BREAKING TEMPLE UPDATE: KSL Provides Status Update on Tooele Valley Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! During the recently-concluded hor-long newscast at 6, KSL provided more contextual information about the  Tooele Valley Utah Temple and the issues that could impact the timing of construction for it. Although I presently have no source from KSl for the information they provided today, I will be sure to add that to this blog post when I have it. At the end of the first full week in April, the Church had released the artist's rendering for three temples, including the Tooele Valley Utah Temple. Less than a month later (on May 5 of this year), renderings of the  residential community  which was being planned by the Church's real estate investment arm were released.

According to the information KSL shared in their on-air story today, the temple had been planned to complement and contribute to the look and feel of that residential development, in such a way that there would be a visual coordination between the two. In the interim, residents have, as previously noted, been working on gathering signatures that would put the residential development on the ballot. What those who are excited about the temple and have no objections to that part of the plan fail to realize is that, if the initiative successfully gets on the ballot, any unity of opposition to the development would in turn impact the design and probable timing for construction of the temple itself.

So where does that initiative stand currently? A fair number of signatures have been gathered already, and the petition is apparently generating support. But the clock is ticking for the signature gathering process, which must be completed and have the signatures appropriately verified by Saturday August 15 to ensure that the initiative is successfully placed on the ballot for community input in the November elections. f the requisite number of signatures are not gathered and verified by that date, then the matter will not be placed on the ballot, and the Church could then have a groundbreaking for the temple as anticipated either in late August or early September, with the development going forward as planned, and the temple keeping its' exterior design.

Conversely, if sufficient signatures are gathered and certified by that August 15 deadline, then the initiative would likely be put to a vote in November. In the interim, the Church would then have two options. 
The first would be to wait on the outcome of the vote before adjusting the design of the residential development (which might perhaps also involve a redesign of the temple's exterior becoming necessary). The second option may be to initiate the process of making those changes to the plans so that, regardless of the outcome of that election, the Church would be ready to act ASAP on beginning construction for both the temple and the community. The key to the timing and details of the temple's construction appears to be dependent on the outcome of the initiative. As I noted earlier, some residents have made it clear that they want the temple, and are pleased with the interior and exterior renderings for it, but that they worry that a high-density residential community being built in conjunction with the temple would cause Erda to lose much of its' small-town way of life.

I guess I can understand that part of the argument. However, what I don't get is wwhy, when community input has been sought in every stage of this project's approval, there seems to be wide-spread objection to the overall plan for that part of Erda where there did not seem to be any of that before. Again, I will either update this post or provide a follow-up comment in the threads thereof once I have the KSL report on this story that was provided on-air today. In the meantime, I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates, including the latest on this Tooele Valley Utah Temple process, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such developments.

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.

POSSIBLE BREAKING NEWS: Potential Arrangements Detailed for the October 2020 General Conference?

Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, roughly 6.5 weeks ago, the First Presidency had  officially announced that the October 2020 General Conference will be virtual only, and would "follow the same pattern" as the April 2020 General Conference. In sharing that report on this blog, I had  conjectured that that meant that the Saturday Evening Session for October would perhaps also be a general session for all members and friends of the Churrch, with the conference utilizing prerecorded music, and perhaps with only all ordained apostles attending the entire conference, with the individual sessions being otherwise attended only by those who are speaking or praying in each session.

That was a theory I could not directly corroborate at the time. Later on, the event listing for that conference had shown that it would follow a similar pattern to April, but the page in question had listed the April dates in reference to the October 2020 General Conference. So I wasn't sure and wanted to wait for anything more official. Today, when I happened to again be checking  that particular entry, the dates in question were updated to be correct for October, and included the detail that the Saturday evening session would be "for all members and friends of the Church".

I want to be very clear here that unless and until this information is confirmed, denied, corrected, or clarified through an official announcement on the Newsroom website from the Brethren, anything that has not been officially announced should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. That being said, a couple of principles may be worth mentioning here. In  Doctrine and Covenants 68:4-5, the Lord provides Hris definition of what constitutes scripture. In an earlier revelation, the Lord also  explained the link between His voice and the voice of His servants.
With those scriptures in mind, I'd also like to cite a statement made by prolific apostle Elder Bruce R. Mcconkie, who noted the following in his scholarly work entitled Doctrines of the Restoration: "The proper course for all of us is to stay in the mainstream of the Church. This is the Lord’s Church, and it is led by the spirit of inspiration, and the practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scripture."

So, what I'm trying to convey here is that, if prophets speak for the Lord, as a result of which anything they say when moved upon by the Holy Ghost is scripture, and if the practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scripture, then it follows that, in most cases, updates to announcements or entries on the official Church website, when done with the approval of the Brethren, constitutes confirmation of the same, perhaps even of information not yet officially confirmed.
As a result, subject to any First Presidency correction or clarification, my assumption is that only the First Presidency (and some or all of the apostles) will attend each session, that only those other leaders who are speaking or praying will attend, that those leaders serving outside North America will be excused from attending, that the leadership sessions will again be postponed, that the music will again be pre-recorded, that the Saturday evening session will be for all members and friends of the Church, and that the conference itself will originate from the small auditorium in the Church Office building.

It will be interesting to see what happens in that respect.. And I will cover all new developments as I learn about it. 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: 3 Temples to Begin Phase 1 Reopening; 12 to Move to Phase 2; Changes Announced for Endowment Ceremony

Hello again, everyone! Two landmark announcements have been made about temples today, providing ample breaking developments. Let's get right into all of that. First of all, the phased reopening of temples continues unabated. Effective next week, the Columbia River Washington, Guayaquil Ecuador, and Preston England Temples will open under Phase 1, which allows husband-and-wife living sealings to occur in those temple. 

But the First Presidency is expanding the phased reopening of temples today, with the first 12 temples announced for phase 2 reopening, which continues the closure of temple cafeterias, clothing rental, and patron housing, but allows those temples to be open for all living ordinances, which means that for those 12 temples, those going out on missions will be able to receive their own endowment before their departure.

The 12 set to open in that phase 2 status as of next week are as follows: Billings Montana, Bismarck North Dakota, Columbus Ohio, Copenhagen Denmark, Frankfurt and Freiberg Germany, Helsinki Finland, Seuol Korea, Stockholm Sweden, Taipei Taiwan, The Hague Netherlands, and Winter Quarters Nebraska. It is good to see the Church continuing the cautious and carefully-coordinated phased reopening of temples.

If that was the only big temple news, it would be reason enough to rejoice, but the First Presidency also issued an official message by way of informing the Church and its' friends of other faiths that more changes had been approved for the endowment ceremony in temples. This follows changes announced to temple worship in early January 2019. The nature of the changes alluded to today is not known.

But the First Presidency concluded today's statement with the following comments: "Given the sacredness of the temple ceremonies, we ask our members and friends not to engage in speculation or public discussions about these changes. Rather, we invite Church members to continue to look forward to the day when they may return and fully participate in sacred temple work prayerfully and gratefully."

As one who sustains the Brethren as prophets, seers, and revelators, I accept that final paragraph of counsel as setting the parameters of the breadth and depth of any discussion that may follow here on this blog about the changes to which the statement alluded. Therefore, those specific guidelines will govern the discussion (or lack thereof) of the changes in question. 

With the first temples reopening under phase 2 next week, hopefully the phased reopening of temples will continue undeterred, and I predict based on that that some temples may be open under phase 4 by the Monday before the October 2020 General Conference, but that prediction is subject to confirmation, denial, or correction through official channels.

In the meantime, I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to bring word and analysis to you all on that as I become are of such developments. 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.