BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Set for the Montpelier Idaho Temple; Site Location and Preliminary Details Confirmed for the Maceio Brazil Temple

 Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned a few minutes ago, there was no new temple update at 2:00. However, here we are at around 2:30, and such an update has been published. The First Presidency has announced the groundbreaking arrangements for the Montpelier Idaho Temple and the site location and initial details for the Maceió Brazil Temple. Let's get right into the details:

Ground will be broken for the Montpelier Idaho Temple on Saturday, June 17, 2023, with Elder Ryan K. Olsen, a GA Seventy, presiding. An official rendering for the temple, and additional details about the groundbreaking, will be released closer to that time. By way of review, the Montpelier Idaho Temple was announced in April 2022, with the site location and initial details confirmed just 1 month later. 

As for the Maceió Brazil Temple (which was also announced in April of last year), the single-story 19,000-square-foot temple will rise at the location of  Avenida — Dr. Durval de Góis Monteiro, S/N, Quadra 0522, Lote 0228. Project leaders will work with government officials through the planning and approvals process, and an exterior rendering will likely be released closer to the time of its groundbreaking.

I'm a little surprised about the timing for the Montpelier Idaho Temple groundbreaking. My assumption is that the Church wanted to lock in a date for the groundbreaking now and then do the work to ensure the approvals can go through so that the exterior rendering can then be released once it gets the go-ahead from the governmental leaders with whom the Church will work. I think this may be the first time (at least in a couple of decades) that the Church has set a groundbreaking for any temple without a rendering being simultaneously released or released before the groundbreaking is announced.

To get these two updates in the same announcement was exciting. It's interesting to see how these announcements have come about. I will likewise be curious to see how the scheduling of other groundbreakings, dedications, and rededications works in the months ahead. I am watching out for word on all of these updates and will do my best to pass word thereof along to you all here, in addition to all Church News and Newsroom updates as they cross my radar. 

Between now and my next update, here is a revised copy of the document showing temples for which no official information has been announced. Of the 68 temples currently announced, 38 have not yet had any official information confirmed. If the First Presidency continues to announce preliminary information about other announced temples, either in conjunction with or separate from other temple construction announcements, those numbers are likely to change in the weeks ahead. 

I look forward to seeing what other updates will be announced between now and the upcoming General Conference. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Details Confirmed for the Vitoria Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially confirmed the site location and preliminary details for the Vitoria Brazil Temple, which was announced during the October 2021 General Conference by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The one-story temple of approximately 10,600 square feet will rise in Vitoria at Avenida Leitão da Silva #2055, Iteraré.

Given this temple's indicated size, I am anticipating that the Church may use a slightly larger variation on the standard 10,000-square-foot modular design for this temple. Of the 13 temples originally announced in October 2021, 7 temples have not yet had any information officially confirmed. And of the 68 total announced temples currently, 39 are lacking the announcement of any official details. 

I was slightly surprised that we only got an update on a single temple today, and also that the Newsroom release doesn't say anything about project managers working on approvals for the temple. From that, I'm assuming that the Church is taking a slower approach to getting approvals to ensure they get everything squared away right off the bat, which lessens the amount of time a temple has to sit in a construction pending status following its' groundbreaking. 

So if taking more time to begin and progress through the approvals process can accomplish that, I'm personally of the opinion it will be worth it. I was similarly somewhat surprised that today's announcement only pertained to one temple, and that the confirmation of these details came before the announcement of any other temple groundbreakings, dedications, or rededications. 

But again, if the Church is taking more time with all of that to ensure that no subsequent delays or adjustments are necessary, I have no problem with that at all. I stated over the weekend that the dedications of the Feather River California, Okinawa Japan, and Bangkok Thailand Temples, along with a rededication for the St. George Temple, could be announced soon, and I stand by that assessment. 

In the meantime, I also stand by my assessment that we could soon see groundbreakings announced for the Montpelier and Teton River Idaho and Modesto California Temples. So, with today's announcement having been made, I am certain that the 4 Mondays in March will see most of those announcements officially made. I look forward to covering all of that. I also monitor all other Church news updates and temple construction developments and will be sure to pass those along to you all here as I receive word thereof.

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Issues Directive for Easter Sunday 2023

Hello again, everyone!  A short time ago, the Church News reported a directive for Easter Sunday meetings. As we already know, Palm Sunday will coincide with the April 2023 General Conference weekend, so Easter will be observed the following Sunday, April 9. Today's directive indicates that, except for a  Sacrament Meeting in which music and talks will focus on the Savior, all other meetings are canceled to allow Church members worldwide to focus on that day.

