Hello again, everyone! With the many temple updates I provided yesterday, I did not anticipate having additional news in that regard to post today. I was therefore pleased a short while ago to discover that many sources I have available for temple news have shared an update on the Memphis Tennessee Temple renovation process.
As some of you might recall, the last update I posted for that temple showed that structural framing had been completed for the steeple. The new information of which I became aware today notes that sheathing plywood has been attached to the temple's exterior, while additional framing is being added to the steeple of this temple.
It was good to hear of the progress that has been made on that temple. I have previously noted that many of the sources I use for the reports I share here moved the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple ahead of this one in terms of its' likely future completion time-frame. As I have also observed, we have 3 temples being renovated (the two mentioned in this paragraph and the Frankfurt Germany Temple) and 2 new temples currently under construction (in Kinshasa DR Congo and Fortaleza Brazil) that are all anticipated to be completed in the early-to-middle part of next year.
At the moment, the 5 temples mentioned above could be considered as interchangeable in terms of their likely order of completion. What will certainly be interesting to see is if the Church will opt to schedule any of these for dedication or rededication prior to the already-scheduled dedication for the Rome Italy Temple in mid-March. I haven't done the research yet to verify this, but I seem to recall the Church scheduling the dedication of one temple prior to the previously-announced dedication of another temple.
If it turns out that all of these 5 temples have dedications or rededications set after the Rome dedication concludes, then some of those 5 events may occur more towards the latter half of the year than the first half of it. It will be interesting to see how the Church handles all of that, since 2019 is, by all accounts, shaping up to be full of temple events.
Whatever might occur in that regard, you can count on my monitoring these developments as they occur, and that I will be passing those along to you all as I am able to do so. 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.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Update Noted on the Memphis Tennessee Temple Renovation Process
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
President Nelson's Tour Continues Slightly Ahead of Schedule; Temple Updates Provided
Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to pass along to you all in this post a report of President Nelson's ministry efforts in Jerusalem as well as several temple updates. Let's get right into all of that.
First of all, Mormon Newsroom has shared this report of President Nelson's ministry in the Holy Land, including remarks he and Elder Holland shared with Church members there, among whom were those currently studying at BYU's Jerusalem Center. It was a homecoming of sorts for Elder Holland, who, as BYU-Provo president years ago, was one of many leaders who were able to help establish that Center.
The historic nature of the prophet's visit was not lost on anyone. An article I read earlier indicates that President Nelson is only the fourth Church president to visit Jerusalem. For all who are interested, this is Mormon Newsroom's official release on the time spent there.
One interesting thing I took away from that report was that the Nelsons and the Hollands wound up leaving Jerusalem slightly ahead of schedule. That was due to both tension in the region and concerns about available airspace. So they are now on their way to Africa. Their early departure should not affect their announced itinerary, but it is interesting that this has occurred. Reports of the tour will continue in the days ahead, which I will bring to you all as soon as I hear of them.
That said, we move on to the temple updates. After a couple of weeks in which not many updates have been provided regarding temple construction, we now have a lot of new information and changes of status for many temples. So let's talk about what those updates are.
We start first in Rome Italy, where, as we know, a visitor's information center recently opened, and where the process of landscaping and interior work continues. A new update to that temple shows that the plaza water feature is currently being tested. Although this temple's dedication is still 11 months or so away, it was good to hear of this development.
Moving on now to Fortaleza Brazil, the temple in that city is still having its' cladding being put up around its' exterior. In the meantime, trees are being planted and walkways and staircases are being poured on the temple grounds. As I mentioned a while ago, following the Rome Italy Temple dedication, there is reason to believe that this temple could be one of the next three dedicated next year. It will be interesting indeed to see exactly when that will occur.
Staying in Brazil, we turn our attention to the temple in Rio de Janeiro. The update I have found indicates that the steeple walls have been poured, and that work on the interior of the temple is now underway. Some of you may recall that, for a while last year, this temple was anticipated to be completed sometime during 2019, but in view of the fact that we have since learned this temple is going to be larger than originally thought, it makes sense that it will likely only be dedicated in the early part of 2020.
