Major Church News Items

Hello, dear readers! Several items of import relating to Church News have crossed my radar, and I wanted to share some of this wonderful news with you.

First of all, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, returned to his homeland in the Czech Republic this last weekend to create the first stake in that nation. This is a monumental achievement for the Church. He was accompanied by some members of the Europe Area Presidency and several Area Seventies. You can read more about this here.

New temple presidents have been announced for the Cochabamba Bolivia, Gilbert Arizona, Anchorage Alaska, Curitiba Brazil, Kyiv Ukraine, and Panama City Panama temples. I am not at home at the moment and will post an updated list of new temple presidents later on today, as time and circumstances allow.

A Church News article featured a biography of Joaquin Esteban Costa, which you can find by clicking on the link above. I can't find a source to prove it, but I believe that the new Elder Costa may be somehow related to Claudio R. M, Costa, who was called to the Seventy in the '90's.

Finally, the biggest change: With a newly-published list of temple-related developments, it will be noted that many temples that fornerly had a potential site announced, with the exception of the two nearest to having a groundbreaking announced, have been updated to say that a site announcement is still pending/ As I am still at work, I will not be able to post an updated list to show you what temple progress looks like now. Instead, I will direct you to this link, where temple progress can be viewed.

There is a lot going on on the Church News front. I will keep my eyes and ears peeled for such news and will let you know, as time and circumstances allow, what the latest is. In the meantime, I haven't forgotten my promise to post a much-needed personal update--that has just been put on hold indefinitely until I have more time to write it. As always, any news of the Church will trump personal updates for me every time. Thanks yo much to you all for your readership and interest.

Interesting temple developments

Hello, all! Wanted to post on some interesting developments on the temple news front. The Paris France Temple--originally set to be completed either late this year or early next year is now going to be completed sometime early next year. The Rome Italy Temple, originally slated for completion in late 2017, is now due to be completed in 2018. There is still a chance that the Idaho Temple undergoing renovation could be completed by the end of this year. If it does, the odds are that President Eyring (a former Ricks College President) will preside and that Elder David A. Bednar (who was Ricks College President at the time it was renamed BYU-Idaho and thus lead the transition) may be at that rededication. It is scheduled to be completed either late this year or early next year. Progress on under construction temples world-wide has been made, and rather than trying to go over it all with you, I am posting an updated list of temple construction progress to let you know what is happening with that. Since no other temple-related events have been announced, I will not be reposting that list. The list I am posting today looks like this:

Temple Construction Progress (current as of 5/16/16)

Current Temple Status: 150 operating, 16 under construction (5 scheduled for dedication), 11 announced (1 had groundbreaking several years ago and construction is pending; 2 groundbreakings anticipated to be announced soon), 4 undergoing renovation (1 scheduled for rededication).

Dedication scheduled:

151. Sapporo Japan Temple: Furniture being delivered; preparing for open house; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 21, 2016.

152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Interior work complete; furniture being placed; outdoor plaza progressing; 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 placed on April 25, 2016; steeple lighting tests underway; 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 in early 2017.

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Stained glass windows being installed; pouring parking lot curbing; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Steeple framework attached; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

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

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work underway, including some material replacement and rework; completion anticipated sometime during early 2018.

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

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

163. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Clearing, grading site; completion anticipated sometime during late 2018.

164. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Ground broken on Saturday December 5, 2015; completion anticipated sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.

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; reroofing underway; 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 Los Olivos 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.

Inspirational Article--Three Siblings Serve in the Same Mission

Here's a faith-promoting story for you. It's about how three siblings all served at different times in the same mission. You can find that story here. Thanks.