BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: President Nelson Announces 8 New Temples As the April 2020 General Conference Concludes

Hello again, everyone! The final session of the April 2020 General Conference has just concluded, and in its' closing moments, our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, announced that 8 new temples will be built in the following locations: Bahia Blanca, Argentina; Tallahassee Florida; Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Benin City, Nigeria; Syracuse, Utah; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The Newsroom release is likely going to be updated over the next little while, but in the interim, further context has been provided by President Nelson, as relayed by the Church News. While acknowledging that it may seem strange to talk about announcing new temples while all operating temples are currently closed, the languge in the final 3 paragraphs of the Salt Lake Temple dedicatory prayer provides insight and perspective about the time in which we are currently living. With that background in mind, I have a few other thoughts to share on the monumental significance of this latest slate of announced temples. It was specifically also mentioned by President Nelson that the Saints in the Dubai area had specifically requested a temple. Based on information I had previously received, the Saints in Bahia Blanca Argentina have also been lobbying the Church for a temple of their own. A few other comments on these announced temples. I had anticipated that the next Florida temple would go to Jacksonville, but recognize that one is needed in Tallahassee, so I'm not surprised by that announcement. It is also tremendous to consider that, less than a full year following the dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, a second one is being announced for that nation. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which currently falls in the boundaries of the Africa Southeast Area, will become part of the new Africa Central Area in August of 2020. I am grateful that the Lord verified my choices of Bahia Blanca, Lubumbashi, Pittsburgh, Benin City, and Dubai. Another Utah temple is not a surprise. I was absolutely blown away, however, by the announcement of a temple for the People's Republic of China.

The nature of the Church''s current relationship with and arrangements for members of the Church in China remains unchanged, as confirmed by President Nelson, but it is nice that the Chinese government is willing to work with the Church in this particular case, and I have no doubts whatsoever that having a temple in Shanghai will greatly assist the Church and its' members in that relationship with the Chinese government, especially during this period of time when the Hong Kong China temple remains closed for its' renovation. It sounds to me as though the Church plans to move quickly on the Shanghai China Temple, and it will be interesting to see what specifically happens there. But the nature of what President Nelson said when he announced these 8 newest temples does lead me to wonder whether any of those that were announced today are going to move quickly enough through the approval process to be among the 16 that will have a groundbreaking this year, as mentioned by Elder Bednar. It will be interesting to see what happens with all of these temples, in addition to all others currently announced or under construction.

Understandably, due to the nature of the required updates, it may take the Church a little while into this evening to expand the official Newsroom release on these temples, and also, the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site appears to be down for the moment while the data, information, and pages for this and other temples are updated. Two other observations, if I may offer them: First, in April and October of last year, and in April of this year, 8 temples were announced each time. This suggests to me that 8 temples may continued to be announced per General Conference for the foreesable future. And secondly, with 8 temples added to the current queue, there are 43 announced temples. When we subtract the 4 for which a groundbreaking has already been scheduled, and the 12 others which will have a groundbreaking by the end of this year, depending on the timing for those 12, the queue of announced temples may continue to hover around 30, which is more or less what we have been told about President Nelson's plans. For my part, I continue to monitor all such developments, and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things.

I should also note here that I will be publishing another post within the next hour to share the latest apostolic statistics, as the standard 7 weeks have passed since my last update. So stay tuned for that. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: 18 Temples Will Have a Groundbreaking This Year; President Nelson Introduces a New Proclamation in Honor of the Restoration's Bicentennial Anniversary

