take place within a very short period of time.

I could also see the Church making a site announcement and subsequently holding a groundbreaking perhaps before the dedication of the Paris France temple on May 21. In addition to that dedication, we also have the rededication on June 4 for the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. It will be amazing to see those events happen. As I have previously stated, I am especially excited to see the dedication of France’s first temple.

And in speaking in terms of future temple-related events, we cannot forget the other already scheduled dedications in Tucson Arizona on August 13, in Meridian Idaho on Sunday November 19, and in Cedar City Utah on December 10.

The next temples that could be dedicated or rededicated any time after that are Jordan River, Rome, Kinshasa, and Freiberg. When might those happen? I am more convinced than ever that we could see an official announcement for these milestones within the latter part of this year. I still believe that the Jordan River temple will likely be rededicated in mid-January, with the Rome and Kinshasa dedications to follow in late February and early March respectively, and the rededication in Freiberg to take place in late March or within the first two weeks following General Conference weekend in April.

Given the progress that has taken place in Barranquilla, that temple has now jumped ahead of so many others, and it is most likely that we could hear of the announcement of that dedication by sometime in March or April, with the dedication itself perhaps taking place in June. If not in June, then it could be pushed back to August.

I could see the temples in Concepcion and Durban being finished by the time fall starts in 2018. The dedications themselves could take place for mid-November (Concepcion) and early December (for Durban).

I could see the temples in Fortaleza and Lisbon having their construction completed by the final months of 2018, with their dedications to follow in the early months of 2019 (certainly by no later than March). The temple in Winnipeg, which has not progressed beyond the groundbreaking that took place in December of last year, but it is being built to initially serve just one stake. So I could see that temple being completed and having a dedication announced within the first few months of 2019, with the dedication itself to follow sometime in May of 2019.

In the meantime, depending on what develops in terms of the construction of the temples in Rio, Arequipa, and Harare, I could see all of them perhaps being finished by the end of June of 2019, and the dedications to follow perhaps in August (for Rio), September (for Arequipa) and late November or early December (for Harare).

What these changes mean, as I have stated before, is that the Church will add 4 new operating temples and have one rededication by the end of 2017, and five other dedications and the remaining two renovations completed in 2018. It is not likely that the Church will run out of temples to renovate anytime soon. If any of you have any theories regarding this subject, please let me know. And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some of the more recent temples were also scheduled for renovation.

One thing is certain: Any backlog that might have previously existed is now increases the likelihood that many more temples could be announced within the next two years. The exact number of those announcements remains to be seen, though I have given my thoughts regarding the most likely and most imminent picks.

Future groundbreakings may be more unpredictable to anticipate than I originally thought. I look at the groundbreaking in Winnipeg, and it happened much faster than usual. And with the way things unfolded in Rio and Arequipa, things happened very quickly there. As I have before observed as well, if construction begins in Harare anytime soon, it would make that temple historically significant in so very many ways.

I will say that I could see the next groundbreaking taking place for the first Haitian temple in Port-au-Prince. I have no reason to back this up. It’s just how I feel, and we could have the site announcement and the groundbreaking by or before the end of this year. We could also see the temples in Bangkok and Abidjan have its construction commence before the end of this year.

Without knowing how long the currently reported delays in Urdaneta might last, I  would certainly hope that they might be cleared up sufficiently by 2019, in addition to the other three that were announced last year.

I’m also very sure that many more temples could be announced within the next couple of years and have construction started as the Lord permits. I am very much looking forward to future events.

I continue to very much appreciate the feedback I get on things I post about here. Any and all comments on this new post are welcome. I look forward to the ongoing discussion of this important subject. Thanks!

Updated Estimated Time Frame for the Completion of Under Construction Temples/Temple Construction Progress Report and List of Upcoming Temple-related Events Updates

Here I am as promised with the second post I mentioned. This one will share the updated time frames in which under construction temples might be completed, and my updated temple construction progress report and list of upcoming temple-related events. Let's continue right where we left off. With today's announcement, I had enough of a reason to update my temple construction progress report, but the need to do so became increasingly more significant because of some developments in terms of the timelines by which under construction temples might be completed. 

