Updated Temple Construction Progress Report

Enough changes have taken place with the status of temple construction around the world that I am posting an updated progress report. Here's a look at all that's been happening:

Temple Construction Progress (current as of 6/11/16)

Current Temple Status: 150 operating, 16 under construction (5 scheduled for dedication), 11 announced (2 groundbreakings anticipated to be announced soon), 4 undergoing renovation (1 scheduled for rededication).

Dedication scheduled:

151. Sapporo Japan Temple: Preparing for public open house and dedication; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 21, 2016.

152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Accepting free reservations for public open house; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday September 18, 2016.

153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Finalizing construction in preparation for open house; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday October 16, 2016.

154. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Angel Moroni placed on April 25, 2016; steeple lighting tests underway; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday October 30, 2016.

155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Building entrance plaza and temple president’s residence; granite cladding nearing completion; scheduled to be dedicated Sunday November 20, 2016.

Under Construction:

156. Paris France Temple: Landscaping structures in place; planting trees and bushes; attaching exterior stone to visitors’ center wing; completion anticipated sometime in early 2017.

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Stained glass windows installed; pouring parking lot curbing; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Exterior panels attached to main body of temple; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Roofing the dome; completion anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work underway including some material replacement and rework; completion anticipated sometime during 2018.

161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Second floor exterior walls poured; completion anticipated sometime during 2018.

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Site clearing and preparation phase; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin shortly; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Ground broken on Saturday April 9, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2018-2019.

165. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Ground broken on Saturday December 5, 2015; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

166. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Ground broken on Saturday February 20, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.

Rededication scheduled:

33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; adding extension; steeple covered; scheduled to be rededicated Sunday September 4, 2016.

Undergoing Renovation:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; reroofing underway; rededication anticipated sometime during early 2017.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime during mid-2017.

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; construction trailers on site; rededication anticipated sometime during late 2017.

Announced:

167. Arequipa Peru Temple: Construction preparation phase; groundbreaking date anticipated to be announced soon.

168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by local government; groundbreaking may be announced soon and scheduled sometime after the summer Olympics.
169. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

170. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

173. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose number already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose number may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose number may change based on the order in which their future groundbreakings are announced.

Updated list of new temple presidents for 2016

The Church has announced the calling of more new temple presidents. What follows is an updated list of all of those temples that have or may yet get a new president this year. The Church has finally announced the calling of the first president of the Sapporo Japan Temple, which will be dedicated in August and means that all the soon-to-be dedicated temples now have a temple president announced. The Church News also, for reasons unknown, duplicated and even triplicated the announcement of presidents for some temples. Here's the list:

Temples getting a new president in 2016:

1. Nashville Tennessee

2. Fort Collins Colorado

3. Star Valley Wyoming

4. Hartford Connecticut

5. Philadelphia Pennsylvania

6. Columbia River Washington

7. Chicago Illinois

8. Mexico City Mexico

9. Hong Kong China

10.  London England

11.  Manhattan New York

12.  Medford Oregon

13.  Dallas Texas

14.  Birmingham Alabama

15.  Seattle Washington

16.  Hamilton New Zealand

17.  Cochabamba Bolivia

18.  Gilbert Arizona

19.  Anchorage Alaska

20.  Curitiba Brazil

21.  Kyiv Ukraine

22.  Panama City Panama

23.  Fresno California

24.  Memphis Tennessee

25.  Winter Quarters Nebraska

26.  Lima Peru

27.  Nauvoo Illinois

28.  Portland Oregon

29.  Merida Mexico

30.  Reno Nevada

31. Spokane Washington

32. Rexburg Idaho

33. Montreal Quebec.

34. Monterey Mexico

35. Ciudad Juárez Mexico

36. Aba Nigeria

37. Nuku’alofa Tonga

38. Raleigh North Carolina

39. Provo Utah

40. Guadalajara Mexico

41. Copenhagen Denmark

42. St. Paul Minnesota Temple

43. Santo Domingo Dominican Republic

44. Halifax Nova Scotia

45. St. George Utah Temple

46. Santiago Chile Temple

47. Campinas Brazil

48. Johannesburg South Africa

49. Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico

50. Tampico Mexico

51. Paris France

52. Sapporo Japan

Temples that may still get a new president this year:

1. Columbus Ohio

2. Detroit Michigan

3. Frankfurt Germany

4.  Melbourne Australia

5.  Perth Australia

6.  Quetzaltenango Guatemala

7. Seoul Korea

8.  Twin Falls Idaho

Well, what do you think?