Hello again, everyone! In late February of this year, congregational mission leadership had been invited to participate in the Temple and Family History Leadership Training, The training focused on the correlation between missionary efforts and temple worship. Fast forward to the Sunday Morning Session which has just wrapped up. With a temple/missionary theme, I felt even more certain that this Sunday Morning Session would bring the announcement of new temples. But the Lord had something else in mind. Elder David A. Bednar, who, as noted previously, chairs the Temple and Family History Executive Council, did announce that the Church is planning on breaking ground for 18 new temples this year. That means that, in addition to the 4 already scheduled (in Richmond Virgninia, Alabang Philippines, Layton Utah, and Auckland New Zealand), 14 other temples will also see groundbreakings this year. While it may be too early to tell which temples might have that happen, I have a fair idea. The Church is also likely to break ground for the following temples: Orem, Taylorsville, and Tooele Valley Utah, Brasilia Brazil, Feather River California, San Pedro Sula Honduras, Coban Guatemala, Managua Nicaragua, Nairobi Kenya, Harare Zimbabwe, Moses Lake Washington, Washington County Utah, McAllen Texas, and either Phnom Pehn Cambodia or Bengaluru India. So we have many more temple-related announcements to which we can look forward, including the likely announcement of a at least a few new temples at the conclusion of this General Conference by President Nelson.

After a session during which missionary work and temple worship was a dual focus, the Solemn Assembly portion of General Conference was prefaced by President Nelson through the release of a new official proclamation in honor of this bicentennial milestone of the Restoration. The prophet noted that that Proclamation would be made available online directly after the session in which it was introduced. While the proclamation is currently available in 14 languages and will soon be available through the Gospel Libery app is many other languages, I wanted to share a link to the English text thereof, as it was read by President Nelson.

It is a wonderfully inspirational document, and I hope we will all take time to review it repeatedly over the next little while. In the meantime, barring anything very unexpected, I am anticipating that any number of new temples will be announced by President Nelson during his remarks that will conclude this bicentennial General Conference, and I will bring word of and analysis about that announcement ASAP after it it made. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Announces New Symbol For the Church; New Initiative

Hello again, everyone! During this Saturday Evening Session, President Nelson announced a new symbol for the Church and extended an invitation for all Church members to participate in another worldwide fast on Good Friday, April 10.  The Newsroom also provided some additional historical context  on times when the youth of the Church have participated in General Conference. I am grateful to have been able to bring word of these developments to you. It has indeed been a most unprecedented conference, and there will be more to come tomorrow for sure. 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: Solemn Assembly to Be Held During Sunday Morning Session

Hello again, everyone! Less than a few minutes into this April 2020 General Conference, Church President Russell M. Nelson made the first of many major announcements for this conference. He announced that a Solemn Assembly of the Church would be held during the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference tomorrow. While other elements of that Solemn Assembly are unknown as of yet, what we do know is that, at the conclusion of the session, President Nelson will lead the Church in the traditional Hosanna Shout, which has traditionally been offered at temple dedications, at the dedication of the Conference Center in 2000, and at the rededication of the Tabernacle on Temple Square. That in turn will be followed by the Tabernacle Choir (whose members are indeed providing prerecorded or archived music for each session), joined by the congregation, will sing "The Spirit of God." I'd just note here that I dos not know if the traditional Sustaining of Church Officers will be part of that session, or might occur in any of the other 3 general sessions. But we'll soon find out.

I am grateful for this opportunity to have shared this development with you. I continue to monitor the events of this General Conference weekend and will bring you all the latest reports as that information becomes available. 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.

Temple Construction Progress Review During the First Quarter of 2020

Hello again, everyone! As this last day of March comes to its' close, while I continue to welcome comments on my General Conference predictions for the next few days, as this first quarter of 2020 draws to its' conclusion, I am pleased to take this opportunity to look back on the progress which has been made on temples worldwide during this quarter. As per my usual tradition, I will be providing links to which any who clinck on them will have access to the full reports. What I'd like to present at this time is the report that I provided as 2020 began and the one that shows how that progress looks at this first quarter's end. 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 them. In the meantime, in addition to finalizing my predictions for this General Conference and covering any of the major developments and updates that are reported, I am also planning on posting my next apostolic milestone update at some point on Sunday April. 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.

