Temple Construction Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Several temple construction updates have been noted, so I wanted to pass them along to you all here and now. First, at the Lisbon Portugal Temple, exterior lighting tests are underway. Next, as reported around 12 hours ago, the Durban South Africa Temple will be dedicated in mid-February of next year, when it will become the 168th operating temple of the Church. Next, an update shared for the Rio de Janeiro Temple notes that the construction barrier has been replaced by decorative fencing, that landscaping is now underway, and that scaffolding is being removed from the temple tower. Additionally, I have made the personal decision to shift my general estimate for that temple's completion to mid-2020, though most soureces available to me still list that general estimate as early 2020.

Sources available to me have shifted the estimated completion for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple to mid-to-late 2020, which fits in better with my more specific estimate (more on that later).  Next, after the Abidjan Temple, the Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples are anticipated to be completed, although full-scale construction is still pending on all of them. After that, the Quito Ecuador Temple is anticipated to be completed, followed by the Belem Brazil (for which a groundbreaking is set to occur in mid-August), Pocatello Idaho, Urdaneta Philippines, Lima Peru Los Olivos (for which full-scale construction efforts are also pending), and Bangkok Thailand Temples.

At least, that is the likely order of completion for those temples, though I anticipate others will be completed in-between the Belem and Pocatello Temples, and also likely between the Urdaneta and Los Olivos Temples and also between that of the Los Olivos and Bangkok Temples. Aside from that, the one other current temple about which I have an update is the Mesa Arizona Temple, where a retaining wall is being poured around the temple, where forms are being set for the west reflecting pool slab, and where a slab has been poured for the north reflecting pool.

But before I end this post, I wanted to pass along two updated sections from my temple construction progress report: those for the "Groundbreaking anticipated" and "Announced" sections thereof. So those follow below:

Groundbreaking anticipated:

181. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; property fence installed around temple site; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

182. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

183. Richmond Virginia Temple: Preliminary plans submitted to local government on March 22, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

184. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site confirmation; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

185. 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.

186. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Preliminary plans submitted to local government on May 7, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

187. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

188. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; site location confirmed on May 21, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

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

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

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

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

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

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

194. Feather River 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.

195. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

207. San Pedro Sula Honduras 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.

I should note that, depending on what happens over the next several months between now and the weekend of the October 2019 General Conference, the two sections I shared above will likely look markedly different (hopefully because at least 2 other temples will have a groundbreaking, and because several other temples may have been announced, or will get to the point of being in a "Groundbreaking anticipated" status.

I do continue to monitor all such Church news and temple developments and will be sure to pass along word of the highlights 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 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: Open House and Dedication Announced for Durban South Africa Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has announced the open house and dedication information for the Durban South Africa Temple. The open house will take place from Wednesday January 22-Saturday February 1, 2020, except for Sunday January 26. A youth devotional will be held with senior leaders the night of Saturday February 15, with the dedication of the temple following the next day in 3 sessions, which will only be broadcast to the units in the temple district. The fact that for two days in a row, we have had breaking temple news gives me hope that more such developments are on the horizon.

I should also probably mention that the last two days' developments mean I will likely be revisiting my estimates for known temple events in the future, given the new information I have received. It is also worth mentioning that there has not been confirmation on the Newsroom as of yet on the groundbreaking information for the Belem Brazil Temple.

But I antiicipate that occurring soon, and given that there are still almost-2 full weeks left in June that the Church could confirm that groundbreaking and perhaps announce 1 or 2 others which would then occur either in August as well, or perhaps in September.  I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will be doing my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of them, either through brand-new posts being published for breaking news developments, or through the comments on the threads of previously-published blog posts.

That does it for now. 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: Groundbreaking Set for the Belem Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! An unprecedented, surprising move has been reported through the unofficial site for some official information about the temples of the Church. The Brazil Area Presidency today announced that the groundbreaking for the Belem Brazil Temple will take place on Saturday August 17, and that Brazil Area President Marcos A. Aidukaitis will preside over that ceremony. At this point, there is no indication as to where the temple will be built, what its' design will be, or how long construction might take.

And it is somewhat irregular because usually groundbreaking announcements are made by the First Presidency, but I am assuming the Brazil Area Presidency received authorization from those Brethren to make this announcement, with more official details to follow in a news release perhaps later this week. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Saturday August 17. I will be sure to share more details about this as they are released.

In the meantime, 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.