Transcripts Now Available for addresses from the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional

Hello again, everyone! After having kept an eye out since yesterday for them, I learned today that the transcripts for the addresses given during the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional are now available. You can find them here. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

A Preliminary Word on the North America Areas of the Church

Hello again, everyone! After a few day's hiatus to post Church and temple news that has crossed my radar in recent days, I am in the preliminary stages of putting together my thoughts about temple prospects for each of the Church's areas in North America. Before I share anything in that regard, I wanted to note that because the boundary lines of the North American areas of the Church are drawn the way they are, we have many states in the US and provinces and territories in Canada where the majority of such regions may fall under one area, while smaller portions of those regions may fall under another. Because of that, the temple possibilities I see for these areas will be listed according to the area in which most of these states, provinces and territories fall, even if the temple location might be in a different area of the Church. Hope that makes sense.

I am using this post to share some thoughts on a distinct part of North America that I do not see getting any additional temples anytime soon. The area of which I speak is the territories that comprise Canada. In preparing to share my thoughts on North America, I did some research into Canada. And that research seems indicative that the temple district that are now (or in the case of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, will be) in place in that region seem to be more than enough for Canada's needs for the moment.

The temple districts are fairly small and very manageable with their current sizes, and, from my study, It also seems to me that the Church is well stocked on temples that are scattered through Canada and  and serve parts of the United States in which they border. I don't see anywhere the Church is established in Canada that is not within an easy distance of a temple. That said, I freely admit that my study is far from perfect. Always has been and always will be, so if there is anything I have overlooked, please let me know.

With all of that said, I am looking forward to going into detail on the current and potential future temple districts within the North American areas of the Church. The United States is one of many places where my list of possibilities has shrunk, then expanded, then shrunk, then expanded again. Having been encouraged to expand my net of US temple possibilities (while at the same time keeping in mind that, except in the Mormon corridor of Idaho, Arizona, and Utah (though it technically also includes Nevada and the regions of California comprising San Bernardino), the US in general is in a period of stagnated growth). With all of that in mind, I will hopefully be able to take some time between now and the Christmas holidays to cover North American temple possibilities.

I am currently dealing with a minor illness that may slow me down somewhat, but if nothing else, I will do my level best to be sure and complete the North America posts before the end of the year. It all depends on what happens between now and then and how much time and energy I can devote to such posts. That said, it has touched me how interested you, my readers, seem to be in the posts about potential future temple locations. That is clearly a subject close to many hearts, and I am grateful for the wonderful feedback I have received on the posts I have done in this series so far.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Update on recent temple-related developments

Hello again, everyone! I am grateful for the opportunity to post today and share some significant and amazing developments that have occurred with various temples worldwide. There is a lot to unpack here, so let's get right into it.

First, I am pleased to report additional progress on the Barranquilla Colombia Temple. While the process of laying sod and sidewalk pavers continues, roofing is going in for both the temple and housing facility. Additionally, the monument sign has been installed on the temple grounds. I can now see clearly why many have said that this temple will be the second new one dedicated next year.

Next, I realized today that in my last update on the Durban South Africa Temple I had unintentionally omitted some details from the construction status. The framing is under way on the interior, drywall is being hung, window frames are being fitted, brick is being laid around the pillars, and concrete is being poured for the veranda on the missionary housing facility.

The next temple I want to talk about is the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. While no progress has been reported since I posted twice about how it started, I forgot that I had not given a potential time-frame for that temple's completion. since work officially got underway. We know that that construction process is anticipated to take between 12-18 months, so I have set mid-June 2019 as a preliminary estimate for that temple;s dedication. That said, I could see a reason to move that estimate up a bit, depending on how consistently progress is reported on that process.

At the Arequipa Peru Temple site, since the exterior has been completed, the foundation is being backfilled and interior work has started. Because this temple has progressed so steadily in its construction, I can see why there is reason to believe that a dedication could occur before the end of 2019 rather than a few months later, as 2020 begins. With this and all other temples, I am keeping an eye out for any updated information, and I will do my best to pass any updates along as I receive them.

