Important Church News Items and a Significant Post by Matthew Martinich

Matthew Martinich recently did a very interesting post about how, not even halfway through 2016, more than 50 new stakes has been created already, with many more to come. To read that informational and significant posts, please see this link.

Other significant Church news has crossed my radar. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently toured the Baltic Mission of the Church. For an account of what transpired during that visit, please see this article. Among the significant highlights of that article is that the president of the Baltic Mission was a missionary who served under Elder Ballard when he was a mission president, and that the president of the Ukraine Mission, which was part of Elder Ballard's tour, is Kenneth B. Packer, the grandson of President Boyd K. Packer, who dedicated Ukraine for the preaching of the gospel. See  the article for additional details.

A new initiative for the Church Educational System was announced by Elder Kim B. Clark, a General Authority Seventy who serves as Commissioner of Church Education. For an overview of all that the initiative entails, please see this link.

A new Scouting leadership training facility and complex in West Virginia is being named after President Thomas S. Monson, who appeared at the groundbreaking ceremony for the complex by means of a pre-recorded video. Representing the Church leadership in person at the event were Elders Jeffrey R. Holland (who serves on the BSA National Executive Board) and D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with Young Men General President Steven W. Owen and Primary General President Joy D. Jones. For details of the services, please see this article.

Elder Neil L. Andersen recently returned from a tour of the Pacific Area of the Church. To see what he did during that visit, pleas see this article.  Elder Dale G. Renlund recently welcomed Tongan royalty to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). To see what transpired at that event, please see this link.

That's what's the latest in Church News. Hope you enjoyed this post.

New Apostle Song from the Sons of Ammon

The long-awaited day has arrived when the Sons of Ammon have made a new version of the apostles song. You can view that song here. It's even more catchy than my version and is so much better than any creation of mine. Enjoy! For those of you who might prefer my version, for which I've yet to provide a video (any takers? hello! hello! *crickets chirp* didn't think so), you can find it here, and if there are enough requests for it, I will fulfill my promise to post a video of my version here on the blog. Just let me know in the comments below if that's what you guys want. Thanks.

Updated Temple Construction Progress Report

Much has happened on the temple news front, so I am posting an update on the progress that has been made.

Temple Construction Progress (current as of 6/13/16)

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 Open house tickets available beginning Monday June 27, @ 10:00 am JST; 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: Pouring walkways and landscape structures; hanging sheetrock, painting walls and adding millwork; 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: Installing lamp posts; planting trees and plants; attaching exterior stone to visitor’s 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; light poles installed in north parking lot; 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.

163. Fortaleza Brazil Temple Site clearing and preparation phase; 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 for 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.

Prayers for the victims of the senseless tragedy in Orlando

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved in the tragic terror attack in Orlando. It sickens me that within these United States, an extremist should be allowed to attack people with whom he has a difference of opinion. This senseless act is tragic. The LDS Church has issued a statement about what happened. It says: "With the rest of the nation, we mourn the tragic loss of life and serious injuries that occurred in Orlando this morning. We pray for the families and loved ones of the victims of this senseless shooting and pray they will be comforted and cared for as they seek to heal. Our prayers and support are also with community leaders and law enforcement officials as they continue to investigate this shocking crime." I feel like I could say "Amen" and end this post right there, but I wanted to further state that those of the LDS Church, who underwent similar persecution as a result of difference of opinion in the early days of Church history, most likely understand more than anyone else what it means to be persecuted for practicing one's beliefs. In a land where the marriage of same-gender individuals has been declared constitutional, it boggles my mind that something like this could happen. My heart bleeds for all those affected by this incident, and I join in praying for all those whose lives have been made worse because this happened. I pray we will all unite in prayer on their behalf.

Three Significant Posts by Matthew Martinich

Hello, all! Some exciting Church growth news crossed my radar just now, and I just had to share.

First of all, some significant growth milestones have taken place in the Ivory Coast. For an overview of these developments, please see this lnk.

Second, new stakes have been created in Guatemala, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and Texas, and a new district has been created in Nigeria. For details, please see this link.

New stakes have additionally been created in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mongolia, another for Nigeria, and a new district in Brazil, For details, please see this link.

As you can see, the Church is exponentially growing throughout the world, How exciting it is to live in these latter days! I will keep my eye on Church growth developments, and let you know as news crosses my radar. Thanks for your readership.