Hello again, everyone! Having just done the final post covering the Utah South Area, I have been able to complete the series about such prospects that are likely in the near future, as promised, before the end of 2017. The opportunity to research and publish these posts has been one I will treasure always, and given its' success, will be repeated as I am able to make that happen following each General Conference.
That said, I did want to note that I hope this last post is not the end of any conversations about potential future temple locations. In fact, until General Conference next April (when the version of those temple prospects on my list are final), and until I need to start this series all over again following that conference, I am issuing a standing invitation (which I will be reiterating as I feel a need to do so) for any and all additional feedback that any of you would like to provide at any time on any post I have done or will do, whether directly related to the matter of future temple locations, or any other feedback you have for me, for that matter.
The subject of where potential future temples might be built in the near future is, as I have noted a few times on this blog, one that is very close to my heart. And it is obviously a popular one, as such posts continue to be among the most widely read with the most comments posted. So I thank you all for that.
As I conclude this series, I also wanted to reiterate what I have previously stated: While I do appreciate the thoughts you all have shared and might share in the future, if I have a strong reason to assert my own opinion instead of any alternatives presented by you in your comments, I will generally stick to those assertions and provide a reason why I have felt justified in so doing.
But I also want you to know that I respect any and all feedback from any one of you who wants to share your thoughts, ask for clarification on why I feel the way I do about such subjects,or correct inacurate information I have posted here, and I hope the same will be true of each of you in our back-and-forth feedback.
I hope this blog, for as long as I maintain it, will be a safe space where those who visit may feel free to comment, knowing their opinions will be respected by the rest of us, even if we disagree with such opinions for whatever our reasons might be.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated (on either this post or any I have previously done). Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Temple Site Possibilities: Series Wrap-Up
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Temple Site Possibilities: Utah South Area, Part Four--Temples in Washington and Weber Counties and Area Wrap-Up
Hello again, everyone! I am back with the fourth post I promised just a few moments ago, which will discuss the two temples in Washington and Weber Counties (St. George and Ogden respectively) and which will serve as the wrap-up for this area. Let's get right to it.
The St. George temple was the 1st one dedicated in this dispensation that is still operating today. That dedication occurred on January 1, 1877, which a private dedication done by Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, and Brigham Young; a public one followed between April 6-8 of that same year, with Brigham Young presiding and his counselor in the First Presidency, Daniel H. Wells, reading the prayer at President Young's request. Following a renovation period, a rededication was held on November 11 & 12, 1975, with President Spencer W. Kimball presiding.
With the dedication of the Cedar City Utah Temple about 2.5 weeks ago, that left the St. George district to serve 33 stakes from Bloomington, Hurricane, Ivins, Kanab, La Verkin, Santa Clara, St. George, and Washington City, along with the Page Arizona and Mesquite Nevada stakes. This temple district may need to be split, but I am not sure how or when the Church might opt to do so.
That brings us to the Ogden Utah Temple, which became the Church's 14th one in operation when it was dedicated January 18-20, 1972 by President Joseph Fielding Smith.. As noted in an earlier post, the Ogden temple originally looked identical in design to the Provo Utah Temple.
But when the Ogden Temple closed for renovation, its' design was completely redone to match the evolving architecture of that city. As I previously noted, that redesign was quite divisive for a while, and may still be so for the immediate future. That rededication was held on September 21, 2014, with President Thomas S. Monson presiding.
The current district of the Ogden Temple is comprised of 57 stakes in northern Utah and 4 other additionally from southwestern Wyoming. There is a possibility that the stake could be split, and that a temple in Evanston Wyoming could do the trick, but I honestly don't know how immediate or feasible a temple might be to split this district.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post (which I will put up in a few minutes as my wrap-up to this series), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
The St. George temple was the 1st one dedicated in this dispensation that is still operating today. That dedication occurred on January 1, 1877, which a private dedication done by Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, and Brigham Young; a public one followed between April 6-8 of that same year, with Brigham Young presiding and his counselor in the First Presidency, Daniel H. Wells, reading the prayer at President Young's request. Following a renovation period, a rededication was held on November 11 & 12, 1975, with President Spencer W. Kimball presiding.