Just as a demonstration of what has changed in that regard, I will give you the previous order of under construction temples, followed by the present one.Earlier today (as recently as 15 hours ago), under construction temples had been anticipated to be completed in the following order (the estimated time frame of that completion follows, as parenthetical expressions, the name of each temple): Rome Italy and Kinshasa DR Congo (both in early-to-mid 2018); Concepcion Chile and Durban South Africa (both in mid-2018); Barranquilla Colombia and Winnipeg Manitoba (both in late 2018 or early 2019); Fortaleza Brazil and Lisbon Portugal (sometime in 2019). 

With the changes implemented today, the order and timetables have changed to be listed as follows: Rome and Kinshasa (early-to-mid 2018); Barranquilla Colombia (the one and only one projected to be completed in mid-2018); Concepcion nd Durban (mid-to-late 2018); Fortaleza, Lisbon, and Winnipeg (sometime in 2019). So what do those changes mean in terms of reported temple construction progress? Let's take a look at the updates I have done on my report, which I last updated about 15 hours ago. That just shows how quickly things can change.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 2/6/17)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 groundbreakings scheduled; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: In addition to the two groundbreakings already scheduled this year, the chances are very good that we will see several others also have a groundbreaking in 2017.

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Interior artwork being shipped for hanging inside the temple; dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.

157. Tucson Arizona Temple: Exterior architectural details gilded; installation of interior art glass and millwork nearing completion; president’s home undergoing renovation; dedication scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Interior painting and millwork underway; dedication scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.

159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Installing art glass windows; hanging drywall on interior; dedication scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.

Under Construction:

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.

161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Applying waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; setting rebar; roughing in plumbing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.

162.  Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Concrete walls poured for steeple; attaching waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.

163. Concepcion Chile Temple: Exterior cladding going up on north wall; framing the interior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Applying waterproof mastic to temple foundation; pouring exterior walls for missionary housing building; staking site for ancillary buildings; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.

165. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Setting concrete forms for parapet walls; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

166.  Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation underway for temple; structural framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

167. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

Groundbreaking Scheduled:

168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking; environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.

169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Erecting construction barrier; clearing and leveling site; preparing for groundbreaking ceremony, which is scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.

Rededication Scheduled:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededicatiemon scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and-mid 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and mid-2018.

Announced:

170. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement anticipated in 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.

171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: The LDS Church Temple website indicates that a potential site has been identified, though it has yet to be officially verified.

172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: As the above-mentioned website indicates for this temple, while no official temple site has been announced, there may be a possibility that a Church office building may be repurposed to function as a temple, meetinghouse, and office building under one roof, in a similar fashion to those temples in Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York. This is most likely to be confirmed sooner rather than later.

173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.

Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress report.

And of course, the announced groundbreaking for the temple in Arequipa Peru naturally has affected the list of upcoming temple-related events and what the status of temple construction will be after each subsequent event. I will post that in just a minute. But I just wanted to thank you all first for reading this post and (if you feel so inclined) commenting on it. You are the reason I can do what I do to any degree of success I have been able to do it. 

In fact, it just so happened that one such comment in response to an earlier post I had done was how I first found out about this upcoming groundbreaking. I appreciate such comments and the insights that are being shared. Once I have a chance to do so, whether that happens tonight or tomorrow or a day or two after, I hope to be able to revisit my predictions for when future temple-related events might be announced and scheduled to take place. Stay tuned for that. That said, here is the list of upcoming events.

Upcoming Temple Events (Text in parentheses indicates what the status of temples will be following the event listed):

2017

1. Saturday March 4—Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Arequipa Peru Temple Groundbreakings (155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 10 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)

NOTE: According to the LDS Church Temples website, Elder Claudio R. M. Costa, who serves as President of the Brazil Area of the Church, has been asked to preside at the groundbreaking in Rio. It is a pretty safe bet that his counselors in the area presidency, Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis and Elder W. Mark Bassett, will also be in attendance along with Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who serves as Executive Director of the Church’s Temple Department. However, assignments to preside at groundbreakings have been known to change as needed. For what it’s worth, when the 10:00 am groundbreaking takes place in Rio, it will be 5:00 am MST. As for the groundbreaking in Arequipa, that will be presided over by Elder Carlos A. Godoy, President of the South America Northwest Area, and it is more than likely that his counselors in the area presidency, Elder Enrique R. Falabella and Elder Hugo Montoya. It is very possible that the groundbreaking in Peru will be held at 10:00 am Peruvian time, which would be 8:00 am MST. It is very possible that Elder Wilson could be in attendance at both groundbreakings, with just enough time to hop on a plane to switch locations in between.

