Substantial posts by Matthew Martinich

Matthew Martinich reported on his blog that the Reaching the Nations Church growth almanacs are now on sale at amazon.com for a substantial price reduction. They are less than $2.00 each. I wasted no time in purchasing my Kindle copies of these landmark volumes. Please click here to read the information on how to purchase those volumes. He also announced plans to publish an update of those volumes hopefully at some point this year.

In the comments on that post, many stake and ward creations are made known.

Additionally, more new stakes and districts have been created. Please click here for details. This only strengthens my case for a second temple in Nigeria and a 2nd and possibly 3rd one for the Ivory Coast. Thanks so much to all of you for your interest and support.

Whittling down the list of cities that might get a temple soon for my October General Conference Predictions

Hello, all! I am trying to whittle down the list of cities that may get a temple soon. I am asking for your help because I want to fine-tune my predictions. I will post a new copy of that list. I am looking to whittle it down to perhaps the 15 most likely locations. Let the process of elimination begin!  Any feedback would be appreciated. Here's the list as it now stands, followed by some comments.

1. Managua Nicaragua Temple (proposed in 2012 by Elder Russell M. Nelson; note that Nicaragua is the nation with the strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase; note also that Rick Satterfield, webmaster of the most excellent LDS Church Temples site, has informed me that a temple site has been purchased in this city for when membership warrants it )

2. Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby; note that Papua New Guinea is the nation with the second strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase; note that this is another location for which Brother Satterfield said a potential temple site has been purchased when membership warrants it. )

3. Puerto Rico (San Juan; note that Puerto Rico is the nation with the third strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase

4. Russia (Moscow; the Church seems to really be expanding in Russia; note that Russia is the nation with the fourth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

5. Kiribati (Tarawa; note that Kiribati is the nation with the fifth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

6. Sierra Leone (Freetown; may be announced soon due to extensive Church growth in Africa; note that Sierra Leone is the nation with the sixth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

7. American Samoa (Pago Pago; note that American Samoa is the nation with the seventh strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

8. Uganda (Kampala; may be announced soon due to extensive Church growth in Africa; note that Uganda is the nation with the eighth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

9. Cambodia (Phnom Penh; please note that Cambodia is the nation with the ninth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase; I favor this location because my brother-in-law served his mission there)

10. Nairobi Kenya Temple (proposed in 1998 by President Gordon B. Hinckley; note that Kenya is the nation with the tenth strongest LDS presence that doesn't have a temple in any phase)

11. Bentonville Arkansas (According to my team leader at work who served a mission in that region and who follows Church milestones there religiously (pun intended), a lot for a temple has already been purchased there and an announcement of that temple will happen when Church growth warrants it. How soon that will be remains to be seen.)

12. Montana (Missoula; identified by Elder David A. Bednar as a potential temple site)

13. Southwest Salt Lake Valley Temple (proposed in 2005 by President Gordon B. Hinckley; the site has already been purchased and an official announcement will happen when Church activity warrants it)

14. DR Congo (Kasai region/Likashi; recent extensive and expansive growth in the DR Congo seems to bear out the inevitability of a second and even third temple for this region. A temple for Kasai region was publicly proposed by Elder Neil L. Andersen in February of this year)

15. Hungary (Budapest; the difficulty in getting to the Kyiv Ukraine temple, along with growth in the area, makes it a good candidate for a temple)

16. Nigeria (Lagos/Benin City)

17. Ghana (Kumasi)

18. Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar; I favor this location because a good friend served his mission there. The growth of the Church there may be indicative of the need for a temple.)

19. Bolivia (La Paz; I favor La Paz because my favorite bishop, a close friend, served his mission there. He shared a little bit of Bolivian culture with our ward during his service as bishop because, in addition to giving each returning missionary their plaque, at the conclusion of their service, he also gave them a Bolivian abrasso)

20. South Dakota (Rapid City; I favor this location because my dad served his mission there)

21. New Zealand (Auckland)

22. Indonesia (Jakarta; a site I favor because a good friend served his mission there)

23 Wyoming (Cody; makes more sense for a potential temple than Cheyenne)

24. Idaho (Pocatello; the one major city in Idaho that does not already have a temple)

25. Spain (Barcelona, which seems more likely as a temple site than Malaga, where a good friend served her mission; note that I feel there will be a temple in both cities in the future)

26. Tooele Utah (a somewhat overlooked site that makes sense)

27. Heber Utah  (could be a dark horse choice, as it would be unexpected but needed)

28. Mapleton Utah (another site that could benefit from a temple; how likely it is remains to be seen)

29. Scoland (It was brought to my attention that Ireland or Scotland would be a good location for a temple. Of the two, I think Scotland is more likely, and Brother Satterfield agrees with me; though it's admittedly another dark horse candidate.)

