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Friday, September 27, 2019

REVISITED: Some Thoughts on President Nelson's Remarkable Statement About the October 2019 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Given that there is a bit of a breather for now (but perhaps only until tomorrow) before the next temple announcement might come down the pike, I wanted to take the opportunity to share revised thoughts and observations I have about President Nelson's remarkable statement in reference to the October 2019 General Conference. Let me first review the statement in question. He said:

"There are exciting things ahead. This work is moving forward at an accelerated pace. I can just hardly wait to bounce out of bed each morning and see what the day will bring. We invite all people to come unto Christ, to become more like Him, to experience the joyous blessings of the Holy Temple and to have eternal life,”  He then went on to say that more temples and other announcements were coming for the October General Conference. (Note: The bold emphasis is my own).

I shared my initial thoughts on what some of those "other announcements" could be on this blog at the end of August, but given all that has happened since that time, and some additional thoughts which have come to me, I wanted to now post my revised and revisited thoughts in that respect. Firstly, as I noted in that prior post, the pluralization of the term in question, and the fact of the statement itself implies that there will be more than one "other announcement" aside from new temples.

But the wording of that statement also implies to me that whatever may be coming down the pike is not the everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, or traditional announcements that are part of a usual General Conference. So we can safely infer that whatever those announcements may be, President Nelson was not referring directly to the processs of the Sustaining of Church Officers, which is presented as a matter of due course every six months in accordance with the doctrines and practices of the Church (as found here).

So my first observation would be reiterating my suggestion made in that prior post from my blog that a change and/or restructuring of area seventies Quorums could be coming down the pike. As was correctly observed in the comment threads of that post, aside from the initial sustaining of area seventies, Church leaders have not announced changes in area seventies Quorums in General Conference. But with President Nelson having been proven to be willing to buck tradition, the prospect of such changes being announced in General Conference may not be able to be dismissed out of hand.

The current geographic division of each of the Quorums is kind of vast, making it harder for each Quorum to meet together as often as may be necessary for training. So that alone would be enough reason to split some of these Quorums as they now stand. Above and beyond that, however, 3 of the 6 Quorums of area seventies are within 20 members or less of being the doctrinally-specific 70. So those two factors may be enough to warrant such a split.

I also mentioned among my predictions for the upcoming General Conference that I anticipated the release of several area seventies. This is how that list now looks:

The following area seventies may be released for the following reasons: 
Called as mission presidents: Aley K. Auna, Walter Chatora, J. Kevin Ence, Jose L. Isaguierre,  Bryan R. Larsen, George Kenneth Lee, W. Jean-Pierre LonoKhumbulani Mdletshe, Hoi Seng Leonard Woo 
Called as temple president: Milan F. Kunz; Yutaka Onda; ’Aisake K. Tukuafu; Juan A. Urra 
Longest-tenurediv: Ruben Acosta, Frederick O. Akinbo, Omar A. Alvarez, Grant C. Bennett, Wilson be Calderon, Hernando Camargo, M.T. Ben Davis, Robert J. Dudfield, E. Xavier Espinoza, Meliula M. Fata, Sam M. Galvez, Claude R. Gamiette, John A. Koranteng, Jose E. Maravilla, Joaquim J. Moreira, Adeyinka J. OjediranGennady A. PodvodovAbraham E. Quero, Francisco J. Ruiz de Mendoza, Gordon H. Smith, Raul S. Villanueva, Hoi Seng (Leonard) Woo, and Kevin J. Worthen

And if all of those I listed above were to be released, the total number of area seventies released by Quorum and the new total number of members in each Quorum would break down as follows:
Quorum 
Total Number of Likely Releases 
Resulting Totals if All Are Released 
Third 
10 
42 
Fourth 
10 
54 
Fifth 
4 
42 
Sixth 
3 
52 
Seventh 
1 
43 
Eighth 
7 
41 

So admittedly, without knowing how many area seventies are actually going to be released, if all the changes I noted come to pass, only 2 of those Quorums would be within 20 members or less of needing to be split. The biggest rationale behind such a change would likely thus be for purposes of easiing the process whereby each Quorum can regularly meet by making the Quorum composition more geographically close.

In the prior post to which I alluded earlier, the post and comment threads disucssed more of the prospects, and the same was true of the coverage and resulting comments on the Church Growth Blog. Aside from what was noted in those posts and the threads thereof, there could be a few surprise announcements that few (if any) of us can currently see coming. So the one other thing worth mentioning here is a revision to my previously-offered assertion in that earlier post that while new temple announcements were coming, there would likely not be any mention of President Nelson's temple expansion plans, aside from just general information.t

A revision of those thoughts is necessary because, while I still believe that 14-16 ne w temples will be announced, the recent temple developments reported on this blog have led me to believe that a minimum of 12 temples could have a groundbreaking within the next year (ie before the October 2020 General Conference; and both aside from and in addition to the previously-announced groundbreakings for the Saratoga Springs Utah and Puebla Mexico Temples). As I noted in the comment threads of my last post, if each of those 12 temples does have a groundbreaking (also excluding however many temples are going to be announced during the upcoming General Conference), the queue of announced temples will then go down to 15.