While there has been no report as of yet that would indicate full-scale efforts are underway for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, since we are not quite halfway through April, there is still time for that to occur. It is also worth noting that the private rededication for the Houston Texas Temple will occur one week from tomorrow, and that open house tours for the Jordan River Utah Temple are set to continue for the next two weeks, concluding on Saturday April 28.
There has not been any change to the status of any of the temples undergoing renovation, with one exception. It would appear that the temple in Asuncion Paraguay has run into further difficulties that have hindered its' renovation process from commencing. Whatever the extent of those difficulties might be, most sources from which I gather the information I share here have moved that temple to the bottom of the list of those undergoing renovation. In the days ahead, more might be made known about the extent of the delays, and any adjustments to the general or more specific completion estimates offered by myself and others can be altered as that becomes necessary.
I continue to monitor all Church and temple-related news and developments, and will do my level best to pass updates along to you all as I become aware of new information. 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.
First of all, Mormon Newsroom has shared this report of President Nelson's ministry in the Holy Land, including remarks he and Elder Holland shared with Church members there, among whom were those currently studying at BYU's Jerusalem Center. It was a homecoming of sorts for Elder Holland, who, as BYU-Provo president years ago, was one of many leaders who were able to help establish that Center.
The historic nature of the prophet's visit was not lost on anyone. An article I read earlier indicates that President Nelson is only the fourth Church president to visit Jerusalem. For all who are interested, this is Mormon Newsroom's official release on the time spent there.
One interesting thing I took away from that report was that the Nelsons and the Hollands wound up leaving Jerusalem slightly ahead of schedule. That was due to both tension in the region and concerns about available airspace. So they are now on their way to Africa. Their early departure should not affect their announced itinerary, but it is interesting that this has occurred. Reports of the tour will continue in the days ahead, which I will bring to you all as soon as I hear of them.
That said, we move on to the temple updates. After a couple of weeks in which not many updates have been provided regarding temple construction, we now have a lot of new information and changes of status for many temples. So let's talk about what those updates are.
We start first in Rome Italy, where, as we know, a visitor's information center recently opened, and where the process of landscaping and interior work continues. A new update to that temple shows that the plaza water feature is currently being tested. Although this temple's dedication is still 11 months or so away, it was good to hear of this development.
Moving on now to Fortaleza Brazil, the temple in that city is still having its' cladding being put up around its' exterior. In the meantime, trees are being planted and walkways and staircases are being poured on the temple grounds. As I mentioned a while ago, following the Rome Italy Temple dedication, there is reason to believe that this temple could be one of the next three dedicated next year. It will be interesting indeed to see exactly when that will occur.
Staying in Brazil, we turn our attention to the temple in Rio de Janeiro. The update I have found indicates that the steeple walls have been poured, and that work on the interior of the temple is now underway. Some of you may recall that, for a while last year, this temple was anticipated to be completed sometime during 2019, but in view of the fact that we have since learned this temple is going to be larger than originally thought, it makes sense that it will likely only be dedicated in the early part of 2020.
While there has been no report as of yet that would indicate full-scale efforts are underway for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, since we are not quite halfway through April, there is still time for that to occur. It is also worth noting that the private rededication for the Houston Texas Temple will occur one week from tomorrow, and that open house tours for the Jordan River Utah Temple are set to continue for the next two weeks, concluding on Saturday April 28.
There has not been any change to the status of any of the temples undergoing renovation, with one exception. It would appear that the temple in Asuncion Paraguay has run into further difficulties that have hindered its' renovation process from commencing. Whatever the extent of those difficulties might be, most sources from which I gather the information I share here have moved that temple to the bottom of the list of those undergoing renovation. In the days ahead, more might be made known about the extent of the delays, and any adjustments to the general or more specific completion estimates offered by myself and others can be altered as that becomes necessary.
I continue to monitor all Church and temple-related news and developments, and will do my level best to pass updates along to you all as I become aware of new information. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Additional Church News--Part Two: An Exploration of Several Other Significant Stories
Hello again, everyone! As promised, I am back with a report on the remaining Church News stories that I found significant. First of all, in connection with the article published about Elder Soares, there was also this one regarding how a "chance meeting" (I put that in quotation marks because I don't believe it was in any way accidental) years ago between Elder Soares, his wife, and some members of the Church led to a life-long friendship. That was an amazing article to read.
