Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! It was my intention to do a post earlier today in honor of Valentine's Day (and in tribute to my wife), but had to postpone that until now while I attempted to deal with ongoing health issues. In the interim, I became aware of some Church news updates that were well worth passing along. So this post will cover those items, and the next will be the one I intended to do earlier today. With that said, let's talk about the news updates from the Church.

First, although it has not been reported in official Church news resources (which rarely, if ever, devote time to such things), the First Presidency has observed one full month of service together as of today. A lot has occurred within that time, and it is obvious that they have hit the ground running. If the last month is any indication whatsoever, then the remainder of 2018 will be full of many Church and temple developments and updates. And you can catch many (if not all) of those developments here on this blog.

Second, in connection with this Valentine's Day, the Church News ran this article highlighting a sweet Valentine's Day tribute which was published on social media by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland honoring his wife. His tribute makes it clear how successful marriages are established and maintained. Next, in this article, dates and featured speakers were announced for BYU's annual Church History Symposium.

And as reported here, BYU hosted a forum today featuring the former US Chief Data Scientist, who spoke on the importance of gathering and sharing information and data. We do live in a remarkable time when data can be gathered, assimilated, analyzed, adapted, and shared on a scale and to a degree that we have not seen before in the world's history, and I hope the things I share on this blog agree with the principles taught in this address.

The Church News also reported on the three LDS athletes competing at the Olympics who are hopeful that they will earn medals. It is good to see that the Church continues to have a presence in the Olympics.

And we conclude this news update by mentioning that, from the Church's Pacific Area, we have this report covering the devastation and relief efforts in American Samoa and Samoa, and this one covering the same procedures which are underway in Tonga.

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.

1100th Blog Post: Temple Updates

Hello again, everyone! This will be my 1100th post on this blog, and I could not think of a better subject for this milestone than temple updates. I have found updated status reports for the Concepcion Chile Temple and also for the renovation process for the Raleigh North Carolina Temple. I have said before and will continue to say again that it is amazing to see how quickly things can change, even on a day-to-day basis, in terms of temple progress.

Before I get to those updates, I wanted to first pass along updates on where the Church stands in its' progress towards 200 operating temples. As I mentioned previously, the Church may be able to dedicate as many as four new temples during this year. Whether or not all of those four are dedicated, I have previously shared my thoughts that the Church could (and likely will) have 200 operating temples by or before its' bicentennial anniversary (which, as noted previously, will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030).

As of today, there are 12.14 years left before that date. So the Church would merely need to announce 18 new temples and complete the other 23 in various phases within that time. That means that with a total of 41 temples to be dedicated between now and the Church's bicentennial, as long as the Church completes roughly 3.38 temples per year, it could be done.

And since we have Elder Wilson's statement made in late April of last year that 80 potential locations are under active consideration for an official announcement within the 15 years that followed that statement, whether or not all of those locations make it to an official announcement within that time, it not only seems reasonable but also highly probable that 18 of those will surely be announced and that they, along with those 23 others, could easily be completed within that time.

With all of that noted, let's now turn our attention to the updates I referenced at the beginning of this post. First, for the Concepcion Chile Temple, reports show that landscaping is progressing, art glass is being installed, and the interior work on the temple is entering its' final stages.

Based on that progress, it seems entirely likely that the more-specific estimate I ventured for this temple's dedication (Sunday August 12 or 19) may be justified. I will post with further updates on those estimates or future announcements of such temple events as I become aware of them.

In the meantime, we now turn to the other item I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the progress made on the renovation process for the Raleigh North Carolina Temple. The latest updates I have been able to locate show that the interior has been fully dismantled, and that the removal of marble cladding around the temple's exterior is well underway.

I am grateful to have been able to pass these updates along to you all. I continue to keep my eyes open for further updates in such progress, and I will keep you all informed of the latest developments as I can.

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.

Tropical Storm Hits the Pacific Area: How Might That Affect Potential Future Temples There?

Hello again, everyone! As reported by this article, the South Pacific Islands have been devastated by a tropical cyclone (which is the same thing as a hurricane elsewhere). While we continue to pray for the safety of members and missionaries in that region, there is a very important question on my mind: How, if at all, might this storm's devastation impact both the renovation plans for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple and the timing of any new temples being announced within the Pacific Area of the Church? 

The article cited above seems to indicate that most of the devastation is in the nations of Samoa and Tonga, though there appears to have also been some degree of devastation in American Samoa as well. I could see the Church postponing the announcement of any new temples in the Pacific till the devastation clears, but since this may be the first time a natural disaster might potentially impact my thoughts on future temple possibilities in this region, I thought it would be worth asking.

And I thought that perhaps some of you may have been in a position at one point or another in your life experiences to witness firsthand how natural disasters have impacted currently operating or potential future temples. 

My initial research shows that only two temples (the original Nauvoo Temple and the original temple in Apia) were entirely destroyed by natural disasters, and both were the result of fire, the former being arson, and the latter occurring somehow in the midst of a renovation and expansion process.

We also know that the Houston Texas Temple was closed last year for a restoration process that evolved into a "renovation" of sorts. This letter from the First Presidency describes that process as "renovations and repairs", so I use the term renovation, although I have seen others use different terminology. 

My point in bringing up Houston is that this is the latest example of which I am aware where a natural disaster necessitated a short-term closure, but I doubt it is the only example of such a thing occurring.

And having recently (within the last 2 or 3 months) offered my opinion on potential future temple locations in all areas of the Church, the report of this natural disaster in the Pacific has me wondering whether any of the locations I previously mentioned might not get a temple in the near future in view of this tropical storm. Let me know your thoughts below. I look forward to the discussion and hope you all know that any and all comments are 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.