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Thursday, February 17, 2022

POTENTIAL BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Several Temple Locations Added to Google Maps or Classic Maps; Release of Official Information Imminent?

Hello again, everyonne! On the Church Growth Blog, there have been periodic mentions of details of new temples being added on the Church's Classic Maps page. Most often, those mentions occur when recently-dedicated temples are added to show their corresponding temple districts. But periodically, a new tidbit can be gleaned about other temples that are in various phases of planning and approval. And it is on that front that I am providing this report of potential breaking temple news. 

Several new comments on the most recent thread of the Church Growth Blog provide information about temples that have recently been added to Classic Maps. Each of these temples is currently in an "Announced" status, where no official information has been released by the Church. So those temples being added in the very recent past might suggest that they are temples to watch for the near future for potential announcements, including (but not limited to) site and/or location confirmations, exterior renderings released, and groundbreakings scheduled (or already having privately taken place). 

The first of those mentioned, Managua Nicaragua, has a location that is verified only by Google Maps, not by the Church's Classic Maps page.  But since a site was reportedly acquired for that temple a while ago, and since it is the third of three Central American temples previously referenced in past comments here from Patzicia, who provided accurate information about the timing of the release of site information, exterior renderings, and groundbreaking announcements before those announcements were eventually made, the fact that it is listed on Google maps gives me hope that something official could be coming down the pike soon.

The same situation applies to the Lagos Nigeria Temple. We know, courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site, that property was acquired for that temple not long after its' announcement, and although the Google Maps information is not also reflected on Classic Maps, hopefully that means something will happen with that temple sooner rather than later. The Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple is similarly listed on Google maps, but also shows up on Classic Maps in the same spot. It will be up to the Church to confirm that is indeed the location, but it seems more likely than not.

Similarly, Google Maps provides information on the location of the Rexburg North Idaho Temple, for which a member living in that region has confirmed the information is accurate. We also have an indirect confirmationon the location of the Rexburg North Idaho Temple, which follows the early October report about the family who deeded the land for the temple over to the Church. Unless something major chages, that will be the location of the temple in question.

And finally, I had mentioned in the past that I received feedback shortly after the announcement of the Russia temple that the only cities under active consideration were Moscow, Saratov, and St. Petersburg. Subsequently, I learned from someone privy to the information that Moscow was the only location under active consideration. And given that the headquarters for the Europe East Area offices are located in Moscow, it would not shock me if the temple in Russia was not only based in Moscow, but also included ancillary facilities with offices and residences for the area and mission presidency members.

So I was not shocked by a recent statement on the Church Growth Blog that Classic Maps showed the probable location of the Russia Temple, which, if true, will likely mean the name of that temple will be the Moscow Russia Temple. I was in the middle of an overhaul on my temple construction progress report anyway in view of new analysis I did on the likely timing for temple dedications and rededications for the next two years, so updates were necessary either way.

That being said, I want to be absolutely clear when I say that until the Church makes official announcements on any of these 5 temples, any information from anywhere else, including even the Classics Maps site, is subject to change, clarification or correction. When the time is right for each of these 5 temples (or any others) to move forward in the queue, that will occur. The Lord is in control of His work, and He manifests His will concerning any aspect thereof through His chosen prophet today, President Russell M. Nelson.

But these latest updates also mean that there will likely be even more temple news to cover in the coming months than I originally believed. To the best of my ability, I will track all of these developments and pass word of those along to you all here 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.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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.

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Clarification on Blog Comments

Hello again, everyone! Since a good majority of the comments on this blog lately have come from me personally, I wanted to provide some clarification. I had one new comment submitted today on the threads of the previous post by Nancy, who also comments periodically on the threads of the Church Growth Blog. Though there wasn't anything wrong with Nancy's comment, she chose to delete it herself a few hours after it was posted.So I wanted to set the record straight regarding comments from you all here: Last year or the year before, any new development was covered in a new post, leaving the comments free for others to share their thoughts. As there have been more minor developments than major news items lately, I have begun providing a stream of those updates in the comments thread of other posts.

So I worry that many of you may have felt discouraged to share your feedback and input in the comments becausee a majority of the comments in each thread come from me. Here's the thing: As I'm sure many of you reading these posts know, there has been quite a lot more to cover in termis of general Church news on this blog. I no longer have time to devote new posts to every update, which is why I have shared the bulk of those in comments lately. But I never intended for any of you reading this blog to feel as a result of my increased comments that your input is no longer valid or necessary. To the contrary, as coverage of major developments continue, more than ever, I need the input of my readers.

I sincerely apologize if that hasn't been clear to you all. I also apologize if my large monopolization of the comments thread has been a deterrent to any of you from weighing in. I want to provide as much coverage of the ongoing developments of the continuing restoration as I can. But I also very much want to hear from you all in response to those reports, as often as any of you might want to weigh in. So if you have any feedback on what I can do to improve the comment threads here so it's not always just me sharing subsequent updates, I'd be happy to take those suggestions under advisement.

