UPDATED: Specific Estimates for Known Temple Events in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! Although I am still planning on publishing the latest apostolic statistics on this blog this upcoming Sunday (in addition to providing coverage throughout this weekend on the Durban South Africa Temple dedication), based on my latest updates to my temple construction progress report, I have also taken time to update my specific estimates for know temple events in the near future. A first-time preliminary note I have added to that indicates that the estimates are based on what is currently known about the progress (or lack thereof) on certain temples, and that future projections are subject to change based on what changes going forward. As the preliminary note also explains, the timing of all such events is subject to confirmation in every detail through official announcements directed by the prophet, as the only one authorized to ascertain the Lord's will on that subject. That said, although this year will see half as many temples both dedicated and rededicated (3 and 3 versus the 6 and 7 respective dedications and rededications of temples last year), from 2021-2024, the number of temple dedications that are known will more than make up for the fact that 2020 will be a relatively slower year in that respect. I previously mentioned my hope that, before the end of this month, arrangements for the open house and dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple will be officially announced, along with the arrangements for the groundbreaking of the Auckland New Zealand Temple (the latter of which I currently believe will occur prior to the weekend of the April 2020 General Conference).

For myself, I will be sure to monitor my available resources for all temple developments and will do my level best to ensure that I bring such updates to you all as I become aware of them, and that also applies to all Church news 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.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband Marks His 69th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! On this morning of February 6, 2020, I am pleased to bring you all here a post in tribute to Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who is marking his 69th birthday today. Here is some biographical information about him: Ronald Anderson Rasband was born on this day in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Rulon Hawkins Rasband and Verda Anderson. He served as a full-time missionary in the Eastern States Mission, which was headquartered in New York City and encompassed the whole New York Metro area, while also stretching into western New York and Pennsylvania. He married Melanie Twitchell in 1973, and together they raised five children. He studied at the University of Utah, and would later receive an honorary doctorate degree in business and commerce from Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) in 1995. He began his professional career in the Huntsman Container Company as a Sales Representative in 1976. Still in that employment 11 years later (in 1987), he was promoted to the position of president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation, where he closely worked with Jon Huntsman Sr. and later served on the board of directors for that company. He has served extensively in the Church throghout his life, having previously been a bishop, an institute instructor (during which time my wife was in one of the classes he taught), Temple Square missionary guide, member of the Church’s Pioneer Sesquicentennial Committee (which was observed in 1997), and, from 1996-1999, presided over the New York New York North Mission. On April 1, 2000, he was sustained as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, where he would serve in the Europe North & Europe Central Areas from 2000-2003. From August 2003-August 2004 (at which time oversight for all North American areas was transferred to the Presidency of the Seventy), he served as president of the Utah Salt Lake City He then served from 2004-2005 as Executive Director of the Temple Department. He and his future fellow apostle, Elder Neil L. Andersen, were called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, at which time Elder Rasband was assigned oversight of the North America Northwest and North America West Areas for two years, then was reassigned to preside over the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South Areas. By August of 2008, he had become the second most-senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy. The following April, as a result of Elder Neil L. Andersen's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Rasband succeeded him as the Senior President of the Seventy, and, as such, was given oversight for all areas in the United States and Canada.

He was still serving in that capacity when, in October 2015, he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. With Elders Gary E. Stevenson and Dale G. Renlund called at the same time (something that had not happened since 1906), the number of those who had served as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reached a total of 100. He is currently the eighth in seniority among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, making him the eleventh in overall apostolic seniority). By age, he ranks as the sixth-oldest among the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. and is resultantly the ninth-oldest of all 15 current apostles. As long-time readers of this blog can confirm, prior to the filling of the 3 apostolic vacancies in October 2015, and again when two others were filled in April 2018, I offered some thoughts about who might be called to fill those vacancies. But I also advocated for the practice of praying in advance for a personal witness that whoever was called had indeed been chosen by the Lord. And in every single one of those 5 most-recent calls to the apostleship, no sooner had their names been presented than I felt the Lord's spirit confirming to me that their calls came from Him. As a result of those witnesses, anytime a new apostle is called, I know the Lord's hand is deeply involved with that process.

Because Elder Rasband has spent nearly 2 full decades as a General Authority, (including a decade of service in the Presidency of the Seventy, and 4.5 years in the apostleship), he has given 15 addresses thus far in General Conference: 1 as a General Authority Seventy, 5 others during his tenure in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 9 since his call to the apostleship almost 4.5 years ago.  I am grateful for this opportunity I have had, in my own small way, to pay tribute to and reflect on the life and ministry of Elder Rasband today as he is celebrating his 69th birthday. I do continue to monitor all apostolic updates, general Church news, and any temple-related developments and will keep bringing word of those to you all here as I become aware of such reports.

