BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Exterior Rendering Released for the Mendoza Argentina Temple

Note: This post was originally published to this blog at 10:41 AM, and was updated between 4:20 and 5:20 PM.

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency today released the exterior rendering for the Mendoza Argentina Temple. The Church also specified the site location. When originally reading this announcement, it appeared to me as though the confirmed location was different from the one that had been speculated. But as a result of a more careful reading of the release, the site location was confirmed for the speculated spot, which will be between Calle Dr. Pose and Calle Dr. Coni E, along Avenida Champagnat. The temple appears to be a single-story edifice. It will be around 21,000 square feet, and accompanied by an adjacent meetinghouse. At present, a groundbreaking date has not yet been established, with project leaders working through the approvals process in the coming months. But it could be possible that this temple might have a groundbreaking before the end of this year. The announcement of the rendering and site information for the Mendoza Argentina Temple comes just 18 days after the early Jun announcement of the site location, rendering, and groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple. And it is the latest in an unprecedented period of announced temple developments. If, as anticipated, this temple has a groundbreaking later this year, it will mark the first time ever that two new temples will be under construction at the same time in Argentina. And a groundbreaking for this temple will also mark the first time since 2018 that more than two temples are under construction in South America. I do not include Brazil in that definition, since Brazil comprises a separate area of the Church. This announcement also comes in the midst of unprecedented temple developments being reported throughout Latin America (which, by definition, includes Brazil and Mexico, in addition to the rest of Central and South America). As I observed in reply to a comment made by longtime reader Eric S. this morning about this announcement, just when I think I have the likely sequence of temple events for the next 12-18 months sorted out, an announcement like this changes the game again. Based on these most recent announcements, I have adjusted a few of my files again. I will include links to each of those files, along with brief explanations of what the files are, along with any needed additional context.

First, I have updated certain sections of my temple construction progress report. Some iinformation about the numbering used may be helpful. Firstly, with the groundbreakings having been held earlier this year for the Richmond Virginia, Layton Utah, Alabang Philippines, and Auckland New Zealand Temples, those temples are ahead of any temple in this first document. Based on current projections, the Richomond Virginia Temple will either be the last dedicated in 2022 or one of the first to be dedicated in 2023, with the dedication for Layton happening next. Barring any massive delays, Auckland New Zealand may be the next to be completed. I'd anticipate the Feather River California, Alabang Philippines, and Salta Argentina Temples to be completed next, though the three may change places with each other. I'd next conjecture that the Bangkok Thailand Temple would be dedicated, unless full-scale efforts soon begin on either or both the Puebla Mexico and Lima Peru Los Olivos Temples, for which the compleion is hard to gauge while full-scale efforts are pending. With that in mind, hopefully the numbering for the temples in the first couple of sections of the first document makes more sense.

And of course, it goes without saying that the timing of completion of temples which are now or will soon be under construction is up to the Lord, so any thoughts offered in the remainder of that first document are no more and no less than my own personal observations and theories, based on what is currently known or unknown about those temples, and all such information is subject to change as more information comes to light.

BREAKING NEWS: All Stake Conferences Cancelled Through November 1, 2020

Hello again, everyone! One of the key duities of menmbers of the Quorum of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and particularly for the most senior apostles not in the First Presidency is to set the schedule Churchwide for stake conferences. As shared earlier tonight through LDS Living, a letter from M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Church has canceled all stake conferences through November 1 of this year, with the situation to be reevaluated closer to that date. The letter also indicates that, as needed, the business which would ordinarily be conducted in stake conference can be handled through technological methods, and that, in some cases, when an exception is granted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,a stake confeerence can go forward if proper precautions are taken. I am grateful for the ongoing attention from all living apostles in the Church towards adapting in the midst of ever-changing situations due to COVID-19. I am similarly grateful to have reported this week on the hospitalization of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my best to bring you all word of those 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.

BREAKING NEWS: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Admitted to the Hospital

Hello again, everyone! I am still working on fleshing out my previous brief post about the rescheduling of the rededication for the Washington D.C. Temple, but additional breaking news has been shared by the Church. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is the youngest of the 3 apostles born in 1940, has been admitted to the hospital. Doctors tested Elder Holland for COVID-19, with a negative result. Other tests are being run at the present time. As I have previously mentioned, my family has a double connection to Elder Holland. My dad's dad was his home teaching companion at the time young Jeff was a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. And my mom worked for Elder Holland during his tenure as Commissioner of Church Education, during which time she was one of many freelance proofreaders assigned to work on Church materials.

