Additional Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! While the big temple news today is the Rome Italy Temple Dedication, there have been a number of other developments for temples around the world that are worth mentioning here. So let's get right into those updates.

I wanted to note first an update on general information I have previously shared regarding the Church's temple construction efforts. Many of you long-time readers of this blog will no doubt recall my repeat mentions about my feeling that the Church could easily have 200 temples by or before April 6, 2030, which would mark the Church's bicentennial anniversary. Whether or not an official goal is made to do so, I am reasonably confident it will happen.

I say that because only 18 new temples would need to be announced and completed, along with the 23 in various phases around the world. Since that is a total of 41 temples which would need to be completed by that time, and since there are 12.02 years between today's date and that 200th anniversary (which will be marked on a Saturday), the Church would just need to dedicate roughly 3.41 temples per year between now and then.

With 2018 being a year that will see slightly less than that average (as only 2 temple dedications will occur by the end of this year), 2019 is shaping up to be full of temple dedications, and with the Rome Italy Temple dedication information announced today, it seems clear to me that 2019 will be a huge year for other dedications, and that we may see double or even triple the amount of temple dedications next year that we will see this year.

Having noted all of that, we now turn our attention to other temple news. I have become aware of a report regarding the Concepcion Chile Temple. The latest information I have is that the angel Moroni statue was officially installed today, while the traditional stone inscribed with the phrase Holiness to the Lord has also recently been put into place. Additionally, the entrance monument sign (bearing the names of both the temple and the Church) is being finalized.

Next, because the Rome Italy Temple dedication has been set for mid-March of next year, and since the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple is anticipated to be the next one dedicated after that, with the additional knowledge that the Fortaleza Brazil Temple has progressed nicely while there has not been any progress reported on the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple since I last shared an update on its' status, many sources to which I look for temple information have moved the completion estimate for this Haitian temple to mid-2019.

Also anticipated to be completed during mid-2019 is the Lisbon Portugal Temple, where recent reports show that parking lot curbing is being poured, that spire framework has been installed, and that scaffolding and netting continues to be placed around the temple's exterior.

Aside from these developments, there have been no other updates on any new temples or among those undergoing renovation. But it will be interesting to see if and how the general completion estimates off of which I base all of the more specific estimates I have provided might change for the new temples being constructed in Kinshasa and Fortaleza, and the temples undergoing renovation in Frankfurt Germany, Memphis Tennessee, and Oklahoma City Oklahoma. There may be a need to completely redo all of them. I will look into that later today, and will hope to have that reworked and published here at some point within the next two days.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces Open House & Dedication Dates for Rome Italy Temple

Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, in previous posts I have referenced an article from an Italian newspaper which quoted construction workers assigned to the Rome Italy Temple project as saying that they had been instructed to turn the temple back over to the Church by the end of May.

While that process is still pending, an official release from Mormon Newsroom confirms that the open house and dedication dates for this temple have been set. The open house tours will run from Monday January 28-Saturday February 16, 2019, excluding the Sundays during that time. The dedication for the Rome Italy Temple will be in several sessions over the course of roughly one week, and will be held from Sunday March 10-Sunday March 17.

As any Christian is aware, the city of Rome holds high importance to the history of Christianity, so it would make sense that dedicatory sessions will be held over the course of a week, to allow all who want to attend this historic event the chance to do so.

I didn't see in that official release anything about a cultural celebration or devotional for youth the night before the first dedicatory sessions, but this is significant news, to be sure. For my part, I will continue to monitor news about this event and will post that here as I find out about it.

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.

An Overview of Times When More Than One Apostle Was Called At the Same Time

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post now with a look at times when more than one apostle was called at the same time. As we know from articles in 2015, the Church had three vacancies to fill in April 1906, and George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay were called. But that was an example where age did not determine the order of their ordinations, as Elder Whitney was the oldest, followed by Elder Richards, and with Elder McKay being the youngest.

The next time more than one apostle was ordained on the same day was in 1934, with Alonzo A. Hinckley and J. Reuben Clark being the ones involved. The interesting thing about that is that Clark had been serving as a counselor in the First Presidency, and apparently President Heber J. Grant felt it would be wise for President Clark to have apostolic seniority established.

9 years after that (in 1943), Elders Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson were ordained, becoming the first apostles ordained on the same day who would both go on to serve as Church president.

It would not be until 1984 that two apostles would be called at the same time, and only then-Elder Nelson was able to be ordained during the week following. Less than a month after that, then-Elder Oaks was ordained after completing his judicial obligations.

The Church would not call two apostles again until October 2004, when Elders Uchtdorf and Bednar were ordained on the same day, with Elder Uchtdorf being the oldest and the first ordained. And more recently, we saw in October 2015 that Elders Rasband, Stevenson and Renlund were called. The three in order of their ages were Elders Rasband, Renlund, and Stevenson.

And, as noted previously, this weekend will be the first time in Church history (unless I missed something) where a Solemn Assembly will be held in which two new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are ordained. It is likely that the oldest of the two will be more senior. It will be interesting to see what happens in that regard. It is interesting that the last time apostles were called, there was more than one, and that this is true again now.

Depending on the ages of the two newest apostles, there may be a possibility that one of them could go on to serve as Church president. Hope this information is helpful to at least a few of you who read it. And unless I am mistaken, since none of the apostles are having age- or health-related difficulties, we may see this Quorum of the Twelve Apostles serve together for a number of years before another
 of their number passes away.

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.