Before moving on, I did want to make another observation here about the diversity of those at the top of the Church's leadership hierarchy. If my memory serves me correctly, although Elder Dale G. Renlund was born in the US, his parents emigrated from Sweden, and he grew up speaking Swedish primarily, with English as a second language. So technically he is a first-generation American-born apostle.
Additionally, with the calls of Elders Gong and Soares, they join Elder Uchtdorf in the growing group of apostles born outside of the US. It is significant to me that now, 1/5 of the currently serving apostles were born outside the US. And if, as I have observed, President Nelson might be more open to the idea of considering internationally-born candidates for any future vacancy (or, if there are no others before his own passing, his successors might continue to be open to that prospect), we will likely see the number of international apostles grow in coming years as well. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
But in moving on, I wanted to next note that the Church has released a new PDF version of the chart showing the General Authorities and General Officers of the Church, which includes those changes sustained in April (Elders Gong and Soares to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elders Coook and Gay to the Presidency of the Seventy (although there will, as President Oaks noted, be three changes in that Presidency on August 1), the 8 new General Authority Seventies, the new Primary Presidency First Counselor, and the new members of the Young Women General Presidency).
The PDF version of the chart would seem to confirm that there are indeed 90 General Authority Seventies (unless I have somehow miscalculated), which, if we add the 25 men in the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, Presidency of the Seventy, and Presiding Bishopric, brings the total number of current General Authorities to 115 rather than the 116 President Oaks mentioned. Since we don't know how he arrived at that number, it is almost impossible to know if he was off by one.
But if he was, I am inclined to cut him some slack. If reports are correct, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into preparing each General Conference address, and for the members of the First Presidency who specifically speak more than once per conference, having to devote time and effort into multiple addresses, even those in which Church leadership changes are announced, takes even more preparation time. I for one have never had a problem with acknowledging that our leaders are not perfect. That should be obvious to everyone. Only one Man I know of was ever perfectly perfect. The rest of us, whatever our calling or station, are equally prone to err in this life. And rather than being discouraging, the idea that even those at the top of Church leadership make mistakes should be encouraging. These men's amazing lives have been characterized by their ability to move beyond their mistakes and become better, which is a lesson we could all take to heart.
Sorry. I rambled again. Getting back on track, the Church News released this article with brief biographies of the newly sustained Area Seventies. As another quick sidenote, it is worth mentioning that such information has traditionally been published on Mormon Newsroom directly following the Saturday Afternoon Session. For whatever reason (which was probably due to the many other major stories that took precedence), this Church News article was the first introduction to these new area seventies. An interesting tidbit, but that is to be expected.
The final two stories I wanted to share are connected to President Nelson's ongoing world tour. This one shares highlights of the time the Nelsons and the Hollands spent in London England. This was a homecoming of sorts for Elder Holland, who serve a mission in the British Isles. And, to wrap up the news stories I wanted to cover, this report shares some preliminary details about the Church members in Jerusalem Israel preparing to greet the prophet, who was set to visit there today. Hopefully more will be reported about that visit in the next few hours. If that occurs, I will pass the information along in another new post.
Before I close this one, however, I wanted to observe something. As anyone familiar with the signs of the Second Coming of the Savior knows, the scriptures speak of two apostles who, during the opening of the seventh seal, will be killed in Jerusalem, and whose bodies will be left in the streets there for three days before they arise again. Some sources I have read wondered if those two will be President Nelson and Elder Holland, and that this might occur on their current trip. While it is not out of the question, it seems unlikely that will be the case. I say that for a couple of reasons.
Among the signs preceding the Second Coming, there are many that have already been manifested, while there are others that could happen any day now, and still others may be a few years (if not indeed a few decades) out. A careful reading of the sequence of events would seem to indicate that there are still other signs that need to occur before the death of the two apostles in Jerusalem.
That said, I am not in any way authorized to interpret the scriptures or to speak for the Lord. If the Lord wants that sign to occur during this trip, I have no doubt that we would hear of it at some point perhaps before today is over. I will not be surprised either way. And I for one hope the Lord will come sooner rather than later.
