BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location Confirmed, Exterior Rendering Released, and Groundbreaking Announced for Freetown Sierra Leone Temple

Hello again, eveyone! This morning, the Church has confirrm the location of, releaseed the exterior rnedering of, and set the groundbtreaking for the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple. That temple was one of the eight announced by President Nrlson during thr October 3019 Women's Session of General Conference. Before we get to the details here, I wanted to note that, aside from this first temple in Sierra Leone, groundbreakings have already takn place for 6 of the other 7 temples announced at that time. 

Those 6 are Orem Utah, Bentonville Arkansas, Bacolod Philippines, McAllen Texas, Coban Guatemala, and Taylorsville Utah. The remaining temple, Prot Moresby Papua New Guinea, has had a site location confirmed and an extieror rendering released and is awaiting a groundbreaking announcement, so official informtion for all eight temples announced in October 2019 has been confirmed.

We now turn to offivial information released today about the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple. The temple will be built at Jui Road, Kossah Town, Freetown, Sierra Leone on a 2.9 acre site. The temple project will include a two-story ancillary facility that has apartments for the templr presidency members and the orfinance workers, houing for temple patrons, utility buildings, and an arrival center. The temple proper will be an 18,000 square foot single-story ediface.

As far as the groundbreaking is concerned, Elder Hugo E. Martinez, President of thr Africa West Area, will presside therat on Saturday March 19. Barring any unexpected developments, I anticipate that will be the first temple groundbreaking to be held in 2022, but I beliece it will be the first of a double-digit number of temple groundbreakings in 2022.

I am monitoring all such updates and maor Church news updates, and will bring word of those to you all as I receive it. 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.

A Word About the Descendants of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to do a new post now to share some thoughts about the direct descendants of Joseph and Hytum Smith, It has been common for the Quorum of the Twelce Apostles to have at least one descendant of those brothers in the Quorum of the Twelce Apostles. In the 1900s, 4 apostles had direct connections to the Smith family line. Joseph F. Smith was the son of Hyrum Smith, and two of his sons, Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith. 

So for a time, there were 3 direct descendants of the Smith brothers serving rogether in the apostleship. Both Joseph F. and Joseph Fielding subsequently served as the respective sixth and tenth presidents of the Church. While Joseph Fielding Smith was serving as Church President, he promised his son-in-law, Elder Bruce R. McConkie (in a cconversation that took place in the early 1970s) that he (President Smith) would call him (Elder McConkie) to the apostleship when the next apostolic vacancy occurred. 

As it happened, President Smith himself was the next apostle to pass awdenay. Subsequently, President Harold B. Lee, as the new Church President, ascertained the validity of that account from Elder McConkie himself, and he (President Lee) chose to honor his predecessor's promise. In 1985, following the death of Elder McConkie, Elder M. Russell Ballard, a descendant of the Smith line through his mother, Geraldine (another daughter of Joseph Fielding Smith), was called to the apostleship. 

Although I hope it will be several more years before the next apostle passes away, I've come to the conclusion that either President Eyring or President Ballard may be the next apostle to pass away. While I know speculation is discouraged by the Church on many matters, if and when President Ballard passes away, i thought it might be worthwhile to be aware of the possibilities for the next Smith line descendants who could be called. 

Right now, I see 3 possibilities as most likely. They are President Ballard's oldest son, Craig B. Ballard (born in 1970), Peter M. Huntsman (President Ballard's son-in-law, born in 1963), or the one other known Smith descedant serving as a general leader of the Church, Brother Jan E. Newman (rn in April of 1960), Second Counselor in the current Sunday School General Presidency. Of the three, since I don't think the Church would want to be accused of nepotism, Brother Newman seems most likely to be called.

If Brother Newman does wind up being called to succeed President Ballard, in between now and whenever that occurs, he could be called full-time as a GA Seventy in the coming years, or could shift to an apostolic assignment from his current role. Again, I hope that all of our current apostles will serve together for a while yet, and I will sustain any new apostles going forward as fully as I sustain our current ones. Bur I hope this overview of the Smith famly line and apostolic descedants is helpful.

