BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: 5 More Temples Will Move to Phase 3 on March 15

Hello again, everyone! This morning, the Church News noted status changes for 4 temples, with 2 previously-"paused" temples resuming operations, and with 2 others being "paused" in their reopening status due to COVID-19 conditions and local regulations. While I had intended just now to note those minor changes in the comment threads of my previous post (since those changes were not necessarily breaking news), as I was preparing to do so, the Church News happened to provide a breaking update on temple reopenings.

Those updates came through less than an hour ago. So let's break down the announcement: 2 weeks from today (on Monday March 15), 5 additional temples will transition to phase 3 of reopening, which allows all ordinances for the living in priority order, but also allows all proxy ordinances to be done on a limited scale by appointment. The 5 temples that will transition to phase 3 in two weeks include the first 3 in North America (Kona and Laie Hawaii and Cardston Alberta in Canada), the first one in Central America (San Salvador El Salvador), and 1 more in the Pacific (Papeete Tahiti).

With the announcement about the Papeete Tahiti Temple transitioning to phase 3, on March 15, 9 of the 10 temples in the Pacific will be in phase 3. The only Pacific Area temple not currently in any phase of operation is the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, which remains closed for renovation, and for which the open house and rededication is anticipated to be the first held later this year (likely towards the end of the third quarter of this year, or the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year). Time will tell how soon following its rededication the Hamilton temple will transition from phase 1 to phase 2, and then on to phase 3 with the other temples in the Pacific.

Having noted that, the other changes which were noted in the original announcement from the Church this morning (roughly 4 hours before the subsequent phase 3 announcement) are that the Guadalajara and Monterrey Mexico Temples will both resume their former phase 1 reopening status, which will allow the living husband-to-wife sealings where both are previously endowed, with limited guests in attendance. Meanwhile, due to local COVID-19 conditions and new governmental regulations, the Curitiba and Porto Alegre Brazil Temples, which had been in phase 2, will now pause operations.

The Church News has updated their temple status tracker, which lists the status of each temple, grouped by the geographical boundaries for each area of the Church under which each temple falls. The Church News further notes that, by March 15, there will be 19 temples in phase 3, 119 more in phase 2, 12 others in phase 1, 9 in a "paused" status due to local restrictions and regulations, and 1 still closed (Kyiv Ukraine, which has not reopened in any phase since the First Presidency announced the closure of all operating temples roughly 1 year ago).

The other 8 temples are closed for renovation, with 2 of those (Washington D.C. and Tokyo Japan) completed and awaiting their rededications. The same updates I reoprted here are also available through the Newsroom's official release and the corresponding reopening status list, which presents the temples in alphabetical order I am grateful to have learned of and been able to pass on these updates here. I continue to monitor all Church news and any additional temple updates, and will be sure to continue to pass those along as I learn about them.

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: Exterior Rendering Released for the Syracuse Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone!Breaking news has been reported by the Church within the last hour. As some of you might recall, in late August of last year, groundbreakings were set and renderings released for the Bentonville Arkansas and McAllen Texas Temples. In that same announcement, the location and preliminary details were revealed for the Syracuse Utah Temple. Fast forward to around half an hour ago. The Church News noted that the exterior rendering for the Syracuse Utah Temple has been released. Interestingly enough, on the Newsroom, rather that providing a new press release specifically relating to this temple's new rendering, it appears that the late August release, which showed information about that temple, has since been updated with the exterior rendering.

The Syracuse Utah Temple was announced in April of last year. The site location for it was then confirmed in August, and the rendering has been released now in February, so four months passed between the temple's announcement and the release of the preliminary information, with four more months passing between the release of that preliminary information and today's release of that rendering. As I have previously mentioned, it is currently anticipated that the Syracuse Utah Temple will be one of the first (if not the very first) to have a groundbreaking this year.

