BREAKING NEWS: Elder Soares to Preside at Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication; Sissel to Headline Tabernacle Choir's 2019 Pioneer Day Concert

Hello again, everyone! As mentioned in a recent comment here, and shared by the Church of Jesus Christ Temples website, a Brazilian newspaper has featured an article noting that our native Brazilian apostle, Elder Ulisses Soares, will be presiding over the dedication of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple on June 2. This marks the second time in a row that a new temple was dedicated by a more junior apostle than the one who conducted a groundbreaking. Elder David A. Bednar broke ground for that temple.

The other recent time this occurred was in April, when Elder Dale G. Renlund dedicated the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple, for which the groundbreaking had been presided over by Elder Neil L. Andersen. That Elder Soares has been given this opportunity is not at all surprising, given that he has numerous connections to various Brazilian cities. Apostles dedicating a temple in an area to which they have a strong connection seems to be becoming the new normal.

In light of this information, I am more convinced than ever that Elder David A. Bednar, who was born in Oakland California, will preside over the rededication of that temple. I know that since Elder Quentin L. Cook has connections to the Bay Area of California, there is a chance he'd be called on to do it, but he has been asked to presiding over the November private rededication for the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple.

It is also worth noting that I believe that, while any current apostles could preside over temple dedications in areas to which they have a personal connection, for the time being, I believe that the least-junior apostle who may be asked to preside at a temple rededication will be Elder Christofferson. Time will tell how correct that might turn out to be, but that is my theory.

Turning now to another late-breaking news development, the Tabernacle Choir has announced that world-renowned vocalist Sissel, who originally performed with the Tabernacle Choir in the 2006 Christmas Concert, will be the special guest artist for the 2019 Pioneer Day Concert in July. I was anticipating that the special guest would be announced soon, and it is nice to have that confirmed.

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.

7 Additional New Temple Presidents Called

Hello again, everyone! After a two-week hiatus to cover other developments of a more significant nature, the Church News continues to report on new temple presidents, with the call of 7 more noted today. Each of the seven temples were on my list of those for which a new president was likely to be called this year, and 1 of those temple presidents has been called to serve as the first president for the new Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, for which a dedication is anticipated to be held early next year. The first president of that temple is currently serving as a counselor in the Recife Brazil Temple presidency.

Also among these newest 7 are 1 current area seventy (namely, ’Aisake K. Tukuafu, who consequently now will join the list of those area seventies likely to be released in General Conference around 4.5 months from now) 1 former area seventy, and 1 former counselor in the presidency of the same temple for which he will assume oversight.

This brings the number of new temple presidents called to begin serving later this year to a grand total of 56, while it is now more than definite that the first new president will be called for the Arequipa Peru Temple. I say that because a Church member living near that temple reported seeing the cornerstone of that temple, which reads "Erected 2019."  So if that temple is to be dedicated by the end of this year, then its' first president would need to begin his service by that time.

Additionally, I am anticipating the calls of the first presidents for the Winnipeg Manitoba and  Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temples, both of which are anticipated to be completed at some point next year. And I now have 12 other temples left on my list of those for which I anticipate that a new president is likely to be called this year. 

Of those 12 temples, 7 have been or are being renovated, or are scheduled to close for renovation later this year. And given that there have been 5 temples thus far which have had new presidents announced (none of which were on my list), I am not ruling out the odds that more surprises may be in store in that respect. 

The Church continues the tradition of calling new presidents for at leat 1/3 of all temples which are either currently in operation or those that will be so within a year from such announcements. Within the next 12-18 months, the number of operating temples is anticipated to rise to either 170 or 171. So the 56 temples which have noww had a new president announced is already 1/3 of that number, and at least 8 others could potentially be announced.

I will be monitoring such announcements and will continue to post updates as I am able to. In the meantime, I have now confirmed that President and Sister Nelson and Elder and Sister Gong have embarked on their Pacific Ministry Tour, with the first stop in Kona Hawaii. Hawaii is apparently 4 hours behind Utah time, so it is now after 2:00 PM there.

If the member devotional at that stop is set for either 6:00 or 7:00 PM Kona time, there may not be a repor published about it until after midnight tonight. If I don't see it by the end of my day today, I will try to pass word along about it ASAP tomorrow. So for now, the updated list of new temple presidents follows below. In order to not disrupt 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. 

