KSL Features Two Church-related videos

Hello, all. I was just sitting here when I realized I forgot to post about two fun Church-related videos I've recently come across on KSL.com. The first features a darling toddler girl who became an internet sensation after the video of her singing "Part of Your World", In this sequel news story, the little girl offers an Easter tribute to the Savior with her sweet rendition of "Gethsemane". A link to the story and the video follows.

3 year-old star of "Little Mermaid" video sings song about Christ for Easter

The second is a parody of Adele's classic "Hello" song, written by two BYU students and featuring an excellent vocalist that strangely reminded me of my good friend Kent Willis. It's a genius video that some of you have no doubt heard about, but I just wanted to share it for the benefit of those who haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet.

BYU students create missionary parody of Adele's "Hello"

Enjoy!

Change to Open House Dates for Philadelphia Pennsylvania/Significant Posts about Church Growth from Matthew Martinich

Interesting developments on the temple news front. The Church has announced a change in the dates during which the Philadelphia Temple open house will occur, though the reason for it remains to be seen or officially made known. The good news is that this change in open house dates will in no way impact the dates of either the cultural celebration or temple dedication, which are still set for September 17 and 18 respectively. Originally slated to run from Friday August 5-Saturday September 3, the open house will now run from Wednesday August 10 (five days later than previously announced)-Friday September 9 (six days later than previously announced), so the open house will actually pick up 1 additional day in the process, allowing for additional visitors to the temple. I also wanted to let you know that I am keeping a careful eye on developments as articles are written about new General Authorities which will identify their quorum affiliation. I also wanted to remind my readers that an excellent article in the April 2016 Ensign by Elder M. Russell Ballard introducing Elder Ronald A. Rasband to the world.

Additionally, Matthew Martinich, whose interesting posts I frequently share, has done a number of noteworthy posts. He posted yesterday to let his readers know that the first stake in Benin is set to be created in 8 days. He has also posted about congregational growth by country for 2015 (devoting two posts to that very subject), the most populous countries without an LDS mission, the districts that are most likely to become stakes in the not-too-distant future, and a Church-growth related analysis of the temples that were announced in General Conference earlier this month. All of these posts are very interesting and well worth the read. Check out his blog by following this link. Hope you all are enjoying my posts! 

Temple News

As those following my temple news posts will remember, the Durban South Africa temple was scheduled for groundbreaking last Saturday. It did take place. Elder Carl B. Cook, president of the Africa Southeast Area, presided over the groundbreaking. It took the Church, and Rick Satterfield, the webmaster of ldschurchtemples.com, until Sunday to get news of the groundbreaking  up. Apparently at the groundbreaking, they announced that construction of the temple was anticipated to only take two years, finishing in early 2018, ahead of several temples which had their groundbreaking earlier this year or late last year.  In talking to my mother, a South African native, I learned that sometimes those who work in South Africa aren't as diligent in their labor as they might be if they lived elsewhere. So, it'll be interesting to see if that completion date is accurate. Also on the temple news front, it was revealed that governmental red-tape has been responsible for the delay of construction progress on the Fortaleza Brazil temple. So I would urge all my readers to pray that temple work might go forward.

If we add to the previous count of temples those that were announced during General Conference (for Harare Zimbabwe, Quito Ecuador, Belem Brazil, and a second for Lima Peru), we will have 177 temples by the time all announced ones are completed. This also means that we have only 23 more that need to be announced before we reach the 200 temple mark of which I have frequently mentioned. I think the Church can do it no problem. Time will tell.

That being said, I thought it fitting to end this blog post by sharing my lists of upcoming temple-related events and current temple progress, which I have just updated today based on the latest information available on ldschurchtemples.com, my go-to site for all temple-related news. Here are the lists. Enjoy!

Upcoming Temple Events:

1.      Sunday August 21—Sapporo Japan Temple Dedication (151 operating, 15 under construction, 11 announced, 4 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: Since President Uchtdorf, being a native German, is the most likely person to preside at the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany temple, the next temple to be dedicated or rededicated, President Eyring will likely preside at this dedication. It would also not surprise me if Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles accompanied whoever is presiding, since he as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy was serving as president of the Asia North Area, presided at the groundbreaking.

