In the meantime, the progress I have noted in temple construction since my last posted report on Friday makes it necessary to post again. Let me know your thoughts.
Thank you for your readership. I hope to be able to post again tonight with my updated apostolic statistics, but given the week I have had, I have had to put that on hold for the moment. Here is that updated report:
Temple Construction Progress Update
(current as of 3/13/17)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled
for dedication; 7 under
construction; 3 more
have construction pending, but all of them are anticipated to commence
construction before summer this year; 1 scheduled for
rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 2 renovations scheduled; 8 announced. NOTE: With two groundbreakings
having already taken place this year, the chances are very good that we will
see several others also have a groundbreaking in 2017, and, where I feel
comfortable in doing so, I have now provided a window in which I am estimating
that future groundbreakings for announced temples will take place.
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris France
Temple: Accepting reservations for public open house (which
will run from Saturday April 22-Saturday May 13 (excluding the Sundays of April
23 and 30 and May 7)); dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21,
2017.
157. Tucson
Arizona Temple: Entrance doors and Holiness
to the Lord plaque installed; accepting
reservations for public open house beginning Monday May 15, 2017; (which is
scheduled to take place from Saturday June 3-Saturday June 24 (excluding the
Sundays of June 4, 11, and 18)); 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 glass; 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: Making concrete pours for window
openings and to seal tops of concrete block walls; completion anticipated
sometime between early-and-mid 2018.
NOTE: For the two temples above,
they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be
completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
162. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Steel framework for cupola installed;
waterproofing membrane attached 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 between mid-and-late 2018.
164. Durban South Africa
Temple: Preparing for temple floor slab; backfilling missionary housing
facility foundation; aloe plants added at entrance; completion anticipated
sometime between mid-and-late 2018.
NOTE: For the two temples above,
they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be
completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
165. Fortaleza Brazil
Temple: Parapet poured; some scaffolding coming down; preparing to pour tower
base; completion anticipated sometime during early 2019.
166. Lisbon Portugal
Temple: Excavation completed for temple foundation; structural framing
going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during early 2019.
NOTE: For the two temples above,
they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially be
completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
Construction pending:
167. Winnipeg Manitoba
Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; awaiting commencement of
full-scale operations; construction might commence in April or May; if so,
completion anticipated sometime between early-and-mid
2019.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to last around 20 months (approximately 1.67 years.) It is a
smaller edifice that is being built to at the moment serve just the one stake
in Manitoba. So it might be completed sooner than that. It all depends on how
soon construction will be able to start, and how quickly it progresses after
that.
168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Groundbreaking
held Saturday March 4, 2017; awaiting
commencement of full-scale operations (initially expected sometime this week,
now is just anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime between early-and-mid 2019.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to last around 24 months (2 years) in view of it being the one
and only building on the project.
ADDITONAL NOTE: For the two temples
above, they seem to be interchangeable in terms of which one might potentially
be completed and dedicated first. I am trying to keep an eye on any and all
developments and will adjust their listings as necessary once more is known.
169.
Arequipa Peru Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday March 4, 2017 awaiting
commencement of full-scale operations (initially expected sometime this week,
now is just anticipated ASAP); completion anticipated sometime between late 2019 and early 2020.
NOTE: Once construction commences,
it is anticipated to take roughly 28 months (2.25 years) to complete. This is
because there are neighboring construction projects involved that will all be worked
on simultaneously.
Rededication Scheduled:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; accepting reservations for public open house beginning
Monday April 3, 2017; rededication 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.
Renovation Scheduled:
13. Oakland California Temple: Scheduled to
close for renovation in February 2018; rededication anticipated sometime between
mid-and-late 2019.
16. Washington D. C. Temple: Scheduled to close
for renovation in March 2018; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and-mid
2020.
NOTE: In view of the fact that we
have already had two temple groundbreaking events so far this year, it is more
than likely that we could see several others announced during the remaining
nine months or so until the end of the year. For the very first time as part of
this construction progress update, I am featuring a potential groundbreaking time
frame for the temples listed below. Enjoy!
Announced:
170. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; site announcement and
groundbreaking anticipated sometime later this year (I am guessing that the
actual event might be held sometime between the dedication of the Paris France
Temple on May 21 and the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho temple on June
4. Time will tell how accurate that might be. I feel confident enough to
venture a predicted groundbreaking date of May 27.
171. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple site confirmed;
groundbreaking not announced.
NOTE: This
weekend, during a visit to Haiti by Elder Neil L. Andersen, he confirmed that
the Church had purchased the temple site behind the chapel on Route de Freres
(French for “The route of brothers”). The LDS Church Temples Site indicates that
a groundbreaking for that temple may occur next year. However, an official
temple site announcement indicates to me that the groundbreaking might be more
imminent than that. Therefore, it would make the most sense to me if such a
groundbreaking happens sometime between mid-and-late
2017. It might even be that this could happen before the announcement of
the site and groundbreaking for Zimbabwe. Stay tuned for more on that as I
learn of it.
