BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Artist's Rendering Released for the Richmond Virginia Temple

Hello again, everyone! I have some breaking temple news to share right now. But first, I wanted to apologize to anyone who has made comments on any posts at any point today. I will be sure to address those ASAP, but I spent 6 hours this afternoon stuck in the Salt Lake Valley for a medical appointment, and things have just barely settled down enough for me to now check my blog for the first time today. That said, let's get to the breaking news report. As shared by the News page of the Church of Jesus Christ Temples website and confirmed on the Church's official Newsroom website, the artist's rendering has been released for the Richmond Virginia Temple, along with some interior and exterior renderings of various features for the temple property.

Although a groundbreaking will be announced at a later time, I am reasonably certain that the Richmond temple will be the very next one to have a groundbreaking, barring any unexpected surprises. And based on a quick analysis of the artist's rendering and specifications for the Richmond Temple which were described in the Newsroom release, I imagine a 2-3 year period of construction will be needed for this temple. So if a groundbreaking occurs anytime between early September and mid-October (perhaps just after the October 2019 General Conference), the Richmond Virginia Temple would potentially be completed during early-to-mid 2022.

So that means I will indeed have to rethink my previously-offered thoughts about temples which are announced or for which a groundbreaking is anticipated. If I am correct in my theory that Richmond will be the next one to have a groundbreaking, that will bump the Brasilia Brazil Temple down at least one spot on my "Groundbreaking anticipated" list. I have also, as previously noted, received some new information on other temples which I am in the process of analyzing to determine other changes I may need to make. Stay tuned for more on that.

In the meantime, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I receive it. That does it for now. 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.

Changes Made to Church Magazine Advisers 2019

Hello again, everyone! Over the last several months, the Church has made several subtle changes to the Church magazine advisers. This post will provide a look at how those changes have come about, and what things look like in that respect as of now, along with some additional analysis. So let's get into all of that. Here are the changes that have been made over the last several months, concluding with the assignments effective as of the publication of the September 2019 Ensign.

May 2019:

Editor: Randy D. Funk

Advisers: Brian K. Ashton, Randall K. Bennett, Becky Craven, Sharon Eubank, Cristina B. Franco, Donald L. Hallstrom, Larry S. Kacher, Erich W. Kopischke, Lynn G. Robbins

Advisers for whom a release is likely: Brian K. Ashton (released from the Sunday School General Presidency), Donald L. Hallstrom (will likely be granted emeritus status in October), Erich W. Kopischke (will serve in the Europe Area Presidency beginning in August).\

June 2019:

No change.

July 2019:

Editor: Randy D. Funk

Advisers: Randall K. Bennett, Becky Craven, Sharon Eubank, Cristina B. Franco, Donald L. Hallstrom, Larry S. Kacher, Erich W. Kopischke, Lynn G. Robbins

Released as adviser: Brian K. Ashton

No new advisers called.

August 2019:

No change

September 2019:

Editor: Randy D. Funk

Advisers: Becky Craven, Sharon Eubank, Cristina B. Franco, Walter F. Gonzalez, Larry S. Kacher, Adrian Ochoa, Michael T. Ringwood, Vern P. Stanfill

Released as advisers: Randall K. Bennett, Donald L. Hallstrom, Erich W. Kopischke, Lynn G. Robbins

Called as advisers: Walter F. Gonzalez, Adrian Ochoa, Michael T. Ringwood, Vern P. Stanfill

A few observations about these changes: Apparently, a decision has been made to not have any members of the Young Men or Sunday School General Presidencies assigned to serve as advisers to the Church magazines.  As I anticipated, Elders Hallstrom and Kopischke were released, in view of the reasons I noted under the entry for May. But I was surprised by the releases of Elders Bennett and Robbins from their roles as advisers,. As far as I can tell, neither of them are anywhere close to the time where they would be released and granted emeritus status. 

I do know that Elder Robbins was released from his previous area assignment, as of the first of this month, and that Elder Bennett has retained his area assignment. I also know that, according to information released by the Church, Elder Robbins is serving on the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, and on the Scriptures Committee. Additionally, if the 9 General Authority Seventies who have turned or will soon turn 70 are granted emeritus status in October, then that will leave Elder Robbins as the longest-tenured actively-serving General Authority Seventy (in other words, the most senior who has not been granted emeritus status). I don't know if that has any bearing on this, but I thought it was worth noting. 

Four new advisers for the Church magazines have also been called. Elder Gonzales' assignment to serve as an adviser to the Church magazines makes him the second member of the current Utah Area Presidency to be involved in the publication process for the Church magazines. He started serving as Second Counselor in that Area Presidency earlier this month, following his release as President of the Caribbean Area. The other current Utah Area Presidency member overseeing the Church magazines is Elder Randy D. Funk, the current First Counselor in the Area Presidency, who has been serving as the editor of the Church magazines since October of last year, when the previous editor, Elder Hugo E. Martinez, was given an assignment to serve in the Africa West Area Presidency. 

Meanwhile, Elder Adrian Ochoa takes on the assignment as an adviser to the Church magazines while continuing to serve in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, although he has changed assignments in that Presidency from being the Second Counselor to now serving as the First Counselor thereof. As for Elder Michael T. Ringwood (who, as some of you may be aware, is onee of President Nelson's 9 sons-in-law), he has been serving at Church headquarters since August of 2015. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Self-Reliance Services/PEF Committee, Assistant Executive Director of the Missionary Department, and a member of the Welfare and Self-Reliance Executive Committee.