I likewise hope that my analysis of this news has been helpful to at least some of you reading it. 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.
Before moving on, I did want to make another observation here about the diversity of those at the top of the Church's leadership hierarchy. If my memory serves me correctly, although Elder Dale G. Renlund was born in the US, his parents emigrated from Sweden, and he grew up speaking Swedish primarily, with English as a second language. So technically he is a first-generation American-born apostle.
Additionally, with the calls of Elders Gong and Soares, they join Elder Uchtdorf in the growing group of apostles born outside of the US. It is significant to me that now, 1/5 of the currently serving apostles were born outside the US. And if, as I have observed, President Nelson might be more open to the idea of considering internationally-born candidates for any future vacancy (or, if there are no others before his own passing, his successors might continue to be open to that prospect), we will likely see the number of international apostles grow in coming years as well. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
But in moving on, I wanted to next note that the Church has released a new PDF version of the chart showing the General Authorities and General Officers of the Church, which includes those changes sustained in April (Elders Gong and Soares to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elders Coook and Gay to the Presidency of the Seventy (although there will, as President Oaks noted, be three changes in that Presidency on August 1), the 8 new General Authority Seventies, the new Primary Presidency First Counselor, and the new members of the Young Women General Presidency).
The PDF version of the chart would seem to confirm that there are indeed 90 General Authority Seventies (unless I have somehow miscalculated), which, if we add the 25 men in the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, Presidency of the Seventy, and Presiding Bishopric, brings the total number of current General Authorities to 115 rather than the 116 President Oaks mentioned. Since we don't know how he arrived at that number, it is almost impossible to know if he was off by one.
But if he was, I am inclined to cut him some slack. If reports are correct, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into preparing each General Conference address, and for the members of the First Presidency who specifically speak more than once per conference, having to devote time and effort into multiple addresses, even those in which Church leadership changes are announced, takes even more preparation time. I for one have never had a problem with acknowledging that our leaders are not perfect. That should be obvious to everyone. Only one Man I know of was ever perfectly perfect. The rest of us, whatever our calling or station, are equally prone to err in this life. And rather than being discouraging, the idea that even those at the top of Church leadership make mistakes should be encouraging. These men's amazing lives have been characterized by their ability to move beyond their mistakes and become better, which is a lesson we could all take to heart.
Sorry. I rambled again. Getting back on track, the Church News released this article with brief biographies of the newly sustained Area Seventies. As another quick sidenote, it is worth mentioning that such information has traditionally been published on Mormon Newsroom directly following the Saturday Afternoon Session. For whatever reason (which was probably due to the many other major stories that took precedence), this Church News article was the first introduction to these new area seventies. An interesting tidbit, but that is to be expected.
The final two stories I wanted to share are connected to President Nelson's ongoing world tour. This one shares highlights of the time the Nelsons and the Hollands spent in London England. This was a homecoming of sorts for Elder Holland, who serve a mission in the British Isles. And, to wrap up the news stories I wanted to cover, this report shares some preliminary details about the Church members in Jerusalem Israel preparing to greet the prophet, who was set to visit there today. Hopefully more will be reported about that visit in the next few hours. If that occurs, I will pass the information along in another new post.
Before I close this one, however, I wanted to observe something. As anyone familiar with the signs of the Second Coming of the Savior knows, the scriptures speak of two apostles who, during the opening of the seventh seal, will be killed in Jerusalem, and whose bodies will be left in the streets there for three days before they arise again. Some sources I have read wondered if those two will be President Nelson and Elder Holland, and that this might occur on their current trip. While it is not out of the question, it seems unlikely that will be the case. I say that for a couple of reasons.
Among the signs preceding the Second Coming, there are many that have already been manifested, while there are others that could happen any day now, and still others may be a few years (if not indeed a few decades) out. A careful reading of the sequence of events would seem to indicate that there are still other signs that need to occur before the death of the two apostles in Jerusalem.