This means that there will be no second-hour meetings, and any other ward or stake leadership meetings or interviews that might have taken place on that day are canceled for April 9. As soon as I read this update, I again experienced the instant confirmation that the decision was inspired. With all of you, I look forward to a greater focus on the Savior in my own life on that day. That may or may not include an Easter-themed post from me here. If it does, I will preset it to publish on Easter Sunday proper. 

I also continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple construction developments and will be sure to pass those along to you all as I become aware thereof. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKIN TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Brasilia Brazil and Bentonville Arkansas Temples

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for both the Brasilia Brazil and Bentonville Arkansas Temples. Let's break down the details: The Brasilia Brazil Temple open house will begin with a media day on August 1, followed by VIP/invited guest tours from Wednesday, August 2-Friday August 4.

The public open house will run from Saturday, August 5 to Saturday, August 26, except for the Sundays of August 6, 13, or 20, so tours will be offered for roughly 19 days. The temple's dedication will follow on Sunday, September 17, in two sessions held at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM, and will be carried to all units in the new temple district.

The First Presidency has asked Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to preside over those sessions, due to his personal connection to the area while serving in the Brazil South Area Presidency in the early 2000s.

And for the Bentonville Arkansas Temple, a media day will be conducted on Monday, June 12, followed by VIP/invited guest tours between Tuesday, June 13, and Friday, June 16. The temple will be open to the public between Saturday, June 17-Saturday, July 2, except for the Sundays of June 18 and 25, which means tours will last approximately 14 days.

The temple's dedication will follow in two sessions at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM, also on Sunday, September 17, 2023. The First Presidency has asked Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to preside at that dedication. He lived in that area for nearly two decades and also presided over that temple's groundbreaking remotely during COVID-19.

So a couple of takeaways here: This is the first time (to my knowledge) that a news release on this has indicated the reason for the assignment of these apostles to dedicate these temples. Hopefully that continues. We also know that the Church has set the dedications of these two temples for the same day, so they could do something similar with other temple pairs. Additionally, the Okinawa Japan Temple has not yet had opening arrangements announced, but it's possible that when that announcement is made, the dedication of that temple could take place between the June 18 dedication of the Helena Montana Temple (announced last week), and the August 13 dedication of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple dedication.

Additionally, the fact that these dedications are set for mid-September leads me to believe that, at least for the time being, the scheduling of dedications will be further out than I have hoped or projected previously. Bryan Dorman, who is my Church contact from Mexico, mentioned the hope that the Puebla Mexico Temple might be dedicated in October or November.

But since the two dedications announced today are not taking place until September, and since there are 7 other temples in the queue between Brasilia/Bentonville and Puebla, we may only see the dedication of the Puebla Mexico Temple either towards the end of this year or the beginning of the next year, unless that temple moves ahead in the queue of the 5 other current temples in various phases between it.

That also likely means that the dedications of the 3 Utah Temples which are back-to-back in the queue might only occur next year as well, which would mean the Provo Utah Temple will likely not close for reconstruction until early-to-mid 2024, which might mean the reconstructed temple will only be rededicated in 2027 or 2028.

I am analyzing various factors on this and will have updated estimates for you here ASAP. I am grateful to have found today's update, and for the opportunity to pass those along to you all here. I continue to monitor all temple construction developments and updates from the Newsroom and the Church News and will pass those along to you all here as I become aware of them.

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

POTENTIAL BREAKING NEWS: Parameters Confirmed for the April 2023 General Conference?

Hello again, everyone! I have some potential breaking news to pass along to you all here. In my newest comment on the threads of the previous post, I mentioned that on this second Friday in February, the parameters had not yet been announced for the April 2023 General Conference. Directly after that, on a hunch, I checked the Newsroom, and found some information on the Events page. That information shows that 5 two-hour general sessions for the Church and for friends of other faiths will be held on April 1 and 2, including a general Saturday Evening Session.

As some of you might also be aware, in April and October of last year, the Saturday Evening Sessions featured 5 speakers due to the sessions being 1.5 hours. If the Newsroom page is correct, with an extra half-hour for Saturday Evening, 2-3 others could be called upon to speak in addition to the traditional 5. I don't know how soon we will see an official letter released on this. In the absence of that, my inclination is to await official confirmation before stating specifically that the Saturday Evening Session will be 2 hours.

I will continue to monitor this update, all other reports from the Newsroom and the Church News, and all temple construction updates, and will be sure to bring you all word thereof as it crosses my radar.

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.