30. Czech Republic (Ostrava; I’m sure President Uchtdorf would love to see a temple in his homeland)

31. Lehi Utah (I favor this location because my wife grew up there and it seems to be expanding at an astonishing rate, including the LDS presence)

32. Texas (El Paso/Corpus Christi/Fort Worth; of the three I don't know which I favor more or might be more likely: El Paso has more of a Church presence, but Corpus Christi is a region familiar to my mom who served part of her mission there and a good friend of mine served her mission in Fort Worth , so any one of the three would be good)

33. Austria (Vienna; I favor this location because my wife served her mission there)

34. Norway (Oslo; another dark horse choice)

35. Guatemala (Guatemala City (2nd temple))/San Cristobal)

36. Mexico (Mexico City (2nd temple))/Quezon City)

37. Chile (Santiago (2nd temple))/Valparaiso)

38. Philippines (Manila (2nd temple))/Quezon City/Davao

39. Argentina (Buenos Aires (2nd temple)/Bellville/La Plata)

40. Brazil (Sao Paulo (2nd temple)/Belo Horizonte/Brasilia (Note on Brasilia: Brother Satterfield has told me he thinks this is a very likely possibility)

41. Ivory Coast (One or two additional temples; might be needed due to extensive growth in the area)

42. Honduras (San Pedro Sula)

43. India (New Delhi; temple publicly proposed by Neal A. Maxwell in June 1992)

44. Lithuania (Vilnius; temple publicly proposed by M. Russell Ballard in May 1993)

45. Venezuela (Maracaibo; temple publicly proposed by Gordon B. Hinckley in August 1999)

46. Singapore (temple publicly proposed by  Gordon B. Hinckley in January 2000)

47. Vietnam (Hanoi; may be a bit early for a temple; but the odds for it are increased by the fact of Vietnam granting official recognition to the Church earlier this year, especially as any Vietnamese Church members are travelling a long distance to the nearest temple.

My observations about this list:

1. Managua Nicaragua and Port Moresby have already had a site identified, as have Bentonville Arkansas and perhaps also Missoula Montana (The former is definite, the latter is heresay). Therefore, these are in the top four in my mind.

2. I would probably get rid of the possibility of a Russian temple for the moment simply because of the religious restrictions imposed by President Putin.

3. Of the seven temples that have been announced since last year's end of the two-year hiatus in temple announcements, none have been in the US (including Utah), 2 have been in Africa (Abidjan Ivory Coast and Harare Zimbabwe,) 1 in the Pacific (Bangkok Thailand), 1 in a European-owned island (Port-au-Price Haiti) and 3 from South America (Lima Peru Los Olivos, Belem Brazil, and Quito Ecuador). I therefore can see where, especially with growth in Africa and South America, more temples may be announced there. It has been a while since we saw a temple announced in Europe, which makes the ones in Spain, Ireland and Hungary likely, though I could be wrong.
4. It is very rare to only have two temples in construction in Utah (Cedar City Utah is anticipated to be completed next year, and Jordan River is being renovated). This makes another Utah temple likely. What I'd like to see there is a narrowing-down to about two or three Utah cities that are most likely for a temple announcement.
5. Some observations about the cities for which I predicted a 2nd temple: I would probably go for a temple in other cities before a 2nd for any of the cities above. The announcement of the Lima Peru Los Olivos temple makes a 2nd temple for these cities likely, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say this:
a. Brasilia in Brazil has been particularly mentioned to me.
b. So has Valparaiso in Chile.
c. Quezon City or Davao seems likely for the Philippines.
d. Quezon City seems most likely for Mexico.
e. Villa Nueva may be a more likely possibility for Guatemala than a second Guatemala City temple. or the one I proposed for San Cristobal.
6. I would likely trim down this list to the top 15-20, then refine it further as conference approaches.
Thoughts?
  

Interesting Temple Tidbits from Rick Satterfield

Brother Rick Satterfield, webmaster of the LDS Church temples site, yesterday sent me a lovely e-mail sharing some interesting temple tidbits. Among what he shared are these facts, which I hope he doesn't mind me sharing with you all:

1. It was a news article on the Tucson Arizona temple that led to his pushing up the completion date of the Tucson Arizona temple.
2. He revised his estimation (a very educated guess) for the completion of the Paris France Temple, pushing it back to mid-2017.
3. He has placed Durban, Fortaleza, and Kinshasa in the order they are because they seem to be prime for completion in that order. However, he says that, from the information he has, Durban is going to be a smaller temple like Star Valley Wyoming, so there is a great likelihood Durban might be finished before Fortaleza and Kinshasa.
4. He placed Barranquilla ahead of Lisbon because he doesn't know what's happening in Lisbon. It doesn't appear that the Lisbon temple has progressed much beyond the groundbreaking it had in December. So it is very likely that Barranquilla could be finished ahead of Lisbon. Once he obtains any information about that, he'll update it on the website, and I will let you know as soon as I can after that happens.
5. He based his description for the Barranquilla temple on a small corner of a photograph submitted from when Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the site recently.

On an additional temple-related note, he gave me some feedback on my temple list, saying it is getting better and better. I thank him for that and got the message loud and clear: I need to work on fine-tuning it some more. I will likely have to winnow the list down to get to specific predictions for the October General Conference, and I will rely on information posted on Matthew Martinich's blog in order to do so. Hope you have enjoyed this post.

Missionary news: Russian Law Effect and All Missionaries Serving in Turkey are safe

KSL's news today at 6 featured a story on changes that are being made to the status of missionaries and missionary work in Russia. I will be posting a link to that story as soon as it is available.

In the meantime, the Church reports that missionaries serving in Turkey are safe following the governmental coup. Click here for details. Thanks for your readership, friendship, and interest.

Church News Conglomeration

This will be a conglomeration of Church news. First of all, the Church is seeking several more nurse missionaries to serve as mission nurses. Apparently they are really desperate for individuals to help in that assignment. For more on how to apply and what the requirements are, please see this link.

FamilySearch held a worldwide indexing event from July 15-17. Many names were added to the Church's database and are being made ready for the temple work to be done. For more details, please see this link.

Three new videos have been added to the Church's "Meet the Mormons" series. To learn more about this, please click here.

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square completed their 2016 European tour recently. For an overview of all that the tour involved, click here.

Lots going on in the Church. What an exciting time to be alive!