Temple Status Updates

Hello again, everyone! As the year 2017 draws closer to its conclusion, the year has seen me share my commitment to bring you the latest temple-related news and developments as I have received them. In continuing that tradition (which I am pleased to be able to do), I wanted to note a couple of specific updates of which I have become aware in the last hour or so.

First, we turn our attention to the Arequipa Peru Temple, where interior work is officially underway, and where steeple framework is currently being assembled. Given this update, and that the current status of this temple's construction is similar (if not identical) to the status I reported for other temples earlier this year, I am very much hopefully optimistic that the completion of this temple will indeed occur prior to the end of 2019 rather than the beginning of 2020, and the update on its' status today leaves me more convinced than ever before that its' dedication could happen in mid-November.

But as we have seen quite a bit over the course of 2017, the amount of progress made on any temples under construction can vary to the point where some may jump well ahead of others that such temples had previously been thought to be well behind, and if sufficient progress has not been noted on other temples while the ones currently behind them in their estimated completion have progressed, they are moved down.

If this year has reiterated one thing to me about the process of worldwide temple construction, it would be this important concept: Some factors relating to getting a temple built anywhere in the world are entirely dependent on the agency of governmental leaders and construction team members to get any issues resolved in a timely manner. But pretty much every other factor (including the weather and climate of locations in which such projects are in various stages) is up to the Lord to control. And at times, that has involved Him impressing the importance of such projects on those involved in those processes.

Sorry if I rambled a bit in that last paragraph. Getting back to the discussion of other temple updates, I do have information about one more: At some point between the last time I looked at it yesterday and the first time I did so today, information has come in about the availability of reservations for the Jordan River Utah Temple open house, which will begin being accepted on Monday February 12 @ 10:00 AM MST. Given the fact that this is a Utah temple, and that the open house will last six full weeks, I would anticipate that those reservations will likely be in high demand.

While there are no other new temple developments to report for the moment, these two developments are very significant by any measure, and I am grateful to have been able to pass this information along to you all. 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, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Reminder about Commenting Period for Temple Site Possibilities Post Series

Hello again, everyone! I just wanted to post a brief reminder for you all. While I met my set goal to have the series of posts covering the future temple possibilities within each of the Church's geographical areas before the end of 2017, my intent was never to wrap up the discussions about those posts before New Year''s Eve this year.

So if any of you have any comments on any of the coverage I did for any of the Church's 25 geographical areas, you can feel free to add them at any time convenient for you. My main desire was to open up conversations about such possibilities, in the hopes that doing so would enable me to make any adjustments, including changing, eliminating, or adding potential sites based on the feedback from you all.

And that process will be going forward on an ongoing basis until the final version of the total list is published on this blog just prior to General Conference (which is now just over 15 weeks away). So if any of you have any comments on any of those posts, I want to hear your thoughts on the information I have shared over the course of that post series.

I am particularly interested to know if I have overlooked any promising locations, if there are any I should remove from my list, or what your thoughts are on how soon we might see those temple sites announced that seem most imminent.

I also hope that none of you have been or will be offended in any way if, in the course of such discussions, I reiterate why I feel strongly about the locations currently on my list. In the discussions that have taken place thus far in that series, we have had good back and forth chats about the reasons and merits behind the sites on my list, as well as the reasons why some sites are on that list and others are not.

But there have also been several conversations where someone has brought up a site I had not considered, or had not seen as a strong or immediate possibility, and the results of my research regarding such locations have led to me either replacing others that are less likely or else adding such locations to the others I feel strongly about within that area.

So until the week or so before April General Conference (at which time I will need to finalize the list), any and all comments are, as alyways, welcome and appreciated. That does it for this post. 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.

More Specific Alterations Done for Future Temple Events between now and the end of 2020

Hello again, everyone! While I was pleased to pass along to you earlier today the changes that were made in the general completion estimates for temple-related events which are anticipated to occur between now and the end of 2020, I had also promised to try and determine more specific windows in which each of those events could potentially take place. I am pleased to bring you now the results of those adjustments I have made. They follow below. 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, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Revised estimated time-frame for future temple-related events:

2018:

Sunday January 7: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)

Sunday January 28: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)

Monday February 19: Oakland California temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)

Sunday March 4: Washington DC Temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)

April or May: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple

Sunday March 11 or 18: Houston Texas Temple Rededication (private)

Sunday May 20: Jordan River Utah Temple Rededication/Mesa Arizona Temple Renovation Closure (both have been confirmed)

Sunday August 12 or 19: Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication (160^th operating temple)

Sunday September 16 or 23: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication

Sunday November 11 or 18: Barranquilla Colombia Temple Dedication (161^st operating temple)

Sunday December 9 or 16: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (162^nd operating temple)

2019:

Mid-February: Kinshasa DR Congo Temple Dedication (163^rd operating temple)

Mid-to-late April: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication

Late April-early May: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Rededication

Mid-May: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication

Late May-early June: Durban South Africa Temple Dedication (164^th operating temple)

Mid-June: Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple Dedication (165^th operating temple)

Early-to-mid August: Lisbon Portugal Dedication (166^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late August: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication

Early-to-mid September: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication (167^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late September: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Rededication

Mid-November: Arequipa Peru Temple Dedication (168^th operating temple)

Mid-December: Oakland California Temple Rededication

NOTE: While the Church did indicate that this temple is anticipated to be rededicated during 2019, it is one of the older ones, and, as such, if the renovation process is delayed for any reason whatsoever, it could be pushed back into 2020.

2020:

Mid-March: Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple Dedication (169^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late April: Tokyo Japan Temple Rededication

Mid-May: Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Dedication (170^th operating temple)

Early-to-mid September: Mesa Arizona Temple Rededication

Mid-November: Washington DC Temple Rededication

NOTE: I heard that 2018 and 2019 could be big years for temple groundbreakings. If that proves correct, then many other temples could also be dedicated during 2020 and 2021. As the next two years unfold, I will have a better idea of when such events may occur, and they can then be added to the other estimates above.