New presidents have been called for the following temples:

1.      Copenhagen Denmark

2.      Manila Philippines (not anticipated; current president has only served for two years)

3.      Tampico Mexico

4.      Philadelphia Pennsylvania

5.      Spokane Washington

6.      Manhattan New York

7.      Columbia River Washington

8.      St. Paul Minnesota

9.      Jordan River Utah

10.  Medford Oregon

11.  Rexburg Idaho

12.  Provo Utah

13.  London England

14.  Tegucigalpa Honduras (not anticipated; current president has only served for one year)

15.  Johannesburg South Africa

16.  Fort Collins Colorado

17.  Panama City Panama

18.  Nauvoo Illinois

19.  Suva Fiji (not anticipated; current president has only served for one year)

20.  Paris France (not anticipated; current president has only served for two years)

21.  Dallas Texas

22.  Guadalajara Mexico

23.  Gilbert Arizona

24.  Detroit Michigan

25.  Anchorage Alaska

26.  Twin Falls Idaho

27.  Sapporo Japan

28.  Kyiv Ukraine

29.  Columbus Ohio

30.  Calgary Alberta (not anticipated; current president has only served for two years)

31.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico

32.  Ciudad Juarez Mexico

33.  Monterrey Mexico

34.  Idaho Falls Idaho

35.  Orlando Florida

36.  Halifax Nova Scotia

37.  Mexico City Mexico

38.  Santiago Chile

39.  Nashville Tennessee

40.  Merida Mexico

41.  Star Valley Wyoming

42.  Winter Quarters Nebraska

43.  Portland Oregon

44.  Montreal Quebec

45.  Santo Domingo Dominican Republic

46.  Seattle Washington

47.  Campinas Brazil

48.  Perth Australia

49.  Curitiba Brazil

50.  Melbourne Australia

51.  Chicago Illinois

52.  Reno Nevada

53.  Seoul Korea

54.  Cochabamba Bolivia

55.  Rio de Janeiro Brazil (first president)

56.  Hartford Connecticut

The first presidents will likely be announced for the following new temples:

1.      Arequipa Peru

2.      Winnipeg Manitoba

3.      Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire

List of currently-operating temples which may be getting a new president in 2019:

1.      Aba Nigeria

2.      Birmingham Alabama

3.      Fresno California

4.      Hamilton New Zealand (Note: It is possible that the Church could hold off on calling a new president for this temple until its’ rededication is held in 2021)

5.      Hong Kong China (Note: It is possible that the Church could hold off on calling a new president for this temple until its’ rededication in 2021 or 2022)

6.      Lima Peru

7.      Memphis Tennessee (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two on replacing him.)

8.      Oklahoma City Oklahoma (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two on replacing him.)

9.      Raleigh North Carolina (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two on replacing him.)

10.  St. George Utah (Note: Since this temple is scheduled to close for renovation later this year, the Church could hold off on calling a new president until the renovation is complete)

11.  Veracruz Mexico

12. Washington D.C. (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two on replacing him.)

Temple Construction Updates: Part Three—Announced Temples

Hello again, everyone! I am back with the last part of my temple construction updates. In this part, I am sharing my restructured section for announced temples, which speaks for itself and follows below. 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: During 2019, I again reevaluated the information I had available, and made further adjustments to this section following the completion of the revision process for the “Groundbreaking anticipated” section. I have felt that more information is needed on each of these temples before I offer any kind of estimate for their groundbreaking ceremonies. But as such information is made available, I will be sure to make further alterations to this section as needed.

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide a groundbreaking estimate):

187. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; site location confirmed.

188. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; site has been confirmed.

189. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Planning and approval phase; potential site acquired; awaiting official confirmation.

190. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; potential site acquired; awaiting official confirmation.

191. Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple: Planning and approval phase; potential site acquired; awaiting official confirmation.

192. Yuba City California Temple: Planning and approval phase; potential site identified; awaiting official confirmation.

Note: A potential site has been identified (though not yet confirmed) for this temple.

193. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; some prospective site locations identified.

Note: A potential site has been identified (though not yet confirmed) for this temple.

194. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Note: President Nelson toured potential locations for the temple on April 19, 2018.

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

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

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

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

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

200. Davao Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site]p[opop-announcement.

201. Pago Pago American Samoa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

202. Okinawa City Okinawa (Japan) Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

203. Neiafu Tonga Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

204. Tooele Valley Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement

205. Moses Lake Washington Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

206. San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

207. Antofagasta Chile Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

208. Budapest Hungary Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

209. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city (and site) announcement.