BREAKING CHURCH AND TEMPLE NEWS: Kirtland Ohio Temple (& Other Church Properties) Open for Tours; Site Location and Preliminary Details Announced for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency reported that the Kirtland Ohio Temple and other Church-owned properties in Ohio and Illinois are now open for public tours. Additionally, through October 26, 2024, artifacts and documents transferred from the Community of Christ to the Church are now on display at the Church History Museum. The rest of that report speaks for itself. The First Presidency has also announced official information for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple. Let's break down those details:

The Tacloban City Philippines Temple was originally announced in October 2021 and is one of the temples outside the US for which I felt official information was coming in the near term. A 6.99-acre site located at Tacloban Bypass Road Brgy. Utap-Caibaan, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines, will serve as the home of what is anticipated to be a two-story temple of approximately 21,407 square feet. As a result of today's announcement, of the 94 currently announced temples, 39 have not had any official information confirmed.

And there are still two Mondays remaining before General Conference weekend on which that 39 could taper down further. As I've mentioned previously, given the delays that have ensued between the groundbreakings for the Heber Valley Utah and Knoxville Tennessee Temples and now, when full-scale construction is still pending for both temples, I believe the Church is taking more time and care to secure approvals for other announced temples to be sure that process goes more smoothly. 

If that is the reason for the lack of groundbreaking announcements for the time being, in my opinion, it is well worth it. I was slightly surprised that we only got word on the Kirtland Ohio and Tacloban City Philippines Temples, but the Church could be working on getting the approvals process done right for any other temples, so the fact that these two announcements are all we got this week doesn't concern me greatly either. 

I am grateful to have heard of these updates and that I had the opportunity to share that news with you all here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Confirms Area Changes Affecting South America and the Caribbean

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency confirmed area changes affecting South America and the Caribbean. The South America Northwest Area nation of Venezuela will be part of the Caribbean Area of the Church effective August 1 of this year. This adjustment is intended to bless and strengthen the Church in the Caribbean. 

The number of stakes in the Caribbean will double, and the number of missions and temples in the Caribbean Area will increase. This will leave the South America Northwest and South America South Areas with four nations apiece. I am grateful to have read about this announcement and for the opportunity to share that with you all here. 

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.  

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking for the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple Confirmed; Site Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Savai'i Samoa Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, the Newsroom confirmed that the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple's groundbreaking took place on Saturday as scheduled and released the site location and preliminary information for the Savai'i Samoa Temple. Since the information about the groundbreaking is self-explanatory, let's get to the details that have been revealed about the Savai'i Samoa Temple:

A single-story temple of approximately 29,630 square feet will rise on a 5.5-acre site at Lot 1098 to Lot 1105 in Fataloa, a subarea of Salelologa village. The temple was another of those originally announced in October of last year. As a result of today's announcement, 5 of the 20 temples announced during the last General Conference have had initial details confirmed.

And in view of the groundbreaking of the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, of the now-94 announced temples, only 40 lack official information. That number will likely go down further by General Conference weekend. That being said, I was somewhat surprised that we haven't gotten any other site announcements or exterior renderings today. I am not at all surprised that no other groundbreakings have been announced.

I say that because I see the Church wanting to avoid the kind of holdups that have delayed the beginning of construction for the Heber Valley Utah and Cody Wyoming Temples. So taking it slowly and getting the approvals right will likely allow a larger number of temples to have groundbreakings and begin construction swiftly thereafter later this year.

I am grateful for today's updates. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.