Blog Problems Reported and Resolved

Hello, all! I have heard from many of you that were not able to comment on my blog posts during the time I used Disqus to deal with a troll's thoughtless and offensive comments. I wanted to officially report that Disqus outlived its usefulness for me, and since it prevented comments from being posted for the last two months or so, unless people were registered with Disqus, and since the troll is no longer an issue, comments are once again able to be made by anyone with a Google account. Sorry about the trouble. I hope comments will begin in earnest again. I have missed the feedback on my work. More posts coming in the next few days as time and circumstances allow. Thanks for your interest and support, and sorry for the inconvenience. Let the comments resume!

Minor Temple Construction Update

Hello. Here, as promised, is a minor update on temple construction. It appears that construction of the Tucson Arizona Temple is almost, if not entirely, completed. Reservations are now being accepted for that open house, which will run during the weeks between the Saturdays of June 3 and 24, excluding, of course, the relevant Sundays. That temple, as we know, will be dedicated in August, following the annual July recess of the General Authorities.

In the meantime, interior finish work is underway for the Meridian Idaho Temple, and the testing of exterior lighting has begun on the grounds of the Cedar City Utah Temple. Public tours of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple will continue until this Saturday, and the dedication of that temple will follow two weeks from this upcoming Sunday. I have also adjusted my estimates for the time-frame of temple-related events for this year and next year, and will be posting those details later this week, if and when I can. An official closure date has been identified for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple (October 14), and it could be that the Tokyo Japan Temple will close before then. More to come on that when more is known.

I have also been reminded that, while as many as four temple groundbreakings might be possible for announced temples during this year, nothing is definite until an official announcement comes down from Church leadership. I hope I have made that clear enough in my previous updates. I am free to offer my own thoughts and hopes for such time-frames, but I need to be absolutely clear that such dates are my own thoughts and feelings, nothing more. More to come on that when more is known.

This is just a very general temple construction update. I am trying to do more research on these developments and will post more just as soon as I know more. In the meantime, thanks for your interest and support.

Paris France Temple News

Hello, all! As most of you are aware, the Paris France Temple will be dedicated this Sunday. The Church reported that 47,561 people attended the open house of the Paris France Temple. I wish I could have been among that number. My lifelong love of France and the French language aided me during my missionary service as I was able to frequently assist French-speaking temple patrons. And I have hoped and prayed for a French temple for years, never believing it would be possible in my lifetime. I rejoiced in each report of developments on the announcement and construction of that temple. And I was gratified to hear of the involvement Elder Andersen and Bishop Causse had in every development of this temple. They also played important roles in leading initial tours of the temple during its open house. I was also intrigued to hear of how French politicians asked whether or not Mitt Romney, who ran for the US Presidency in 2012, and who was also well respected as another former French missionary, would attend the open house. The Church sent Brother and Sister Romney in response to that inquiry, cementing the relationship between our two great nations. Now that French temple will be dedicated this Sunday. What a wonderful day it will be for the Saints in France! 

In recent days, more has been reported on the French temple. While the Church put out information earlier this year that a groundbreaking had been held, it wasn't a formal or widely-observed development. The machinery broke ground for that temple, and the work continued unhindered. On Saturday, the cultural celebration will be held, and that will be followed by dedication services on Sunday. While it is not impossible to believe that Elder Andersen, Bishop Causse and Brother Romney will be in attendance, I don't know if the Church would ask Elder Andersen, who is still in the junior 5th of the apostleship, to officiate. It would not be out of the question. But my feeling is that President Uchtdorf, our European apostle, who so capably serves as Second Counselor to President Monson, and who, just recently, returned from a tour of European nations that included visits to operating and under construction temples, will be the one to preside there, unless one of the six senior apostles is asked to do so instead. I will post more on that when more is known.

In the meantime, I wanted to share an article that the Church News recently featured on how a bishop, a mayor and a CFO were involved in the process of bringing this temple into fruition. Click here to read that article. In the meantime, I will be posting again in a minute with an update on other temple progress. Thanks for your readership.