Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! This post will cover recent Church news developments which have come to my attention. I had intended to also share some updated temple information but will need to do that in a separate post later tonight. So for now, let's get right into the Church news stories which have been reported recently..

First, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently returned from an extended trip in the Europe Area, which included stops in the United Kingdom, France, and Austria.  As many of you may recall, the United Kingdom covers Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland. And in my latest updated list of potential future temple locations, I had one listed for Scotland, and another listed for Austria.

My reason for mentioning this is that last year, apostles visited several cities before the April and October General Conferences which subsequently had temples announced during those conferences. With that in mind, it seems more likely than not that temples could be announced within the next 1-4 General Conferences for Edinburgh Scotland and Vienna Austria. I recognize that the Europe Area may have seen a certain degree of stagnant growth in recent years, but if nothing else, I could see smaller temples in both cities that could easily get quick approval and move on to the construction process.

Given the precedent we saw this month with the announcements of the Yigo Guam and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples, I think we may be seeing a greater number of smaller temples again, which would be a rapid way to increase the number of operating temples in a very short period of time, and to eliminate greater distances of travel for Saints around the world in a logical and very doable way.

The Church News also released a video entitled "Beauty for Ashes" to describe how members in the area of the Paradise Campfire have reached out to serve their needy neighbors, even in the aftermath of their own personal, familial, and congregational losses. And another article describes how the new curriculum has been helping families throughout the Church to become more unified through more extensive conversations about and study of the gospel.

In the latest edition of "This Week on Social", posts from Church President Russell M. Nelson, Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Sisters Jean B. Bingham, Sharon Eubank (who serve as President and First Counselor respectively in the Relief Society General Presidency), and Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency were highlighted. Those messages, covering several important gospel topics, are well worthy of your review.

The Church News also continued another series of articles called "My Most Influential Teacher", and this week's iteration came from someone who was able to have her questions effectively answered by her youth Sunday School teacher. A few days ago, the Church News had also reported that a Brazilian missionary has passed away after collapsing during a soccer game. The young man had been serving since July 2017, and would have returned home in six more months.

Next, from the Newsroom website, we have a couple more new articles. One highlights how JustServe has helped provide 1 million meals to hungry children in various parts of the world. The other article comprises the latest edition of the Newsroom blog series "Latter-day Saints Around the World", with stories from the Philippines (focusing on Elder Holland's recent visit there), Yemen, Peru (from which two articles were featured), Panama, and Guatemala.

With that said, those were the Church news updates I wanted to share, so 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreakings Announced for Pocatello Idaho and Yigo Guam Temples

Hello again, everyone! I was just made aware of two more temple groundbreakings which were announced today for the Pocatello Idaho and Yigo Guam Temples. According to the news release, the Pocatello Idaho Temple will have its' groundbreaking on March 16, and the Yigo Guam Temple groundbreaking will follow on May 4, the same day as the previously-announced groundbreaking for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple.

The Yigo groundbreaking will be presided over by Asia North Area President Yoon Hwan Choi. and while it has yet to be announced who might preside at the Pocatello groundbreaking, I would imagine that President Eyring, Elder Bednar, or Elder Andersen could do so, since each of them have ties to that state. I am not sure which of the current members of the Presidency of the Seventy have ties to Idaho, but another possibility is that any member of the Idaho Area Presidency could preside at this event. That would include Elders Wilford W. Andersen, S. Gifford Nielsen, and Brian K. Taylor.

I have no doubt whatsoever that we will see many more temples have a groundbreaking later this year. I would go into more detail on the construction plans, but wanted to get this posted right away, so that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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 Updates Provided; Tool Created to Assist Prospective Missionaries

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to be able to bring you several temple updates and an article from the Newsroom which was published earlier today relating to the missionary program. Let's get right into all of that. First, the temple updates. At the Durban South Africa Temple, in addition to what I noted in my last update on that temple, it has also been noted that ceiling tiles are being installed and that floors are being assessed currently for carpet installation. That temple appears to be on track to be one of the first dedicated following the annual July recess for the General Authorities, though it is not as clear whether that might occur before or after the September 1 dedication for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple.

At the Arequipa Peru Temple grounds, window frames are being installed, while the installation of exterior lighting on the grounds of the temple appears to be complete. While there is still an outside chance that this temple won't be dedicated until early 2020, if it stays on track, I can see it being dedicated prior to the end of this year. I have estimated that could occur in December of this year, but could see that being pushed back into the early months of 2020 depending on what happens between now and then.

Next, I had previously mentioned that the Pocatello Idaho Temple was likely to have a groundbreaking in spring of this year. New information received today indicates that plans have been submitted to the city to undergo a plan review process. I have mentioned a prospective timing of April or May for this temple's groundbreaking, and we will see how and if that theory holds.

The one other update I have is on the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple. Since I last mentioned any information on it, it appears that the site President Nelson visited in October has been conclusively verified as the location for that temple. Last Sunday, the meetinghouse on the grounds of that temple (which housed the Habish and Cayetano Heredia wards) closed in preparation for demolition, which will clear the way for that temple's groundbreaking.

Until more is known about that, I am sticking with the general estimate I previously offered for the groundbreaking (mid-to-late 2019). As more information comes to light in this regard, I will update that estimate as needed. That said, I still anticipate 2019 will be a big year for temple groundbreakings, and I look forward to seeing what happens in that regard.

Shifting gears slightly to general Church news, a new planning tool has been made available for prospective missionaries which will enable them to more fully consider the timing of their service. Elder Brent H. Nielson, who continues to serve as Executive Director of the Missionary Department, noted that while most missionaries enter the MTC shortly after the end of each academic school year, those who feel they can defer that to sometime between November and May will find the opportunity to work with a more seasoned companion, and to have more one-on-one attention in the training process. The tool also allows prospective missionaries to approximate their release dates based on when they are thinking of commencing their service. It was good to hear of this development in the Church's missionary program.

One other item of Church news. At a Joseph Smith Memorial Devotional on January 27, Elder Gary E. Stevenson and his wife, Lesa, shared their testimonies of the life and mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, and how the truth of those two ideas lends support to the idea that we have a living prophet today. This devotional allowed Elder Stevenson a "home court" advantage, as it was held in Logan Utah, where he grew up.

I appreciated my opportunity to bring word of those developments to you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep passing those along 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 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.