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 TEMPLE NEWS: Church Continues Cautiously-Coordinated Plan to Reopen Temples

Hello again, everyone! Another week has come and gone, and it is time once again to discuss the latest temple reopening adjustments from the Church. As always, the latest information can be found in the official release from the Newsroom, the Church News overview of those changes, and the temple reopening status tracker.

This week's updates note that the Mesa Arizona Temple, which was rededicated on Sunday, will reopen in phase 3 as early as December 21. Additionally, rhe Suva Fiji Temple, which was paused in its' rreopening since May of this year, will unpause but also will revert back to phase 1, only allowing living sealings of a previously-enodwed husband-and-wife. That temple joins the San Jose Costa Rica Temple in phase 1.

And the Sydney Australia Temple, which "paused" in its' reopening from mid-July until now will reopen to phase 3, allowing all living ordinances in priority order, and all other ordinances for the dead on a limited scale by appointment only.

As a result of these updates, the status of temples will stand as follows on Tuesday December 21: 8 temples are closed for renovation, with 1 more closed for what the Newsroom terms a "renovation" but for what the Church News calls "extended maintenance". I defer to the Newsroom's terminology because the Church's official page for Medford terms the current closure as a "renovation". 

Aside from Medford, the other 8 have all been granted phase 3 designations. No temples are currenrly "paused in their reopenings, and none are in phase 2 either. There is 1 temple in phase 1, 5 others operating in phase 2-B, and the remaining 155 temples are in phase 3. As I've noted in just about every temple reopening update in the last several weeks, I am grateful for the carefully-planned cautiously-coordinated reopening of temples around the world, and for the revelatory process that drives those announcements every week. 

Although no temples anywhere have reached phase 4 (a return to full normal operations), it is wonderful the Church has been prudent and wise in the announcements of changes each week. Having noted all of that, it's also worth noting that the newest strain of COVID-19 popping up in various world areas may, in subsequent weeks, lead to other temples being "paused" in their reopenings. I will be sure to watch for any such updates and will pass them along to you all as I become aware thereof. 

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 Will Deliver a Christmas Message on Thursday

Hello agsin, rveyone! This morning, prior to reporting the latest temple reopenings, the Churvh News shared another announcement: Church President Russell M. Nelson will deliver a Christmas message to the world on social media channels, similar to thr message he gave on gratitude in November of last year. I imagine the message was inspired in the same way that the earlier message came to be given: specific inspiration about the length and content of the address was given to President Nelson in his late night patterns.

The message will be published to those channels on December 16 ar 8:00 AM MST. I am grateful to have seen and been able to pass along this news. I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word thereof as I learn about 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: "Inspired Modifications" Extend Salt Lake Temple Renovation Timeframe

Hello again, everyone! As announced by the Newsroom, and detailed further in two updates from the  Church News, the First Presidency announced today that the modified renovation plans announced in March of this year (to which the previously-announced permanent closure of the Salt Lake cafeteria, among others, was added as a detail last month) will extend the length of time needed for that renovation's completion. That completion winfow has shifted from sometime in 2024 to sometime in 2025. 

I had previously shared my opinion that the additional plans would probably delay the completion of that process until late 2024 or early 2025, so today's announcement constitues both a justification for my rationale for pushing that window back the way I did, while also serving as an official correction to the previously-offered estimate on my part. I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure to pass on that information as it crosses my radar.

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: Church Creates New Mission in Rwanda

Hello again, everyone! One week ago, the Church announced a new mission, Hawaii Laie, that will be effective next month. I had thought that might be the only new mission created  in 2022, but that is not correct. A few minutes ago, the Church announced the creation of the Rwanda Kigali Mission, which will go into effect on July 1, 2022 as the 409th mission worldwide. The mission comes as a division of 3 other missions: Uganfa Kampala, Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa East, and Democratic Republic of the Congo Lubumbashi Mission.

The news release also notes that the new president of this mission will be announced in Januaey 2022, along wirh all other new mission assignments for 2022. I am grateful to have been able to share this news with you all. I continue to monitor all such updates, including those relating to general Church news and temple announcements, and will bring word thereof to you here as I become aware theof.

