On this blog, I, James Stokes, share insights and analysis covering the latest news and developments reported about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My specific emphasis and focus is on the ministry of our current apostles, General Conference, and up-to-date temple information. This site is neither officially owned, operated, or endorsed by the Church, and I, as the autthor thereof, am solely responsible for this content.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Yet Another Temple Construction Progress Report Update
First Presidency Announces BYU-Pathway Worldwide/New President Announced for BYU-Idaho
In annoucing the BYU-Pathway Worldwide Program, President Uchtdorf was accompanied at the press conference by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Kim B. Clark, the commissioner of Church education. In the meantime, Elder Oaks also traveled to BYU-Idaho to make the announcement of the new president for BYU-Idaho. In his service as president, Henry J. will follow in the footsteps of his own father, who presided over the institution while it was still known as Rick College. The new President Eyring has for years been a fixture at the university as an academic vice president.
That said, I am sure that there will be more than a few who will make the argument that the appointment of Henry J. smacks of nepotism, and was influence or encouraged by his own father. But I'm sure in this, Henry B. would speak out to debunk those rumors, and, the the spirit of the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley as he responded to such concerns in speaking of his son's call as al general authority, would make no bones about the fact that he (Henry B.) did not advance his (Henry J.)'s name for that position, that he recused himself from participating, and that this call has come to Henry J. because he had a wonderful mother, not that he could recommend his father. I am sure that this decision had more to do with Henry J.'s scholastic achievements and contribution to the institution over which he will now preside than it has to do with any motivation on Henry B.'s part to see his son ascend to that position. Any other theory is ridiculous, unwarranted, and absolutely untrue.
That said, more information may be desired by my readers about this program and about the new president of BYU-Idaho. After I had heard the new program mentioned on the noon news locally, along with the promise that a new president would be announced later today for BYU-Idaho, I had to go to work. So this is my first chance to really read about both developments.
For that reason, to benefit any who might want to know more in either regard, I post links to this article (which focuses on the new BYU-Pathway Worldwide Program) and this article (discussing the appointment of President Henry J. Eyring.) Enjoy!
Any thoughts and feedback are welcome and appreciated. Thanks to you all for your kind attention to important developments like this.
Promised Updated Timeline by Which Future Temple-related Events Might Be Announced and Scheduled
Monday, February 6, 2017
Updated Estimated Time Frame for the Completion of Under Construction Temples/Temple Construction Progress Report and List of Upcoming Temple-related Events Updates
Here I am as promised with the second post I mentioned. This one will share the updated time frames in which under construction temples might be completed, and my updated temple construction progress report and list of upcoming temple-related events. Let's continue right where we left off. With today's announcement, I had enough of a reason to update my temple construction progress report, but the need to do so became increasingly more significant because of some developments in terms of the timelines by which under construction temples might be completed.
Just as a demonstration of what has changed in that regard, I will give you the previous order of under construction temples, followed by the present one.Earlier today (as recently as 15 hours ago), under construction temples had been anticipated to be completed in the following order (the estimated time frame of that completion follows, as parenthetical expressions, the name of each temple): Rome Italy and Kinshasa DR Congo (both in early-to-mid 2018); Concepcion Chile and Durban South Africa (both in mid-2018); Barranquilla Colombia and Winnipeg Manitoba (both in late 2018 or early 2019); Fortaleza Brazil and Lisbon Portugal (sometime in 2019).
With the changes implemented today, the order and timetables have changed to be listed as follows: Rome and Kinshasa (early-to-mid 2018); Barranquilla Colombia (the one and only one projected to be completed in mid-2018); Concepcion nd Durban (mid-to-late 2018); Fortaleza, Lisbon, and Winnipeg (sometime in 2019). So what do those changes mean in terms of reported temple construction progress? Let's take a look at the updates I have done on my report, which I last updated about 15 hours ago. That just shows how quickly things can change.
Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 2/6/17)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 groundbreakings scheduled; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: In addition to the two groundbreakings already scheduled this year, the chances are very good that we will see several others also have a groundbreaking in 2017.
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris France Temple: Interior artwork being shipped for hanging inside the temple; dedication scheduled for Sunday May 21, 2017.
157. Tucson Arizona Temple: Exterior architectural details gilded; installation of interior art glass and millwork nearing completion; president’s home undergoing renovation; dedication scheduled for Sunday August 13, 2017.
158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Interior painting and millwork underway; dedication scheduled for Sunday November 19, 2017.
