BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines and Birmingham England Temples

Hello again, everyone! Minutes ago, the First Presidency confirmed the site locations for 2 more temples: the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple (originally announced in April 2018) and the Birmingham England Temple (originally announced in April 2022). Let's get into the details:  The Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple will rise on a 4.9-acre site at Lot 2163-c and Lot 2163-d Rosario Limketkai Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis.  

The two-story temple is estimated to be an edifice of approximately 18,449 square feet. An adjacent ancillary building will include patron housing, a distribution center, and a patron arrival center. As I mentioned previously, a candidate temple site is being cleared, so I assume it is the same site that was confirmed today. If so, we will likely see a groundbreaking annoouncement sooner rather than later. 

As for the Birmingham England Temple, the single-story edifice of 10,800 square feet will include both patron housing and a patron arrival center. The temple will rise on a 2.7-acre site at 185-187 Penns Lane, Sutton, Coldfield, Birmingham, England, with the other buildings adjacent to that. Project leaders will work with the government to secure the necessary approvals.

As a result of today's updates, here are the updated sections of my temple construction progress report, with today's updates set to be included in my final temple construction update for 2023. And 48 of the 96 announced temples have not had official information confirmed. I was somewhat surprised that no other temple dedications were announced today, but maybe the Church is holding off on that for the rest of the year.

It's also worth noting that, with Christmas Day next Monday and New Year's Day the Monday after that, I don't know if this will be the final major temple construction update for 2023 or if the Church will switch the announcement day to Tuesday for the next couple of weeks. Whatever might happen in that regard, I will be sure to provide analysis on any other announcements that are made in 2023.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for Layton Utah, Puebla Mexico, and Urdaneta Philippines Temples; Groundbreaking Announced for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple; and Site Location Confirmed for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a stunning single announcement, the First Presidency has released details for the open houses and dedication dates of the Layton Utah, Puebla Mexico, and Urdaneta Philippines Temples. That alone would be impressive enough, but they also announced a groundbreaking for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple and the site location and preliminary information for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple. There's a lot to break down here, so let's jump right in:

We start with the open houses and dedications. I'll go by date of dedication. The open house for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple will kick off with a media day on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, followed by VIP tours Wendesday and Thursday, March 13 and 14, 2024. The public open house will run between Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 30 (excluding the Sundays of March 17 and 24). President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, will dedicate the Urdaneta Philippines Temple on Sunday, April 28, 2024 in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM PHT.

Moving on now to the Puebla Mexico Temple, a media day will be held on Monday, March 25, 2024, followed by VIP tours on Tuesday, March 26-Thursday, March 28, 2024. The public open house for that temple will run between Friday, March 29 and Saturday, April 20, with the exceptions of March 31 and April 6-7 and 14, 2024. The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 19, 2024, in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM CST by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

For the Layton Utah Temple, a media day is planned for Monday, April 15, 2024, with VIP tours available Tuesday, April 16-Thursday, April 18, 2024. The public open house will follow between Friday, April 19 and Saturday, June 1, except for the Sundays of April 21 and 28 and May 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2024. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate that temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in two sessions that will be held at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM MDT.

Each of these dedications will be broadcast to the stakes in their respective temple districts. I am a little surprised we didn't also get an announcement about the Taylorsville Utah Temple, but hopefully that will come down the pike next week. I am also a little surprised at the timing for each of these dedications, which are more spread out than I thought they would be. This again suggests that the second half of 2024 will see a high number of temple dedications. My gut instinct is to say that Taylorsville Utah and Casper Wyoming may be the only other temples likely to be dedicated in the first half of 2024.

We now move on to the groundbreaking for the Knoxville Tennesee Temple. It is set to occur on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Elder Shayne M. Bowen, a General Authority Seventy currently serving as First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area Presidency, will preside thereat. This more or less confirms my theory that no other temple groundbreakings will occur this year.