In the meantime, looking ahead on my planned schedule for upcoming projects on this blog, aside from anything unexepeced, and ongoing reports of the usual kind, although the next apostolic birthday will not be observed until May 31 (at which time President Henry B. Eyring will be 87), I am preparing to post my first 2020 apostolic milestone update on this blog, which I plan to do on Sunday February 16 (that update coming on the same day the Durban South Africa Temple will be dedicated). 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.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson Observes His 75th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am back this morning for the purpose of posting a birthday tribute to Elder D. Todd Christofferson, who is today observing his 75th. As with the posts I have written for every other apostle, I will be sharing a biography herein with highlights about his life. Let's get right into all of that. David Todd Christofferson was born to Paul Vickery and Jeanne Swenson Christofferson in American Fork, Utah (a place I proudly claim as my hometown) this day in 1945 He spent his formative years in Pleasant Grove and Lindon, and his family subsequently relocated to Somerset New Jersey. While there, he participated in the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant, and, having been urged by his bishop to do so, he earnestly sought a personal testimony of the gospel. Although he felt for a while that his prayer at that time had not been answered, the witness he was seeking came about a month later. At around this same time, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery for it. While his father learned later that he had gathered his brothers to pray for their mom, it would be years later before Elder Christofferson learned about his father's personal sacrifices to supply what his wife needed to help her with the housework. Young Todd Christofferson also stepped in to help his mom by making homemade bread for his family, after being taught how to do so by his grandmother. After graduating from high school, he studied for a year at BYU prior to serving full-time in the Argentina North Mission, where he had two mission presidents, Ronald V. Stone, and his future colleague in the Quorum of the Twelve, Richard G. Scott. Following the conclusion of his missionary service, Elder Christofferson returned to BYU, and there he met Kathy Jacob, whom he married in May 1968. He earned his bachelor's degree from BYU, and went on to get a doctor of law degree from the School of Law at Duke University. During his years as a young attorney, he clerked for Judge John J. Sirica at the time the Watergate hearings were occurring. When his clerkship ended, he took active duty with the US Army for a year, after which he served in the Army reserves for 8 years, by which time, he had achieved the rank of Captain. His professional career took his family to Washington DC, Nashville Tennesee, and Charlotte North Carolina. During that same period of time, he would serve as a bishop, stake president, and in the now-defunct calling of regional representative to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

After being called as a general authority in April 1993 (at the same time as Elder Neil L. Andersen, alongside whom he now serves in the apostleship), he served in a variety of capacities (including as a member of area presidencies outside the US) until his call to the Presidency of the Seventy in August 1998. During his service in that presidency, he first served as the executive director for the Church's Family and Church History Department (which have since been split into two departments), where he worked to negotiate with Jewish religious leaders on the matter of performing temple ordinances for Holocaust victims, which in turn shaped the policy of Church members only being allowed to perform such ordinances for direct-line family members. In 2004, the First Presidency announced that the Presidency of the Seventy would be relieved of responsibility for the Church Departments and would instead oversee areas in the United States and Canada. Elder Christofferson was given responsibility for the North America Southeast Area of the Church, holding that assignment from August 2004-August 2007, at which time he was reassigned to oversee the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. He continued that assignment for 8 months, then, as we know, he was the first apostle called by President Thomas S. Monson in April 2008. At the time of his release from the Presidency of the Seventy, which came in conjunction with his call as an apostle, he had become the second-most senior member thereof.

During his time as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as noted, Elder Christofferson served alongside his former mission president, Richard G. Scott. Since his ordination as an apostle, Elder Christofferson has filled a wide variety of assignments, and he was serving as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve assigned to oversee the Church Public Affairs Committee when he was asked by President Nelson to introduce the new First Presidency in a worldwide broadcast on January 16, 2018. He has given 30 addresses in General Conference so far, 1 of which was given in the conference following his call as a General Authority, with 5 others given during his near decade in the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Christofferson currently ranks as the fifth most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he is also the fifth oldest.

He remains the ninth in overall apostolic seniority and the seventh oldest among all of the apostles. I am grateful for the life and ministry of Elder Christofferson. I had a couple of choice opportunities to meet him. His niece and her family lived in my parent's ward, so when their newest baby was blessed, Elder Christofferson presided at our Sacrament Meeting. A few years later, our paths crossed again while I was a temple worker, and he was the speaker at our yearly devotional. As one who has had the opportunity to chat informally with him on these two occasions, I testify that his call as one of the Savior's special witnesses is divinely inspired.