With that in mind, given the string of recent temple-related announcements which have been made by the Church since the beginning of August, it is obvious that President Nelson is being very methodical about how quickly temples will begin to move from being announced to having a groundbreaking to construction, and on to dedication, which would be a major way to greatly expand the total number of operating temples in a very short period of time. And that is just my assessment based on the recent string of such announcements we have seen thus far.

My point in mentioning that is that, if President Nelson is able to put the Church in a position where roughly 15 new temples would be able to see construction begin every year as a matter of course, and if what we have recently seen regarding temple announcements keeps occurring, it may not be long at all until President Nelson releases at least the initial details of his plans. And what better time would there be to do that than in a General Conference 1-2 months after a massive number of announcements impacting currently-announced temples has occurred?

I have no idea whether anything Matt or myself or anyone commenting on our priror posts will match what is actually announced. But the one thing I can say unequivocally is that whatever actually is announced will be in harmony with the Lord's will for His people at this time. If any of you do not have such a witness for yourselves, I urge you with all the energy and sincerity of my heart to do what it takes to get such a witness. And if we listen with our hearts, minds, and spirits, the Lord will convey messages, through spoken word, song, and especially through the promptings of His Spirit, the messages we need to hear, even and especially if those messages are not necessarily what we want to hear.

I have appreciated the opportunity to share these thoughts with you. 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 become aware of 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. 

Thursday, September 26, 2019

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Feather River California Temple Location; Renderings Released

Hello again, everyone! The last few days have been remarkable ones for temple developments. Today was no different. Earlier this morning, the Newsroom reported the release of renderings and preliminary plans for the Feather River California Temple. The temple, which will be built in Yuba City California at 1470 Butte House Road, will be just over 38.000 square feet, and preliminary plans include a new meetinghouse and distribution center next to the temple, with an existing meetinghouse by the temple site being razed as part of this project.

This temple is another scenario like we saw yesterday, with the Church still working with city leaders on designs and specific concept plans, and constrcution to begin as soon as approval can be granted by city leaders and the various departments. So again we see that President Nelson is very serious about bringing the temples to the people, and is taking action to the fullest degree he can to move temples swiftly from being announced to under construction. The Feather River California Temple will be the fifth temple originally announced in October 2018 to have construction begin, whenever that occurs.

And if I may do so, I'd like to just comment on the Church's strategy here: It is obvious in places like Mexico or the United States where the value of temples to a community are clearly understood that some temples can and will be fast-tracked in those locations. Other temples in locations outside the United States may take slightly longer than that to get started, but from what I can ascertain, President Nelson's strategy will be three-fold. By that I mean he continues to be focused on announcing temples, many of which can be fast-tracked to have construction begin within the next 0.5-2 years, focusing on announcing several smaller ones for remote areas (many of which may also similarly be fast-tracked), and also on doing what he can to clear the queue of all temples announced before he became Church President, of which there are only 4 left (Harare Zimbabwe, Nairobi Kenya, Brasilia Brazil, and the temple for the Greater Manila area, for which an official name announcement is still pending.

With how methodical President Nelson has been over the last couple of months (by which I am referring to the many temple-related announcements he has made), it is clear that 2020 and the years beyond that will be filled with many temple events. And if several of the Nelsonian-era temples are similarly fast-tracked, we may be well past the days when more than 5-6 years pass before Nelson-era announced temples are able to have a groundbreaking occur. I would similarly anticipate that the next year and beyond will be filled with several temple groundbreakings, which in turn will multiply the number of temples dedicated each year, and that, as the queue is cleared between each April, October, and subsequent April, more room will be created for additional temples to be announced.

I will double-check this later today, but I believe this brings the total number of temples for which a groundbreaking can be safely anticipated to 12 or so. As always, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be doing my level best 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. 

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Tooele Valley Utah Temple to Be Built in Erda

Hello again, everyone! Less than 24 hours after providing a report on the groundbreaking arrangements for the Puebla Mexico Temple, there has been more breaking temple news. Earlier today, the First Presidency announced the location for the Tooele Valley Utah Temple. It will be built in the city of Erda, northwest of the intersection of Erda Way and Highway 36 in that city. The 3-story 70,000 square foot edifice will see an adjacent meetinghouse built with it, which will be about 20,000 square feet. It has also been noted that the detailed designs for the temple are still in development, and that project leaders are working with city officals on those preliminary plans, with the necessary documents to be filed in the coming months in order to enable construction to begin soon.

