Altered Predictions for when the most imminent temple-related events are most likely to be scheduled and to take place

Based on information so graciously provided to me by Rick Satterfield, who keeps the world aware of the latest temple-related news and events and the latest up-to-date Church unit information, I have taken another look at temples whose construction has progressed so rapidly recently. I have, based on his insight and information, altered slightly the timetable of when future temple-related events may occur.

Based on what Rick said to me, it appears likely that no further progress towards a groundbreaking may be made in Arequipa Peru and Rio de Janeiro Brazil until the Church can find adequately qualified people to take on the projects. In light of that, the Port-au-Prince Haiti temple may be the next one to have a groundbreaking scheduled, with such an event announced sometime during the first few months of 2017 and taking place anywhere from one to two months later. I will keep an eye on the developments with Arequipa and Rio and will try to make a more sound prediction about a future groundbreaking when more is known.

At the Meridian Idaho temple, exterior lighting tests are underway, and the welcome center at the adjacent stake center has reopened. Based on this progress update, and because of how soon after such milestones other temples with a similar status have been scheduled for dedication, I am predicting that a dedication date for the Meridian Idaho Temple is likely to be announced within the next 3 or 4 months, and the dedication itself happening in early August.

In Cedar City, fencing is being erected, landscaping is progressing, and window frames and art glass are being installed. In light of the progress there, it is not unreasonable to believe that the dedication for that temple may announced within 6 months or less, and scheduled either for late August or early September.

Tucson, according to Rick, is so close to Cedar City’s level of completion that they are neck-and-neck in terms of a future completion date. In Tucson, landscaping structures and water features are being added, and they are plumbing the water feature on the temple grounds. Based on the information Rick provided to me, it wouldn’t be surprising to me to see the Tucson and Cedar City dedications scheduled for around the same time, with an announcement of these events within 6 months and the actual events in late August or early September.

In the meantime, I can foresee the Church finishing renovation on the Jordan River Utah temple sometime mid-2017, with a rededication announced for either late August or early September. This is in keeping within the timetable Rick indicated may prevail in this temple. I don’t know if the Church would announce the events for Jordan River, Tucson, and Cedar City around the same time, but wouldn’t be surprised if their dedication ceremonies were within weeks from each other.

Given what I have read about the temples to be completed in 2018, added to what I have picked up on by closely watching how the Rome Italy temple construction has spanned such a long period of time, I believe it is safe to predict that the Concepcion Chile temple will be the next completed temple, with an open house and dedication date announced in either late 2017 or early 2018 and set for around April 2018.

The rededication of the Frankfurt Germany temple could be announced around the first quarter of 2018 and scheduled for around June of that same year. Rome could have an open house and dedication announced in early 2018 and set for around August 2018.

The Kinshasa DR Congo could follow, with an announcement of opening dates during the first two-thirds of 2018, and a dedication set for October. Durban is on track to have construction completed within the same amount of time, and could also have a dedication announced and scheduled for October as well, though it is anyone’s guess if those announcements could be made within near proximity of each other. 

Barranquilla would be my next pick for completion, with a dedication announced during August, and the actual dedication date in November or December. Because the temple in Winnipeg is so small and is the only building involved in the project, it could also well be that construction in Winnipeg could be completed around August and a dedication scheduled for November or December.

If progress and plans hold and all these temples are dedicated, the Church will add 3+ new temples by the end of 2017, and have a booming year for dedications (with a possibility of at least six more being completed) during 2018. This would almost completely reduce and eliminate any semblance of a backlog in temple progress, and makes it extraordinarily more likely that many more temples could be announced within the next two years. The exact number of those announcements remains to be seen, though I have given my feelings on what I feel are the most likely and most imminent picks.

Future groundbreakings may be more unpredictable to anticipate than I originally thought. I look at the groundbreaking in Winnipeg, and it happened much faster than usual. However, in addition to Port-au-Prince, it is possible we could see the Arequipa, Rio, Bangkok, and Urdaneta temple groundbreakings scheduled during next year. If the problems in Rio and Arequipa can be easily remedied, a groundbreaking for both temples could take place within the first six months of 2017. As for Bangkok and Urdaneta, those could happen by the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018. But with there being one year (for Bangkok) and over six years (for Urdaneta) since their announcements, I don’t feel safe making any definite predictions about when those events might take place.

One other thing I wanted to mention as far as future temple announcements go. It was suggested on Matthew Martinich’s excellent LDS Church Growth blog that there have been rumors that a temple is being planned in Waynesboro Virginia. I will keep my eyes and ears peeled for news on that point. I have always felt that if a temple was built in Virginia in the future, the capital city of Richmond would be the most likely possibility. But there is a strong case for a future temple in Waynesboro. So, as part of trying to fine-tune my list of likely future temple announcements, I wanted to get a sense of your thoughts. Would Richmond or Waynesboro be more likely for a temple? Which might be more imminent? Let the discussion begin!

Thanks, as always, for taking time to read and (if you feel so inclined) respond to this post. It is your feedback that allows me to fine-tune my predictions. And I will always try to keep an eye on temple-related progress and will do my best to report that news and any updates just as soon as I become aware of them. Thanks again.

Important Posts by Matthew Martinich

Matthew Martinich has done two significant posts on his blog in the last little while. This post is to draw attention to those monumental posts. As with any of Matt's posts that I make mention of on this blog, I would much prefer that any comments on these posts be made on the LDS Church Growth Blog at the addresses of the original posts featured below, instead of so commenting here.

That said, here's the details on these two posts. The Church has reestablished a stake in Liberia. What wonderful news! It is marvelous to see Church growth, and it is especially good to have heard of this reestablishment, especially as the stake was just disbanded about a year or two ago due to political unrest. The problems in Liberia must have cleared up enough to warrant reinstating that stake. Great news!

Matt's second recent significant post focused on the creation of new stakes in Brazil, Iowa, Nigeria and Thailand. In that same post, he reported the creation of new districts in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Click here to read that post.

With the report of new stakes created recently, the number of stakes either organized or yet to be organized this year now number 97. A mere 3 stakes need to be created to reach the 100 Matt has been projecting all along would be created by the end of this year. Stay tuned for all the latest updates.

As I stated during my first post made this morning, I had originally planned on doing four posts today. This post makes three. The remaining one was to be a Church news conglomeration. But because I feel so absolutely physically spent by all I have done since waking up for the day about 12 hours ago and by my attempts to recover from the after effects of the lumbar puncture, it will have to wait until I have gotten some sleep, perhaps twelve or so hours from now. Until I can do that post, I welcome your feedback on what I have done so far since my last updates, and I will do my best to read and (where applicable) respond to comments made on anything I have lately posted. Thanks.

Apostolic Age Averages

As of about an hour ago, here are the latest apostolic age averages. The average age of the First Presidency is 82.96 years. The average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.51, and the average age of the 15 apostles is now 76.2. Nothing has changed with the tenure rank of President Nelson as Quorum President or where he sits in terms of nonagenarian rank, or with President Monson's tenure or age ranks as prophet. And nothing has changed in terms of which apostles are closest to those averages for their separate groups. Hope these periodic updates have proven interesting for you. Thanks, as always, for your kind attention.