2.      Sunday September 4—Freiberg Germany Temple Rededication (151 operating, 15 under construction, 11 announced, 3 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: Since President Uchtdorf is a native German, and since President Eyring may preside at the previous dedication, it would make sense if he (President Uchtdorf) presides at this rededication.

3.      Sunday September 18—Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Dedication (152 operating, 14 under construction, 11 announced, 3 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: If President Uchtdorf presides at the previous rededication, and since President Eyring was the one who broke ground for this temple, it would make sense if he (President Eyring) presides at this dedication.

4.      Sunday October 16—Fort Collins Colorado Temple Dedication (153 operating, 13 under construction, 11 announced, 3 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: If President Eyring presides at the previous dedication, it would make sense if President Uchtdorf is asked to preside at this dedication. It is also not unreasonable to believe that Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will accompany whoever the presiding authority is, as Elder Rasband originally presided over the groundbreaking for this temple.

5.      Sunday October 30—Star Valley Wyoming Temple Dedication (154 operating, 12 under construction, 11 announced, 3 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: If President Uchtdorf presides at the previous dedication, it would make sense if President Eyring is asked to preside at this dedication. It would also not surprise me if Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy was one of the participants in the dedication. When this temple was originally announced, President Monson joked that he thought he’d dedicate that one because there’s good fishing up there, but as he hasn’t presided over a temple dedication in two years and as he may not be in the best of health, it is more likely that President Eyring will preside.

6.      Sunday November 20—Hartford Connecticut Temple Dedication (155 operating, 11 under construction, 11 announced, 3 undergoing renovation)

NOTE: If President Eyring presides at the previous temple dedication, the odds are very good that President Uchtdorf will preside at this temple dedication. President Monson was the one who presided at the groundbreaking, but as he is reportedly not in very good health, President Uchtdorf is more than likely the one who will be asked to preside.

Temple Construction Progress (current as of 4/13/16)

Current Temple Status: 150 operating, 16 under construction (5 scheduled for dedication), 11 announced (2 groundbreakings anticipated to be announced soon), 4 undergoing renovation (1 scheduled for rededication).

Dedication scheduled:

151. Sapporo Japan Temple: Finalizing construction in preparation for open house; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 21, 2016.

152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Interior and exterior nearly complete; grounds work underway; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday September 18, 2016.

153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Lampposts installed on the grounds; installing art glass; painting, and laying floor inside; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday October 16, 2016.

154. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Angel Moroni to be placed on Monday April 25, 2016 at 11:00 am; hanging sheet rock, painting, and installing millwork inside; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday October 30, 2016.

155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Exterior cladding nearing completion; concrete poured for monument sign; interior painting and flooring underway; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday November 20, 2016.

Under Construction:

156. Paris France Temple: Attachment of exterior stone cladding nearing completion; interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime between late 2016 and early 2017.

157. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Curbing poured for parking lot; sheetrock nearing completion; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Attachment of exterior panels and interior framing underway; retaining walls being installed; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

160. Tucson Arizona Temple: Exterior panels attached; completion anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

161. Durban South Africa Temple: Ground broken on Saturday April 9, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during early 2018.

162. Concepcion Chile Temple: Main floor exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime during late 2018.

163. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Ground broken on Saturday December 5, 2015; completion anticipated sometime during late 2018.

164. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Ground broken on Friday, February 12, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during late 2018.

165. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Ground broken on Saturday February 20, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between early-and-mid 2019.

168. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Full-scale construction pending due to government-imposed delays; completion date TBD (To be determined).

Rededication scheduled:

33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; adding extension; steeple covered; scheduled to be rededicated Sunday September 4, 2016.

Undergoing Renovation:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; utility trenching underway; kitchen appliances arriving; rededication anticipated sometime between late 2016 and early 2017.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime during mid-2017.

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; construction trailers on site; rededication anticipated sometime during late 2017.

Announced:

166. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by local government; groundbreaking date anticipated to be announced soon.

167. Arequipa Peru Temple: Construction preparation phase; temple site rezoned; acquiring building permits; groundbreaking date anticipated to be announced soon.

169. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.

170. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning phase.

171. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning phase.

172. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

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

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

175. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

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

177. Lima Peru (Second) Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

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

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose number may change based on the order in which their future groundbreakings are announced.

Thoughts? Any and all comments are welcome.