Church News and Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Some additional Church news and temple developments have come to my attention in the last six hours or less, and the extensive nature of those merited a new post rather than additional comments on previously-posted content. Let's get right into those updates. First, the Church news.

Bruce C. Kusch, the president of LDS Business College, was the featured speaker at this week's devotional, sharing 4 invitations which, if taken, will enable us to endure to the end. And BYU-Idaho President Henry J. Eyring spoke to students on that campus about optimism, highlighting the fact that there is much more good going on worldwide than many news outlets lead us to believe. And another article has been written about a temple dedicated 20 years ago, this time in honor of the Anchorage Alaska Temple.Each of those articles is well worthy of your attention.

Now to the subject of temple updates. I have mentioned before that the Church is on track to have 200 operating temples by or before the bicentennial anniversary of the Church's reestablishment, and that has essentially been confirmed (albeit indirectly) by a recent article in the Church News. There are now 11.24 years between now and then, and 39 temples to complete and dedicate within that time, which could be done if 3.47 temples were dedicated per year between now and then.

3 temples have already had a dedication set for next year, and one other (in Fortaleza Brazil) will likely have a dedication announced very soon, and will more than likely be set to occur before the Brethren observe the annual July recess. And there are 3 (or 4) other temples anticipated to be dedicated as well by the end of this year.

We also are awaiting more information on the rededications for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Memphis Tennessee Temples, along with groundbreaking ceremonies for the Brasilia Brazil, Pocatello Idaho, and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples, and will bring word of those to you as I become aware of it.

In the meantime, there are also some status updates on temples which I wanted to pass along. At the Lisbon Portugal Temple site, the concrete slab has been poured for the monument sign, while a hard landscaping structure is being added on the north side of the temple. And while exterior lighting is still being installed and tested at the grounds of the Arequipa Peru Temple, fencing materials are going up around its' perimeter, and work is progressing at a steady rate on the temple's interior as well.

I also have one update to pass along about the Urdaneta Philippines Temple. It appears that the time for its' groundbreaking ceremony one week from today has been set to occur at 11:00 AM Urdaneta time. Since that city is 15 hours ahead of Utah time, the groundbreaking will be occurring at 8:00 PM MST on the previous evening. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware 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 are in accordance 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.

Yet Another Revision to My List of Announced Temples

Hello again, everyone! Given the unexpected development which I cited a few hours ago pointing to the notion that the groundbreaking for the Brasilia Brazil Temple is more imminent than I thought less than 12 hours ago, I needed to make yet another revision to my list of announced temples. I again weighed what was known about each temple for which I felt comfortable offering a groundbreaking estimate against any unknown factors I couldn't account for. The result of that additional analysis is detailed in the latest version of that list below. As always, any new changes made since my last such update are highlighted in red text. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do. 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 made in accordance 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.

Note on announced temples: As noted previously, this section is split into two sub-categories. The first contains those for which there is sufficient information for me to estimate a rough window for a subsequent groundbreaking, which will, of course, be subject to alteration in the future as more information is available. The second section contains those temples which are ordered based on the information currently available, but for which more information will be needed before they can join the first list. And for that second list, I do not feel comfortable offering any groundbreaking estimate until more information is available. I reordered the list yet again on January 6-7, 2019.

Announced Temples (for which sufficient information has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate):

174. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; construction fence erected around property; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

175. Pocatello Idaho Temple: Government approval process; streets around temple site opened; groundbreaking anticipated in mid-2019.

176. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Government approval phase; probable site identified; awaiting official confirmation and artist’s rendering; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and preliminary construction phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited probable site on October 20, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

178. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited potential site on April 17, 2018; groundbreaking anticipated in late 2019.

179. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; media event held June 14, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

180. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

181. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

182. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

183. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

184. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

185. Richmond Virginia Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

186. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson toured potential locations on April 19, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

187. Puebla Mexico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020.

188. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020-early 2021.

189. Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in ­late 2020-early 2021

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide an estimated groundbreaking time-frame):

190. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

191. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

192. Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

193. Salvador Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

194. Yuba City, California Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

195. Praia Cape Verde Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

196. Yigo Guam Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

197. Lagos Nigeria Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

198. Davao Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

199. San Juan Puerto Rico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

200. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official location and site announcement.

201. Washington County Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city and site announcement.

List of Temples Which Might Be Renovated in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! I mentioned a couple of times recently that I was working on updating my list of temples which could (and likely will) be renovated in the near future. I have finished that process, so I wanted to post the latest copy of that list.

The list now consists of 24 temples dedicated between 1877 and 1990, along with 35 of the smaller temples from the Hinckley-era boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The latest version of it follows below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do.

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 made in accordance 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.

Preliminary Note: The list below is based on whether a temple has previously been renovated, recent statements by apostles and the Executive Directors of the Church’s Temple Department to the effect that temples need to be renovated roughly every 30-40 years or so to keep them seismically and systemically up-to-date, and on the fact that many of the Hinckley-era smaller temples have begun to be renovated and given a new design in recent years.

Temples which may be renovated in the near-future:

1.      St. George Utah (dedicated in 1877; first rededicated in 1975)

2.      Logan Utah (dedicated in 1884; first rededicated in 1979)

3.      Manti Utah (dedicated in 1888; first rededicated in 1985)

4.      Salt Lake (dedicated in 1893; is anticipated to close for its’ first major renovation in the near future)

5.      Cardston Alberta (dedicated in 1923; addition only rededicated in 1962; fully rededicated in 1991)

6.      Bern Switzerland (dedicated in 1955; first rededicated in 1992)

7.      Los Angeles California (dedicated in 1956)

8.      London England (dedicated in 1958; first rededicated in 1992)

9.      Provo Utah (dedicated in 1972)

10.  Seattle Washington (dedicated in 1980)

11.  Sydney Australia (dedicated in 1984; addition only rededicated in 1991)

12.  Manila Philippines (dedicated in 1984)

13.  Dallas Texas (dedicated in 1984; addition only rededicated in 1989)

14.  Taipei Taiwan (dedicated in 1984)

15.  Guatemala City Guatemala (dedicated in 1984)

16.  Stockholm Sweden (dedicated in 1985)

17.  Chicago Illinois (dedicated in 1985; addition only rededicated in 1989)

18.  Johannesburg South Africa (dedicated in 1985; renovation might be delayed until after the Durban South Africa Temple is dedicated in mid-to-late 2019)

19.  Seoul Korea (dedicated in 1985)

20.  Lima Peru (dedicated in 1986)

21.  Denver Colorado (dedicated in 1986)

22.  Portland Oregon (dedicated in 1989)

23.  Las Vegas Nevada (dedicated in 1989)

24.  Toronto Ontario (dedicated in 1990)

Smaller temples built during the Hinckley-era boom (which may be redesigned):

1.      Spokane Washington

2.      Columbus Ohio

3.      Bismarck North Dakota

4.      Columbia South Carolina

5.      Detroit Michigan

6.      Halifax Nova Scotia

7.      Regina Saskatchewan

8.      Edmonton Alberta

9.      St. Paul Minnesota

10.  Kona Hawaii

11.  Ciudad Juarez Mexico

12.  Hermosillo Sonora Mexico

13.  Oaxaca Mexico

14.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico

15.  Louisville Kentucky

16.  Palmyra New York

17.  Fresno California

18.  Medford Oregon

19.  Reno Nevada

20.  Tampico Mexico

21.  Nashville Tennessee

22.  Villahermosa Mexico

23.  San Jose Costa Rica

24.  Fukuoka Japan

25.  Adelaide Australia

26.  Melbourne Australia

27.  Merida Mexico

28.  Veracruz Mexico

29.  Birmingham Alabama

30.  Porto Alegre Brazil

31.  Montevideo Uruguay

32.  Guadalajara Mexico

33.  Perth Australia

34.  The Hague Netherlands

35.  Brisbane Australia