159. Cedar City Utah Temple: Installing art glass windows; hanging drywall on interior; dedication scheduled for Sunday December 10, 2017.
Under Construction:
160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Applying waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; setting rebar; roughing in plumbing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
162. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Concrete walls poured for steeple; attaching waterproofing membrane to exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
163. Concepcion Chile Temple: Exterior cladding going up on north wall; framing the interior walls; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.
164. Durban South Africa Temple: Applying waterproof mastic to temple foundation; pouring exterior walls for missionary housing building; staking site for ancillary buildings; completion anticipated sometime during mid-to-late 2018.
165. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Setting concrete forms for parapet walls; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
166. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation underway for temple; structural framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
167. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
Groundbreaking Scheduled:
168. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking; environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.
169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Erecting construction barrier; clearing and leveling site; preparing for groundbreaking ceremony, which is scheduled for Saturday March 4, 2017.
Rededication Scheduled:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededicatiemon scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and-mid 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early-and mid-2018.
Announced:
170. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement anticipated in 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.
171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: The LDS Church Temple website indicates that a potential site has been identified, though it has yet to be officially verified.
172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: As the above-mentioned website indicates for this temple, while no official temple site has been announced, there may be a possibility that a Church office building may be repurposed to function as a temple, meetinghouse, and office building under one roof, in a similar fashion to those temples in Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York. This is most likely to be confirmed sooner rather than later.
173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador 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 numbers 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 numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress report.
And of course, the announced groundbreaking for the temple in Arequipa Peru naturally has affected the list of upcoming temple-related events and what the status of temple construction will be after each subsequent event. I will post that in just a minute. But I just wanted to thank you all first for reading this post and (if you feel so inclined) commenting on it. You are the reason I can do what I do to any degree of success I have been able to do it.
In fact, it just so happened that one such comment in response to an earlier post I had done was how I first found out about this upcoming groundbreaking. I appreciate such comments and the insights that are being shared. Once I have a chance to do so, whether that happens tonight or tomorrow or a day or two after, I hope to be able to revisit my predictions for when future temple-related events might be announced and scheduled to take place. Stay tuned for that. That said, here is the list of upcoming events.
Upcoming Temple Events (Text in parentheses indicates what the status of temples will be following the event listed):
2017
Saturday March 4—Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Arequipa Peru Temple Groundbreakings (155 operating; 4 scheduled for dedication; 10 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)
NOTE: According to the LDS Church Temples website, Elder Claudio R. M. Costa, who serves as President of the Brazil Area of the Church, has been asked to preside at the groundbreaking in Rio. It is a pretty safe bet that his counselors in the area presidency, Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis and Elder W. Mark Bassett, will also be in attendance along with Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who serves as Executive Director of the Church’s Temple Department. However, assignments to preside at groundbreakings have been known to change as needed. For what it’s worth, when the 10:00 am groundbreaking takes place in Rio, it will be 5:00 am MST. As for the groundbreaking in Arequipa, that will be presided over by Elder Carlos A. Godoy, President of the South America Northwest Area, and it is more than likely that his counselors in the area presidency, Elder Enrique R. Falabella and Elder Hugo Montoya. It is very possible that the groundbreaking in Peru will be held at 10:00 am Peruvian time, which would be 8:00 am MST. It is very possible that Elder Wilson could be in attendance at both groundbreakings, with just enough time to hop on a plane to switch locations in between.
Sunday May 21—Paris France Temple Dedication (156 operating; 3 scheduled for dedication; 9 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)
NOTE: As to who might be asked to preside at this dedication, previous precedent indicates it may be any member of the First Presidency (with my vote going to President Uchtdorf, as he is a European native) or any of the apostles.
Sunday June 4—Idaho Falls Idaho Temple Rededication (156 operating; 3 scheduled for dedication; 9 under construction; 1 rededication scheduled; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may take place soon.)
NOTE: Since the health of the brethren remains unclear, it is anyone’s guess who might be asked to preside at this dedication. I could see three possibilities at this point: President Henry B. Eyring, a former Ricks College president; Elder David A. Bednar, a former BYU-Idaho president; or Elder Neil L. Andersen, who is an Idaho native that has personal ties to the area.