That said, I am not in any way authorized to interpret the scriptures or to speak for the Lord. If the Lord wants that sign to occur during this trip, I have no doubt that we would hear of it at some point perhaps before today is over. I will not be surprised either way. And I for one hope the Lord will come sooner rather than later.
I likewise hope that my analysis of this news has been helpful to at least some of you reading it. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Additional Church News--Part One: Article Published to Introduce Elder Soares; Some Additional Thoughts and Observations About the Calling of an Apostle
Hello again, everyone! In yet another example of how quickly new Church developments can be reported, I am pleased to post now in order to pass along many additional Church News stories that are worthy of a mention here. I became aware of many of these news articles earlier today, but due to taking care of some personal obligations, I was not able to pass those along before now. I should also note that this will be done in two parts. In this first part, I will be highlighting an article about new apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, and I will also touch on some observations regarding the administration of the Church, the handling of day-to-day questions from Church members, and how the calls of Elders Gong and Soares were handled differently than apostolic calls in the recent past. So let's get right to it.
In posting some Church news stories yesterday, I had referenced an article the Church news published to introduce Elder Gong. Today it was Elder Soares' turn. One common theme that I really appreciated in yesterday's article about Elder Gong was also present in this article about Elder Soares. Both articles mention the fact that, while our two newest apostles recognize that their appointments are historic for the Church (as Elder Gong is the first Asian American apostle, and Elder Soares is the the first Latin American apostle), they recognize that they have not been called to represent Asian or Brazilian Saints in the leading councils of the Church or to the Lord, but rather to represent the Lord's will to the people wherever they are sent.
And it is a point well taken. Many people seem to feel that there should be more diversity among the leading councils of the Church, and such people also found fault with President Nelson for the way he answered the question about diversity in Church leadership. While the Brethren we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators do manifest the Lord's will to us, and are the only ones authorized to speak in the Lord's behalf, as someone who has been a lay member of the Church for just over 31 years now, I know there is truth in what President Nelson said during the press conference.
The Brethren would not be as free as they currently are to discern, determine, and proclaim the will of the Lord if they were constantly being called upon to make determinations about local issues. Many people seem to feel that they have a right to discuss whatever their concerns or issues are with the leading Brethren of the Church, but overlook the fact that such things are now handled by local leaders. The fact is that if every concern was handled on a general level in this global Church, hardly any of the Brethren would be free to do much else than that. If local leaders are given the chance to resolve such things, as should be occurring, that will leave the Brethren free to not just settle important issues on a Churchwide scale, but, more importantly, to be out among the people of the world, and gaining more of an understanding about what Church members and friends of other faiths in various nations are experiencing, that they might more effectively minister and administer to people of all backgrounds.
And while it is significant, to be sure, that the first two apostles selected during President Nelson's administration were from minority groups in the Church, I would hope that the point made by both Elder Gong and Elder Soares is not lost: their focus will be representing the Lord's will to the people, and they are anxious to go wherever they are sent.
One other take-away I got from these articles about our newest apostles is that, for the first time of which I am aware, both Elders Gong and Soares, in reporting the circumstances of their calls, noted that they and their wives were asked to meet with President Nelson. That is somewhat unprecedented, in my experience. We have heard new apostles previously say that after they met with the Church president, they then shared the unexpected news of their new callings with their wives. But this is yet another example of how President Nelson is demonstrating his clear understanding of how such calls will affect the spouses involved as well, and also, by extension, how important the wives of these new apostles will be in terms of allowing their husbands to serve. That was great to read about.
As noted above, I had started this post intending to cover many news stories in one go, but the commentary I felt to provide on this article introducing Elder Soares makes it necessary to put the other stories in a post of their own. Therefore, 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 (which should be published within the next half hour or so and will touch on other important Church news), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
In posting some Church news stories yesterday, I had referenced an article the Church news published to introduce Elder Gong. Today it was Elder Soares' turn. One common theme that I really appreciated in yesterday's article about Elder Gong was also present in this article about Elder Soares. Both articles mention the fact that, while our two newest apostles recognize that their appointments are historic for the Church (as Elder Gong is the first Asian American apostle, and Elder Soares is the the first Latin American apostle), they recognize that they have not been called to represent Asian or Brazilian Saints in the leading councils of the Church or to the Lord, but rather to represent the Lord's will to the people wherever they are sent.