I greatly appreciate the chance to share these thoughts with you. 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 TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Announces the First 3 Temple Groundbreakings for 2020; Official Name Announced for the Second Manila Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a stunning (and unexpectedly-timed) announcemnt, the First Presidency released information on the first 3 temple groundbreakings that the Church will hold in 2020. I know that many of you may have already commented on this news in the threads of previous posts, since became made aware of the announcement roughly 2 hours ago, but I wanted to provide my take on it either way, including a more in-depth analysis on these developments. Before getting to all of that, n conjunction with this announcement, the name of the second Manila Philippines Temple has been revealed as the Alabang Philippines Temple. Although I had previously offered a few suggestions on this blog about the name of the second Manila temple, unless I missed something in reviewing my own coverage on that subject, I don't believe I was anywhere close to guessing that name. So, let's get right into the relevant information: The first groundbreaking mentioned in this announcement will be held on Saturday April 11, 2019, for the Richmond Virginia Temple. Elder Randall K. Bennett, president of the North America Northeast Area, will preside over that groundbreaking. 3 weeks later, on Saturday May 2, 2020, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the groundbreaking for the Alabang Philippines Temple. And 4 weeks after that, the groundbreaking for the Layton Utah Temple will take place on Saturday May 30, at which Elder Craig C. Christensen, who serves as president of the Utah Area, will preside.

I should add here that I still anticipate that the groundbreaking for the Auckland New Zealand Temple may take place in April or May. But I guess preparations for that are not far enough along yet for an official announcement in that respect. And I am hopeful that several other temples might have a groundbreaking soon as well. And the groundbreaking for the Alabang Philippines Temple will leave only 3 temples from President Monson's prophetic administration that have not had a groundbreaking: the Harare Zimbabwe Temple, originally announced in April 2016, and the Nairobi Kenya and Brasilia Brazil Temple, which were announced in General Conference a year later.

And I cannot in good conscience rule out the prospect that additional temples could have their groundbreakings scheduled around these other 3. I have referred a couple of times in the past to a list released by the Church that shows days on which two or more temples simulnaneously had a groundbreaking ceremony. That was the case most recently on Saturday May 4 of last year, when 3 temple groundbreakings were conducted. I will be keeping my eyes open for more information in that respect for sure. I also have a couple other observations to provide as well.

First, these groundbreakings will mark the first time ever that 2 new temples in the Philippines will simultaneously be under construction, and the first time since 2017 that more than 2 or 3 United States temples are simultaneously under construction. Next, based on the releawsed information for the Richmond and Layton temples, and on an approximation of the anticipated size of the Alabang temple, I am proposing the following general estimates for the completion of these temples, which are, of course, subject to change, based on the pace and consistency of the construction, along with anything more official that may be announced for those tempes:

Early-to-mid 2023: Richmond Virginia Temple
Mid-to-late 2023: Layton Utah Temple
Late 2023-early 2024: Alabang Philippines Temple

And finally, less than 13 hours after I published my most-recent adjustments to the more specific estimates for known temple events, it looks ax though I am back to the drawing board as far as that goes. I also have every confidence that an exterior rendering for the Alabang Philippines Temple will be released at some point within the next 2-3 weeks. I continue to monitor all Church news and additional temple updates, and will be sure to pass word of those along 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.

UPDATED: Specific Estimates for Known Temple Events in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! I have takeen some time over the last few hours to update my list of specific estimates for known temple events in the near future. That document speaks for itself. I 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 them. 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.

REVISITED: Updated Sections of My Temple Construction Progress Report

Hello again, everyone! Given the recent developments I have reported on both the Bengaluru India and second Manila Philippines Temples, I thought it would be wise to again revise and update a few sections of my temple construction progress report. Althoough those sections are largely self-explanatory, and prioritized between what I know and all that is currently not known about several announced temples, I did want to offer a standard disclaimer: Until officially confirmed or corrected by the Church through the proper channels, the information in that document is only based on my personal analysis, and should thus be taken with a grain of salt, as it is always subject to change if and when more information may come to light. Aside from that disclaimer, I hope that many of you might find my updated thoughts on this subject illuminating, such as they are. I continue to monitor all temple developments, in addition to all  Church news reports, and will endeavor to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them. In the meantime, 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.

First Presidency Announces Adjustments to Temple Ceremonial Clothing

Hello again, everyone! Although this is not necessarily breaking news (since it was first reported a couple of hours ago), I wanted to share here some news affecting temple worship for members of the Church. The First Presdiency today announced some minor adjustments to the clothing worn by members of the Church during the endowment ceremony. An official letter from the First Presidency announcing these adjustments is accompanied by a list of common questions Church members may have, which are largely self-explanatory. As I read about these changes, I saw them as yet another way that our Church leaders, under the direction of President Nelson, are making to reduce and simplify things for members of the Church. And I love that the statement made it clear that the adjustments to the temple clothing do not change the sanctity of the work done, and that they were also clear, as was the case when the scriptures were updated a few years ago, that buying the new version is not necessary until the currently-used material needs to be replaced. I am grateful to have been able to read about this development, and to pass it along to you all here.

