Introductory Information About the Three Utah Areas

Hello again, everyone! While I had said as recently as 12-15 hours ago when doing my final post covering the South America South Area that I would be stepping back a bit before moving on to the three Utah areas to allow sufficient time for you all to read and make any comments on the other posts in this series, since I am in the groove for it now and and since my wife and I continue to be stuck at home with illness, I thought I would at least get started on my posts about the three Utah Areas. The one thing I wanted to note about the boundaries of those areas is that they are somewhat oddly drawn, and that is reflected by the fact that some small portions of other states are considered part of those three areas.

Next, I wanted to make a general comment about the state. As a Utah citizen, I am grateful to live in the state that is the worldwide headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord is at work in prospering His Church here. And nowhere is that more evident than in the fact that the current data about Utah is quite extensive. With 18 temples (17 of which are in operation, and 1, for the northern Utah County city of Saratoga Springs, which was just announced last April), the Church in this state has 11 missions currently (though that may change somewhat based on the announced intention of the Church to consolidate missions worldwide).

Additionally, the Saints in Utah are served by 592 stakes and only 1 district, which are further divided into 4,785 wards and 326 branches, or a total of 5,111 congregations. Divided evenly among those 18 temples, the congregational average served by each works out to between 283-284 congregations for each temple. While some of Utah's 29 counties are pretty well stocked in terms of temples to serve the Church members here, there are options I can definitely see the Church announcing in both the near and more distant future.

With that background information out of the way, I can now focus on the particulars of each of the three areas of the Church within this state. 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. Until my nest post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Yet Another Status Update for the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple

Hello again, everyone! As many of you have likely noticed, I went a little crazy in posting new content over the last 3-4 days because there was not much else for me to do while my wife and I have been stuck at home not feeling well over the Christmas holiday. So it is understandable, I hope, that I am opting to give you all a bit of time to continue to read those new posts (and to comment on any of them, if you so desire). As I mentioned in many of those posts, not only has doing so many over the last several days brought me closer to my goal of having 1,000 posts on this blog by the time 2017 ends, but I also hope that by the time we ring in New Year 2018 here in Utah that I will have also been able to provide those final posts in my series examining the likely potential locations in which new temples could be announced in the near future. Look for those later this week.

In the meantime, in addition to allowing a bit of time for you all to continue to read (and/or provide feedback about) the newest posts that have been put up during that time, I also promised in the last post I published early this morning to keep my eyes open for any news and updates regarding the Church in general or temples in particular. So in this post, I will be passing along some promising progress which I have heard has been made on the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple.

When I looked back at the last time progress had been reported on that temple, I found out that that had occurred 10 days ago (on December 16). So, on this day after celebrating Christmas, it was wonderful to learn that several of the sources I use for temple-related updates I share here have again updated the status of that temple.

So, what has changed? Well, 10 days ago, I had reported that the exterior walls of this temple were being plastered, and that a moisture barrier was being applied to the eaves of its roof. New information received just a few moments ago indicates that, while the plastering continues for the exterior walls of the temple, hardscaping is underway (which involves the addition of concrete planter boxes and curbing, while the path of the driveway for this temple has been compacted). In addition to that, it would appear that the process of adding that moisture barrier to the eaves has been completed.

To put these developments into context, the fact that we have had two very significant updates for this temple within the last 10 days seems to be a clear indication that this temple will more than likely be dedicated before the end of 2018, rather than during the early months of the following year.

As to a more specific time-frame in which that dedication might occur, if it does happen before the end of next year, my research on the climate in Kinshasa seems to point to either Sunday December 9 or 16 as being the most likely window for this event.

But if whatever remains to be done in this process is delayed for any reason, then that would, of course, push that dedication back into 2019. It doesn't seem likely at this point that will be the case, but since we have seen a couple of unexpected delays on several temples (in terms of either getting their construction started or seeing those that are under construction have their estimates pushed back), I wanted to note that possibility.

As with everything else, I am doing my level best to keep an eye out for any and all temple-related developments, and I will do everything in my power to bring you those updates as I become aware of them.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments (either on this post, or any of the previous ones I have done on this blog) are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 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 Site Possibilities: South America South Area, Part Seven--Analysis of Likely Split For Asuncion Paraguay and Montevideo Uruguay Temple Districts and Area Wrap-Up

Hello again, everyone! I know I indicated at the end of my last post that the last one that would cover this area (and would serve to wrap up that coverage), but as it turns out, I needed to do one first to examine the likelihood of other temples potentially being announced to split the other two current temple districts within this area in Asuncion Paraguay and Montevideo Uruguay. So how likely is such a possibility, and where might such a temple be built? Let's get right into all of that.

First, it makes sense that the temples in both nations are located in their capital cities. The Church has, as I previously observed, seemed to prefer doing things that way. That said, in looking at the two districts, I can see a couple of possibilities that might work if a determination was made to split these two districts. Please note that while there appear to be several candidates that will likely get their own temple at some point, I am focusing only on the most imminently likely possibilities.

The Saints from the Artigas region of Uruguay have a journey of 373.1 miles to visit the Montevideo temple. So that city could get one. And since it is also 496.6 miles from the Asuncion temple, it makes sense that the Church would not only have that city fall under the Montevideo district for the moment, but that Artigas could easily get a temple, if the Church feels one is needed there.

