Review of Temple Construction Progress During the Third Quarter of 2021

Hello again, everyone! As the last day of September 2021 winds towards its' conclusion, not only has the commenting period for my October 2021 General Conference predictions ended, but additionally, as September concludes, it is time to take a look back at the temple construction progress that has occurred from the beginning of the year until today.  So we have the three reports showing where things stood at the beginning of this year, in the days just prior to the April 2021 General Conference, at the halfway point of this year, and how things look as we near the October 2021 General Conference weekend.

As I've mentioned in the past, I anticipate that between the Church's capacity to use modular components on smaller temples (a process which could potentially expand to larger temples) and precast concrete panels on other temples, that might accelerate the process whereby most temples are able to be constructed in the future.  With that in mind, I believe that we will see most temples moved from the status of just being announced to being under construction within roughly 2-3 years of their announcements.

And if that can happen, that in turn will clear up the queue for more new temples to be announced. So I anticipate that, given all that has been done to clear the queue since the April 2021 General Conference, we are more likely than not to see President Nelson announce another double-digit number of temples this weekend. While there could be 20 or more that are announced, it's also possible that the number of temples announced this weekend could be any other double-digit number between 10 and 20.

Whatever might happen this weekend, I will do my level best to cover those developments here ASAP after any such announcements are made.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 NEWS: October 2021 General Conference Leadership Meetings Includes Releases and Sustainings of Area Seventies

 Hello again, everyone! I mentioned earlier this week that I wasn't sure whether or not the Church would hold leadership training sessions, but this afternoon, a news release being prepared with content that will be shared has conclusively verified that the leadership training is occurring today and tomorrow. Among the other highlights that will be shared, the Newsroom release as it currently exists showed that President Nelson focused his remarks on the life experiences of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the restoration can help general and area leaders in our day to fill their assignments more effectively.

The Newsroom releasse will also share information about counsel given by Presidents Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring, First and Second Counselors in the First Presidency, and from Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, during this morning's leadership meetings. The offered counsel in and of itself is breaking news, but the news release as it currently stands also referenced the releases and sustainings affecting area seventies I found it interesting that both releases and sustainings occurred. and I'm intrigued to see what that means.

In the meantime, I will plan on adding more information to this post as the Newsroom release is updated accordingly. 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: Phased Process of Reopening Templex Continues Into October

Note This post was published at around 10:30 AM ias originally scheduled, with further analysisa and context added thereunto between 12;00-1:45 PM.

Hello again, everyone! The final Tuesday before General Conference has rolled around, as a result of which the latest information about temple reopenings has been released by the Church. Since there is just over a week of September left, the latest update shares some details about reopenings that are planned through the rest of September and into October. The updates are, as always, detailed in the updated Newsroom release, and through the Church News, with the latter also linking to the area-by-area temple reopening status tracker.

I will have a more complete analysis on the latest announced adjustments at some point later today. (Note: I was able to post content on the announced change as indicated at the top of this post, so the content between this paragraph and the traditional closing of my post was added at around that time.) I am back to provide additional analysis on the latest temple reopening updates provided by the Church earlier today.

This morning, the Church announced that the Arequipa Peru and Bogota Colombia Temples will shift from phase2 to phase 2-B as early as next Tuesday. Additionally, today's update was the first to mention anything about the status of the Manti Utah Temple, which, as we know, is scheduled to close for its' formal renovation at some point on or around Friday October 1. 

That temple, becoming the ninth in the current queue of those undergoing renovations, will retain its' phase 3 designation, which will allow those served by that temple district to schedule living and proxy work at the closest temples to Manti. As we know, the adjusted plans for that temple renovation will cut the amount of work needing to be done, and will also cut the time needed to do it. The temple is anticipated to conclude its' renovation within 18-24 months of its' closure. 

With that in mind, the renovation of that temple could wrap up in either April or October 2023, with the temple reopening events being held a couple of months after that. As we also know, the Columbus Ohio and Hong Kong China Temples are anticipated to wrap up their renovations at some point next year. The renovation process for the St. George Utah Temple is now anticipated to wrap up at some point in 2023, perhaps within a similar window as is expected for the temple in Manti.

We also know that, before the announcement of changed plans for the Salt Lake Temple, the first full-scale multi-year renovation of that temple was originally anticipated to be complete at some point in 2024. With official Church resources noting that the additional work on the Salt Lake Temple, which was not part of the original plan, now being included, the Church has only acknowledged that the additional work will extend the length of time for that prospect. As a result, I have adjusted my general estimate for that temple's completion to sometime during late 2024-early 2025.