I continue to monitor all Church news reports and temple updates, and will endeavor to keep passing word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things. 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 TEMPLE NEWS: Church Announces Location, Releases Rendering for the Bengaluru India Temple

Hello again, everyone! I have breaking temple news to report from the Church this evening. In the last half hour or less, the rendering and location has been released for the Bengaluru India Temple. According to that news release, the temple is planned to be roughly 38.670 square feet in area, and it will be located at 2-B, Garudachar Palya, Mahadevapura, Bengaluru, Karnataka, in India, sitting.on a 1.62-acre site.  An existing chapel and Church offices on the site will be razed to make room for the temple, which will have an adjacent two-level meetinghouse, a distribution center, patron housing, and Church offices. In the coming months, Church leaderss will work with the city through the approvals process. Housing for the temple president, temple and service missionaries, and the mission president will also be built.  This temple is still very much in the design and planning phase. In coming months, the Church will be working with city leaders to get more detailed plans approved, and once that approval is granted, the Church can then look at a groundbreaking. But hopefully, that process won't take too terribly long. As some of you might recall, President Nelson only intended to announce six temples during his first General Conference, but the night before conference weekend began, the Lord told him: "Announce a temple in India." This now makes the third of those seven temples then announced to have preliminary information released.

There are now 6 temples in my "Groundbreaking Anticipated" section of my temple construction progress report, leaving 6 that have had initial details confirmed, and 7 others for which more official details are pending, in addition to the remaining 16 temples on which we are waiting for initial or more official details. I fully anticipate that a huge set of a temple announcements, including on the open house and dedicaiton of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, in addition to news of at least 2-3 temple groundbreakings that are almost certain to be held prior to the April General Conference.

I continue to monitor all such developments and will pass word of those along to you all here as I become aware of such things.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.

First Blog Post of 2020: Updated List of Temples Which May Be Renovated in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! Much sooner than I had anticipated, I am pleased to bring you now my first blog post of this new year, 2020. Before I get to my main reason for posting now, I wanted to just offer a brief reminder: Although I cannot anticipate evyerthing thatt will wind up being covered on this blog during the course of this year, I do have a fair few known blog projects which I am planning on publishing here as scheduled on the dates indicated. Those posts will, of course, be in addition to covering all major (and especially breaking news) developments reported via the Church News, the Church Temples site and the official Church website (which includes those from the Newsroom thereof. Having shared that information, we now move on to the main reason for this post: I have completed my reanalysis of the temples which are most likely to be renovated in the near future. That list, as previously mentioned, has been further annotated and adjusted based on new information that included those temples which had closed for an extended period last year, and those that will do so at any point during this year.  The one thing I would add is that, as noted on the list itself, the timing of temple renovations is and ever will be in the hands of the Lord, as He conveys that direction to His prophet. I am also not entirely sure how (if at all) the closure of larger temples (those in Hong Kong China, St. George Utah, and now Salt Lake) or the planned closures (in the cases of the Logan Utah and Manti Utah Temples) might possibly impact the timing of any of the temples on the list I have put together.

That said, because it seems likely that around 19 temples could potentially have groundbreakings within the next 12-18 months (just from what we know so far), I am satisfied that, in considering the Church's 2020 budget, the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes set aside more than sufficent for all existing current and anticipated future projects. And if we see President Nelson continuing to announce temples every six months, and making announcements on other temples this year (which I have no doubt will be the case), we may be in for another windfall of temple announcements on a variety of fronts. For my part, I remain committed to continuing to bring you updates on every facet of the developments which have characterized the tone of this blog for the last 3-4 years. In the meantime, as I begin another year of covering such things, I'd be remiss if I failed to thank you all for your continued interest, for your onoging support, and for the privilege of your time. That does it for now. Any and alll 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. 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.

Final Temple Construction Progress Updates for 2019

Hello again, everyone! With the final hours of 2019 drawing to a close here in Utah, I'd be remiss indeeed if I did not take this opportunity to provide a look back at temple construction progress that has been made throughout 2019. And with my now being able to share specific links to particular reports, there is far less actual information for me to share in this post itself.  So, without further ado, I present the first report of 2019, the one from April 1, 2019, what that progress looked like half-way through 2019, how things looked as the fourth quarter began, and where that progress is now that 2019 is coming to a close. Based on all the progress that has been made this year alone (as evidenced by these reports), I have every reason to hope for similarly-outstanding progress, perhaps to another significantly-unprecedented degree, in 2020. I will continue to monitor all such developments as they occur and bring you word of those ASAP after I learn of them. 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.