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Sunday, May 5, 2019

Church Leaders Break Ground for 3 New Temples

Hello again, everyone! Church leaders in 3 different parts of the world broke ground today on temples announced by President Russell M. Nelson for Saints living in the remote areas of Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico. While I had hoped to provide coverage of those by way of a breaking news post ealrlier today, it was not until just now that I found sufficient coverage of these events. So let's get right into that coverage. First of all, the main Newsroom shared general coverage on each groundbreaking ceremony.

The thing that stuck out to me particularly about this first article is that it notes this is "one of the first times" ground has been broken for 3 temples on the same day. I looked back at the August 2018 article published by the Church about days on which more than one temple had a groundbreaking, and this is only the third time that has happened in Church history. But I have a sneaking suspicion this will not be the last time that occurs. In fact, there very well could be a day coming when 4 or more temples having a groundbreaking on the same day could become the "new normal".

With that said, let me share the links to the individual articles about the groundbreakings for each of these 3 temples. Although coverage of the Yigo Guam Temple groundbreaking is not yet available, within the next few days, that will be published on the Japanese edition of the Newsroom. The Cabo Verde edition of the Newsroom shared more about the Praia Temple groundbreaking, and more about the groundbreaking ceremony for the San Juan Temple comes from the Puerto Rican edition of the Newsroom.

Although time will tell how accurate this might prove to be, I have heard that the odds of full-scale construction beginning for these temples within the next week or less are very good, and that the construction time-frame for each could turn out to be closer to 18-21 months than it would be to 24. If that turns out to be the case, one or two of them could potentially be dedicated prior to the end of next year. Time will tell how likely that turns out to be. It is also worth noting that it has been over 3 months now since the groundbreaking for the Bangkok Thailand Temple was held, and full-scale construction has not yet begun for that temple as of yet.

Additionally, tomorrow will mark the private one-session rededication for the Memphis Tennesee Temple, over which Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has been asked to preside. Tomorrow night, Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy will speak in the second of the three Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults which have been planned for 20ni19. The final devotional for this year will be held on Sunday September 8, and given that the Church has still not announced who the speaker will be for that yet, it is appearing more and more likely that that devotional will feature Church President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy.

Aside from that,  on Saturday May 11, as we know, Elder Enrique R. Falabella will be presiding over the groundbreaking for the Quito Ecuador Temple. And that same day, open house tours will begin for the Oakland California Temple. The following Saturday, open house tours will wrap up for the Fortaleza Brazil Temple. I am still holding out hope that we could see the open house and dedication schedule fir the Arequipa Peru Temple announced in the near future, and it is appearing more likely that that temple's dedication will be scheduled to occur in December, with both the rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple and the dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple likely to be deferred until after Christmas 2019 and New Year's Day 2020.

To the best of my ability, I will have all of these developments covered here as I receive word of them. I also continue to monitor all Church news and work on the many projects I have lined up to publish on this blog in the near future. 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.

Friday, May 3, 2019

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Open Houses, Rededications Announced for Raleigh North Carolina and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples

Hello again, everone! In a stunning announcement which I certainly didn't expect this soon, the First Presidency detailed the open house and rededication information for the Raleigh North Carolina and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples. Open house tours will be offered for the Raleigh NC Temple from Saturday September 21-Saturday September 28, except for Sunday September 22. The temple will be privately rededicated in 1 session by President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on Sunday October 13, and will reopen for ordinance work on Tuesday October 22, 2019.

In the meantime, the open house for the Baton Rouge LA Temple will take place from Saturday October 26-Saturday November 2, with the exception of Sunday October 27. The single-session rededication for this temple will take place on Sunday November 17, with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding thereat.  I'd just like to make a few general comments on this news:

First, this information replaces the estimates I offered earlier this morning. Second, the one-week open house and private rededications in one session may become the new normal for the smaller Hinckley-era temples. Third, it is apparent that, at least for the moment, the First Presidency may call on any of the seven most senior apostles to rededicate temples, while the dedications for new temples could be done by any of the apostles, and particularly those who have personal connections to those temples.

