Church News and Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Some additional Church news and temple developments have come to my attention in the last six hours or less, and the extensive nature of those merited a new post rather than additional comments on previously-posted content. Let's get right into those updates. First, the Church news.

Bruce C. Kusch, the president of LDS Business College, was the featured speaker at this week's devotional, sharing 4 invitations which, if taken, will enable us to endure to the end. And BYU-Idaho President Henry J. Eyring spoke to students on that campus about optimism, highlighting the fact that there is much more good going on worldwide than many news outlets lead us to believe. And another article has been written about a temple dedicated 20 years ago, this time in honor of the Anchorage Alaska Temple.Each of those articles is well worthy of your attention.

Now to the subject of temple updates. I have mentioned before that the Church is on track to have 200 operating temples by or before the bicentennial anniversary of the Church's reestablishment, and that has essentially been confirmed (albeit indirectly) by a recent article in the Church News. There are now 11.24 years between now and then, and 39 temples to complete and dedicate within that time, which could be done if 3.47 temples were dedicated per year between now and then.

3 temples have already had a dedication set for next year, and one other (in Fortaleza Brazil) will likely have a dedication announced very soon, and will more than likely be set to occur before the Brethren observe the annual July recess. And there are 3 (or 4) other temples anticipated to be dedicated as well by the end of this year.

We also are awaiting more information on the rededications for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Memphis Tennessee Temples, along with groundbreaking ceremonies for the Brasilia Brazil, Pocatello Idaho, and Saratoga Springs Utah Temples, and will bring word of those to you as I become aware of it.

In the meantime, there are also some status updates on temples which I wanted to pass along. At the Lisbon Portugal Temple site, the concrete slab has been poured for the monument sign, while a hard landscaping structure is being added on the north side of the temple. And while exterior lighting is still being installed and tested at the grounds of the Arequipa Peru Temple, fencing materials are going up around its' perimeter, and work is progressing at a steady rate on the temple's interior as well.

I also have one update to pass along about the Urdaneta Philippines Temple. It appears that the time for its' groundbreaking ceremony one week from today has been set to occur at 11:00 AM Urdaneta time. Since that city is 15 hours ahead of Utah time, the groundbreaking will be occurring at 8:00 PM MST on the previous evening. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will pass word of those along to you all as 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, as long as such comments are in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.

Yet Another Revision to My List of Announced Temples

Hello again, everyone! Given the unexpected development which I cited a few hours ago pointing to the notion that the groundbreaking for the Brasilia Brazil Temple is more imminent than I thought less than 12 hours ago, I needed to make yet another revision to my list of announced temples. I again weighed what was known about each temple for which I felt comfortable offering a groundbreaking estimate against any unknown factors I couldn't account for. The result of that additional analysis is detailed in the latest version of that list below. As always, any new changes made since my last such update are highlighted in red text. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.

Note on announced temples: As noted previously, this section is split into two sub-categories. The first contains those for which there is sufficient information for me to estimate a rough window for a subsequent groundbreaking, which will, of course, be subject to alteration in the future as more information is available. The second section contains those temples which are ordered based on the information currently available, but for which more information will be needed before they can join the first list. And for that second list, I do not feel comfortable offering any groundbreaking estimate until more information is available. I reordered the list yet again on January 6-7, 2019.

Announced Temples (for which sufficient information has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate):

174. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; construction fence erected around property; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

175. Pocatello Idaho Temple: Government approval process; streets around temple site opened; groundbreaking anticipated in mid-2019.

176. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Government approval phase; probable site identified; awaiting official confirmation and artist’s rendering; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and preliminary construction phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited probable site on October 20, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

178. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited potential site on April 17, 2018; groundbreaking anticipated in late 2019.

179. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; media event held June 14, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

180. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

181. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

182. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

183. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020.

184. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

185. Richmond Virginia Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

186. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson toured potential locations on April 19, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

187. Puebla Mexico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020.

188. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020-early 2021.

189. Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in ­late 2020-early 2021

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide an estimated groundbreaking time-frame):

190. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

191. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

192. Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

193. Salvador Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

194. Yuba City, California Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

195. Praia Cape Verde Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

196. Yigo Guam Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

197. Lagos Nigeria Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

198. Davao Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

199. San Juan Puerto Rico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

200. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official location and site announcement.

201. Washington County Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city and site announcement.

List of Temples Which Might Be Renovated in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! I mentioned a couple of times recently that I was working on updating my list of temples which could (and likely will) be renovated in the near future. I have finished that process, so I wanted to post the latest copy of that list.

The list now consists of 24 temples dedicated between 1877 and 1990, along with 35 of the smaller temples from the Hinckley-era boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The latest version of it follows below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.

Preliminary Note: The list below is based on whether a temple has previously been renovated, recent statements by apostles and the Executive Directors of the Church’s Temple Department to the effect that temples need to be renovated roughly every 30-40 years or so to keep them seismically and systemically up-to-date, and on the fact that many of the Hinckley-era smaller temples have begun to be renovated and given a new design in recent years.

