Temple Construction Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! After taking a four-day hiatus from blogging to give myself time to recover from ongoing illnesses, I am pleased to bring you the first of two posts to share the latest temple construction updates and Church news stories. This post will focus on the former subject. So let's get right into all of that. First of all, I wanted to update something I have noted previously: I have spoken about my feeling that the Church could easily have 200 operating temples by or before the 200th anniversary of the Church's restoration (which will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030).

With 40 temples to complete in the 11.40 years between today and that day, the Church would just need to complete 3.51 temples per year. And with three temples set to be dedicated within roughly the next 5 months (give or take a few days or so), there are four others that will likely be dedicated within the next 15 months, and up to 3 more that could be dedicated in the first 6-8 months of 2020.

I would also anticipate that at least 6-10 temples could potentially have construction begin by that time. So that average number is more than likely to go down quite a bit as the next 18-24 months pass. I will be keeping an eye on those averages and continue to bring you reports on those as changes occur.

In the meantime, we turn to the one update I have on temple under construction. At the Lisbon Portugal Temple site, it has been reported that gold plating has been attached to the temple spire, while stone cladding nears completion on the exterior walls, and meetinghouse gardens continue to be planted.

There have also been updates reported on two of the temples undergoing renovation which are anticipated to be completed in 2020. At the Tokyo Japan Temple, exterior and interior renovations continue at a steady pace. And for the Washington D. C. Temple, the interior has been completely dismantled, while renovations continue on the temple's exterior.

I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to keep bringing word of those to you all here as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Miscellaneous Church and Temple News

Hello again, everyone! A couple of additional Church news stories have been reported, along with some new temple developments. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get right into all of that. We start with the temple news. In a First Presidency letter dated November 5 of this year, a change was announced for the dedication dates of the Rome Italy Temple.

Rather than being held over an 8-day period (from Sunday March 10-Sunday March 17) as originally announced, dedicatory services will now be held over a 3-day period (from Sunday March 10-Tuesday March 12). Nothing has changed in terms of the announced dates or plans for the open house or the youth devotional. I will look forward to seeing if any reason is given for this change. It will be interesting to find out about.

Our second and final piece of temple news comes courtesy of the Ghana Mormon Newsroom. As previously noted, ground was broken earlier today (at around 3:00 AM Utah time) for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple. Still no word yet on an estimated completion time-frame, but I have offered my thoughts (based on what I now know) that a dedication could take place in mid-to-late 2021. I will provide more information on that as I learn of it.

Having covered the temple news, we turn in conclusion to the Church news I mentioned. President Henry B. Eyring, who has accumulated a collection of personal watercolors, now has the opportunity to showcase his work through a new art exhibit called "A Virtual Journal" which is now on display at the Church History Museum. The Church News shares an article about that, while the Newsroom provides some additional details.

I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments, and am committed to bringing word of those to you all on an ongoing basis as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! I am back again to pass along some newly-reported temple developments. In getting right into those, I wanted to share that the length of time between today and Saturday April 6, 2030 (when the Church will observe its' bicentennial anniversary of its' reestablishment) now stands at 11.41 years. In order for the Church to have 200 operating temples by that bicentennial, 3.51 temples will need to be dedicated per year to make that possible. And with 6 or 7 temples anticipated to be dedicated within the next year (3 of which are already scheduled), by this time next year, that average will be much lower. Therefore, I see no reason not to believe that the Church will have 200 operating temples by that date, and would not be shocked if there were more than that at that time. In the meantime, at the Fortaleza Brazil Temple, interior finish work is underway, and I would not be shocked if the announcement of the open house and dedication for this temple were to occur within the next month or less. And at the site of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple, final preparations are underway for tomorrow's groundbreaking ceremony.

Turning now to temples undergoing renovation, at the Raleigh North Carolina Temple, stone cladding has progressed to the front exterior walls and tower. And in Oakland California, shipments are arriving of materials which will be used to rebuild the interior. For the Washington DC Temple, interior and exterior renovations continue, including ongoing work on the spires. And while the window removal and grading of the grounds continues for the Mesa Arizona Temple, the work of clearing the Visitor's Center site has begun.