And that brings me to the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple. A single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet will rise on a 9.8-acre site at Fokontany Andranoro, Ambohibao, Antehiroka, Andranomena, Madagascar. Patron housing and arrival facilities will accompany the construction of the temple. Based on the size and on the fact that Madagascar is an isolated island, I think the Church might opt to utilize the modular components for that temple, which would be easier to bring to the island nation than building materials would be. As we know, that temple was announced by President Nelson in October 2021.

This brings the number of announced temples for which no information has offically been confirmed yet down to 50. I am grateful for this massive announcement today and to be able to pass it along to you all here.I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross 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.

UPDATED: April 2024 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! With Friday's announcement of Elder Patrick Kearon's apostolic call, I had to go back to the drawing board on my General Conference predictions. Because his call has already been announced, there is no need for President Nelson to announce it in the opening session of General Conference. And although it sounds like his recovery is progressing, I had forgotten to make allowances for the prophet's condition (even if he is recovered from his back injury by then, he will probably still need to be seated during any remarks he gives). 

So those two factors led me to alter my previously-offered predictions. Consequently, I have made adjustments to my projected speaker lineup and my predictions for changes in general Church leadership. I also made some minor adjustments to my projections for the figures in the statistical report for 2023, based on updated numbers for stakes and non-sensitive districts, as provided by the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site. 

For your reference, I have included a few notes in each of those documents with any pertinent details that led to specific factors in what I am projecting. I did my best to keep those notes to a minimum. If there are any questions about the latest adjustments, I am happy to field those here. The commenting period for these latest predictions remains active until Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 10:00 PM MDT.

I have every reason to believe this will not be the final draft of these predictions. Since Elder Kearon's call was announced last week, I am assuming the Church will also officially confirm that Elder Carl B. Cook has succeeded him as Senior President of the Seventy and that the newest member of the Presidency of the Seventy will also be announced within this next week. Stay tuned for coverage on all of that, and on the latest temple news, which I anticipate will be announced during the 2:00 PM MST hour tomorrow.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross 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.

BREAKING NEWS: Elder Patrick Kearon Called to Fill the Vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! I had shared my opinion that President Nelson wouldn't wait to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I was right. This morning, the Church announced that Elder Patrick Kearon, who had been serving as the Senior President of the Seventy, was ordained an apostle yesterday and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At 62 years old, he takes his place as the currently youngest apostle in the Church.

Born on July 18, 1961 in the United Kingdom, he was raised there and in the Middle East. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. He is an adult convert to the Church. He has served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2010 (called in the same General Conference as his now apostolic colleague Elder Gerrit W. Gong). He has served in the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2017, and as Senior President since August 2020. He married Jennifer Carole Hulme on January 12, 1991, in the Oakland California Temple. They are the parents of four children, one of whom is deceased.

I am very pleased by this news. Elder Kearon hopped on a plane today and flew to Hawaii, where he will give his first public address as an apostle during the BYU-Hawaii commencement. At some point in the next month or two, I anticipate he will meet with the press. And of course, he will speak to us during the April 2024 General Conference. This leaves a vacancy in the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Carl B. Cook now becomes the de facto Senior President of the Seventy. I expect that the vacancy will be filled before General Conference as well. 

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Details Announced for the Renamed Temple in Prosper Texas

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially announced the next major temple construction update. Contrary to what I had supposed, no temple dedications were announced, nor were any new groundbreakings set. Today's announcement is related solely to the temple announced in October 2022 as the Prosper Texas Temple. According to today's announcement, that temple will now be known as the McKinney Texas Temple. 

The location of the temple and preliminary information about it has also been confirmed. An 8.16-acre site adjacent to and east of the existing chapel at 651 Stacey Road will serve as the location of the multi-story temple, which is anticipated to be roughly 44,000 square feet in area. As a result of this announcement, the number of temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet now stands at 51.

I am grateful for today's announcement. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross 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.