Article on new General Authority Seventy Elder Peter F. Meurs

The Church News this week posted an article about Elder Peter F. Meurs, a General Authority Seventy. To see that article, please follow this link, Thanks.

Travels of the Apostles

Quite a bit of apostolic travel has been happening of late. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has been in England the last little while to focus on the subject of religious freedom. For a look at all that transpired during this trip, please see this link,

Elder David A. Bednar recently returned from a trip to Spain and Portugal. For an account of what he did there, please see this link.

Elders Quentin L. Cook and Gary E. Stevenson, in company with Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy, did a review of the Asia and Asia North Areas, and were present when the Church was granted official recognition in Vietnam. To see what that trip entailed, please see this link.

Elder Neil L. Andersen toured in and held a review of the Pacific Area of the Church. Please see this link for details.

Elder M. Russell Ballard recently returned from a trip to Russia. For details of his visit, please see this link.

That's just a small sampling, I'm sure, of all the apostles have done recently. I will keep an eye out on future developments and post them here as soon as I can. Thanks for your readership.

Updated Temple Construction Progress Report

Enough changes have taken place with the status of temple construction around the world that I am posting an updated progress report. Here's a look at all that's been happening:

Temple Construction Progress (current as of 6/11/16)

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: Preparing for public open house and dedication; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 21, 2016.

152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Accepting free reservations for public open house; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday September 18, 2016.

153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Finalizing construction in preparation for open house; 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: Building entrance plaza and temple president’s residence; granite cladding nearing completion; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday November 20, 2016.

Under Construction:

156. Paris France Temple: Landscaping structures in place; planting trees and bushes; attaching exterior stone to visitors’ center wing; completion anticipated sometime in early 2017.

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

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Exterior panels attached to main body of temple; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Roofing the dome; 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 2018.

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

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Site clearing and preparation phase; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin shortly; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Ground broken on Saturday April 9, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

165. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Ground broken on Saturday December 5, 2015; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

166. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Ground broken on Saturday February 20, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

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 during 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:

167. Arequipa Peru Temple: Construction preparation phase; groundbreaking date anticipated to be announced soon.

168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by local government; groundbreaking may be announced soon and scheduled sometime after the summer Olympics.
169. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

170. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

172. Bangkok Thailand 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.