Sunday August 13—Tucson Arizona Temple Dedication (157 operating; 2 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)
NOTE: The question of who might preside at this dedication may not be easy to resolve. Both President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf have accompanied President Monson to previous dedications in Arizona, with the question of who may have actually presided at the most recent one in Gilbert still being largely unresolved. Technically, since President Monson was present for at least one of the sessions, and since all three were under his direction, he presided there. However, with that said, it appears that President Eyring was the one who read the dedicatory prayer in the first session, opening the argument that he was the one to preside. For a similar anomalous situation, I cite the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple, where Elder Dallin H. Oaks was listed as presiding even though President Russell M. Nelson was present at the final session, which made him the presiding authority. If President Eyring does preside at the previous dedication, it is not unlikely that President Uchtdorf will be asked to represent the Church at this dedication, especially considering that President Eyring, an Idaho native, will most likely be the one to preside at the next dedication in Meridian. Also, the choice of President Uchtdorf makes even more sense when remembering that he was the one who presided at the groundbreaking in 2015. It is also not impossible to believe that Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy, who oversees the North America Southwest Area of the Church, under which Arizona falls.
Sunday November 19—Meridian Idaho Temple Dedication (158 operating; 1 scheduled for dedication; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 9 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)
NOTE: If President Uchtdorf is asked to preside at the previous dedication, and given the fact that President Eyring is an Idaho native, it would make sense if he (President Eyring) is asked to preside at this one. Another choice could be Elder David A. Bednar, who presided at the groundbreaking for the temple and was asked to preside at the dedication of the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, due to his wife’s personal connection to the area. Yet another option would be Elder Neil L. Andersen, who is an Idaho native. But the Church has never tapped such a junior apostle to preside at a temple dedication. It is not out of the question, however. It is also reasonable to believe that Elder Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy, who oversees the Church’s Idaho Area, will be in attendance as well.
Sunday December 10—Cedar City Utah Temple Dedication (159 operating; 8 under construction; 2 undergoing renovation; 8 announced. NOTE: Several other groundbreakings may be possible soon.)
NOTE: If President Eyring is asked to preside at the previous dedication, it would make sense if President Uchtdorf is asked to preside at this one. That said, it would not surprise me either in any way if Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a St. George native, is assigned to officiate at this dedication. After all, for all intents and purposes, the two are essentially neighboring cities, and it is not at all unprecedented for a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve to officiate at a temple dedication. Whoever does preside, it is a near certainty that multiple apostles may be in attendance, as has been the usual custom for temple dedications in Utah. It is not unreasonable to also believe that Elder L. Whitney Clayton, who is the Senior President of the Seventy and who presided at this dedication, will be in attendance, along with Elder Craig C. Christensen, another member of the Presidency of the Seventy, who currently has supervisory responsibilities for the Utah South Area, within which the temple has been built.
FINAL NOTE: A site announcement is anticipated at some point during the early part of this year for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple, with a groundbreaking to follow at the temple site within 4-6 weeks afterward. Additionally, there is a possibility that we may have any number of additional temple groundbreakings sometime during 2017. I will keep my eye out for such developments and share those as I learn of them.
Arequipa Peru Temple Groundbreaking Set
In terms of today's announcement of the groundbreaking for Peru's third temple, it has been reported that Elder Carlos A. Godoy, who presides over the Church's South America Northwest Area, has been asked to preside. It is assumed that his counselors in the area presidency, Elders Enrique R. Falabella and Hugo Montoya, will also be in attendance. What is not clear as of yet is whether or not Elder Larry Y. Wilson, the Executive Director of the Church's Temple Department, or one of his assistant executive directors, might also be in attendance. It seems probable, but anyone else's guess in that regard might be better than mine. I for one wouldn't be surprised if Elder Wilson or one of his assistants were in attendance at both events. I was curious, so I did the time conversion. Given the fact that the Rio de Janeiro Temple groundbreaking is set to take place at 10 am Brazilian time (which is 5:00 am MST), and assuming that the Arequipa groundbreaking will take place at 10 am Peruvian ,time (which is 8:00 am MST; note that the Rio groundbreaking ceremony time has been explicitly stated and set, and it does not seem that this applies to Arjequpa, where no time has been officially verified), it is extremely possible that the groundbreaking ceremonies, which may be held roughly three hours apart and could thus be attended by the same representative from the Temple Department.
I don't want to make this post too extensive, so I will be following this one up with another couple of them, the first talking about the change in potential completion timetables for under construction temples and sharing my updated temple construction progress report and list of updcoming temple-related events, and the second (coming either tonight, tomorrow, or before too much logner than than) revisiting my estimated timeline for future temple-related events. Stay tuned for those updates as I am able to get them written and posted. In the meantime, comments and feedback of any kind are always welcome and most appreciated. Thanks.