Church updates Russian and Icelandic Scriptures

Important information about the Church updating the Russian and Icelandic scriptures. Please see this lnk for details. Thanks.

KSL.com Story: Two accused of impersonating LDS Church officials stand trial

This one's a real doozy. Two accused of impersonating LDS Church officials are standing trial right now for fraud. I am posting about this because I want it absolutely clear to all my readers that those impersonators had no legal right to use the name of the Church in their scheme, nor were they cleared to implicate leaders of the Church. Find that story by following this link. Thanks.

Elder David A. Bednar speaks to LDS graduates at US Air Force Academy

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressed LDS graduates at the United States Air Force Academy over the Memorial Day weekend. For an account of that weekend, please see this article. Thanks.

Article about new General Authority Seventy Elder K. Brett Nattress

The Church News has published an article introducing new General Authority Seventy Elder K. Brett Nattress. See this link for that article. Always interesting to learn about new General Authority Seventies. Thanks.

Important strides regarding the Church in Vietnam.

The Church was recently officially recognized by and given the go-ahead to proselytize in Vietnam. For details, please see this article, which mentions that Elders Quentin L. Cook and Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy were in Vietnam when this happened. What an exciting development in Church History! Thanks.

Charles W. Dahlquist II, National Commissioner for the BSA

The Church News announced the appointment of Brother Charles W. Dahlquist II, former Young Men General President, as the national commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America. This is a prestigious post, and it was great for me to read about that. For details, please see this link.

New Doctrinal Mastery Program Replaces Scripture Mastery Program in Seminary

In a talk given to CES instructors and administrators earlier this year, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles introduced the Doctrinal Mastery program that officially replaces the Scripture Mastery program. This was done in an effort to allow the doctrines of the gospel to sink more deeply into the hearts of students and to allow them greater ability and flexibility in applying the doctrines of the gospel to their lives. For more details on this monumental and landmark change, please see this article.

16 New Temple Presidents Called

Hello, In a windfall announcement, the Church has called 16 new temple presidents. This has greatly trimmed the list of those temples who may yet have a president called this year. I include an updated copy of the list for your benefit.

Temples getting a new president in 2016:
1. Nashville Tennessee
2. Fort Collins Colorado
3. Star Valley Wyoming
4. Hartford Connecticut
5. Philadelphia Pennsylvania
6. Columbia River Washington
7. Chicago Illinois
8. Mexico City Mexico
9. Hong Kong China
10.  London England
11.  Manhattan New York
12.  Medford Oregon
13.  Dallas Texas
14.  Birmingham Alabama
15.  Seattle Washington
16.  Hamilton New Zealand
17.  Cochabamba Bolivia
18.  Gilbert Arizona
19.  Anchorage Alaska
20.  Curitiba Brazil
21.  Kyiv Ukraine
22.  Panama City Panama
23.  Fresno California
24.  Memphis Tennessee
25.  Winter Quarters Nebraska
26.  Lima Peru
27.  Nauvoo Illinois
28.  Portland Oregon
29.  Merida Mexico
30.  Reno Nevada
31. Spokane Washington
32. Rexburg Idaho
33. Montreal Quebec.
34. Monterey Mexico
35. Ciudad Juárez Mexico
36. Aba Nigeria
37. Nuku’alofa Tonga
38. Raleigh North Carolina
39. Provo Utah
40. Guadalajara Mexico
41. Copenhagen Denmark
42. St. Paul Minnesota Temple
43. Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
44. Halifax Nova Scotia
45. St. George Utah Temple
46. Santiago Chile Temple

Temples that may still get a new president this year:
1. Campinas Brazil
2. Columbus Ohio
3. Detroit Michigan
4. Frankfurt Germany
5.  Johannesburg South Africa
6.  Melbourne Australia
7.  Perth Australia
8.  Quetzaltenango Guatemala
9.  Sapporo Japan (will be dedicated on August 21)
10. Seoul Korea
11.  Tampico Mexico
12.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple
13.  Twin Falls Idaho