2. Sunday May 21—Paris France Temple Dedication (156 operating; 3 scheduled for dedication; 9 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)

NOTE: As to who might be asked to preside at this dedication, previous precedent indicates it may be any member of the First Presidency (with my vote going to President Uchtdorf, as he is a European native) or any of the apostles.

3. Sunday June 4—Idaho Falls Idaho Temple Rededication (156 operating; 3 scheduled for dedication; 9 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)

NOTE: Since the health of the brethren remains unclear, it is anyone’s guess who might be asked to preside at this dedication. I could see three possibilities at this point: President Henry B. Eyring, a former Ricks College president; Elder David A. Bednar, a former BYU-Idaho president; or Elder Neil L. Andersen, who is an Idaho native that has personal ties to the area.

4. Sunday August 13—Tucson Arizona Temple Dedication (157 operating; 2 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)

NOTE: The question of who might preside at this dedication may not be easy to resolve. Both President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf have accompanied President Monson to previous dedications in Arizona, with the question of who may have actually presided at the most recent one in Gilbert still being largely unresolved. Technically, since President Monson was present for at least one of the sessions, and since all three were under his direction, he presided there. However, with that said, it appears that President Eyring was the one who read the dedicatory prayer in the first session, opening the argument that he was the one to preside. For a similar anomalous situation, I cite the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple, where Elder Dallin H. Oaks was listed as presiding even though President Russell M. Nelson was present at the final session, which made him the presiding authority. If President Eyring does preside at the previous dedication, it is not unlikely that President Uchtdorf will be asked to represent the Church at this dedication, especially considering that President Eyring, an Idaho native, will most likely be the one to preside at the next dedication in Meridian. Also, the choice of President Uchtdorf makes even more sense when remembering that he was the one who presided at the groundbreaking in 2015. It is also not impossible to believe that Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy, who oversees the North America Southwest Area of the Church, under which Arizona falls.

5. Sunday November 19—Meridian Idaho Temple Dedication (158 operating; 1 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 9 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)

NOTE: If President Uchtdorf is asked to preside at the previous dedication, and given the fact that President Eyring is an Idaho native, it would make sense if he (President Eyring) is asked to preside at this one. Another choice could be Elder David A. Bednar, who presided at the groundbreaking for the temple and was asked to preside at the dedication of the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, due to his wife’s personal connection to the area. Yet another option would be Elder Neil L. Andersen, who is an Idaho native. But the Church has never tapped such a junior apostle to preside at a temple dedication. It is not out of the question, however. It is also reasonable to believe that Elder Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy, who oversees the Church’s Idaho Area, will be in attendance as well.

6. Sunday December 10—Cedar City Utah Temple Dedication (159 operating; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)

NOTE: If President Eyring is asked to preside at the previous dedication, it would make sense if President Uchtdorf is asked to preside at this one. That said, it would not surprise me either in any way if Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a St. George native, is assigned to officiate at this dedication. After all, for all intents and purposes, the two are essentially neighboring cities, and it is not at all unprecedented for a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve to officiate at a temple dedication. Whoever does preside, it is a near certainty that multiple apostles may be in attendance, as has been the usual custom for temple dedications in Utah. It is not unreasonable to also believe that Elder L. Whitney Clayton, who is the Senior President of the Seventy and who presided at this dedication, will be in attendance, along with Elder Craig C. Christensen, another member of the Presidency of the Seventy, who currently has supervisory responsibilities for the Utah South Area, within which the temple has been built.

FINAL NOTE: A site announcement is anticipated at some point during the early part of this year for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple, with a groundbreaking to follow at the temple site within 4-6 weeks afterward. Additionally, there is a possibility that we may have any number of additional temple groundbreakings sometime during 2017. I will keep my eye out for such developments and share those as I learn of them.