If a temple is announced for Artigas Uruguay, then the only other city that may need one at some point (at least for now) is Treinta y Tres Uruguay, which is 182 miles from Montevideo (slightly less than President Monson's target goal of 200 miles, but still close enough to qualify), and if a temple were built in Artigas, since that city is 318.5 miles from there, so that city would likely remain in the Montevideo district if a temple was announced for Artigas.

So there are some possible locations for other Uruguayan temples at some point, although how soon they might happen is anyone's guess. Moving on now to Asuncion Paraguay's district, let's next explore if, when, and how that district could potentially be split.

First, I have considered a potential second temple in Paraguay for a while, and in previous discussions about that possibility, someone mentioned that Ciudad del Este might be the best location for such a temple. And my subsequent research has shown the merits of that assertion.

The Saints in that city have a journey of 201.1 miles to worship at the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, and with it closed, the Saints are travelling even further than that to do so. For that reason, we could see a temple there at some point, perhaps sooner rather than later. And that seems to be the only feasible location to split the Asuncion Paraguay Temple district.

This brings to a close my thoughts on potential future temples to break up the Montevideo and Asuncion temple districts. I look forward to hearing yours. That does it for this post, and that also does it for my coverage of the South America South Area. My focus this next week as I can do so will be to report any new Church and temple-related news of which I hear, and also to hopefully finish my series of posts about potential temple locations in the final three areas I have yet to cover: Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South.

So stay tuned for that. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 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 Site Possibilities: South America South Area, Part Six--Potential Future Temples in Chile

Hello again, everyone! In continuing to discuss the potential future temples that could be built to help serve the Saints within the South America South Area, we now turn our attention to Chile. Until we see which of Chile's 77 stakes and 16 districts are going to be part of the Concepcion Chile Temple district, it will be difficult to tell if and how soon another temple might potentially be needed. That said, it would appear that the driving force behind the Concepcion Chile temple is the fact that the Concepcion Saints currently have a journey of 310.5 miles, which is over 100 miles further than President Monson's 200-mile goal.

That said, I do want to explore the likelihood of potential future Chilean locations I can see in which the Church could build other temples. The first is the city of Antofagasta. The Saints in that city currently travel 847.7 miles to the Santiago temple. And the Saints in Antofagasta are even further away from Concepcion, as the distance between the two is 1,156,2 miles. So a temple there makes sense.

There may also be a chance that the Church could opt to announce a temple for the Chilean city of Los Angeles. Saints in that city currently travel 319.4 miles to get to Santiago, and that distance will be cut down to 79 miles once the Concepcion temple is dedicated. While that dedication could very well push back the time-frame in which a temple could be built in Los Angeles Chile, it still seems potentially possible, if not immediately, then perhaps at some point.

But perhaps my favorite option for Chile's third temple is the city of Valpaiaiso, which has been on my list for a while now. While it is only 71.6 miles from the temple in Santiago, it will stay with that temple district once the temple in Concepcion is dedicated, since Concepcion is 375,8 miles from Valparaiso.

Again, in examining these options, we see that the Church has a few for potential future temples in Chile. 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. Until my next post (which should come at some point tomorrow afternoon to wrap up my coverage of this area, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Temple Site Possibilities: South America South Area, Part Five--How the Church Could Potentially Divide the Cordoba Argentina Temple District

Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early morning hours of the 26th to continue my coverage on potential future temples that could be built to help serve the Saints in the South America South Area. Having explored in my last post how the Church could potential divide the current Buenos Aires Argentina district we now turn our attention to how, when, and in what way the Church could potentially divide the district of the other Argentine temple, which is located in Cordoba. We have set the background for this topic in one of the previous posts about this area which discussed the current composition of that district. So let's discuss some possible ways that district could potentially be split.

The Saints from the Bell Ville stake currently travel 129.4 miles to worship at the temple in Cordoba. While that is 70.6 miles less than the 200-mile goal set by President Monson, if it would save the Bell Ville Saints a journey, it would make sense if they got their own temple, which could also potentially serve other stakes and districts in that region as well.

Another potential option that could work is the Argentine city of San Juan, which is 362.8 miles from Cordoba and would be a prime candidate based on the 200-mile goal. If a temple is built in Bell Ville, then San Juan would likely remain part of the Cordoba distrct, and vice versa, since the two are 475.9 miles apart.

The Church could also announce a temple for the San Luis area, as the Saints in that region have aa journey of 266.1 miles to the Cordoba. Since those Saints are even further away from Bell Ville (with a distance of 276.4 miles), they would likely remain with the Cordoba district until the time a temple is announced in San Juan, which would only be slightly closer than Cordoba (with that distance spanning 202.2 miles, which is still a little much).

The final option I'd like to present that could split the Cordoba temple district would be a potential temple in San Rafael. Since the Saints in that region travel more than twice the 200-mile goal set by President Monson (with the exact distance being 433.9 miles), a temple there might be useful to those Saints, 

If a temple is built in Bell Ville, the San Rafael Saints would likely still attend the temple in Cordoba, since Bell Ville and San Rafael are slightly farther apart (the exact distance between the two is 444.2 miles). But if either San Rafael or San Luis gets a temple, then the city that did not will likely be within that district, since the two are a distance of exactly 169 miles apart, which is considerably closer. That said, I would anticipate that both cities will be getting a temple at some point.

But these are just my thoughts on how the Cordoba Argentina Temple district could potentially be split. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 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,