My Pre-Conference Testimony

Hello again,, everyone! This post is being published with two purposes in mind. First of all, since not a lot of new comments have come in on the latest edition of my April 2020 General Conference predictions, I have gone back in the history of this blog to when comments had been made on the most recent version of this list, and based on that, I have made some additional last-minue adjustments to the locations for which I have felt a temple might be announced. The open commenting period on those predictions in general, and on the list of potential temple candidates in particular, remains open between now and 10:00 PM on the night of Thursday April 2, so as to give me the following 36 hours to make any further adjustments that may be necessary prior to General Conference weekend. The other reason I wanted to post again here and now is to share my testimony in advance of the upcoming General Conference. I have always had a high degree of excitement relating to General Conference, and that excitement has only been heightened in recent years as I have had the opportunity on this blog to share my thoughts about things that might happen during each General Conference weekend. But the excitement in the air for General Conference this go-round is primarily significant because it will be the first General Conference held solely by technology and in the midst of a global pandemic that is having such wide-spread impact on the day-to-day operations of the Church, and on the ability of our current leaders to minister in a usual way.

For many of us, the current massive degree of coverage on the COVID-19 crisis, including the developments detailed by the Church as found in the Church News and through the official Newsroom may be cause for concern, worry, stress, and anxiety, especially in cases where (as has periodically been the case) the media outlets outside the Church sensationalize or promote fearmongering and mass hysteria. But with the Church reports striking a far more positive tone, and with President Nelson's two-fold encouragement through a recent video and Ensign article, the current cirucmstances, while still stressful, weighty, and devastating, can be given a proper context.

In his "Standard of Truth" statement, the Prophet Joseph Smith noted that 'no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing." The reverse is also absolutely true, that no unhallowed hand can or will help to move the work forward. The current situation., continuing as it is in this week before General Conference, is cause for concern. But as we do our best to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, and to strive to stay positive and importune the Lord for His blessings to be bestowed upon us, we will be witnesses to and recipients of the miracles that we need at this time.

And with the upcoming General Conference proceeding as scheduled, originating from a small auditorium on Temple Square, and featuring prerecorded music and only those who are speaking or praying in each session being in attendance, it will be a slightly different experience, above and beyond what President Nelson noted in his admonition to us last October to prepare for it. We can take comfort in knowing at this time that the Lord's promise to "hasten [His] work in its' time" remains in force, and that we have the promise of angels round abou us to bear us up on both sides of the veil. As we continue to press forward in faith, the Lord will not only bless and sanctify us in our daily lives, but His blessings will be poured out in abundance upon us and upon all those who will particpate in the upcoming General Conference.

With that in mind, I'd encourage all of us, to the extent that we can, to take time within the next few days to consider what our biggest concerns, worries, and questions might be, to take those to the Lord in prayer, to petition Him that we will find answers in the upcoming General Conference, and to listen, record, and follow the promptings we will receive about what we heard (which may not be the same as what was actually said or taught). If we follow that process and engage ourselves in it more fully, the Lord will bless us to get more out of this General Conference than we would otherwise have been able to do so. Moreover, He will also confirm to us in our minds and in our hearts by this method that anything that is announced or taught is in harmony with His will for His Church at this time. We are blessed during this period of time to have the upcoming opportunity to listen to the teachings of those the Lord has called, appointed, ordained, and set apart to lead His people in the ways in which He would have them go, and to tell us what we need to hear (which may not necessarily be equivalent to what we want to hear). The Lord wants to speak to us through the events, announcements, teachings, and testimonies that will be offered next weekend. Will we hear His voice? Will we accept and follow His counsel? Will we take this opportunity to do and to become better? It is my hope and prayer that we will do so, and my testimony that He is mindful of our needs and troubles, and will speak peace to us thereby, and I share that witness with you all here in the sacred and holy name of Him whose Church this is, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Columbus Ohio Temple Will Close for Renovation

Hello again, everyone! In the midst of the wide-spread COVID-19 crisis that has temporarily closed all temples, the temple construction program of the Church continues to make strides. One such development was nanounced today by the First Presidency. Regardless of when it reopens following the COVID-19 crisis,  a renovation process will begin on the Columbus Ohio Temple on Saturday August 15, 2020, and is anticipated to reopen in late 2022. The temple, which was originally dedicated by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in early September 1999, will likely be given a similar exterior overhaul that was done to the Memphis Tennessee, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Raleigh North Carolina, and Baton Rouge Louisiana Temples, and thus have its' square footage increased from its' current 10,700 square feet to 10,890 square feet. But that will be subject to confirmation or denial by the First Presidency.