Newest Edition of When Future Temple-related Events Might be Announced and Scheduled to Take Place
Temple Construction Progress Report Update
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Newest Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones & Averages
In the meantime, I want to note one thing about the apostolic age averages that's kind of a significant anomaly. Elder Ronald A. Rasband is going to celebrate his 66th birthday on Monday. So while, as of tomorrow, the day on which I am basing this report, he is one day short of that birthday, his decimal age, rounded to the nearest hundredth, is already 66.00 years. So that is unique. Also, the number of days since his birthday is the one and only one left that has not yet been affected by the leap year. As such, I have been dividing the number of days since his birthday by 366 to determine how many hundredths of a year he is on any given Sunday. The remaining 14 are being divided by 365 to determine how many hundredths of a year they are.
That said, as of tomorrow, the average age of the First Presidency members is 83.13. As mentioned, President Monson is above that average, President Eyring is closest to it, and President Uchtdorf is below it.
The average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.68. The six above that average are President Nelson, Elder Ballard, Elder Oaks, Elder Hales, Elder Cook and Elder Holland, who is the youngest of that older half and is therefore closest to that average. Elder Christofferson is the closest to the average in the other half of those twelve. The other five under the average are, of course, Elder Rasband, Elder Andersen, Elder Bednar, Elder Renlund, and Elder Stevenson.
The average age of the 15 apostles as a group is 76.37. The seven above that average are Presidents Nelson and Monson (on the older side), President Eyring and Elder Cook (on the younger side) and Elders Ballard, Oaks and Hales (in the middle). Elder Cook and President Uchtdorf are the ones who split the older half from the younger half, with Elder Cook being the youngest of the seven oldest, and President Uchtdorf being the oldest of the eight youngest. In addition the President Uchtdorf, rounding out the younger side are Elders Holland, Christofferson, Rasband, Andersen, Bednar, Renlund, and Stevenson.
Of those apostles who are not yet 90, President Monson is the closest to that, and he will be 90 in 6 months and 16 days (from tomorrow). And among our youngest third of apostles, the youngest, Elder Stevenson, will not be 90 for another 28 years, 6 months, and 1 day. It always interests me how the Lord governs the changing of the apostolic leadership of His Church.
All the apostles called between the apostolic calls of President Monson (in October 1963) and President Nelson (in April 1984) have passed away. We have also lost the two that sat between Elder Ballard and Elder Hales. In the meantime, as Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf fall in seniority between Elders Holland and Bednar, there is another gap in the Quorum of the Twelve. It is interesting that between President Monson (the 77th apostle in Church history) and President Nelson (the 85th one), there are eight apostles that we have lost.
When taking into account the other two that have died (Elders Wirthlin and Scott), it would only take two more apostles passing before President Monson to mark the loss of a full Quorum's worth since President Monson's call. And as sad as that is to contemplate, it could happen. Elder Hales is just younger than Elder Oaks but seems to have the worst health history of our current 15 apostles. He has looked better these last couple of conferences, but given how precarious things have previously been for him, he could be the next one we lose. I hate to lose any of the Brethren, but I can't shake the feeling that he might not be with us much longer. That said, we have seen the Lord prolong his life many times previously, so he could carry on for years to come. We have had apostles in better health than he has had decline suddenly, so nothing would surprise me at this point.
Elder Ballard is showing signs of his age, being just over a year younger than President Monson. By all reports, he is still healthy, but again, we have seen seemingly healthy apostles decline suddenly, so there is always a chance that he could pass before President Monson.
And while I do hope that President Nelson, who is just under three years older than President Monson, will live to become the oldest living apostle, it is a rare thing to have someone live that long after wearing out his life in the Lord's service. That said, he is still traveling extensively and he has outlived President Packer, who was born one day after him. I fully expect to see President Nelson live a long time and surprise us all with the milestones he will reach towards becoming the oldest apostle. But that will be up to the Lord.
I hope I am correctly understood in what I have expressed in the previous three paragraphs above. I don't enjoy contemplating or speculating about which apostles we might lose and when. I merely mention these factors in view of those who might precede President Monson in death. I for one hope that all of the apostles continue to do very well health-wise, and that it will be many years before the next apostolic death. I am glad the Lord controls and governs that aspect of things. I for one would hate trying to determine when that should happen. I love the leading brethren of the Church, which I hope is apparently by the things I post about them and their travels. I sustain them with all my heart, and I do my best to follow their counsel. May the Lord continue to bless all of his faithful special witnesses.