Updated Estimates for Known Temple Events Within the Next 4 years

Hello again, everyone! As I promised to do so, I have looked over my estimates for known temple events and have made those changes which I have felt would be appropriate. So I wanted to post those right now. The more specific timing of any temple event is, of course, in the hands of the Lord and of those who are working on these projects. I will not be surprised in any way to find out that further adjustments are necessary in the future, nor will it surprise me if the actual time-frames are nowhere close to what I share here.

The updated estimates, along with any relevant notes, 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.

Future estimates for known temple-related events

First half of 2018:

April: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple

Note: A Church member in Winnipeg has confirmed that construction of this temple is anticipated to begin this month.

Sunday April 22: Houston Texas Temple Rededication (private; date has been confirmed; President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will preside at this event)

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

Note: Since the rededication Jordan River Utah Temple is the first public temple event of President Nelson’s administration, it seems to be a given conclusion that he will preside at this event, if only the first one or two sessions. Since this temple is in the Salt Lake Valley, it seems entirely likely that several Church leaders will be in attendance at this event.

Second half of 2018:

July: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Renovation Closure (confirmed; official date confirmation pending)

Sunday October 28: Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication (160^th operating temple; confirmed)

Sunday December 9: Barranquilla Colombia Temple Dedication (161^st operating temple; date has been officially confirmed)

Final note on 2018: I have heard that 2018 could potentially be a big year for groundbreakings of temples currently announced. Since we have had information about the site location and artist’s rendering of the Bangkok Thailand Temple, I am watching for news of a groundbreaking there. Additionally, I have heard in passing that members in Harare Zimbabwe and Nairobi Kenya have been advised of the location of the sites for the temples announced in those cities. If the Church confirms those locations in the near future, both of those temples could potentially have a groundbreaking later this year as well. We also have seen site confirmations for the temples in Brasilia Brazil, Urdaneta Philippines and the second temple in Manila, with a likely location also identified for the Pocatello Idaho Temple. And with the fact that the contractor for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple said in March of last year that a year of pre-planning would be needed for that temple, it may not be long before we have official confirmation of the site for that temple. It will be interesting indeed to see how many of these temples actually have a groundbreaking later this year.

First half of 2019:

Mid-February: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication

Sunday March 10-Sunday March 17: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (162^nd operating temple; confirmed)

Mid-April: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Rededication

Mid-to-late April: Kinshasa DR Congo Temple Dedication (163^rd operating temple)

Early-to-mid May: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication

Mid-to-late May: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication (164^th operating temple)

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

Second half of 2019:

Early-to-mid August: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication

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

Mid-September: Lisbon Portugal Temple Dedication (166^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late October: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication

Mid-November: Durban South Africa Temple Dedication (167^th operating temple)

Mid-December: Oakland California Temple Rededication

Note: While this temple’s rededication is anticipated before the end of 2019, if its’ renovation process is delayed for any reason, then that would push its’ rededication into 2020.

Final note on 2019: As with 2018, I have heard that 2019 could potentially be another big year for temple groundbreakings. If that proves to be the case, there will be other temple-related events to add to this list for subsequent years.

                       

First half of 2020:

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

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

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

Early-to-mid June: .Tokyo Japan Temple Rededication

Mid-September: Mesa Arizona Temple Rededicatiom

Mid-December: Washington DC Temple Rededication

2021:

Mid-to-late April: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Rededication

Final note: If, as noted above, several temples have a groundbreaking during the next two years, that in turn would necessitate adding their completion estimates to the list above. I continue to monitor all temple-related developments and will pass news of them along as I receive word of them.

Lengths of Addresses Given By the Apostles During the April 2018 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! As long-time readers of this blog might recall, shortly after each General Conference of the Church, I take some time to look at the lengths of each talk given by the apostles of the Church (including those given by members of the First Presidency), and I then post the results of that research on this blog. Having looked at that information for this last General Conference, I am pleased to bring you the information below.

I did want to note something interesting that struck me as General Conference concluded: Although President Nelson only gave addresses in 3 of the 5 sessions, the fact that he spoke twice during the Priesthood Session and Sunday Afternoon Session (once in each to introduce new policies and practices, and a main address at the end of each session) meant that his 5 total addresses matched the number of addresses typically given by a Church president in most General Conferences. So that was amazing.

The information I have assembled follows. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will conclude now as I always do. 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.

20:48—President Russell M. Nelson (SUM)

17:40—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (SUA)

17:35—President Dallin H. Oaks (SUM)

17:02—President Henry B. Eyring (SUM)

16:04—Elder Neil L. Andersen (SAM)

16:01—President Dallin H. Oaks (SPH)

16:01—Elder David A. Bednar (SAA)

15:53—President Henry B. Eyring (SPH)

15:29—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (SUA)

15:04—Elder Quentin L. Cook (SUA)

15:07—Elder Gary E. Stevenson (SAM)

14:43—Elder Dale G. Renlund (SAA)

14:29—President M. Russell Ballard (SAM)

14:28—President Russell M. Nelson (SPH; main address)

13:35—Elder Ronald A. Rasband (SPH)

13:19—Elder D. Todd Christofferson (SPH)

12:10—President Dallin H. Oaks (SAA; Sustaining Other Church Officers)

11:03—President Henry B. Eyring (SAM; Solemn Assembly)

6:01—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA; concluding address)

5:24—Elder Ulisses Soares (SUA)

4:56—Elder Gerrit W. Gong (SUA)

3:39—President Russell M. Nelson (SPH; Priesthood Quorum Announcement)

2:15—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA; Ministering Announcement)

Church News Provides Summary of General Conference Talks

Hello again, everyone! While I was pleased to be able to report late last night that the transcripts of the talks given during General Conference are now available for us to study, as we have been invited by President Nelson to do, I recognize that there are many of my readers that, due to daily obligations, may not always have time to read a full address from General Conference.

For any of you who fit that description, I wanted to pass along this document, which provides summaries of each address given during General Conference. These summaries encapsulate the key elements of those addresses, and get right to the heart of what was said by every speaker. I am happy to recommend these summaries, along with the full transcripts, to which I posted a link last night.

In a world where so much is happening on a daily basis, it is wonderful indeed to consider how committed the Church News, and more particularly the Church itself, is to enable all of us to enjoy General Conference after it airs through a variety of methods.

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.