Temples which may be renovated in the near-future:

1.      St. George Utah (dedicated in 1877; first rededicated in 1975)

2.      Logan Utah (dedicated in 1884; first rededicated in 1979)

3.      Manti Utah (dedicated in 1888; first rededicated in 1985)

4.      Salt Lake (dedicated in 1893; is anticipated to close for its’ first major renovation in the near future)

5.      Cardston Alberta (dedicated in 1923; addition only rededicated in 1962; fully rededicated in 1991)

6.      Bern Switzerland (dedicated in 1955; first rededicated in 1992)

7.      Los Angeles California (dedicated in 1956)

8.      London England (dedicated in 1958; first rededicated in 1992)

9.      Provo Utah (dedicated in 1972)

10.  Seattle Washington (dedicated in 1980)

11.  Sydney Australia (dedicated in 1984; addition only rededicated in 1991)

12.  Manila Philippines (dedicated in 1984)

13.  Dallas Texas (dedicated in 1984; addition only rededicated in 1989)

14.  Taipei Taiwan (dedicated in 1984)

15.  Guatemala City Guatemala (dedicated in 1984)

16.  Stockholm Sweden (dedicated in 1985)

17.  Chicago Illinois (dedicated in 1985; addition only rededicated in 1989)

18.  Johannesburg South Africa (dedicated in 1985; renovation might be delayed until after the Durban South Africa Temple is dedicated in mid-to-late 2019)

19.  Seoul Korea (dedicated in 1985)

20.  Lima Peru (dedicated in 1986)

21.  Denver Colorado (dedicated in 1986)

22.  Portland Oregon (dedicated in 1989)

23.  Las Vegas Nevada (dedicated in 1989)

24.  Toronto Ontario (dedicated in 1990)

Smaller temples built during the Hinckley-era boom (which may be redesigned):

1.      Spokane Washington

2.      Columbus Ohio

3.      Bismarck North Dakota

4.      Columbia South Carolina

5.      Detroit Michigan

6.      Halifax Nova Scotia

7.      Regina Saskatchewan

8.      Edmonton Alberta

9.      St. Paul Minnesota

10.  Kona Hawaii

11.  Ciudad Juarez Mexico

12.  Hermosillo Sonora Mexico

13.  Oaxaca Mexico

14.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico

15.  Louisville Kentucky

16.  Palmyra New York

17.  Fresno California

18.  Medford Oregon

19.  Reno Nevada

20.  Tampico Mexico

21.  Nashville Tennessee

22.  Villahermosa Mexico

23.  San Jose Costa Rica

24.  Fukuoka Japan

25.  Adelaide Australia

26.  Melbourne Australia

27.  Merida Mexico

28.  Veracruz Mexico

29.  Birmingham Alabama

30.  Porto Alegre Brazil

31.  Montevideo Uruguay

32.  Guadalajara Mexico

33.  Perth Australia

34.  The Hague Netherlands

35.  Brisbane Australia

Building Bridges--My New Year's Testimony 2019

Hello again, everyone! Just over a year ago, the Church laid to rest our beloved Church President, Thomas S. Monson. President Monson always seemed larger than life, a heroic individual who, even in his declining years and months, was still reaching out to the one to rescue them from the sorrows, ills, and transgressions in their lives, or anything else that was keeping distance between them and the Lord.

The stories about the way he ministered to the one could and do fill volumes. Through word and deed, he pointed those within the sound of his voice to a higher way of life, to live the gospel more fully, and urged all of us to reach out and rescue all those within the scope of our influence who are struggling in their own paths. President Monson demonstrated that attitude through engaging personal stories and the many poems and scriptural passages he amazingly committed to memory.

One such poem which he often quoted was "The Bridge Builder". In 2009, while I was taking the "Teachings of the Living Prophets" class at BYU, my classmates and I were assigned to individually memorize one scripture cited by President Monson, one of his many most-recognized quotes, and poems he shared over the pulpit. I chose to memorize "The Bridge Builder". As we get further into this New Year, I felt impressed to share that poem, and some thoughts about what it (and the opportunities afforded by each new year) means to me.

An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream held no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build you this bridge at the eventide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;
"Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
There followeth after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
"This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

A new year has often been considered to be the optimal time to start something anew, to mend fences or broken bridges in relationships, to correct mistakes in our conduct and day-to-day living, and to look with hope towards the promise that, if we will do such things, each new year can and will be better than however many years have come before it. But more than that, we can and must reach out to rescue those within our circle of influence who have, for whatever reason, managed to get any aspect of their lives off-course.

Earlier today, the first Music & the Spoken Word broadcast for 2019 was a special one with a "New Year" theme. Lloyd Newell, who gives the "spoken word" portion of the program, shared this message this morning. Part of any transition we make in this life from one stage to another surely involves the process whereby we are presented with new territory in which to forge a path ahead, and the opportunity to cross various chasms and, where possible, turn around and build bridges for others who will, through no fault of their own, need to cross similar chasms in their own lives and situations.