And it is a point well taken. Many people seem to feel that there should be more diversity among the leading councils of the Church, and such people also found fault with President Nelson for the way he answered the question about diversity in Church leadership. While the Brethren we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators do manifest the Lord's will to us, and are the only ones authorized to speak in the Lord's behalf, as someone who has been a lay member of the Church for just over 31 years now, I know there is truth in what President Nelson said during the press conference.
The Brethren would not be as free as they currently are to discern, determine, and proclaim the will of the Lord if they were constantly being called upon to make determinations about local issues. Many people seem to feel that they have a right to discuss whatever their concerns or issues are with the leading Brethren of the Church, but overlook the fact that such things are now handled by local leaders. The fact is that if every concern was handled on a general level in this global Church, hardly any of the Brethren would be free to do much else than that. If local leaders are given the chance to resolve such things, as should be occurring, that will leave the Brethren free to not just settle important issues on a Churchwide scale, but, more importantly, to be out among the people of the world, and gaining more of an understanding about what Church members and friends of other faiths in various nations are experiencing, that they might more effectively minister and administer to people of all backgrounds.
And while it is significant, to be sure, that the first two apostles selected during President Nelson's administration were from minority groups in the Church, I would hope that the point made by both Elder Gong and Elder Soares is not lost: their focus will be representing the Lord's will to the people, and they are anxious to go wherever they are sent.
One other take-away I got from these articles about our newest apostles is that, for the first time of which I am aware, both Elders Gong and Soares, in reporting the circumstances of their calls, noted that they and their wives were asked to meet with President Nelson. That is somewhat unprecedented, in my experience. We have heard new apostles previously say that after they met with the Church president, they then shared the unexpected news of their new callings with their wives. But this is yet another example of how President Nelson is demonstrating his clear understanding of how such calls will affect the spouses involved as well, and also, by extension, how important the wives of these new apostles will be in terms of allowing their husbands to serve. That was great to read about.
As noted above, I had started this post intending to cover many news stories in one go, but the commentary I felt to provide on this article introducing Elder Soares makes it necessary to put the other stories in a post of their own. Therefore, 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 (which should be published within the next half hour or so and will touch on other important Church news), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Temple Updates (Including Revised Thoughts on Announced Temples)
Hello again, everyone! I am back yet again with another post, this one that will cover some temple updates, which includes revised thoughts about announced temples. So let's get right to it. First, a general update; While no other temples under construction or undergoing renovation have had an update in their statuses since my last report, I did find an additional update for the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple. Yesterday I had reported that exterior cases had been poured, and that interior work was progressing. While those details have not changed, most sources I have available have added that a retaining wall is being poured along with the exterior staircases. That was good to hear.
With that said, I also wanted to note that there has been a major change in the order in which I list those temples that have not progressed beyond an announcement. This is primarily because, as noted below, I became aware of new information that indicated the probable locations of some of these temples, although, with a few exceptions (namely the Urdaneta and Greater Manila Philippines, Brasilia Brazil, and Bangkok Thailand Temples, all of which have had an official confirmation of their site locations).
As you will notice from the revised order, which I will share below, the Pocatello Idaho and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples have moved up on the list, because a probable site has been identified for the former, and it has been noted for the latter that the design process is underway. I have also adjusted the order of the Layton Utah and Richmond Virginia Temples, since new information has indicated that the Church procured certain plots of land in both locations, which reportedly occurred for the former just two days prior to its' announcement, while for the latter, a newspaper report notes that land was procured in 2015.
Just as a general point of information, I will also be watching for news of the Managua Nicaragua Temple site with great interest as well. Longtime readers of this blog will no doubt recall that, when sharing my belief that a Nicaraguan temple was just a matter of time, I used a report I had received in sharing the news that land has been held in reserve for a temple in Managua for a while now. The Church may at some point confirm that the site on which this temple will eventually be built is that one that had been held in reserve for an announcement.
All of that said, the revised version of the list of announced temples that I keep with my traditional temple construction report follows below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will close now as I always do. 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.