Additionally, the Church has confirmed that plans are well underway for the renovation process of the Logan Utah Temple. Depending on when those plans are announced, that could be another temple completed in 2023 or 2024. It will be interesting to see what happens in terms of those historic temple renovations.

Returning now to the latest temple reopening announcements from today (sorry about my unintended detour), the Church also noted again today that the Medford Oregon Temple, which had been originally planned to transition to phase 3 operations in August of this year, will still do so this year on a yet-to-be-determined date. The Church also again shared the list of 10 temples not yet open for any proxy work, which again included 2 in the renovation queue.

So, as of next Tuesday October 5), the current status of temple reopenings in the Church will stand as follows: 9 remain closed for major renovations (2 of which have dedications scheduled, with 2 more anticipated to have reopening arrangements announced in the relatively near term; in addition to which, 7 of those 9 have been granted phase 3 designations). 3 temples have paused in their reopening process due to factors relating to COVID-19 (2 of those 3 had been in phase 3 at the time the pause became necessary, while the other temple was in phase 2 when its reopening was paused).

And for the final four phases, there will be 3 in phase 1, 4 in phase 2, 5 in phase 2-B, and the remaining 144 temples of the Church are in phase 3. The Church continues a cautiously-coordinated plan, with a long-term view of the process that will, in due course, result in all temples of the Church being open for normal operations. 

COVID-19 is the huge variable here, and for that reason, I'm grateful to know that, as plans for the latest temple reopening announcements are made each week, the Brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who have roles in supervising each of the 22 Church areas with the assistance of members of the Presidency of the Seventy, are regularly meeting with area leaders virtually to determine the best courses of action for temples worldwide. on a week-to-week basis.

My hope is that, as each of the Church's temples eventually resume normal operations, that the members of the Church around the world will not forget what it was like to not have access thereunto during the COVID-19 pandemic. I similarly hope as well that the closure of all temples and the subsequent reopening adjustments will also fill those of us living very close to a temple with more gratitude for that blessing, and will instill in each of us a greater appreciation for the plight of those who do not currently live anywhere near a temple.

On Sunday of this week, my ward's Elders' Quorum discussed President Eyring's talk from the Saturday Morning Session of the April 2021 General Conference.

In the course of that lesson, I felt impressed to share the experience my mom, her siblings, and her parents had in having to sell off nearly everything they owned just to enable them to make the journey from South Africa to the temple in England (which was the closest one at that time). I then made the observation that, while all the temples of the Church had closed for a time, all members of the Church had likely understood what not being able to go to a nearby temple is like. And it's something that I hope none of us take for granted going forward. 

With that in mind, I'm grateful to have been able to learn about these latest updates and to pass them along to you all here. While I don't know if any breaking news (whether that is related to temples or not) might be reported before General Conference weekend, I remain committed to bringing those updates to you as I become aware thereof. I am also monitoring all other Church News reports and temple construction updates and will likewise pass those along as I find myself 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.

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! As most of you are almost certainly aware, I have provided updates on the latest apostolic data (specifically relating to tbeir lifespan or tenure length milestones) roughly every seven weeks. Having last done so on August 8, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with that last update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents, along with updated information on the tenure length records for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The first document also shows information on three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (which will not be updated with the First Presidency as presently constituted until 2024), in addition to the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).  

The latest version of that document also shows when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as currently comprised will move up on the list of the longest-serving Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to specifics on when the current members of that Quorum, along with the current First Presidency, will reach the next milestones on that list.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the apostolic groups overall, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 15 apostles being on that list, and the timing noted for when each of the other 13 apostles will join that list).

Hopefully this shared data will be of interest to you all, and again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. I will, of course, continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of all such reports.

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: Site Locations Confirmed and Exterior Renderings Released for 4 Latin American Temples

 Hello again, everyone! In another stunning announcement I could not have seen coming, this morning, the Church officially shared renderings and locations for 4 temples in Latin America. The four temples in question are Belo Horizonte Brazil,  Cali Colombia, Greater Guatemala City Guatemala, and Torreon Mexico. 3 of those 4 ttemples were announced in April of this year, with the Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temple announced in October of last year. 

I wanted to first note at the outset that once Latin American Temples are far enough along in the process for a site location and exterior rendering, the Church has generally taken action on those temples to get them under construction sooner rather than later. So while I can't say this for certain, I anticipate that each of these temples could have groundbreakings by either the end of this year or the early months of next year. With that said, let's get to the details and specifics.

