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Tuesday, December 14, 2021

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Continues Cautiously-Coordinated Plan to Reopen Temples

Hello again, everyone! Another week has come and gone, and it is time once again to discuss the latest temple reopening adjustments from the Church. As always, the latest information can be found in the official release from the Newsroom, the Church News overview of those changes, and the temple reopening status tracker.

This week's updates note that the Mesa Arizona Temple, which was rededicated on Sunday, will reopen in phase 3 as early as December 21. Additionally, rhe Suva Fiji Temple, which was paused in its' rreopening since May of this year, will unpause but also will revert back to phase 1, only allowing living sealings of a previously-enodwed husband-and-wife. That temple joins the San Jose Costa Rica Temple in phase 1.

And the Sydney Australia Temple, which "paused" in its' reopening from mid-July until now will reopen to phase 3, allowing all living ordinances in priority order, and all other ordinances for the dead on a limited scale by appointment only.

As a result of these updates, the status of temples will stand as follows on Tuesday December 21: 8 temples are closed for renovation, with 1 more closed for what the Newsroom terms a "renovation" but for what the Church News calls "extended maintenance". I defer to the Newsroom's terminology because the Church's official page for Medford terms the current closure as a "renovation". 

Aside from Medford, the other 8 have all been granted phase 3 designations. No temples are currenrly "paused in their reopenings, and none are in phase 2 either. There is 1 temple in phase 1, 5 others operating in phase 2-B, and the remaining 155 temples are in phase 3. As I've noted in just about every temple reopening update in the last several weeks, I am grateful for the carefully-planned cautiously-coordinated reopening of temples around the world, and for the revelatory process that drives those announcements every week. 

Although no temples anywhere have reached phase 4 (a return to full normal operations), it is wonderful the Church has been prudent and wise in the announcements of changes each week. Having noted all of that, it's also worth noting that the newest strain of COVID-19 popping up in various world areas may, in subsequent weeks, lead to other temples being "paused" in their reopenings. I will be sure to watch for any such updates and will pass them along to you all as I become aware thereof. 

In the meantime, 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: President Nelson Will Deliver a Christmas Message on Thursday

Hello agsin, rveyone! This morning, prior to reporting the latest temple reopenings, the Churvh News shared another announcement: Church President Russell M. Nelson will deliver a Christmas message to the world on social media channels, similar to thr message he gave on gratitude in November of last year. I imagine the message was inspired in the same way that the earlier message came to be given: specific inspiration about the length and content of the address was given to President Nelson in his late night patterns.

The message will be published to those channels on December 16 ar 8:00 AM MST. I am grateful to have seen and been able to pass along this news. I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word thereof as I learn about them. In the meantime, 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.

Monday, December 13, 2021

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: "Inspired Modifications" Extend Salt Lake Temple Renovation Timeframe

Hello again, everyone! As announced by the Newsroom, and detailed further in two updates from the  Church News, the First Presidency announced today that the modified renovation plans announced in March of this year (to which the previously-announced permanent closure of the Salt Lake cafeteria, among others, was added as a detail last month) will extend the length of time needed for that renovation's completion. That completion winfow has shifted from sometime in 2024 to sometime in 2025. 

I had previously shared my opinion that the additional plans would probably delay the completion of that process until late 2024 or early 2025, so today's announcement constitues both a justification for my rationale for pushing that window back the way I did, while also serving as an official correction to the previously-offered estimate on my part. I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure to pass on that information as it crosses my radar.

In the meantime, 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.

Friday, December 10, 2021

BREAKING NEWS: Church Creates New Mission in Rwanda

Hello again, everyone! One week ago, the Church announced a new mission, Hawaii Laie, that will be effective next month. I had thought that might be the only new mission created  in 2022, but that is not correct. A few minutes ago, the Church announced the creation of the Rwanda Kigali Mission, which will go into effect on July 1, 2022 as the 409th mission worldwide. The mission comes as a division of 3 other missions: Uganfa Kampala, Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa East, and Democratic Republic of the Congo Lubumbashi Mission.

The news release also notes that the new president of this mission will be announced in Januaey 2022, along wirh all other new mission assignments for 2022. I am grateful to have been able to share this news with you all. I continue to monitor all such updates, including those relating to general Church news and temple announcements, and will bring word thereof to you here as I become aware theof.

In the meantime, 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.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed and Renderings Released for the Cape Town South Africa and Queretaro Mexico Temples

Hello again, everyone! A short while afo, rhe Church released the site locarions and renderings for two more temples announced in April of this year: Cape Town South Africa and Queretaro Mexico. Let's break down the details. The Cape Town South Africa Temple is set to include a meetinghouse and arrival center in addition to the single-story 9,500 xquare foot temple. The buildings will rise on a 3.79 acre site at 3 Liesbeek Road, Observation, Cape Town.

Meanwhile, the Queretaro Mexico Temple will be a two-story edifice roughly planned to be 27,500 sqare feet in area. The site for that temple will be the 3.5 acre lot at Prolongación Tecnológico Norte 150 Col San Pablo, Querétaro, Querétaro, CP 76130 Mexico. With this indormation in mind, here is an updated look at the staus of the 51 currently announced temples in the context of how many have not had official information confirmed.

In the meantime, 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.