With that said, I also wanted to note that there has been a major change in the order in which I list those temples that have not progressed beyond an announcement. This is primarily because, as noted below, I became aware of new information that indicated the probable locations of some of these temples, although, with a few exceptions (namely the Urdaneta and Greater Manila Philippines, Brasilia Brazil, and Bangkok Thailand Temples, all of which have had an official confirmation of their site locations).
As you will notice from the revised order, which I will share below, the Pocatello Idaho and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples have moved up on the list, because a probable site has been identified for the former, and it has been noted for the latter that the design process is underway. I have also adjusted the order of the Layton Utah and Richmond Virginia Temples, since new information has indicated that the Church procured certain plots of land in both locations, which reportedly occurred for the former just two days prior to its' announcement, while for the latter, a newspaper report notes that land was procured in 2015.
Just as a general point of information, I will also be watching for news of the Managua Nicaragua Temple site with great interest as well. Longtime readers of this blog will no doubt recall that, when sharing my belief that a Nicaraguan temple was just a matter of time, I used a report I had received in sharing the news that land has been held in reserve for a temple in Managua for a while now. The Church may at some point confirm that the site on which this temple will eventually be built is that one that had been held in reserve for an announcement.
All of that said, the revised version of the list of announced temples that I keep with my traditional temple construction report follows below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will close now as I always do. 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.
Announced
temples:
171. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approvals;
artist’s rendering released on March 19, 2018.
Note:
With the site identified and the release of the artist’s rendering, a
groundbreaking for this temple may just be a matter of time.
172. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Awaiting government
approvals.
Note:
The biggest barriers preventing progress on this temple were getting government
approval and having an official site announced. With the recent confirmation of
the site location, it may simply be a matter of time before government approval
goes through, at which point a groundbreaking can be held.
173. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and
preliminary construction phase; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
The contractor assigned to oversee design and construction for this temple
indicated in March 2017 that a year of pre-planning would be needed before a
groundbreaking was held. If that year has come and gone, we may see a
groundbreaking set soon.
174. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval;
site inspected by Church engineers on June 21, 2017.
Note:
With the site having been confirmed and inspected almost a year ago, a
groundbreaking for this temple may just be a matter of time.
175. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval;
awaiting official name announcement.
Note:
The site for this temple was confirmed not long after it was announced. Whether
or not an official name is announced anytime soon, it may just be a matter of
time until the groundbreaking is held.
176. Pocatello Idaho Temple: Planning and approval;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Although the citizens of Pocatello have speculated about two or more potential
locations for this temple, one of those locations has emerged as being the most
likely to be chosen. Depending on how quickly that is confirmed, a
groundbreaking could follow shortly thereafter.
177. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Planning and
approval; designs underway; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Having received notification that the design process is underway for this
temple, since it is a Utah temple, it seems relatively safe to assume that a
groundbreaking could be held sooner rather than later.
178. Layton Utah Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting
official site announcement.
Note:
The Church reportedly acquired land in Layton two days before this temple was
announced. Based on that acquisition, members have speculated that will be the
most likely location for this temple. If that is confirmed in the near future,
since this is a Utah temple, a groundbreaking could occur sooner rather than
later.
179. Richmond Virginia Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
In mid-April 2018, a Virginia newspaper disclosed that the Church had purchased
an 8-acre site in 2015. If the Church confirms that the site in question will
be the official location for the temple, a potential groundbreaking could
follow shortly thereafter, especially since temples in the US generally have
their construction start a lot sooner than their international counterparts.
180. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning and approval;
awaiting official site announcement.
181. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting
official site announcement.
182. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.
183. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.
184. Nairobi Kenya
Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement; media event
held June 14, 2017.
185. Salta Argentina
Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement.
186. Bengaluru India Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
187. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note: When I first began sharing my thoughts on potential temples, I
heard that the Church had land held in reserve in Nicaragua for a temple to be
built when the timing and conditions were right for a subsequent announcement.
If the Church confirms at any point both the site location and that it was
being held in reserve, a groundbreaking could follow sooner rather than later.
188. Cagayan de Oro
Philippines Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site
announcement.
189. Russia: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official
location and site announcement.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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