First, for the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple, plans call for a single-story temple of 27,000 square feet to be built on 11.8 acre site at the Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonça. The Cali Colombia Temple will be a 9,500 square feet single-story edifice rising at the 3.14 acre site in La Flora in Cali Colombia. 

The Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temple is planned to be a two-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet. Given ins' two-story plan, the temple will be built on a 1.5 acre site at the intersection of 13 Calle and 5-56 in Guatemala. A more official name for that temple will be determined prior to the groundbreaking.

And the Torreon Mexico Temple is planned to be a 10,000 square foot temple that appears to use similar modular components to what is planned fby the Church for the Helena Montana, Casper Wyoming, and Elko Nevada Temples, which will mark the first usage of those modular components in a temple outside the United States. The temple will be built on a 0.89 acre site on the corner of Paris and Amsterdam streets in the city of Gomez Palacio, Mexico.

So, based on their smaller sizes, I could see the Church potentially taking action to break ground for the temples in Cali Colombia an Torreon Mexico before the end of this year. Given the fact that the other 2 temples are 2-3 times larger than their newest Latin American counterparts, it may be a few months into next year before groundbreakings are set to occur.

But in any case, the Church is clearly expanding efforts to find quick ways to get temples approved and under construction, so I'm confident that we might have some additional surprises on the way. That's especially true if the modular components can be used in smaller temples outside the United States.

In the interim, whether these 4 temples have groundbreakings set this year or next year, it's nice to see that these temples were not in the queue very long. The Church is nearing the first anniversary of the announcement of the temple in Greater Guatemala City Guatemala, so the fact that official information was shared on that temple and 3 more announced by President Nelson in April of this year is very wonderful indeed.

With the recent groundbreaking for the Phnom Pehn Cambodia, the Church is down to 40 announced temples. Of those 40 temples, 2 (Casper Wyoming and Pago Pago American Samoa) have groundbreakings scheduled, hopefully with more on the way.  But with 38 temples for which groundbreakings have not yet been set, the number of temples for which no official information has been confirmed now rises to a total of 23.

I have previously mentioned the theory that groundbreakings could be announced sooner rather than later for the Elko Nevada, Willamette Valley Oregon, Grand Junction Colorado, Burley Idaho, Yorba Linda California, Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, and Bahia Blanca Argentina Temples. So if we add Cali Colombia and Torreon Mexico to that list, that raises the total number of temples likely to have a groundbreaking announced to 9 more at minimum before the end of the year.

But I'd just add here that I'm hoping more official information will come down the pike for the Farmington New Mexico, Lindon and Smithfield Utah, Port Vila Vanuatu, and Tarawa Kiribati. I know that, per the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site, the groundbreaking for Lindon is anticipated to occur sometime early next year, but I'm hoping that something might be done for that newest Utah County temple sooner than that.

Also, I am watching for official information to be released for the Ephraim Utah, Managua Nicaragua, and Lagos Nigeria Temples. But above and beyond that, I think we might see more official information released on other temples before the end of this year. Today's announcement may point to the Church potentially also releasing official information about any of the 11 temples remaining from last year or this year, and to also clear any of the 7 remaining temples from announcements in 2018 and 2019.

With that in mind, hopefully the Church will indeed be able to exceed in 2021 the 21 total temple groundbreakings held last year. In the meantime, I'm hoping that the modular design might be used on any other temples that have been announced elsewhere in the world. The fact that the modular design will probably be used for the Torreon Mexico Temple opens the prospect that something similar could be done for smaller temples in Europe, Africa, and Asia. 

I have a strong feeling that we will have at least one other breaking news update on temples in the current queue before General Conference, and personally, I can't rule out the feeling that there could be more than one major announcement relating to temple construction between now and General Conference weekend. And if that belief is justified, that gives President Nelson a solid reason for another large number of temples to be announced during the October 2021 General Conference.

I don't know whether the Church will announced 20 temples again, or if the number announced could be larger or smaller, but given how the queue has been cleared out since the April General Conference, including the official details being announced for 12 of the 20 temples announced by Presidet Nelson in April of this year, I really do think we might be in for some surprises. While I was putting together my analysis of today's announcement, the Church News also provided coverage on this development.

 I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will do my best to bring you all word of those updates as I become aware thereof. Also, just by way of reminder, the commenting period for my revised predictions about the upcoming General Conference remains in effect until Friday October 1 @ 10:00 PM, so feel free to weigh in on those. 

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.