Will we, as the ones who have gone before, make the path easier for those who will follow after us? It has well been said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. While serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (and Acting President of the Church during the apostolic interregnum following the death of Brigham Young), John Taylor was quoted as follows: "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty."

Therefore, if we fail to learn from the mistakes we and others before us have made, do not successfully cross the chasms in our own lives and build bridges for those who will follow after, do not take the time to ensure that each New Year can be such an opportunity to change ourselves for the better and to build bridges for those that will follow after us, we will definitely be accountable to the Lord on Judgement Day for those faults and failings.

That said, since there has only ever been One Man I know of who was absolutely perfect, and who never lost sight of His mission and purpose, who was willing to pay the price for our shortcomings, faults, failures, and flaws, if we have failed in these priorities before now, then this new year also presents an opportunity for each of us to correct course now, to resolve to do better, and to ensure that we do what He has sent us here to do.

While it is never an easy process to make such course corrections, He never said it would be easy: He only said it would be worth it. If we lay claim to the merits, mercy, compassion, understanding and opportunity to course correct, which is freely offered by Him through the gift of His atonement, then not only can we correct our course and resolve to do better in the year ahead, but we can also be successful in doing better in the future, and in preparing the paths we have already trod for those who will follow after, and who would, if not for our preparation, fallen by the wayside.

This is the opportunity that each New Year affords for us all. I pray that we will take that opportunity this year, and every New Year for the rest of our lives. If we can do so, we will then be able to stand blameless before our Father in Heaven and His Son, who makes it all possible. This is the New Year testimony which I offer on this Fast Sunday in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Further Revisions Made to Announced Temples Section of My Temple Construction Progress Report

Hello again, everyone! As briefly referenced in my previous post, I am now fulfilling my promise to bring you the revised version of the announced temples section of my temple construction progress report. Most of those revisions involved reevaluating what was known about each temple (including any information which had been officially or unofficially confirmed), and based on my analysis of the relevant factors, I reworked the section of announced temples for which sufficient information that is known has given me enough confidence to provide a general estimated time-frame within which a groundbreaking might occur for those temples. I should also mention that there is a current backlog of 28 temples for which a groundbreaking is pending. Of those 28, the information to which I currently have access has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate for 16 of them, and if those estimates are anywhere near correct, all 16 temples could have a groundbreaking within the next 3 years or less. And since many (myself included) were surprised by the unexpected announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (with that ceremony being held almost two months ago), I am not ruling out the likelihood that could occur again for temples in the second section of announced temples. As I also observed recently, although it has been somewhat standard in recent years for temples to have 2-3 years between the timing of an announcement and a subsequent groundbreaking ceremony, depending on what President Nelson has planned for future temple construction, that time-frame may accelerate significantly, especially for temples which will be smaller in size and will serve a smaller district. Time will tell just how accurate any of these estimates are.

It should also be noted that, since I last posted this section of my report on this blog (6 days ago), I have increased the number of additional temples which might have a groundbreaking by the end of 2019 from 5 to 7. If something big is coming in terms of future temple announcements and construction efforts, then part of that will surely involve moving announced temples into the construction process more quickly than we have seen up to this point.

So it is possible that this year and the years that follow will see even more groundbreakings and new temples announced than the years before, which in turn would multiply the number of temple events the Church will see in subsequent years. As with anything else I post, I will be just as happy if my estimates prove to be off as I will be if any of them are accurate. With that noted, the updated section of my report highlighting announced temples follows below.

In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.

Announced Temples (for which sufficient information has me confident enough to venture a general groundbreaking estimate):

174. Pocatello Idaho Temple: Government approval process; streets around temple site opened; groundbreaking anticipated in mid-2019.

175. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple: Government approval phase; probable site identified; awaiting official confirmation and artist’s rendering; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2019.

176. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning and preliminary construction phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited probable site on October 20, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

177. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; media event held June 14, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2019.

178. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson visited potential site on April 17, 2018; groundbreaking anticipated in late 2019.

179. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; site inspected by Church engineers on June 21, 2017; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

180. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.

181. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

182. Richmond Virginia Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020.

183. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

184. Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; President Nelson toured potential locations on April 19, 2018; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

185. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

186. Puebla Mexico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in mid-to-late 2020.

187. Managua Nicaragua Temple: Announced April 1, 2018; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020.

188. Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in ­late 2020.

189. Auckland New Zealand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2020-early 2021.

Announced Temples (for which more information is needed before I provide an estimated groundbreaking time-frame):

190. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

191. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

192. Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

193. Salvador Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

194. Yuba City, California Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

195. Praia Cape Verde Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

196. Yigo Guam Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

197. Lagos Nigeria Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

198. Davao Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

199. San Juan Puerto Rico Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

200. Russia Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official location and site announcement.

201. Washington County Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official city and site announcement.