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 TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed and Renderings Released for the Cape Town South Africa and Queretaro Mexico Temples

Hello again, everyone! A short while afo, rhe Church released the site locarions and renderings for two more temples announced in April of this year: Cape Town South Africa and Queretaro Mexico. Let's break down the details. The Cape Town South Africa Temple is set to include a meetinghouse and arrival center in addition to the single-story 9,500 xquare foot temple. The buildings will rise on a 3.79 acre site at 3 Liesbeek Road, Observation, Cape Town.

Meanwhile, the Queretaro Mexico Temple will be a two-story edifice roughly planned to be 27,500 sqare feet in area. The site for that temple will be the 3.5 acre lot at Prolongación Tecnológico Norte 150 Col San Pablo, Querétaro, Querétaro, CP 76130 Mexico. With this indormation in mind, here is an updated look at the staus of the 51 currently announced temples in the context of how many have not had official information confirmed.

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 TEMPLE NEWS: Church Announces Latest Phase Changes for Temples

Hello again, everyone! Another week has come and gone, and it is time once again to discuss the latest temple reopening adjustments from the Church. As always, the latest information can be found in the official release from the Newsroom and the temple reopening status tracker. Following a one-week hiatus, the the Church Newshas resumed sharing the same updates detailed in the Newsroom on a weekly basis.

This week's only update notes that the Montevideo Uruguay Temple is moving to phase 2-B, allowing all living ordinances and proxy baptisms for the dead. 164 of the Church's 170 temples (96.5%) are now in phase 3, and all but 1 of the Church's 170 temples are now offering proxy work in some form (phases 2-B or 3; that means 99.4% of all temples are offering some proxy work).

As a result of this update, the status of temples now stands as follows: 10 temples are now closed for renovation, 9 of which have been given phase 3 designations. 2 other temples that had reached phase 3 remain "paused" in their reopenings. There is 1 temple in phase 1 and none in phase 2, with 5 others operating in phase 2-B, and the remaining 153 temples are in phase 3.

As I've noted in just about every temple reopening update in the last several weeks, I am grateful for the carefully-planned cautiously-coordinated reopening of temples around the world, and for the revelatory process that drives those announcements every week. Although no temples anywhere have reached phase 4 (a return to full normal operations), it is wonderful the Church has been prudent and wise in the announcements of changes each week. 

Having noted all of that, it's also worth noting that the newest strain of COVID-19 popping up in various world areas may, in subsequent weeks, lead to other temples being "paused" in their reopenings. I will be sure to watch for any such updates and will pass them along to you all as I become aware thereof. 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: First Presidency's Christmas Devotional Speakers Announced in Advance for the First Time

Hello again, everyone! For the first time in the 8 years since the format changed, the speaking lineup for Sunday's First Presidency's Christmas Devotional has been officially confirmed in advance. Speakers will include President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. I will cover that devotional in some way on Sunday. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

BREAKING NEWS: Hawaii Laie Mission Created; First President and Companion Called

Hello again, everyone! The Church made an unexpected annnouncement today. Rather than waiting for the typical time period (July), the Church has announced a new misswion, the Hawaii Laie Mission, which will become operational as the Church's 408th mission next month. Those details were also confirmed in the Church News, which also announced the first president and companion for that mission. Let's break down the details here.

As mentioned, the creation of the mission goes into effect next month, with the president and companion also beginning their service at that time. Missionaries in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission were advised that the mission would split just yesterday, marking another lightning fast move for the Church. The new mission includes the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitor's Center, the 3 young single adult stakes closest to the campus of BYU-Hawaii, and the Church's two outlier stakes in the nearby island of Oahu. The other stakes in Oahu and all other Hawaiian Islands.

The mission will allow closer contact with mission leaders for those serving at the Visitor's Center at the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and BYU-Hawaii. Steven J. Bassett, currently a ward Young Men's specialist, formerly served in a stake presidency, after having formerly served as a stake presidency counselor and in a couple of bishoprics. Sister Stephanie R. Bassett is a current ward missionary. Both have a long legacy of Church service to their credits. I am grateful for the unexpected development and testify that the creation of this mission was brought about by inspiration from the Lord, espeially regarding the timing of the creation of this mmission. I continue to monitor all Church News updates and temple developments and will bring you word thereof as those developments cross my radar.

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.