Arequipa Peru Temple Groundbreaking Set

Though I learned of this news early this morning, this is my very first chance to post about it. The Arequipa Peru Temple groundbreaking was announced this morning. The groundbreaking, which is set for Saturday March 4, the exact same day as the previously announced groundbreaking for the Rio de Janeiro Temple. This was most wonderful news to hear. I couldn't be more elated. Within just the first third of this year, we will have had two groundbreakings. And I am still searching for any news relating to a site announcement and subsequent groundbreaking for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. Among the many comments responding to posts on the LDS Church Growth blog recently, there had been an image circulating around which some were speculating was an official artist's rendering of the Harare temple. But it turned out that the image in question was actually that of the existing temple in Accra Ghana.

In terms of today's announcement of the groundbreaking for Peru's third temple, it has been reported that Elder Carlos A. Godoy, who presides over the Church's South America Northwest Area, has been asked to preside. It is assumed that his counselors in the area presidency, Elders Enrique R. Falabella and Hugo Montoya, will also be in attendance. What is not clear as of yet is whether or not Elder Larry Y. Wilson, the Executive Director of the Church's Temple Department, or one of his assistant executive directors, might also be in attendance. It seems probable, but anyone else's guess in that regard might be better than mine. I for one wouldn't be surprised if Elder Wilson or one of his assistants were in attendance at both events. I was curious, so I did the time conversion. Given the fact that the Rio de Janeiro Temple groundbreaking is set to take place at 10 am Brazilian time (which is 5:00 am MST), and assuming that the Arequipa groundbreaking will take place at 10 am Peruvian ,time (which is 8:00 am MST; note that the Rio groundbreaking ceremony time has been explicitly stated and set, and it does not seem that this applies to Arjequpa, where no time has been officially verified), it is extremely possible that the groundbreaking ceremonies, which may be held roughly three hours apart and could thus be attended by the same representative from the Temple Department.

I don't want to make this post too extensive, so I will be following this one up with another couple of them, the first talking about the change in potential completion timetables for under construction temples and sharing my updated temple construction progress report and list of updcoming temple-related events, and the second (coming either tonight, tomorrow, or before too much logner than than) revisiting my estimated timeline for future temple-related events. Stay tuned for those updates as I am able to get them written and posted. In the meantime, comments and feedback of any kind are always welcome and most appreciated. Thanks.

Newest Edition of When Future Temple-related Events Might be Announced and Scheduled to Take Place

Hello. Given new information that has come to light recently, I have felt it would be appropriate to revisit my projects for when future temple-related events might be announced and take place. Though my last such update was only 12 days ago, between all that has happened on this front, it seems like a great idea.

As mentioned, the next temple-related event will be the announced groundbreaking in Rio de Janeiro Brazil on March 4. That groundbreaking will be done by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa, the most senior General Authority Seventy who has served for almost six years as president of the Church’s Brazil Area. That said, we may see the timeframe for the Rio temple completion follow roughly the same timetable by which the Winnipeg Temple is being built. They do seem to be roughly the same size. I will speak more on the potential completion date for this temple a little later.

I am equally certain that we could also see a groundbreaking for the Arequipa Peru temple taking place before the dedication of the Paris France Temple on May 20. We might also have a site announcement and subsequently a groundbreaking announced and done before too much longer as well. I will go into more specifics on this later.

In addition to the Paris France dedication on May 20, we also have the rededication on June 4 for the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. It will be amazing to see those events happen. I am especially excited for the Paris temple dedication for the reasons I have before explained: my lifelong love of the French language, and my elation at being able to study it for three years in high school.

I had projected that a dedication for the Tucson Arizona temple might take place in early August. As we all know, that has been scheduled for the second Sunday in August, the 13 to be exact. So that is exciting. And, as we know, the scheduled open house conclusion proceeds the actual dedication by about two months, so that it does not in any way disrupt the annual July recess of the Church leadership.

It is interesting to note that while everyone had seemed to indicate that the announced dedications in Meridian and Cedar City were most likely to happen by early fall of this year, which is still late in the year. However, we were all pleasantly surprised, I am sure, to find that the Meridian dedication is being scheduled for Sunday November 19, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In the meantime, the Cedar City Utah dedication has been slated to take place one week following the day Elder Holland will celebrate his 77^th birthday.

