Updated Temple Developments

Hello again, everyone! I am posting today to pass along some significant temple-related developments that have come to my attention within the last 24-48 hours or so. and which are well worth mentioning on this blog. So let's get right into all of that.

First of all, I have offered my opinion previously that the Church could have 200 temples by the time it marks its' bicentennial anniversary (which will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030). With that milestone being just 12.24 years or so from now, and with 41 temples to  complete by that time (23 in various stages of that process, and 18 new temples that will also need to be announced, constructed, and dedicated by that time), the Church would need to complete around 3.35 temples per year between now and then. As I have previously observed, that not only seems likely, but very reasonably doable, whether or not an official goal is made to do so.

Moving on now to new temples under construction, it was recently reported that the Arequipa Peru Temple has had scaffolding installed around the top of the temple as efforts turn to the roof and the steeple of that edifice. Meanwhile, the installation of temporary windows to enclose that structure continues.

Turning now to the Rio de Janeiro Temple, by all  reports, it would appear that this temple may be larger than originally reported, which explains the shift in its' completion estimate. That temple has recently seen rebar installed in preparation for the pouring of the steeple base.

With the knowledge that the temple in Rio de Janeiro is only anticipated to be completed during early 2020, it will be interesting to see if that temple is dedicated before or after the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. Though I have kept my eyes open for information on this, I have not yet  been able to ascertain whether or not the modification of the plans for that temple will change the estimate of 20 months that was previously offered for that temple's construction process. And, of course, with another winter having set in in Winnipeg, full-scale efforts might only begin in April or May of this year.

In the meantime, the final update I wanted to note is that the Raleigh North Carolina Temple is now officially closed for its' renovation. The thing that struck me as interesting is that, while I originally offered my thoughts that that temple could be rededicated sometime during mid-to-late 2019, there may now be reason to believe that it will be completed a bit earlier, in mid-2019. I have not seen anything in that altered estimate that might point to a need to again change the estimated time-frame i have previously offered, but I am keeping my eyes open for information in that regard, and will adjust my thoughts accordingly.

As I keep saying, it is wonderful to see so many great updates on temple construction worldwide on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, and I will do my very best to pass along any and all subsequent updates in that regard as I become aware of them. 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.

Exploring Where President Nelson Will Rank Among His Prophetic Predecessors

Hello again, everyone! With just short of a week left until funeral services are held to honor the life of President Thomas S. Monson, and noting that it will, at earliest, be a couple of days after that (Sunday January 14) before the First Presidency is reorganized, and still another day before the new First Presidency will meet the press and take questions from media representatives, I wanted to take a moment in this post to pass along some data I have compiled regarding where President Nelson will fit in with his prophetic predecessors in terms of his age and tenure.

Obviously, in doing so, I am working off the assumption that President Nelson will become the next President of the Church. At times like these, the Church's doctrines and policies indicate that if the senior apostle consults with the Lord and feels impressed to do so, he could announce his feeling that someone junior to him should be appointed in his stead. But that has never once happened in any of the 15 (soon to be 16) transitions there have been in the Church presidency, so while it is possible, it is unlikely.

With that said, I am going to note the obvious here: that is, that President Nelson will be the Church president with the shortest tenure for the first 9 months or so he serves, and because of the varying tenure lengths of his predecessors, he will mark only one tenure milestone before the end of this year,

In terms of his age, his birth date makes him the 16th in chronological order, while his age will put him at the bottom of the five oldest Church presidents. And if he is still living roughly a week after the April 2022 General Conference, he will have already become the oldest prophet in the Church's history. About one year previous to that time, his tenure length will have reached the 13th longest such period in Church history.

It continually amazes me to consider how Church presidents come to these callings ready to do the Lord's will for as long as his service in that capacity is needed, and also how and when the Lord enables other apostles to move up in apostolic seniority, with some passing away before they become Church president, and others outliving those senior to them, whether they are older or younger than those who have gone before.

I hope this information was helpful to at least some of you. 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.

President Monson's Ministry By the Numbers

Hello again, everyone! This will just be a brief post to share how the Mormon Newsroom's website just released this article, which looks at President Monson's ministry by the numbers. It is interesting to see the last decade of Church progress and how that has related to other major achievements of our dear prophet. I hope many (if not all) of you will find that interesting as well. 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.