I will keep monitoring all Church news and temple developments to the best of my ability, and am committed to passing word of all such developments on to you all here as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Church News Updates Reported

Hello again, everyone! This will be the first of two posts I will be publishing within the next hour or so. This one will share some extensive Church news updates which have been reported in recent days, and the second post will detail newly-reported temple developments. So let's get right into all of that. First of all, Elder Hartman Rector Jr., an emeritus General Authority, passed away yesterday at the age of 94. He was the first member of that Council who did not convert to the Church until his adult years. His inspiring conversion story is detailed in the article to which I lined

He was called as a member of the now-defunct First Council of the Seventy on April 6, 1968. While serving in that capacity, he spent a one-month period serving as the interim president of what was then the Church's Italian Mission. In 1971, he became the first president of the Alabama-Florida Mission. During the final year of his service in the First Council of the Seventy (October 1975-October 1976), he simultaneously served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. With the reconstitution of the First Quorum of the Seventy, he was released from his assignment in the Presidency of that Quorum.,

Elder Rector also served for two years as president of the California San Diego Mission, spent two years as a counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, another year as a counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, and also served in area presidencies in North and South America. He had an almost-3-year term as Assistant Executive Director of the Family History Department, and 9 years as the Managing Director of the Genealogical Department. He also gave 16 addresses during his many years of active service as a General Authority, each of which is worthy of review. I would refer you to the article cited above for any other information you may need on Elder Rector's life and ministry.

In other Church news, I previously referenced how the media did two interviews during the weekend of the Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication, one with President Nelson and Elder Stevenson, and the other with Sister Nelson. In the latter interview, Sister Nelson provided a first-hand look at the many positive changes she has seen in her husband since his appointment as Church President almost 10 months ago. A Church News article provides some additional details from what the Newsroom originally reported.

On the campus of LDS Business College, President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, spoke at a devotional in which he highlighted the life-changing moment in which he began to realize his full potential. Additional details were also provided on the recent meeting held between NCAA representatives and Church leaders regarding LGBT students. And another Church leader met in Brussels with EU officials, where the subject of religious freedom was addressed. And the Church News shared an inspiring story of how one man's patience in waiting for a quarter-century to receive the priesthood changed a community.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to bring word of those to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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 the Number of Current Area Seventies

Hello again, everyone! I thought I would take some time right now to provide an update on the number of current Area Seventies. I wanted to first pass along some preliminary information. As mentioned in earlier posts, prior to the October 2018 General Conference, the number of Area Seventies in all but the first two Quorums was within 10-20 members of the maximum 70. Two major factors came into play in relation to those numbers.

The first was the ambiguity and confusion over whether or not the Church had consolidated the 10 North America Areas down to 6 (as there are only 6 area presidencies with oversight of those areas). If those areas had been consolidated (as appeared to be the case), then the composition of the 5th and 6th Quorums would have been altered in some manner, since the Idaho Area has been part of the 5th, and the North America Central Area has been part of the 6th.

Particularly, I had been under the impression that the previously-separate 3 Utah Areas had been consolidated.into a single Utah Area based on what I could find in available sources. But as noted a few days ago, President M. Russell Ballard, who was the Church leader quoted at the time the reestablishment of area presidencies throughout North America were announced, spoke at a regional conference for Saints living in what had been the Utah North Area, and he still referred to them by that designation. So the Utah Areas have not been consolidated, which, by extension, means that there are still 10 North America areas in the Church. 

The second factor was that, as anticipated, there were a massive number of area seventies released during General Conference at the beginning of last month. While not everyone whose potential release I was anticipating actually was released, as of right now, only two Quorums of Area Seventies are anywhere close to having 70 members, and those two Quorums (the 4th and 5th) are 15 and 19 members respectively short of that maximum number. Accordingly, at least for the next year, and barring anything unexpected, I no longer believe we will see any new Quorums established for area seventies.

That said, the data speaks for itself. You will see from it (when I post it below) that the total number of area seventies is now 268. I remember a time when the total number of area seventies was less than 200. But as the Church has grown, so too has the number of area seventies. And we may see a day when more that 6 Area Seventies Quorums are needed to administer the work. We could even see a day when the membership of each Quorum is consistently close to 70. And there are scriptural and doctrinal provisions for each of those scenarios.

The table showing the current number of area seventies follows below. By way of additional explanation, the table has three columns. In the first, the number of Area Seventies serving in each individual Area is shown (with no change having occurred from what is listed here in terms of the relevant areas that comprise each Quorum). The second column shows the total number of members in each Quorum. And the third column shows a running total which adds the number of members in each of the 6 Quorums together.

Here is that table:

Quorum	Totals within each Area	Quorum Total	Grand Total
3rd	11+13+18+4+1	47	47
4th	4+14+20+17	55	102
5th	7+5+10+5+9+15	51	153
6th	7+11+8+14	40	193
7th	18+17	35	228
8th	8+9+11+12	40	268

I hope that this information can prove valuable to at least some of you. I continue to keep as faithful a record as possible of the number of current area seventies, and will pass any additional information about those numbers along as those developments occur. I likewise continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and remain committed to bringing word of new developments to you all ASAP after I become aware of them.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.