Now that we have confirmation that the Jordan River Utah Temple renovation process will not be completed until next year, and since we have three temples in addition to that (Rome Italy, Kinshasa DR Congo, and Freiberg Germany), I think it is safe to assume that we might hear of the open house and dedication dates for these temples before the end of this year. As to the actual dedications, I will say that I think we could see Jordan River dedicated in mid-January, with the Rome and Kinshasa dedications to follow in late February and early March respectively, and the rededication in Freiberg to take place in late March or within the first two weeks following General Conference weekend in April.

In the meantime, we might hear of the dedication for the temple in Concepcion within the first half of 2018, with the dedication itself to follow sometime in August. Given the past precedent we have of the way the open house for the Tucson Arizona temple has been scheduled to end just prior to the beginning of the July recess for the General Authorities, I could definitely see that happening again for the Concepcion temple.

The construction of the Durban South Africa Temple still seems to be on schedule. I feel confident that the temple will be completed within a similar time frame to that which is almost certain for Concepcion and Rome, with an announcement for the dedication made within the first half of 2018, and the dedication actually scheduled for either late August or early September.

The temple in Winnipeg has yet to progress beyond the groundbreaking. However, given its size (very small), it seems that construction might be completed by around August 2018, with the dedication taking place in either late November or else early December 2018. It wouldn’t surprise me if a similar timeline held true for the temple in Barranquilla Colombia, which is further along in terms of construction, but will be a much larger edifice.

In the meantime, for the first time in doing such predictions, I feel bold enough to project completion dates for the two temples anticipated to be completed sometime around 2019. Despite the five-year span between the groundbreaking and the actual commencement of construction in Fortaleza Brazil, that construction is progressing rapidly. I reiterate my feelings that construction will be completed there within the early months of 2019, with the actual dedication taking place in either April or perhaps possibly May.

The Lisbon Portugal Temple is at a point that solidifies my belief that a similar time frame may be very likely to prevail as that which I have proposed above for the Fortaleza temple. It would not surprise me if these two traded spots a couple of times in terms of future completion. But right now, it seems safe to say that.

Given what I have been able to find out about the temple that will be built in Rio starting in the next month and a half, and because of its design, it appears to be a smaller temple that may also be built within 20 months of its groundbreaking. If we add 20 months to March 2017, we arrive at the calculation that the temple in Rio could have construction completed by November of next year, and seeing as how the completion of a temple precedes its dedication by several months, I will say it is still very safe to assume that the temple in Rio might be dedicated somewhere around or before the same time period as the temple now being worked on in Fortaleza.

If the temple in Arequipa Peru also has a groundbreaking and if the site announcement and subsequent groundbreaking for Harare takes place within the first six months of 2017, it would not surprise me at all if both of those temples were completed and had a dedication done during 2019, though that would likely be during the fall and winter months of that year.

In the meantime, as I have stated before, the Church will add 4 new operating temples  and have one rededication by the end of 2017, and six more new temples and two renovations completed in 2018. It is not likely that the Church will run out of temples to renovate anytime soon. If any of you have any theories regarding this subject, please let me know. And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some of the more recent temples were also scheduled for renovation.

One thing is certain: Any backlog that might have previously existed is now increases the likelihood that many more temples could be announced within the next two years. The exact number of those announcements remains to be seen, though I have given my thoughts regarding the most likely and most imminent picks.

Future groundbreakings may be more unpredictable to anticipate than I originally thought. I look at the groundbreaking in Winnipeg, and it happened much faster than usual. And with the way things unfolded in Rio, any delays that existed were cleared up very quickly.

That said, given what I have observed, in addition to the already-scheduled groundbreaking in Rio and the possibility that we might soon hear of a groundbreaking in Arequipa and also of a site announcement and groundbreaking in Harare, I will say that I could see the next groundbreaking taking place for the first Haitian temple in Port-au-Prince. I have no reason to back this up. It’s just how I feel, and we could have the site announcement and the groundbreaking by or before the end of this year.

A groundbreaking for Bangkok could happen by the beginning of 2018. The same timetable could prevail for the Abidjan temple. Who knows how long the currently reported delays in Urdaneta might last. I might venture to say that the remaining temples (the three others announced last year) might well have a groundbreaking by or before 2019.

I’m also very sure that many more temples could be announced within the next couple of years and have construction started as the Lord permits. I am very much looking forward to future events.

I continue to very much appreciate the feedback I get on things I post about here. Any and all comments on this new post are welcome. I look forward to the ongoing discussion of this important subject. Thanks!