Multipurpose Church-news post

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, has been busy during the July apostolic recess. Among the highlights, he visited the Rome Italy temple site, presented a check for the Church to a worldwide hunger organization, and visited refugees in Athens, Greece.

In other Church news, as part of the pioneer day celebration, Elder M. Russell Ballard served as the grand marshal of the Days of '47 KSL Parade. This is significant because the role of grand marshal has typically been filled by a member of the Church's First Presidency. But it makes sense that with President Uchtdorf travelling and President Monson reportedly not in good health.

In other Pioneer Days news, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis of the Seventy spoke at the sunrise Pioneer Day devotional. Click here for the details of that speech.

In the meantime, the King's Singers were the featured guests at the Pioneer Day Concert for the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. To read about the concert, please click here.

Thanks for tuning in for this Church news update. Until I post again, all the best!

Another temple update

Hello, all! Just went over my personal temple construction progress update and I realized that I missed some things. Here's the updated list, as of today.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 7/23/16)

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 reservations for public open house; dedication scheduled on Sunday September 18, 2016.

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

154. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Laying sod and planting trees; installing art glass windows; dedication scheduled on Sunday October 30, 2016.

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

Under Construction:

156. Paris France Temple: Exterior cladding of visitor’s center wing nearing completion; stained glass installation underway; courtyard pavers laid; completion estimated sometime in mid-2017.

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Angel Moroni placed on July 20, 2016; completion estimated sometime in late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Pouring parking lot curbing; installing temporary glass on window openings; completion estimated sometime in late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Scaffolding removed from dome; completion estimated sometime in late 2017.

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

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

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Site grading and clearing underway; 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 grading and clearing underway; 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; repainting fence; 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; announcement of groundbreaking pending and not likely to take place until 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.

President Uchtdorf visits the Rome Italy Temple

As the Church News reported this weekend, President Uchtdorf has been busy during this July apostolic recess. Not only did his return to his native Germany and Czechoslovakia, but he also visited the site of the Rome Italy temple. He urged the Saints in Rome to continue praying for the swift completion of the temple, saying that though it is taking a while to complete the temple (ground was broken for it in 2010), the Church wanted to be sure that the construction process was handled right. He spoke of the historical significance of having a temple in Rome. Click here to read more about his reaction to visiting the temple site. Thanks to you all for your interest and support,