With the dedication of the Cedar City Utah Temple about 2.5 weeks ago, that left the St. George district to serve 33 stakes from Bloomington, Hurricane, Ivins, Kanab, La Verkin, Santa Clara, St. George, and Washington City, along with the Page Arizona and Mesquite Nevada stakes. This temple district may need to be split, but I am not sure how or when the Church might opt to do so.
That brings us to the Ogden Utah Temple, which became the Church's 14th one in operation when it was dedicated January 18-20, 1972 by President Joseph Fielding Smith.. As noted in an earlier post, the Ogden temple originally looked identical in design to the Provo Utah Temple.
But when the Ogden Temple closed for renovation, its' design was completely redone to match the evolving architecture of that city. As I previously noted, that redesign was quite divisive for a while, and may still be so for the immediate future. That rededication was held on September 21, 2014, with President Thomas S. Monson presiding.
The current district of the Ogden Temple is comprised of 57 stakes in northern Utah and 4 other additionally from southwestern Wyoming. There is a possibility that the stake could be split, and that a temple in Evanston Wyoming could do the trick, but I honestly don't know how immediate or feasible a temple might be to split this district.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post (which I will put up in a few minutes as my wrap-up to this series), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Temple Site Possibilities: Utah South Area--Part Three: Temples in Utah County
Hello again, everyone! I am back to discuss the 5 temples that the Church has dedicated (and one that has been announced) to help serve the Saints in Utah County, which, as I have previously noted, has been my home for the 31 years I have been alive. So let's dive right into that.
First, some preliminary information. Utah County has 2 missions (headquartered in Orem and Provo), 161 stakes, and members in 1,407 wards and 53 branches, for a congregational total of 1,460. This means that each temple (once the one in Saratoga Springs is dedicated) will then serve an average of 292 congregations (and that is without taking into account any new ones that will likely be created).
The first temple for the Saints in this area was the Provo Utah Temple, which was dedicated on February 9, 1972 by 10th Church President Joseph Fielding Smith (note that though he composed the prayer, at his request, it was read during the dedication by President Harold B. Lee). As a result of its' dedication, it became the 15th operating temple of the Church. Some of my earliest memories are those associated with my parents leaving us at home to go do temple work in the Provo Temple.
Since the Provo Temple was (and in many ways continues to be) very busy, it has been great to see four other temples which have or will cut down on the distance the Saints in Utah County have th travel.
The dedication of three of those has left the Provo Temple district with 52 stakes based in North Provo, Orem, and the Heber Valley. While the Saints in Heber only have a 28.1 mile drive to get to the Provo Temple, I have a potential temple for Heber City on my list for the Utah South Area. I am also certain that Orem (where I currently reside) will get its own temple at some point, but that might be a few years down the road.
The next temple dedicated in Utah County was the Mount Tmpanogos Utah Temple, which, as I have already noted, holds a special place in my heart. Dedicated between October 13-19, 1999 (for which I was in attendance) by President Gordon B. Hinckley, it became the Church's 49th operating temple.
Serving 60 stakes in the northern Utah Valley, its district includes the cities of Alpine, American Fork, Cedar Hills, Eagle Mountain, Highland, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Saratoga Springs. With the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple announced last April, it is anticipated that that temple district will include stakes based in Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and Saratoga Springs. Right now that means that 30 stakes will be pulled away from the Mount Timpanogos district, which will split it right in half. As the Church gauges how patron attendance is at both temples, any subsequent adjustments could be made to either district.
That brings our discussion to the Payson Utah Temple. It became the Church's 146th operating temple when it was dedicated on June 7, 2015 by President Henry B. Eyring. Having a temple in Payson means a lot to me personally. I spent the bulk of my childhood years in that city, and I always felt it would get a temple of its own someday, but I wasn't convinced that would happen in my lifetime. I still hear every once in a while from some members of the ward we were in during our time in Payson just how much of a difference having a temple there has made for them.
The district of that temple serves 28 stakes which have been established in Central Utah and the Southern Utah Valley, which includes the communities of Delta, Elk Ridge, Goshen, Mapleton, Nephi, Payson, Salem, and Spanish Fork. If and when this district needs to be split, I could see the merits of a temple in either Delta or Mapleton.