I say that because what I have seen on my end demonstrates that the authority to dedicate or rededicate temples is inherent in the keys of the apostleship, since those ordained as such have the power, under the direction of the Church President, to bind and seal on earth and in heaven. I was also pleasantly surprised by this news, since I thought for sure the next temple event to be announced would be the dedication of the Arequipa Peru Temple. I could still see the Church scheduling that soon, and that could still be set to occur in October or November/

What that means for the remainder of the year may be difficult to determine. Clearly any temple groundbreaking could be announced and held for any day of the week except Sunday, and I hope there will be many of those in the second half of this year. But temple dedications or rededications are much harder to pin down in terms of their timing. I would anticipate at least that the dedication for the Arequipa Peru Temple may be announced soon, and it is possible that the dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple and rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple may round out the end of this year.

I do continue to monitor all temple-related developments and will be sure to pass along word of those as I learn of such things. 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.

Further Adjustments Made to Blog Layout and Comment Form

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may have realized, I have continued to perform minor tweaks to the layout of this blog as I feel a need to do to make the look, feel, appearance, and accesibility of all blog elements the best they can be. I appreciate the patience exhibited by all of you as the process of making such adjustments and tweaks is ongoing. In addition to that, I wanted to note some changes made to the comment form.

Bearing in mind the purposes for which this blog has been established, and balancing the needs I see to maintain a good blog where conversations can take on a deeper quality, I have adjusted the wording to the comment form ro now read as follows:

"In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.

"At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.

"I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.

"And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.

"Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters."

I realize that is rather lengthy for a comment form. Any suggestions any of you have that would better capture my intent but be more brief would be particularly welcome and appreciated. In the meantime, it has saddened me to see my requests to those using the "Anonymous" and "Unknown" monikers has been largely ignored by a majority of those who use such identifications.

The point made by one such individual who commented under one of those generic monikers is well-taken: I should not be treating all comments from those generic names as if they were from the same individual. But I also don't know whether or not I am dealing with the same person unless I have some way to tell. So in order to preserve the etiquette which I hope will prevail among those who are regular readers here, for the foreseeable future, I am mandating the use of any name (whether a pseudonym, nickname, or an actual name) for everyone who comments here.

The mark of someone who is good at leading discussions, which is how I see my role as the author of the blog on which you all comment, is that he acknowledges contributions by the name of those making them. And I cannot do that if I don't know with whom I am dealing. So anyone commenting specifically under the "Anonymous" or "Unknown" monikers needs to let me know who they are. If I can get to know you all better in that way, I am more likely on my end to take offered feedback more seriously.

And I'd rather not have to delete any earnest or sincere comments simply because I don't know who might have made them. So it has sadly become necessary for me to make that mandatory. Barring anything unexpected, that will remain the status quo on this blog for the foreseeable future. So I'd encourage us all to help each other, whereby you all can help me keep this blog more in line with the intents and purposes for which I have established and continue to maintain it. My thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation in these matters.

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

Updated Estimates for Future Temple Events: Part Three—Remaining Estimates for Known Events

Hello again, everyone! I am back once again with the third and final post in this mini-series on estimates for known temple events in the near future. In this post, the final estimates for events that are anticipated between the beginning of 2022 and the end of 2024 will be shared. Those follow 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 stablished gudelines. 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.


2022:
Saturday & Sunday April 2 & 3: 192nd Annual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Mid-to-late April: Dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple (177th operating temple)
Mid-August: Dedication of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple (178th operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday October 1 & 2: 192nd Semiannual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Mid-November: Dedication of the Bangkok Thailand Temple (179th operating temple)
Note: Because this temple is significantly larger than temples which have been built in recent years, delays in that construction process are more likely than not. It is also worth noting that the official number for this temple is almost certain to change as other temples have a groundbreaking and construction and are potentially completed before this one is.

Final note on 2022: Between now and the end of 2022, the face of the Church’s temple construction program will likely look very different. We currently have a Church President who has clearly prioritized bringing the temples to the people, and the fact that he announced 19 new temples within his first year as such verifies that beyond doubt. I also am equally certain he will do all he can to clear the existing backlog of announced temples. With that in mind, there will likely be many more temple events to add to this list in the future. I am committed to bringing updates in that regard to you all as I receive them.