Either way, this announcement means that temple will be removed from my list of those that could be renovated, since the renovation announcement is now official. And based on this announcement, I am assuming that the Columbus Ohio may be the first of a few other temples for which a full--scale renovation closure may be announced. I will keep my eyes opnn for all such updates and will be sure to pass those along to you all as I become aware of such news.

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: All Operating Temples Will Temporarily Close at Midnight Tonight

Hello again, everyone! Breaking news has just been shared through another official letter from the First Presidency. Effective at the thime of their closures tonight, all temples of the Church worldwide will temporarily close in continued response to COVID-19.  After a couple of temples were impacted by the attandance of one or more patrons who had COVID-19, this is the next logical step in the Church's ongoing COVID-19 response. The letter notes that this is a temporary and precautionary measure, and that the First Presidency is looking forward to the day when all temples can resume normal hours. This supercedes anything which has previously been noted on this blog about temple closures. With all temples now closing for the time being, more time and attention can be devoted to other worthy pursuits, particularly indexing and more fully preparing for the upcoming April 2020 General Conference, which, insofar as I am aware, still scheduled to go forward as planned with the arrangements most-recently announced. It was wonderful to hear the hope conveyed in the letter, and I am grateful that the First Presidency is willing to take this next step to help protect the Saints and citizens of the world during this continuing COVID-19 crisis.

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.

Third Edition: April 2020 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! Far later than I had anticipated, I wanted to publish here the latest fully-annotated edition of my predictions for the April 2020 General Conference. The content and notes largely speak for themselves, and anyone with the link should be able to view them. The open commenting period, which began with the first posted version of these predictions, remains in effect for the next three weeks.,at which point I will take the 36 hours between that time and Saturday morning of General Conference to do any fine-tuning or make any adjustments. As usual for an April General Conference, the predicsions are split into four sub-categories, the speaking order predictions, the possible changes in general Church leadership, the statistical report (for which the numbers are estimated), and potential locations in which a new temple may be announced. And it is in that latter section that I'll really need good feedback. There are several nations or states where I could not narrow the likely prospects down to the top one for each. So if any of you have any insight that helps me thin out the proverbial herd, I'd appreciate it.

Other than these notes, the rest speaks for itself. That does it for now. I look forward to your feedback, any or all of which is always welcome and appreciated, as long as it is offered 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: Additional Ajdustments Announced for the April 2020 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! In light of additional recommendations which have been made due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the First Presidency has just announced by letter that there will be another format change to the April 2020 General Conference. Rather than broadcasting from the Conference Center, each session will originate from a small auditorium on Temple Square. The First Presidency will preside at and conduct each session, but aside from the First Presidency, only those invited to speak or pray during in each session will physically attend. All conference music has been prerecorded. I believe this is a common-sense adjustment based on the changing recommendations. And given that the conference will be carried by technology, any Church leaders who would have ordinarly attended all sessions can catch the sessions in the same way the rest of us will. I had a feeling that an adjustment like this would be coming down the pike, and I believe it is a wise strateegy. No word on where the sessions are specifically going to originate from, but perhaps that will be in the Conference Center theater. And this is another precaution that can ensure the conference will go ahead as scheduled. When I had mentioned this prospect previously, I had thought only those speaking or praying would attend, but it makes sense that the First Presidency will be the only leaders attending all sessions. That's a doctrinally-mandated provision. And as a former physician and surgeon, I am sure President Nelson has been very sure that he and his counselors observe best practices to keep themselves healthy enough for this conference.

The format and location may be different, and it will be a slightly unusual scenario, but these are slightly unsusual times. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will pas 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.