More on the Seminar for New Mission Presidents

Here is a bit more information on the Seminar for New Mission Presidents:

As Bishop Waddell spoke to new mission presidents, he related his experience in seeing the resiliency of the Ecuadoran Saints in response to the natural disaster they had experienced. He then went on to describe how a building with a strong foundation led him to reflect on the strong foundation for the soul that is built on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His message therefore was to encourage missionaries and church converts to build on that strong foundation. To read more about what he said, please see this article.

Additionally, ,the general presidents of the Church's female auxiliaries (Relief Society. Young Women and Primary) spoke on managing stress. To read what they said on the subject, please see this article.

The Church News also reported an address by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who addressed the topic of repentance and its' vital role in missionary work. For an overview of his address, please see this article.

General Authority Seventy Elder Brent H. Nielson, executive director of the Church Missionary Department, focused his remarks on how to adequately and appropriately measure success. He spoke of his two sons, who, though they both served faithfully in difficult areas of the world, nonetheless struggled with feelings of failure. Elder Nielson reported that when his sons were able to look at their missions through the eyes of the Lord's requirements, they were able to see their success. For a report of his remarks, please see this article.

That's just a brief overview of more on the seminar. I will keep my eyes open for further reports, which you can be sure to find here on this blog. Thanks for your readership.

Updated temple progress report

As a lot has gone on on the temple news front lately, I felt it appropriate to post another copy of my temple progress report. Please note that in the list below, the Kinshasa, Fortaleza, and Durban temples have been reordered based on information provided by Rick Satterfield, who maintains the most excellent LDS Church temples site. Here is the updated list:

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 7/14/16)

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: Public open house tours underway; dedication scheduled on Sunday August 21, 2016.

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

153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Accepting free reservations for public open house; dedication scheduled on Sunday October 16, 2016.

154. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Facing landscape structures with ledge rock; installing fence poles around temple; dedication scheduled on Sunday October 30, 2016.

155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Granite being attached to front façade; building entrance plaza and temple president’s residence; dedication scheduled on Sunday November 20, 2016.

Under Construction:

156. Paris France Temple: Planting trees shrubs, and flowers; awaiting art glass installation; completion estimated sometime in early 2017.

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

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Installing parking lot lamp posts; pouring curbing; completion estimated sometime in late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Scaffolding removed from dome (Angel Moroni placed atop temple on July 7, 2016); completion estimated sometime in late 2017.

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work underway including some material replacement and rework; completion estimated sometime in 2018.

161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Exterior walls poured; completion estimated sometime during 2018.

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Site clearing and preparation phase; completion estimated sometime in either 2018 or 2019.
163. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Site grading and clearing underway; building permit sign posted; completion estimated sometime in either 2018 or 2019.
164. Durban South Africa Temple: Site fence erected; full-scale operations pending; completion estimated sometime in either 2018 or 2019.

165. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Building the substructure; completion estimated sometime in 2019.
166. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Ground broken on Saturday December 5, 2015; completion estimated sometime in 2019.

Rededication scheduled:

33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication scheduled on Sunday September 4, 2016.

Undergoing Renovation:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; installing marble trim; rededication estimated sometime in early 2017.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication estimated sometime in mid-2017.

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication estimated sometime in late 2017.

Announced:

167. Arequipa Peru Temple: General contractor selected; construction anticipated to begin in October 2016.

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

More on how the new Russian law will affect LDS missionaries' ability to proselytize

ksl.com ran a news story about how the new Russian law will impact LDS missionaries' ability to proselytize. To read more, please see this article.

UPDATE: On Friday July 14, the Church News reported more on the change. To read that article, please see this link.