2023:
Saturday & Sunday April 1 & 2: 193rd Annual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Saturday September 30 & Sunday October 1: 193rd Semiannual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.

Final note on 2023: Any temple events which may occur during 2023 will be determined by whatever temple announcements are made within the next couple of years. I will be sure to add such events as I learn about their likelihood.



2024:
Saturday & Sunday April 6 & 7: 194th Annual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
May or June: Rededication of the Salt Lake Temple
Saturday & Sunday October 5 & 6: 194th Semiannual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.

Final note: As noted previously, any temple events which may occur during 2024 will be determined by whatever temple announcements are made within the next couple of years. I will be sure to add such events as I learn about their likelihood.

Updated Estimates for Future Temple Events: Part Two—2020-2021 Estimates

Hello again, everyone! I am back with the second of the 3-part series I am doing in order to share my updated estimates for known temple events in the near future. This post will share the updated estimates for those known or anticipated events in 2020 and 2021, which follow 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 gudelines. 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.

2020:
Mid-January: Dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple (168th operating temple)
Note: On May 2, 2019, I received new information which indicated that the completion of this temple could occur in late 2019 or early 2020. I believe the most likely scenario to be that construction will wrap up on this temple and that an open house could take place prior to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, but that a dedication would be deferred until after those holidays have passed.
Mid-to-late February: Dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple (169th operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday April 4 & 5: 190th Annual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Mid-to-late April: Rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple
June or early-to-mid August: Dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple (170th operating temple)


Saturday & Sunday October 3 & 4: 190th Semiannual General Conference
Note: Temple announcements are always possible, so it is not hard to believe that a few could be announced during this General Conference.
Mid-September: Rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple
Mid-November: Rededication of the Washington DC Temple
Mid-December: Dedication of the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple (171st operating temple)
Note: At the groundbreaking for this temple (which occurred on November 8, 2018), Elder Neil L. Andersen, who presided at this event and gave his remarks in French, noted that construction of the temple was anticipated to take around two years. For that reason, I am moving my previous estimate for this temple’s dedication up to this point.

Final note on 2020: Based on what I have heard, 2020 seems as though it will be another big year for temple groundbreakings. I am specifically keeping my eyes open for information on the following temples: Puebla Mexico (in view of a tip from a member of the Church in Mexico, who noted the groundbreaking for that temple is anticipated in early 2020), Nairobi Kenya, Salta and Mendoza Argentina, Managua Nicaragua, Auckland New Zealand, Belem Brazil, Layton Utah, Managua Nicaragua, Yuba City California, Phnom Penh Cambodia, and Bengaluru India Temples.



2021:
Mid-January: Dedication of the Yigo Guam Temple (172nd operating temple
Mid-to-late March: Dedication of the Praia Cabo Verde Temple (173rd operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday April 3 & 4: 191st Annual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Mid-to-late April: Dedication of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple (174th operating temple)
Mid-May: Rededication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple
June: Dedication of the Quito Ecuador Temple (175th operating temple)
Saturday & Sunday October 2 & 3: 191st Semiannual General Conference
Note: Given that there have been 27 new temples announced during the first 3 General Conferences of President Nelson’s prophetic administration, I believe he will continue to announce temples every six months in General Conference, and may also announce some in between each April, October, and subsequent April.
Mid-to-late October: Rededication of the Hong Kong China Temple
Note: This is just a projected estimate, based on what is currently known. As more information is revealed, this estimate could be pushed forward or back as needed.


Mid-November: Dedication of the Pocatello Idaho Temple (176th operating temple)
Mid-December: Rededication of the St. George Utah Temple
Note: What I shared above about the probable timing of the rededication for the Hong Kong China Temple also applies here: As more information is made available, and as the renovation process proceeds, I will be sure to make any adjustments to this estimate that might be needed.

Final note on 2021: If, as anticipated, several more temples are announced in 2019 and 2020, and any which have not yet had a groundbreaking have that occur within that same time period, that in turn will multiply the number of known temple events which will likely occur in 2021 and the years beyond. As more is learned about future temple renovations, that will also have an impact on the number of future events.