The Church News update on this temple notes that no groundbreaking date has been set yet, but given that a window for that is anticipated in the spring, we might hear of formal arrangements being set for that temple within the next month or two, with the groundbreaking itself perhaps set for April, May, or June. In 2019, as some of you might recall, there were several cases where the Church released a rendering for a temple a few weeks prior to subsequently announcing the groundbreaking information for it, so something similar could happen here.

The one difference between most of the temples that had that happen 2 years ago and the Syracuse Utah Temple is that the latter is going to be a comparatively larger temple. Set to rise at the intersection of 2500 West and 1025 South in Syracuse, plans call for a three-story temple of roughly 89,00 square feet. The rendering in this case shows yet another temple that will not feature the angel Moroni, suggesting that the new trend will be towards not including it in most cases for future temples of the Church.

A couple of additional thoughts, if I may offer them. I know that I am one who has been surprised that no groundbreakings have been set to occur this year yet. Last year, the first groundbreakings were announced in mid-to-late January, and set to occur in April and May, but wound up occurring in April, May, and June, due to COVID-19 conditions. 

Last year also saw several other groundbreaking arrangements reshuffled. So while I am surprised no arrangements have been formally announced thus far, I understand that it may be wiser to factor in COVID-19 conditions when making those arrangements. And the way things worked out last year, the Church had originally planned to conduct 18 temple groundbreakings (per Elder Bednar's remarks in the April 2020 General Conference). That number was increased to 20 (per President Nelson's opening remarks in October), and the Church actually wound up being able to carry out 21 groundbreakings by the end of the year. Of those 21, 16 wound up occurring during the final 4 months of the year.

My reason for mentioning that is that, even if the Church does not wind up announcing the first groundbreaking(s) this year for another month or two, a slow start on announcing them may not equate to a smaller number of groundbreakings occurring during this year.  In fact, I think the opposite may turn out to be true. For the upcoming April General Conference, among other things, I have predicted that Elder Bednar may be one of the three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who might speak in the final session thereof.

If that happens, I think it may also be safe to assume that Elder Bednar might mention an exact number of temples for which the Church is hoping to break ground by the end of this year, and that, as President Nelson speaks to close out the conference, he may then announce several new temples. Given what we know about the potential for temple events this year, there are at least 8 thus far that will almost certainly have a groundbreaking, and I have at least 6 or 7 others on my radar as well.

As a result, I think we might safely anticipate new temples being announced in the double-digits this time around, marking the first time since October 2018 that more than 10 temples might be announced. It will be interesting to see all of that unfold this year. I continue to monitor all temple developments, major Church news, and many other factors as well, and will do my best to continue to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of all such updates.

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.

Temple Construction Progress Report Overhauled as Completion Order and Estimates Are Frequently Adjusted

Hello again, everyone! As we near the half-way point of the second month in 2021, I wanted to publish new content today. I have mentioned repeatedly in recent threads of several of my previous posts that the completion order for temples now under construction, along with their completion estimates, have been fluctuating frequently of late. In consideration of the massive and significant nature of those changes, I wanted to provide two links to my temple construction progress report

The first shows the changes that have been made as of today, and as of the time at which this post is being published. And the second link I wanted to share today is for the version of my report that will be continuously updated from today until my first-quarter temple construction progress report is shared (which I am planning to take care of on either March 31 or April 1).

It appears that there will be a need to keep tabs on the queue of temples which are now or may soon be under full-scale construction, since there will surely be many more such changes in the days ahead. As the saying goes, "The only thing that's truly constant is change." Within the last couple of weeks alone, on several of the days therein, there have even been multiple chnages to the queue in a single day. That will no doubt continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.

I remain committed to continuing to track those changes, and will do my level best to continue to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of them. I also will be monitoring all other Church news updates and will similarly bring you summaries thereof as I am able to do so.

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: 6 Temples Will Move to Phase 3; 6 Others Will Move to Phase 2 in the Next Two Weeks

Hello again, everyone! At this hour, we have some breaking Church news to get to. So let's dive right in. The Church has announced this morning that 12 additional temples will have changes in their reopening status that will go into effect over the next two weeks, with 6 of those temples transitioning to phase 3 on Monday February 22, and 6 others moving to phase 2 effective next week. Additionally, next week will also see 3 temples that previously had their reopenings paused or downgraded terutning to their former status.