So I have a few thoughts on this announcement. First, with this temple just barely having been announced 5 months ago during the April General Conference, the city government must have fast-tracked approval for the details for the temple, even if the specific designs are yet-to-be approved. Second, today's announcement is in line with the statement made by Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who had been serving as the Executive Director of the Temple Department at the time that he noted earlier this year that the Church was hoping to begin and complete construction on the Tooele Valley Utah Temple before the Salt Lake Temple reopens from its' renovation process in 2024.

Third, depending on how fast the Church can gain approval on the specific plans, this temple could very well be another that has a groundbreaking within less than a year of its' announcement (so we can probably look for that to happen in early-to-mid 2020, if all goes well). Fourth, it is significant that, at a time when information about the newest Utah temples has been released in basically the same chronological order in which they were announced, we have word on this Tooele Valley Utah Temple before anything has happened in that respect for the temple which will be built in Washington County Utah, which was announced last October.

And finally, this means that, less than 16 hours after I posted updated thoughts about the timing within which future temple groundbreakings could be anticipated to occur, there will need to be some degree of revisiting those thoughts yet again. In light of that, I will at some point have to post revised thoughts yet again in that respect. Rather than devoting a new blog post to those changes right after I make them, I will defer detailing those newest updates until I share my third-quarter 2019 comparative and contrastive look at temple construction progress which will have been made between July 1 and September 30. The specific timing of that set of posts will be determined closer to the time.

In the interim, I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such updates. 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. 

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Updates Made to "Groundbreaking Anticipated" Section of Temple Construction Progress Report

Hello again, everyone! I am back, as promised, with the updates I have made to the "Groundbreaking Anticipated" section of my temple construction progress report.  Performing these updates involved shifting some estimates forward or backward, based on what is known and unknown about the timing within which the next temples might have a groundbreaking. As always, I will be just as happy about any temple groundbreakings being set to occur at any time as I will be if my analysis on the likely time-frame within which such groundbreakings might occur proves to be correct in any or every respect. And I will be sure to provide any future updates to that estimate that may be needed as I learn more about the imminence of their future timing.

The updated 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. 

Groundbreaking anticipated: 
183. Nairobi Kenya Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; construction contract awarded; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019. 
184. Brasilia Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; property fence installed around temple site; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019. 
Note: On September 1, 2019, I was advised that the concept plans for this temple were floating around social media. If those plans are verified, a groundbreaking could occur within this period of time. 
185.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. 
Note: Aside from the information noted above, in mid-November of last year, Elder Andersen visited with Zimbabwe’s Vice President, and indicated to him that the Church was hoping to begin construction on the Harare temple in late 2019. Therefore, barring anything unexpected, it seems more likely than not that a groundbreaking could occur at around this time. 
186Bengaluru India Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020. 
187. Greater Manila Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official name announcement; groundbreaking could occur in late 2019-early 2020.  
Note: Based on what is and is not known presently about this temple, it seems probable that a groundbreaking for it could be fit in during this window, if all goes well. 
188. Auckland New Zealand Temrple: Planning and approval phase; site location confirmed on May 21, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020. 
189. Layton Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; site location officially confirmed on July 15, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in early 2020. 
190. Salta Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; site location confirmed; groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020. 
191. Mendoza Argentina Temple: Planning and approval phase; site location confirmed;  
groundbreaking could occur in early-to-mid 2020. 
192. Richmond Virginia Temple: Artist’s rendering and accompanying photographs released on August 28, 2019; groundbreaking could occur in mid-2020.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Confirms Puebla Mexico Temple Groundbreaking

Hello again, everyone! Breaking temple news was just reported, as the First Presidency has confirmed the arrangements for the Puebla Mexico Temple groundbreaking, including a release of the artist's rendering. Contrary to what I had theorized, that groundbreaking will be held on Saturday November 30. Mexico Area President Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela will preside over the groundbreaking for this temple. Based on what I can gather from the artist's rendering, the temple will take between 3-4 years to complete. As I previously noted, this will be the fourth temple announced in October 2018 to have a groundbreaking ceremony this year. And I would imagine the exterior and interior look of this temple pays homage to Mexican architectural trends, especially around the area where the temple will be built.

The one thing I don't yet know is whether any other temple groundbreakings will be held between now and that of the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple (which will take place on Saturday October 19) and this announced groundbreaking for the Puebla Mexico Temple, or whether any groundbreakings will be subsequently held after that of the Puebla temple before the end of this year. I hope we will find out either way, as there are at least 3 other temples that could soon have a groundbreaking.

I do 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 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.