I have also felt that the private rededication that will be held for the Houston Texas Temple following its period of restoration and renovation could take place in June of next year, all going well. I will be sure to pass along any updates to this estimate as I find out more.

The final thing I want to discuss in this post is the dates on which temples are anticipated to close next year. I check my favorite Church sites every day before I check this blog, so when I did so, I was not aware that there was a comment on this blog indicating that the last day the Raleigh North Carolina Temple would be open is Saturday January 6. But thanks to the comment on this blog about that subject, I can now confirm that the closure of that temple is effective Sunday January 7. In the meantime, I also found out that the Mesa Arizona Temple is set to close for its renovation on Sunday May 20, which is the same day on which the Jordan River Utah Temple will be rededicated. It is exciting to have learned all of this.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

President Trump Visits With LDS Church Leaders during his Utah trip/Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Renovation Closure Corrected

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may be aware, President Donald Trump had a brief trip to Utah today to announce changes to two national monuments here in Utah. The visit, arranged by Senior Utah Senator Orrin Hatch (who is a Church member and third in the presidential line of succession), included a visit to Welfare Square and a meeting with President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse, and Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham. Among the topics discussed were the importance of religious freedom, and how the Church cares for the needs of its members and their friends of other faiths. President Trump seemed very impressed and touched, both by the time these Church leaders gave him, and with the opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of all the Church does to help not only its own members, but also friends of other faiths. I attempted to write a summary of all that transpired, but found that nothing I put together does it justice, so I refer anyone who would like more details on this to the Church News article, which can be found here.

In other news, I mentioned on this blog a while ago that the January 10 and February 1 dates for the renovation closures of the Raleigh North Carolina and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples were likely subject to change. While I am still waiting for word on the correct date for the Raleigh closure, it appears that the Church has identified Sunday January 28 as a more exact date for the Baton Rouge renovation closure. That makes sense in light of the fact that we have generally seen such closures begin between Friday and Monday. I am keeping an eye out for the exact dates of both the Raleigh North Carolina and Mesa Arizona closures and will post those as soon as I have them.

That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

More Information Provided on Cedar City Utah Temple Dedication; more specific information pending

Hello again, everyone! As many of you may be aware, the dedication of the Cedar City Utah Temple will be held this weekend. I have wondered periodically who all might be in attendance from the general Church leadership, and we now know a little bit more about that. While no specific leaders have been identified as of yet, this article explains that there will be 9 of the 14 current apostles (the article says 15, but does not account for Elder Hales's death) participating during the three dedicatory sessions. That brings up an interesting question: who might those 9 be?

We know that President Monson likely won't be able to attend, which leaves 13 others that could. We also know that it has been several years since any temple dedication or rededication has been attended by every member of the First Presidency, so I think it may be safe to assume that only one First Presidency member may attend, and since President Uchtdorf presided at the dedications of the Tucson Arizona and Meridian Idaho Temples, it would make sense if President Eyring presided at this one. I am not ruling out both President Eyring and President Uchtdorf being in attendance at one or two sessions each, but it seems unlikely. We also know that the Church likes to spread out attendance at temple-related events so everyone has an equal opportunity to participate.

With that in mind, we also know that Elder Neil L. Andersen accompanied President Eyring to the dedication of the Paris France temple (in view of Elder Andersen's ties to France as a former missionary and mission president there), so he may not be involved with this dedication. Likewise, Elder Ronald A. Rasband accompanied President Eyring for the rededication of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, so he might  not be involved in the dedication of Utah's newest temple. The same might be true for Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who accompanied President Uchtdorf to the dedication of the Tucson Arizona Temple dedication, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson, who accompanied President Uchtdorf to the dedication of the Meridian Idaho Temple.

Having said all this, if I am correct, then the apostles participating in this event could be President Henry B. Eyring, President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Dalin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, and Dale G. Renlund. I also anticipate the participation of several other Church leaders, including Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Seventy, who presided at this temple's groundbreaking, Elder Craig C. Christensen, who oversees the three Utah areas of the Church, a representative or two from the Temple Department, and other leaders, including a representative from the Presiding Bishopric.

But these are just my thoughts. It is now your turn to "sound off" in the comments below with your thoughts. That does it for this post. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.