Before I go any further, I wanted to just comment on what a tremendous milestone this is, and what it means for the Church. It makes my head spin to realize that, for the first time I know of in the entire history of the Church, a temple outside North America will have a site announced and its ground broken roughly within one year after that temple was announced. No less significant and wonderful to me is the knowledge that, with this groundbreaking to take place when it does, for the very first time in Church history, we will have three temples simultaneously under construction in Africa. There are no words beautiful enough or strong enough to describe my feelings when I think of this news. My mom was born in South Africa and came here over 30 years ago on what she believed would be a "short vacation." Now her home nation of South Africa will soon have 2 temples in operation, and temples are spreading like wildfires throughout the land at an overwhelmingly fast rate. In the continent of Africa alone, there will soon be more temples there than there were in the entire United States, let alone the world, within the first 100 years of the gospel's restoration. And, as those who follow my posts are no doubt all too keenly aware, there is potential for quite a few more temple sites to be announced in just the African continent alone within the next 5 years or so.
What a remarkable time we live in! We are very blessed to live in a most unprecedented era of temple building. While it is still unknown how long construction in Zimbabwe will last, one thing is certain: if temples keep being announced and built at the rate they have been just in the last 5 years alone, not only are we more likely than not to see 200+ temples by or before the 200th anniversary of the Church, but we will also likely see future temple announcements in remote places that no one now believes as being possible.
I am equally certain of one other thing: this blog is fast becoming one of many outlets where such things can be discussed and analyzed in-depth. I am humbled by the knowledge that my recent post about possible locations for temples that may be announced in the near future has received by far the most views and the most comments of any post I've done in the entire time I've been blogging. And that is an absolute testament to me of the high interest in temples. It certainly isn't because of anything I've said here. In fact, it probably is the case in spite of things I've said here. I am awed and humbled that what I have to say means so much to so many. I am beyond grateful to all who are commenting and reading my thoughts about this subject that has been a lifelong love of mine.
Naturally and obviously, with the news that came down today, a massive edit was needed for my temple construction progress report. I share those updates with you now. As always, I am eternally appreciative of any and all of you who will read this post and, if you feel so inclined, comment on it.
That said, here's the report:
Temple Construction Progress Report
(current as of 12/11/16)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled
for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2
undergoing renovation; 10 announced;
(NOTE: Up to 3
additional temples may soon have a groundbreaking announced).
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris
France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates
announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Exterior lighting tests underway; welcome center reopens in stake
center; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Erecting fencing;
landscaping progressing; installing window frames and art glass; completion anticipated
sometime in late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Adding landscaping structures and walkways; plumbing water feature; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
161. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Cupola assembly attached to steeple framework; paving main entrance; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
162. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Building
the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
163.
Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring the foundations; connecting to city
utilities; installing sewage lines; landscaping entrance mounds; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.
165.
Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016;
completion anticipated sometime between 2018
and 2019.
166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Concrete forms going up for second floor
exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.
167.
Lisbon Portugal Temple: Laying meetinghouse footings and foundation; excavating for maintenance building; temple site cleared; completion
anticipated sometime in 2019.
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for
Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in late
2017.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in 2018.
Announced:
168. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site
announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to
take place shortly following the site announcement.
169. Arequipa
Peru Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
170. Rio
de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by
local government; groundbreaking pending.
171. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site
announcement.
172. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval
phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan
Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador 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 numbers 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 numbers may change based on the order in
which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval,
and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes
changes from the last posted temple progress update.