As the work accelerates, we need each other. I need to hear from you just as much as I want to ensure I provide the most thorough coverage of the ongoing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.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.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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, February 11, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: April General Conference Will Include a Women's Session

 Hello again, everyone! Breaking news was reported by the Church a short time ago. As confirmed by the Newsroom and the Church News, the April 2022 General Conference will include a Women's Session for all wmen and girls age 11 and older. This means that, before my revision to my General Conference predictions was complete, I will have to redo them again based on this new information. 

It appears there will be flexibility in the scheduling of the Saturday Evening Session. I assume that, in similarity to previous Women's Sessions, they will feature 3 female speakers and the entire First Presidency in reverse seniority order. This also means that no apostles are likely to speak during that session. 

So adjustments will need to be made to that part of my predictions.I also assume, until further evidence suggests otherwise, that the sWomen's Session will be conducted by one of the female General Presidents. I will be evaluating what that means for my predictions as well. This announcement supercedes any previous predictions I have provided.

The First Presidency's announcement today also notes that a limited number of tickets will be made available for each session. I assume the details on how many tickets that will be for each session are forthcoming. Given that part of the announcement, it will be interesting to see if the other sessions return to normal. There is also a possibility that one of the apostolic advisers to the General Officers could be called upon to speak.With that in mind, I will hopefully have revised predictions ready to go sooner rather than later. I will put in some work on those ASAP. Stay tuned for more on this as I figure that out.

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.

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Confirmed, Exterior Rendering Releaed, and Groundbreaking Announced for the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! In aa single announcement today, the First Presidency released the location and rendering for the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple and set a groundbreaking for it. The location will be Aldea Romana over Cabrera Avenue on a 8.14 acre site. The project will feature an ancillary building of 25,000 square feet, which will feature patron housing and a distribution center,

The temple itself will be a single-story edifice of 19,000 square feet. Elder Joquin E. Costa, the current First Counselor in the Brazil Area Presidency, will break ground for this temple that will serve his home city of Concordia, Entre Rios, Argentina on Saturday April 9, 2022. That means it will occur two weeks prior to the recently-announced groundbreaking for the Lindon Utah Temple. So there will be 1 temple groundbreaking in March, followed by 3 temple groundbreakings in April in a 3-week period. 

That also means that, before the one-year anniversary of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple groundbreaking (which will be observed on May 15), four new temples will have had a groundbreaking before the time it tookto do the first one last year. That suggests 2022 will indeed be a big year for groundbreakings. I can't wait to see the announcements that may come next.

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, February 8, 2022

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Renovation Work Completed on the Medford Oregon Temple; All US Temples Now Open for Living & Proxy Ordinances

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the Church News confirmed temple reopening updates. Right off the bat, it was announced that the process of "extended maintenance" or "renovation" has been completed for the Mdeford Oregon Temple, which will now move to phase 3 as early as next week. As a result of this adjustment, all 82 currently-operating temples in the United States will be in phase 3. For the Washington D.C. and Columbus Ohio Temples, their phase 3 status will allow the patrons served within those districts to schedule living and proxy ordinances at the nearest temple(s) to them.

Additionally, the Montreal Quebec Temple, recently closed down due to pandemic-related restrictions, is also reopening in phase 3. 167 of the Church's 170 temples (98.2%) are now in phase 3. And with two additional temples operating in phase 2-B, all but one of those 170 temples (for a total of 99.4%)  are now offering all living ordinances and at least proxy baptisms. As a result of these changes, 8 temples are currently under renovation (with all 8 of those granted phase 3 status) no temples are currently "paused" in their reopenings, and none are in phase 2. 1 temple (Suva Fiji) is in phase 1.

2 others (Barranquilla Colombia and Seoul Korea) are in phase 2-B, with the remaining 167 in phase 3 as noted above. The Church News update also acknowledges that, with so many temples operating in phase 3, and with the Church holding off for now on attempting to shift any temples to phase 4, reopening updates will be more sporadic and will be published only as needed going forward. The details shared in the Church News update are likewsie noted in the temple reopening status tracker and in the official release from the Newsroom.

Interestingly enough, the Newsroom incorrectly lists the Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Yigo Guam Temples as "Temples Undergoing Renovation",when both are new temples that have been completed and are awaiting their dedications, which have been scheduled. I suppose categorizing those as "Under Renovation" may be easier for the Newsroom staff than making that distinction that they are awaiting scheduled dedications. Just thought that was noteworthy.

I don't know at this point whether any other breaking news will be reported by the Church for the duration of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but if and when those reports are shared, I will be sure to pass them along to you all here. I also monitor all temple construction updates and general Church news and will pass word of those 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.