With all of that in mind, the latest revision of that order follows below. While only the Lord knows how soon any of these announced temples might have a groundbreaking, in addition to (where applicable) having a site officially confirmed, the current order again reflects my best efforts to anticipate how soon we might see such groundbreakings occur.
So as not to disturb the flow of information in that list, I will end 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. 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.
175. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval;
awaiting official site announcement
Note:
Although a site confirmation has not yet occurred, President Nelson and his
traveling companions visited a probable location during their time in Zimbabwe.
If the location is verified in the near future, a groundbreaking might occur
sooner rather than later. And since Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, who is the
president of the Church’s Africa Southeast Area, stated in 2016 that a site
confirmation and groundbreaking for the temple might occur at some point during
2017, it is not hard to believe that that could occur at some point during this
year, and might take place before Elder Hamilton’s release as area president on
August 1 of this year.
176. 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.
177. 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.
178. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval;
awaiting official site announcement; media event held June 14, 2017.
Note:
In an article published on April 18, 2018 by a Kenyan newspaper covering President
Nelson’s visit to that nation, two tidbits were shared: the Church has selected
a site for that temple, although its’ location has yet to be officially
announced, and that this temple will, by comparison, be one of the Church’s
smaller temples, which, depending on how quickly things happen for this temple,
might be dedicated sometime during 2021. For that reason, I have felt impressed
to move this temple up on this list.
179. 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.
180. 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.
181. 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.
182. Bengaluru India Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note: In the late night hours of April 19, 2018, I became aware of a
report that President Nelson had not planned to announce this temple during the
April 2018 General Conference, but was impressed on the night before the
conference that he should do so. And, as anticipated, his world tour, which
included a stop in Bengaluru, involved looking at potential locations that
could be used for that purpose. Given that he also expressed to the Saints in
India his desire to return for the dedication of this temple, if the specific
location he looked at is used for that purpose, I fully believe work could
begin on this temple within the next 3-5 years, if not sooner.
183. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Although this is the last of the three temples announced in April 2015 that
might have a groundbreaking, Church growth in the Ivory Coast seems significant
enough to believe that a second (and perhaps even a third) temple could be
announced in this nation within the next 15-30 years. With that in mind, the
Church may opt to have a site announcement and groundbreaking sooner rather
than later.
184. Quito Ecuador
Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Although the first Ecuadoran temple (which is located in Guayaquil) had a
14-year wait between its announcement and subsequent groundbreaking, the Church
will likely not wait even half that long for this temple’s groundbreaking. I
would anticipate a groundbreaking could occur sometime between now and the end
of 2020.
185. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning and approval; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Although this temple was announced in 2016, its’ counterpart in Brasilia, which
was announced a year later, has had a site confirmed and inspected already,
which makes it likely that that temple will have a groundbreaking before this
one does. That said, I would anticipate that we could see a groundbreaking for
this temple within the next two or three years.
186. Salta Argentina Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
While many people (myself included) had shared our feelings that the next
Argentine temple would be built in Neuquen, the Lord’s higher thinking resulted
in a temple being announced in Salta. Although it has been just over two weeks
since that announcement, I believe we might see a groundbreaking for this
temple within the next 3 years or so.
187. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018;
awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
President Nelson had publicly proposed a temple for Managua while an apostle,
and he fulfilled that proposal himself. As noted elsewhere, Elder Juan A. Uceda
is being assigned as president of the Central America Area, and one reason may
be so he can work with the Nicaraguan government to get quick approval for this
temple. If that occurs, a groundbreaking could happen within the next 3 years
or less.
188. Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: Announced April 1,
2018; awaiting official site announcement.
Note:
Although this temple is the second to be announced for the Philippines since
the beginning of last year, I would anticipate that this temple will likely not
have a site announcement or groundbreaking until both the Urdaneta temple and
the second temple in Manila are at least under construction. That said, I
believe this temple could potentially have a groundbreaking within the next 3-4
years.
189. Russia: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official
location and site announcement.
Note:
Although Russia may have problems that could potentially create a barrier to
getting this temple built, President Nelson had supervisory responsibility for
the Europe East Area of the Church for several years, including during his
tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. For that reason, he
may be able to effect an expedited start for this temple. That area is now
overseen by Elder Uchtdorf, who, as a European-born apostle, may have unique
connections to help that process as well. Being conservative, I could see a
groundbreaking for this temple in 7-10 years, but certainly sooner if the Lord
opens doors for that to occur.