The strange thing is that Elder Holland is younger than Presidents Nelson, Oaks, Ballard, and Eyring, as well as being younger than Elders Cook and Uchtdorf, so for him to be dealing with some unknown something that is taking a while to figure out is somewhat unusual. From the wording of the news release, it is unclear whether he is still hospitalized. But hopefully whatever's going on with him will be figured out soon. At this point in time, Elder Holland's condition is surely a worry for all, particularly his fellow apostles, and specifically President Nelson, who has been the longtime apostolic physician who has always been concerned about the health of his Brethren. So I'm sure any prayers we can send heavenward for Elder Holland would be the best way we can help in this situation. For myself, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will pass word of those along to you all as I learn about 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: Washington D.C. Temple Reopening Dates Postponed

Hello again, everyone! As many of you might recall, on February 27, 2020, the First Presidency originally announced that the open house for the Washington D.C. Temple would take place from September 24-October 31, with a youth devotional and rededication following on December 12 and 13, respectively. Then today, in an amendemnt to that announcement, it was noted that the open house and rededication for the Washington D.C. Temple are postponed until large public gatherings are deemed safe. This mirrors the previous postponement of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple open house and dedication. As I noted previously, the Church's hope was to rededicate this temple before the end of 2020. so as not to interfere with the events surrounding next year's planned inauguration for the US President (which is set to be held on January 20, 2021, as mandated by the US Constitution). But with the reopening of the DC Temple anticipated to generate widespread interest, the Church continues in its' efforts to ensure that, as an entity, they are good global citizens. So the precaution of postponement seems very appropos at this time. Based on this development, I don't see any scenario in which the rededication for this temple, the rededication for the Mesa Arizona Temple, or the dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple will be able to be held before the end of this year. Instead, I anticipate that all of these events will be pushed into 2021. And it could be that the rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple will be the first of those 3 events to be scheduled for after the first of the year. Although a delay for this event may be unsettling to some, I consider it a wise and prudent move on the Church's part. And as I said previously, smaller temples like Winnipeg, Yigo, Praia, and San Juan likely have a better chance of being completed and dedicated on the anticipated time-frames, while larger temples that will attract more interest may see the timing of their openings adjusted in response to COVID-19.

That being said, I do not see it as accidental but providential that, before COVID-19 shut things down, the prophet of the Church was inspired to take all living apostles will him to Rome for the dedication of Italy's first temple, and that most of the duties of dedicating or rededicating temples have been delegated to his fellow apostles. If a queue of new temples or temples being renovated does build up, the apostles can be sent by ones, twos, or threes to take care of any backlog. And in the interim, I don't anticipate COVID-19 having an impact on the Church's plans to break ground for a total of 18 temples this year. If anything, the timing for those groundbreakings and the conditions under which they are held, how many are in attendance, how the groundbreaking proceedings are dissemanated to the public, and so on. It seems to me that President Nelson, as a former practicing physician, is the best possible individual to be the prophet of the Church at the time of a global pandemic. An article from the Church News has provided additional context and information on this development.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to bring you all word of those developments 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.

1900th Post: BREAKING NEWS: 4 More Temples to Reopen Nexxt Week Under Phase 1; Several Church Historic Sites Renamed

Hello again, everyone! As hard as it is to believe, this post is my 1900th on this blog. For this milestone post, I am pleased to cover two breaking news developments, which have been reported by the Church today. Firstly, as of totday, the total number of temples open under phase 1 now rises to 89. This morning, the First Presidency announced that 4 more temples will reopen under phase 1 one week from today (June 22). That will bring the total number of temples open under phase 1 to 92. The 4 in question are the Apia Samoa, Brisbane Australia, Paris France, and Santo Domingo Dominican Republic. After several weeks of double-digit temples opening, it's nice to see the Church slowing down a bit. We are clearly not yet at a point anywhere in the world where opening any of the soon-to-be 92 temples under phase 2 is practical as of yet. I think it's wiser to take things more slowly and steadily than it would be to backtrack in that respect. So I appreciate the measured, principle-based approach.And for the second time in many of the last 6 Mondays or so, the temple reopenings do not constitute the only big news from the Church today, As also shared by the Church News, the nnames of several of the Church's historic sites have received minor name changes, With all Church sites still temporarily closed due to COVID-19, the following name changes go into effect: Brigham Young Winter Home will now be known as the Brigham Young Winter Home and Office. Historic Carthage Jail and Visitor's Center has been simpzlified to Cathage Jail. What was once known as Historic Cove Fort will now be known as Cove Fort. The Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site will now be known as the Grandin Building: Book of Mormon Publication Site. The Home of Jacob Hamblin will simply become the Hamblin Home.  Haun's Mill has been renamed Hawn's Mill to reflect the corrected spelling for the name of the owner of the property, Jacob Hawn. The Historic John Johnson Home lis renamed the Johnson Home. The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial is now Joseph Smith Birthplace. Historic Liberty Jail now becomes Liberty Jail. The Historic Isaac Morely Farm will be known as simply the Morley Farm. What has been known as the Joseph Smith Family Farm will be renamed the Sacred Grove, which is more descriptive of what the site honors. A similar adjustment better describes the Peter Whitmer Farm, which will now be known as the Whitmer Farm: Church Organization Site.

For the remaining sites on the lsit, the name adjustments require some context which I hope may be helpful. In the early days of the Church, with members of the Church known colloquially as "Mormons", during the pioneer treks that occurred in the mid-to-late 1800s and beyond, many sites prominent to the process of that trek used the name "Mormon", which became a common identifier to differentiate those landmarks from others more associated with the Oregon Trail or other US trails named after US pionners not so connected with the Church.