The last currently operating temple serving this area, as you are all probably aware, was once the Provo Tabernacle. When a fire tragically burned that building beyond repair, President Monson was inspired to rebuild and renovate it as a second temple for the city of Provo.
That temple was dedicated just last year on March 20, and the First Presidency sent Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who had numerous personal connections to preside at two of the dedicatory sessions (since President Russell M. Nelson was in attendance at the last one, he presided at that session). That temple became the 150th in operation worldwide. As for its district. the Provo City Center Temple currently serves those 29 stakes spread through southern Provo and Springville. So it is very decently sized.
This concludes my coverage of Utah County Temples, so that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post (which will, as already noted, be put up to discuss those temples in Washington and Weber), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
First, some preliminary information. Utah County has 2 missions (headquartered in Orem and Provo), 161 stakes, and members in 1,407 wards and 53 branches, for a congregational total of 1,460. This means that each temple (once the one in Saratoga Springs is dedicated) will then serve an average of 292 congregations (and that is without taking into account any new ones that will likely be created).
The first temple for the Saints in this area was the Provo Utah Temple, which was dedicated on February 9, 1972 by 10th Church President Joseph Fielding Smith (note that though he composed the prayer, at his request, it was read during the dedication by President Harold B. Lee). As a result of its' dedication, it became the 15th operating temple of the Church. Some of my earliest memories are those associated with my parents leaving us at home to go do temple work in the Provo Temple.
Since the Provo Temple was (and in many ways continues to be) very busy, it has been great to see four other temples which have or will cut down on the distance the Saints in Utah County have th travel.
The dedication of three of those has left the Provo Temple district with 52 stakes based in North Provo, Orem, and the Heber Valley. While the Saints in Heber only have a 28.1 mile drive to get to the Provo Temple, I have a potential temple for Heber City on my list for the Utah South Area. I am also certain that Orem (where I currently reside) will get its own temple at some point, but that might be a few years down the road.
The next temple dedicated in Utah County was the Mount Tmpanogos Utah Temple, which, as I have already noted, holds a special place in my heart. Dedicated between October 13-19, 1999 (for which I was in attendance) by President Gordon B. Hinckley, it became the Church's 49th operating temple.
Serving 60 stakes in the northern Utah Valley, its district includes the cities of Alpine, American Fork, Cedar Hills, Eagle Mountain, Highland, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Saratoga Springs. With the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple announced last April, it is anticipated that that temple district will include stakes based in Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and Saratoga Springs. Right now that means that 30 stakes will be pulled away from the Mount Timpanogos district, which will split it right in half. As the Church gauges how patron attendance is at both temples, any subsequent adjustments could be made to either district.
That brings our discussion to the Payson Utah Temple. It became the Church's 146th operating temple when it was dedicated on June 7, 2015 by President Henry B. Eyring. Having a temple in Payson means a lot to me personally. I spent the bulk of my childhood years in that city, and I always felt it would get a temple of its own someday, but I wasn't convinced that would happen in my lifetime. I still hear every once in a while from some members of the ward we were in during our time in Payson just how much of a difference having a temple there has made for them.
The district of that temple serves 28 stakes which have been established in Central Utah and the Southern Utah Valley, which includes the communities of Delta, Elk Ridge, Goshen, Mapleton, Nephi, Payson, Salem, and Spanish Fork. If and when this district needs to be split, I could see the merits of a temple in either Delta or Mapleton.
The last currently operating temple serving this area, as you are all probably aware, was once the Provo Tabernacle. When a fire tragically burned that building beyond repair, President Monson was inspired to rebuild and renovate it as a second temple for the city of Provo.
That temple was dedicated just last year on March 20, and the First Presidency sent Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who had numerous personal connections to preside at two of the dedicatory sessions (since President Russell M. Nelson was in attendance at the last one, he presided at that session). That temple became the 150th in operation worldwide. As for its district. the Provo City Center Temple currently serves those 29 stakes spread through southern Provo and Springville. So it is very decently sized.
This concludes my coverage of Utah County Temples, so that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post (which will, as already noted, be put up to discuss those temples in Washington and Weber), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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