So let's break down this information. First, for the 6 temples transiitioning to phase 3 in two weeks, that marks the largest number to-date transitioning to that phase on the same date. The six temples tranisitioning to phase 3 in two weeks include 3 in Mexico (Merida, Oaxaca, and Tuxtla Guitierrez); and 1 each in Central America (Guatemala City Guatemala); Canada (Halifax Nova Scotia); and the Pacific (Sydney Australia). Phase 3 allows those temples to perform all living ordinances, along with some ordinances for the dead, while ensuring proper COVID-19 protocols are followed.

With those phase 3 reopenings occurring in two weeks, for next week, 3 temples will begin phase 2 for the firs timet, offering all ordinances for the living, with the priority given first to those previously-endowed couples who are going to be sealed, with limited guests in attendance; then to those preparing for a temple sealing in the neear future who have not previously been endowed; then to missionaries already out in the field, who departed without being able to receive their own endowments; then to those missionaries preparing to depart for the mission field; then to anyone else who made need to receive their own ordinances for any other reason.

The Palmyra New York, Rome Italy, and San Jose Costa Rica Temples are the 3 that will start phase 2 for the first time next week. The Johannesburg South Africa and Santiago Chile Temples were previously paused, and now resume phase 2 operations. And the Quetzeltenango Guatemala Temple, which had returned to phase 1 briefly due to local COVID-19 restrictions, will again resume phase 2.

The Church News provides additional details on the reopening, including updates made to the status tracker for all temples worldwide. Church leaders are continuing the inspired process of monitoring global COVID-19 restrictions or adjustments, and to adjust the temple reopenings accordingly. The cautiously-coordinated efforts have also involved receiving and evaluating information on nations worldwide from those serving in area presidencies or as area seventies, and it is inspiring to witness that occurring the way it has.

For my part, I continue to monitor any and all such developments, in addition to any breaking Church news, and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware thereof. 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.

All Current Apostles Observe Their First Group Tenure Length Milestone

Hello again, everyone! As demonstrated in the last update I provided on apostolic data (posted on January 24), the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, both on their own and in company with the current First Presidency, were set to observe serefveral apostolic group milestones this year. As the documents I shared in that last update showed, the first of those milestones has been reached today, Monday February 8. As of today, the current members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have served together for a period of 2 years, 10 months, and 8 days.

The length of their service has now matched that of the apostolic group which included Presidents Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust in the First Presidency, and when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was comprised of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Richard G. Scott, Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, Henry B. Eyring, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and David A. Bednar.

That group served together from October 2, 2004, when Elders Uchtdorf and Bednar were called to the apostleship until the death of President Faust on August 10, 2007. Oddly enough, this first milestone for our current group of apostles will not be the only one they observe this month. They will be marking their second one on February 26.

On that date, the length of their tenure as an apostolic group will match that of the First Presidency consisting of Presidents Heber J. Grant, Charles W. Penrose, and Anthony W. Ivins, while the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles consisted of President Rudger Clawson and Elders Reed Smoot, George Albert Smith, George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, James E. Talmage, Stephen L Richards, Richard R. Lyman, Melvin J. Ballard, and John A. Widtsoe.

With both milestones being observed this month, the current group of apostles will then become the twelfth longst-serving such group in Church history, and they will be observing their next two milestones 15 days apart in July, followed by 1 more that will coincide with President Nelson's 97th birthday.

Meanwhile, the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will mark 3 years of continuous service together on March 31, and will be observing 3 milestones of their own this year as well, with one a few days after their third anniversary, and the final two also coincidentally in July, but not necessarily on the same days as the two milestones for the current group of 15 apostles as a whole.

I will provide more specific details on these milestones closer to the dates on which each will be reached. In the meantime, I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of all of them to you here as they are brought to my attention.

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.