Additional Temple Developments and Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! Some additional temple developments and Church news items have been reported. The nature of these updates is such that it is more practical for me to put them in a new post, rather than trying to share them in comments. So let's get right into all of that. We will start with the temple updates, then conclude with the Church news.

Progress has been reported on two temples undergoing renovation. On November 30 of this year, I had noted a minor update on the status of the renovation process for the Frankfurt Germany Temple. And today, just 10 days later, we have another update noted. Landscaping irrigation is being installed while trees and shrubs are being planted on the temple grounds.

I am hoping that, given the timing and nature of this update, there may be a chance (however slim it might be) that this temple might have its' general estimate moved up, which in turn would allow me to move my more specific estimate up. In the meantime, as I have mentioned a few different times in the past, I am anticipating that, whenever the First Presidency sets that rededication to occur, that they will ask Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, our native German, who is a senior member of the Twelve, and who has previously presided at many temple dedications and rededications during his decade in the First Presidency, to preside at this rededication.

We now turn to the other temple update. The last time progress was noted on the Washington D. C. Temple was on Monday November 12, at which time I noted that the interior had been completely dismantled and that exterior renovations were progressing. The new information I have today indicates that Christmas lights are now on display (as per the usual tradition for that temple) as renovation work continues.

With that noted, I wanted to mention something here to which I have previously referred. As many of you might recall, both the Washington D. C. and Mesa Arizona Temples closed earlier this year (the former on March 4, and the latter on May 20). Both are anticipated to have their renovations completed at some point in 2020. Based on the fact that both temples are also on the larger side (with the former being the larger of the two), I set a general estimate of mid-to-late 2020.

But in view of the fact that this is the second time the Mesa temple has been renovated, I have also offered my opinion that the rededication of that temple could occur before that of the Washington D. C. Temple. Since I have no verification of that through any other source I have available, it may be another 6-12 months before we know for sure whether or not that is a reasonable assumption. I will be monitoring all future temple developments and will be sure to make any adjustments to previously-offered general or specific estimates as more information comes to light.

We now turn to the Church news updates. First, a Church News contributor recently sat down for an interview with Val Chadwick Bagley. If that name sounds familiar to any of you, there is a good reason for that. He has contributed gospel-themed cartoons for the Church magazines for the last 40 years, in addition to authoring and providing illustrations for several Church-themed books. He has enjoyed drawing such cartoons throughout his entire life.

But because he had trouble originally getting anyone to take his talent seriously, the path leading to his current opportunity to create such cartoons for the Church magazines involved a couple of detours with jobs not related to cartoons, including adding labels to different cheese products. In the due course of time, he was able to transition to cartooning full-time, and, as already noted, he has had a prestigious 40-year career (thus far) drawing such cartoons for the Church magazines.

Moving on to the official Church website, from the News & Events page, we have a report on some additional resources which are now available relating to the ministering program of the Church. Also, I may or may not have mentioned this previously, but the Church has announced that Jake Shimabukuro, a viral ukulele musician, will keynote RootsTech on March 2, 2019.

And finally, from the official English Newsroom, today marks the 4th anniversary of the release of the fourth article in a five-part series on why faith matters to and makes a difference in society today. Since the five-part series on that subject is more relevant today than it ever has been, the links to the other four parts of that series can be found under the "Additional Resources" section at the bottom of that page.

I recognize that this post was a long one, and I apologize for that. But I hope the information herein is interesting to most if not all of you who read it. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and remain committed to bringing word of those to you all as soon as I can after I become aware of such things. It appears that I have bounced back enough from my most recent health ordeal that such updates will be as thorough as they have previously been in the past.

I have also not forgotten or neglected the projects which I have mentioned will be published on this blog by the end of this year (the latest apostolic milestone update, which will be published this next Sunday; the birthday tribute to Elder Gerrit W. Gong one week later; my April 2019 General Conference predictions, for which I am finalizing the necessary annotation; and a New Year's Eve look at temple progress which has occurred during 2018).

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are in harmony with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Barranquilla Colombia Temple Is Dedicated; Other Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! I have some more Church news to report. First and foremost, official reports on the dedication of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple are now available. We have a report on the youth devotional, another from the Church News covering the dedication, and a report from the Newsroom covering both events. It is interesting to note that only 2 new temples were dedicated this year, but 6 others will be dedicated next year. As we know, 3 have already had a dedication scheduled, and we are almost certain to see the open house and dedication announced for the Fortaleza Brazil Temple within the next couple of weeks or less.