And Elder Vern P.  Stanfill, who has been serving as Second Counselor in the North America Southeast Area, became the First Counselor in that same Area Presidency earlier this month, in addition to serving in several committee assignments at Church headquarters. Having noted this, at some point, I need to look into what new information might be available on the assignments for all current General Authorities, and perhaps cover that in a new blog post, likely within the next few weeks. But regardless of the reasoning behind the latest changes in the advisers to the Church magazines, I have no doubt that these changes are inspired. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of such developments. 

That does it for now. 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.   

BREAKING NEWS: Details Released About Africa Central Area

Hello again, everyone! Around 1.5 hours ago, the Church Growth Blog  shared a report on the details released earlier today specifically about the Africa Central Area. Apparently, this morning, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, who is on assignment in Johannesburg South Africa, held a meeting for Church employees and volunteers.

According to those details, the headquarters for the Africa Central Area will be based out of Nairobi Kenya, and the following nations will be within the boundaries for the area: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Seychelles, and Sao Tome and Principe.

So, as a result of this announcement, any nations currently assigned to the Africa Southeast Area which are not listed as part of the Africa Central Area will thus belong to the renamed Africa South Area, which will include: Angola, Ascension, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Saint Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Tristan da Cunha, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In the meantime, many people seem to be surprised that the headquarters for the Africa Central Area will be based out of Kenya instead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But I myself feel that this is another example of how the Lord's ways and thoughts are higher than the ways and thoughts of man. For that reason, I trust that our prophets, seers, and revelators, and those appointed to assist them in issues such as this, know more about the reasoning behind such decisions than the rest of us do. As a result, I trust the process of deliberation and decision that resulted in this outcome.

I also remain convinced that the most reasonable way to administer the new area would be to have at least one member of the current Africa Southeast Area Presidency become the first president of the new Africa Central Area, since any of those 3 men would be familiar with the nations in the two soon-to-be split areas. That said, as always, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will pass those along through new posts or comments on exisiting posts.

That does it for now. 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.

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

Hello again, everyone! I am back again to share the third and final part of my updated estimates for known temple events. This part covers all remaining known or anticipated events which have not yet been shared. They follow below. In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do: That does it for now. 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. 

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

Hello again, everyone! I am back, with the second part of my updated estimates for future temple events, which, as previously noted, will cover those events scheduled (in one case) or anticipated to occur in 2020 and 2021. Those estimates follow below. In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do: That does it for now. 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.

2020:

Sunday February 16: Dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple (168^th operating temple; confirmed)

Note: On June 18, 2019, the First Presidency officially announced the open house and dedication information for this temple. The only question is who may preside at this temple’s dedication. It could be any of our ordained apostles, but given past precedent, it seems likely that Elder Dale G. Renlund will be assigned to do so.

Mid-to-late March: Dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple (169^th operating temple)

Note: Although I had thought the dedication of this temple would occur a month or two later than this, given how close that temple currently is to its’ completion, I have moved the estimate up to this point.

Saturday & Sunday April 4 & 5: 190^th 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, with the focus between each General Conference centered on doing all that can be done to clear the backlog of announced temples, at least for the time being.

Late April-early May: Rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple

Note: In view of the 2020 Summer Olympics being held in this city between mid-July and early August, I am reasonably certain the Church will want to have this temple rededicated prior to the Olympics so as not to steal the focus away from that.

Mid-September: Dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple (170^th operating temple)

Note: During August 2019, many sources available to me changed the general completion estimate for this temple to mid-to-late 2020. Given that fact, it has seemed prudent to adjust my own more specific estimate accordingly here.

Saturday & Sunday October 3 & 4: 190^th 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.

Late October-early November: Rededication of the Washington DC Temple

December: Rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple

Note: Although some sources list the general completion estimate for this temple’s renovation during late 2020-early 2021, in view of the fact that those same sources have shifted their completion estimates for the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple to early 2021, I have felt that the rededication of the Mesa Temple may take place prior to the end of 2020. I am prepared to move this estimate again if the need arises, but for the moment, it seems to be a reasonably safe assumption.

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: Salta and Mendoza Argentina, Managua Nicaragua, Phnom Penh Cambodia, Moses Lake Washington, Feather River California, and Antofagasta Chile Temples. But it would not at all surprise me in any way if other temples have a groundbreaking during 2020 as well, including some for which there is currently not a lot of information available.

2021:

Mid-March: Dedication of the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple (171^st 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. Additionally, as previously noted, many sources available to me from which I gather temple information have noted that this temple’s completion might not occur until early 2021. For that reason, I am moving my previous estimate for this temple’s dedication to this point.

Saturday & Sunday April 3 & 4: 191^st 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, with the focus between each General Conference centered on doing all that can be done to clear the backlog of announced temples, at least for the time being.

Mid-May: Rededication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple

June: Dedication of the Praia Cabo Verde Temple (172^nd operating temple)

Mid-August: Dedication of the Yigo Guam Temple (173^rd operating temple

Mid-to-late September: Dedication of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple (174^th operating temple)

Saturday & Sunday October 2 & 3: 191^st 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, with the focus between each General Conference centered on doing all that can be done to clear the backlog of announced temples, at least for the time being.

Mid-to-late October: Dedication of the Pocatello Idaho Temple (175^th operating temple)

December: Dedication of the Quito Ecuador Temple (176^th operating temple)

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.