President Monson prepares to celebrate 89th birthday/Sapporo Japan temple to be dedicated

A lot going on this weekend. President Thomas S. Monson will celebrate his 89th birthday on Sunday. In preparation for that celebration, Gerry Avant, Church News editor, wrote an article about her 45-year association with President Monson. To read that article, click here.

Additionally, the Sapporo Japan temple will be dedicated Sunday as well. Since President Uchtdorf will likely officiate at the rededication of the Freiberg Germany Temple on September 4, I am anticipating that President Eyring will preside in Sapporo, accompanied by Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who presided at the groundbreaking when he was president of the Church's Asia Area,

More posts to follow with some important Church news updates.

Further temple progress

Here's a look at what's new with temple progress.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 8/1816)

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

Dedication scheduled:

151. Sapporo Japan Temple: Open house concluded; preparing for dedication, which is on Sunday August 21, 2016.

152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Public open house tours underway through September 9; dedication scheduled on Sunday September 18, 2016.

153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Accepting reservations for public open house, scheduled to take place between tomorrow and September 10; dedication scheduled on Sunday October 16, 2016.

154. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Accepting reservations for public open house; dedication scheduled on Sunday October 30, 2016.

155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Roofing nearing completion; more scaffolding coming down; landscaping continues; 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: Monument sign installed; 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 in 2018.

 162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Foundation poured; waterproofing applied to basement walls; completion estimated sometime between 2018 and 2019.

163. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Subgrade work underway; completion estimated sometime in 2019.

164.  Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Excavation for foundation underway; completion estimated sometime in 2019.

165. Durban South Africa Temple: Site grading and clearing underway; 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; open house tours underway; rededication scheduled on Sunday September 4, 2016.

Undergoing Renovation:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication estimated sometime the first quarter of 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 theorder in which their future groundbreakings are announced.

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

Yet another update to the list of temples that may be announced soon.

After receiving some more feedback, I have come upon my newest edition of cities that may get a temple soon. I have included 40 that are more certain and 10 dark horse candidates. Any feedback would be welcome and appreciated.

1.   Managua Nicaragua: Proposed in 2012 by Elder Russell M. Nelson; land has already been purchased for it and an announcement is imminent there when membership warrants it. Please also note that it is the #1 city in terms of church presence that does not have a temple in some phase.

2.   Port Moresby Papua New Guinea: Land has been purchased for it and an announcement is imminent there when membership warrants it. Please also note that it is the #2 city in terms of church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some phase.

3.   Bentonville Arkansas: Land has been purchased for it and an announcement is imminent there when membership warrants it; please also note it is the strongest contender for a temple in the United States. I favor this location because a good friend served his mission there.

4.   2nd Southwest Salt Lake Valley Utah: Proposed in 2005 by Gordon B. Hinckley; more than likely because land has already been purchased for it.

5.   San Juan Puerto Rico: Please note that this is the #3 world city in terms of church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some phase.

6.   Tarawa Kiribati: Please note that this is the #5 world city in terms of Church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some phase.

7.   Freetown Sierra Leone: Please note that this is the #6 world city in terms of Church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some phase. May be needed due to extensive growth in Africa

8.   Kampala Uganda: Please note that this is the #7 world city in terms of Church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some phase. May be needed due to extensive growth in Africa.

9.   Nairobi Kenya: Publicly proposed by President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1999; please note that this is the #10 world city in terms of Church presence that does not have a temple in any phase. May be needed due to extensive growth in Africa.

10. Phnom Penh Cambodia: Please note that this is the #9 world city in terms of Church presence that doesn’t have a temple in any phase; I favor this location because my brother-in-law served a mission there.

11. Missoula Montana: Publicly proposed in 2016 by Elder David A. Bednar.

12. Lehi Utah: I favor this location because it is my wife's hometown.

13. Layton Utah

14. Budapest Hungary

15. Pocatello Idaho

16. Auckland New Zealand

17. La Paz Bolivia: I favor this location because my favorite bishop and good friend served a mission there.

18. Rapid City South Dakota: I favor this location because my dad served his mission there. 

19. Richmond Virginia

20. Lagos Nigeria (may be needed due to extensive Church growth in Africa)

21. Pago Pago American Samoa: Please note that this is the #9 city in the world in terms of Church presence that doesn’t have a temple in some stage.

22. Tacoma Washington

23. El Paso Texas

24. Ulaanbaatar Mongolia: I favor this location because a good friend served his mission there.

25. Barcelona Spain

26. Puebla Mexico

27. Valparaiso Chile

28.  Davao Philippines

29.  Maracaibo Venezuela: Publicly proposed in 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley.

30.  Singapore: Publicly proposed in 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley,

31.  Edinburgh Scotland

32.  Cody Wyoming

33.  Jacksonville Florida

34.  Brasilia/Belo Horizonte Brazil

35.  Ghana (Kumasi).

36.  Neuquen Argentina

37.  Ivory Coast (2^nd and possibly 3^rd temples; may be needed due to extreme growth in the area

38. Kasai DR Congo (temple proposed in 2016 by Neil L. Andersen, may be needed due to extensive growth in the area.

39. Fairbanks/Juneau Alaska

40. Ipswich Australia

Dark horse candidates:      

1. Kaysville Utah

2. Sandy Utah

3.  Orem Utah (I favor this location because it’s where I’m living now, and when I worked at then  Mount Timpanogos Temple for six years, a majority of my colleagues were from Orem. The LDS presence is strong here.

5.   Heber Utah

6.   Pago Pago American Samoa: Please note that this is the #9 world city in terms of Church presence that does not have a temple in any phase.

7.   Singapore (proposed in 2000 by President Gordon B. Hinckley).

8.   Maputo Mozambique

9.   Oslo Norway

10. Antananarivo Madagascar