That said, let's discuss the other Church news. A Deseret News staff writer, who also covers news of the Church, shared his memory of how he and Elder Holland both saw their fathers pass away during the Christmas season, how Elder Holland comforted him after his father passed away, and how he (the Church News staffer) only learned about Elder Holland's experience as a result of the address he (Elder Holland) gave while Elder Holland gave a Christmas message at an Anglican chapel in Oxford, England.

And finally, Gerry Avant, the retired Church News editor, continued her retrospective look back at the highlights of her career by sharing her experience covering the then-Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now known as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square) in their tour of Israel in 1993. During that time, the Choir was approached by Franciscan monks who expressed appreciation for the opportunity to hear sacred songs celebrating the Savior's birth in the land in which He walked, ministered, and taught.

It is wonderful to see the inspiring Church news reported on a day-to-day basis. I continue to monitor those stories, and all temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. I continue to work as hard and quickly as I can on getting my General Conference predictions finalized so I can share those with you all here.

I am also still planning on posting the final apostolic age & tenure update for 2018 one week from today, and a birthday tribute to Elder Gong the following week. On the last day of 2018, I will be providing a look back at the progress made on temples. So I hope there will be a lot to which all of you are looking forward.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are in harmony with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Temple Construction Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! There have been a few developments reported within the last 12 hours or less in relation to temple construction. So let's dive right in to our discussion of those updates. First of all, information found earlier today indicates that President Nelson has asked his First Counselor, President Oaks, to dedicate the Barranquilla Colombia Temple this weekend. Later today, reports will come in about the youth devotional, and that will give us some idea of who is accompanying President Oaks from general Church leadership.

This was wonderful to find out about. I had wondered earlier this year how long it would be before President Nelson began sharing responsibilities for attendance at temple dedications with his counselors and the senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve. As we saw earlier this year, the two temples which were rededicated (Houston Texas and Jordan River Utah) were presided over by Presidents Ballard and Eyring respectively, who serve as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve and Second Counselor to President Nelson respectively.

I am not sure what that means for future temple dedications, but I imagine there will be some over which President Nelson presides as those dedications will be part of his ongoing Global Ministry Tour, while there will be others for which he taps his counselors or the senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Either way, President Nelson has, right out of the gate, shown a willingness to do things differently than they have previously been done, so we are almost certain to see that continue.

That said, let's move on to other temple updates. It has been noted earlier today that construction has officially been completed for both the Rome Italy and Kinshasa DR Congo Temples, where the placement of interior furnishings is underway, while both temples are being prepared for their open houses. The temple in Rome will have its' open house begin in roughly 7.5 weeks, with the open house for the Kinshasa Temple beginning on the last day of the Rome Temple's set dedication.

For the Fortaleza Brazil Temple, new information received earlier today notes that landscaping and construction efforts are in their final stages. It has additionally been noted that, if all goes well, the construction team assigned to that temple will be turning it back over to the Temple Department for the final touches within the next few weeks, at which point the open house and dedication information can and will likely be set.

Some of the sources I have available have moved the general estimate for this temple's completion back up to early-to-mid 2019, which I can understand. At the same time, however, given the dedication information set for the Rome, Kinshasa, and Port-au-Prince Temples (for March 10-12, April 14, and May 19 respectively), until more is known about the Fortaleza temple, or until the Church officially announces that information, I feel more confident standing by my recently-updated specific estimate of early-to-mid June.

A disclaimer here: I am not saying that the dedication of the Fortaleza temple couldn't happen somewhere in-between those already set. We have seen that occur a time or two. Instead, it is just my personal preference to be more cautious in the estimates I offer based on the information I have available.  Either way, it was wonderful to hear that this temple is getting close to the point where its' open house and dedication could be announced.

In the meantime, there are a couple of other temple updates I wanted to mention here as well. At the Arequipa Peru Temple, lamp-posts and bollards are being installed, and sod is being laid on the temple grounds.  And there has been a major update also reported on the renovation process for the Mesa Arizona Temple. New information indicates that water retention and irrigation systems are being installed, while excavation is underway for the underground parking area which will serve the Family Discovery Center.

I am grateful to have learned of these updates, and for the chance to pass them all along to you here. I will be sure to do the same with other major Church news and temple developments as I receive word of them. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments align with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.