172. Bangkok Thailand
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: Some reports
have indicated that a Church office building may be reconstructed as a
multi-purpose building that will not only continue to house Church offices but
also function simultaneously as both a meetinghouse and a temple as well, in
the mold of existing edifices like the Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York
temples. It could be that we will see a groundbreaking for the first Thai
temple sometime between mid-and-late 2017
as well.
173. Lima Peru Los
Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: Even
though this was the last of the four temples that was announced most recently,
and in spite of the fact that an official site has not yet been announced, the
announced name for this second temple in Lima is indicative that it will be
constructed somewhere in the Los Olivos District. For that reason, it seems
appropriate to put this temple ahead of the rest of the others, and to say that
a groundbreaking could take place there as soon as early 2018
174. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: The first of the three
announced almost two years ago, the Ivory Coast Temple is one that has long
been awaited by Latter-day Saints. If the significant growth in Cote D’Ivoire
continues, the likelihood increases that additional temples may soon be
announced there as well. I have heard rumors to the effect that there are at
least two such sites under current consideration, but I have found nothing to substantiate
this. Given where other temples are in their paths toward a groundbreaking, I
feel it is not out of line to anticipate that we could see a groundbreaking for
this temple taking place around the same time as the previous one, in early 2018.
175. Quito Ecuador
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: Ecuador’s second temple,
which will be based in that nation’s capital city, was announced less than a
year ago. As one of three new temples for South America, a region in which the
Church always has seen massive and extensive growth, this new Ecuadoran temple
was announced around 33 years after the first Ecuadoran temple in Guayaquil. As
a side note, the time intervening between the announcement of that first temple
in that nation and its groundbreaking around 14 years after the fact ranks as
the longest such time period in the history of the Church. I have every reason
to believe that there will not be too much of a delay, and certainly nothing
like the one for the first temple, in terms of the time between the site
announcement for Quito and its groundbreaking, which I believe will happen
somewhere around mid-2018.
176. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
NOTE: Brazil remains without a
doubt one of the very fastest growing nations in terms of the Church’s presence
there. Slated to be the ninth temple for Brazil, the one announced for Belem
inches Brazil closer to reaching the number of operating temples in Utah,
which, with the dedication slated in December for the Cedar City Utah Temple,
will reach 17. Right now, Brazil is just over halfway there, with the Belem
temple bringing that total to 9. If there is any merit at all into what I have
heard about possible future temple sites for Brazil, that number could increase
by at least five that I have heard some rumor about thus far, bringing the
grand total of Brazilian temples in that case to 14. Getting back to speaking
of this temple, if the Church is able to get started on it by having the
groundbreaking happen in mid-2018,
then we will once again see three temples simultaneously under construction in Brazil
for the first time since 2000, and those three will continue to coincide in
terms of simultaneous construction at least for the next nine months or so (0.75
years at minimum), which will mark the next temple dedication in Brazil.
177. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
NOTE: This temple is technically
ahead of those listed above in terms of its status as being in the planning and
approval phase, because it is unclear (and perhaps unknown to all but a few) why
progress has been stalled or how long those delays might last. For that reason,
it is possible that we could see any or all of the temples above have their
constructions commence before anything gets resolved with this one, and perhaps
even have some others announced in the interim that will also have construction
commence before anything is resolved here. There is more than a slight chance
that this temple will become the one with the lengthiest period of time between
its announcement and groundbreaking. The current record for that is 14 years, 4
months, and 11 days from the announcement date. The Urdaneta announcement date
was October 2, 2010. In adding the time span to that date, we discover that
this temple will have that distinction as of Thursday February 13, 2025, unless
the delays are cleared up sometime before then. I for one am hoping with all
the energy of my soul that we will never again have a temple that is delayed
for that long, but time will tell.
NOTE: Given how much progress we
have seen with temples recently, it is not hard to believe that we will see
many more temples announced in the near future. There have been reports of several
cities that have already had a site purchased already. These four have been
identified by name: Managua Nicaragua, Port Moresby Papua New Guinea,
Bentonville Arkansas, and Missoula Montana. If other potential temples have had
a site purchased, they have yet to be identified as such. As the apostles
travel, they sometimes have felt impressed to publicly propose a temple for the
areas they visit. Such temples have been proposed in New Delhi India (in June
1992 by Elder Neal A. Maxwell); Vilnius Lithuania (in May 1993 by Elder M.
Russell Ballard); Nairobi Kenya (in February 1998 by President Gordon B. Hinckley);
Maracaibo Venezuela (in August 1999 by President Hinckley); Singapore (in
January 2000 by President Hinckley); for the Southwest Salt Lake Valley (in
October 2005 by President Hinckley; NOTE: While some contend that this temple
announcement has already happened, verifiable sources widely available prove
otherwise); Managua Nicaragua (in January 2012 by then-Elder Russell M. Nelson;
the fact that it has not only been publicly proposed but has had a site
purchased for it makes it very likely); Missoula Montana (sometime in 2014 by
Elder David A. Bednar; while the report of this proposal has yet to be
verified, the fact that there has been a purchase of a temple site seems to
indicate that it is a most imminent possibility); and for the Kasai Region in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in February 2016 by Elder Neil L.
Andersen). I have heard many reports of several more temple sites being
procured, but the nature of those reports are such that they have yet to be
verified.
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.