BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed for Jakarta Indonesia and Osaka Japan Temples; Exterior Rendering Released for Budapest Hungary Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency confirmed the site locations and preliminary details for the temples in Jakarta Indonesia and Osaka Japan, in addition to releasing an official exterior rendering for the Budapest Hungary Temple. Let's break down the relevant details: 

The Jakarta Indonesia Temple was announced by President Nelson in April 2023. A 1.33-acre site at Synthesis Square, Jalan Gatot, Subroto No. 177a, Tebet District, City of South Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta will be the spot where a four-story temple of approximately 40,350 square feet will rise. The fact that it is going to be built up rather than out is not surprising.

Meanwhile, the Osaka Japan Temple was just announced in October 2023. 3-50-1 Sugi, Hirakata City, Osaka, 573-0117 Japan has a 16.74-acre site on which the Church will build a single-story temple of approximately 29,630 square feet.

That brings us to the Budapest Hungary Temple rendering. With the temple announced in April 2019, the temple site was announced on October 9, 2023. With that temple set to be 18,000 square feet, the exterior rendering appears to be a nod to the modular-style temple without actually using the modular components. 

To my knowledge, this is not a modular temple, it just reminds me of the modular style. I will allow others with better insight into temple architecture and exterior renderings to share their insights about this exterior rendering. In the interim, on my end, I wanted to note that, with the site locations confirmed today, of the 95 currently announced temples, only 41 lack official information.

I was somewhat surprised that there were no temple groundbreakings announced today, but, as I said, if the Church is making sure to get the approvals process right and is being more careful about the integrity of the temples they're building, then if that means a slower pace of groundbreaking, I am not overly concerned we haven't seen groundbreakings announced today. 

I'm still holding out hope for at least one or two groundbreakings to be announced before the April 2024 General Conference. I am grateful for these updates and my chance to analyze them here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Renderings Released for Birmingham England, Lone Mountain Nevada, and McKinney Texas Temples; Site Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Vancouver Washington Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency announced the next major temple construction updates today. The exterior renderings have been released for the Birmingham England, Lone Mountain Nevada, and McKinney Texas Temples, and the site location and preliminary information have been confirmed for the Vancouver Washington Temple. Let's break down the details:

While I will let others more qualified than myself share their observations on the exterior renderings in question, I did want to note some general observations about them on my end. The Birmingham England Temple was announced in April 2022, with its' site location and preliminary information released in December 2023. 

The Lone Mountain Nevada and McKinney Texas Temples were both announced in October 2022; the site location and preliminary information for Lone Mountain were released two months later, while the site location and preliminary information for McKinney were confirmed in December 2023. The release of these renderings now gives me hope that groundbreakings for each of these temples might soon follow.

That brings us to the Vancouver Washington Temple. Announced in October of last year, the temple will rise on a 15.11-acre site located at the Northwest corner of SE 20th Street and SE Bybee Road intersection, Vancouver (Camas), Washington. Plans call for a multi-story temple of approximately 43,000 square feet.

Today's update on the Vancouver Washington Temple means that, of the 95 currently announced temples, 43 have not yet had any official information confirmed. That means that 52 have had sites confirmed, 2 of which have also had groundbreakings scheduled. I think that, because we have had so many exterior renderings released just since the beginning of this year, the Church may be queuing up a bunch of temples for groundbreakings.

I am not concerned at this point about any "backlog" of temples that have not yet moved to have a groundbreaking. As I've previously mentioned, my preference would be for the Church to take extra time procuring approvals rather than rushing through that process and running into complications getting those temples to a groundbreaking and on to construction.

While I was incorrect about any groundbreakings being set today, I'm glad I was correct in my theory that more exterorior renderings and site confirmations would occur. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Datta

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, January 7, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents, in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency joining that list for the first time), in addition to the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), and an overview of when each of those current groups will move up on the list.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 3 of the current 15 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list. With these updates coming every 7 weeks, the next update will be posted here on the morning of Sunday, April 14.

Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to ask anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Provo Utah Temple Renamed; Exterior Rendering Released and Groundbreaking Set for Teton River Idaho Temple; Site Location and Initial Details Confirmed for the Jacksonville Florida Temple

Hello again, everyone! As anticipated, because yesterday was Presidents' Day in the United States, today, the First Presidency made their weekly major temple announcements. Included this week are a rename for the Provo Utah Temple, the exterior rendering released and groundbreaking set for the Teton River Idaho Temple, and the site location and preliminary information released for the Jacksonville Florida Temple. There's a lot to get into here, so let's dive right in:

The Provo Utah Temple, which will close for renovation on Saturday, will now be known as the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple. The release states: "The Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple will be built to current seismic codes and have reconfigured rooms and energy-efficient electrical, heating, and plumbing systems." And of course, there is also the redesign, which will see its' exterior changed to match its' sister temple in Orem. It occurred to me to wonder if this name change may be in advance of a potential third temple coming to the Provo area. But the Rock Canyon name makes sense. I am grateful for this news.

We now move on to the Teton River Idaho Temple groundbreaking. As mentioned, it will be one of the largest in the Church. I heard a rumor through the Church Growth Blog that this announcement was forthcoming, so it's nice to have that confirmed. The rendering reminds me of other temples of a similar size. I will defer to any of you who would like to comment more on the exterior rendering of this temple. In the meantime, the groundbreaking for this temple has been set to occur on Saturday, June 1, with Elder Ricardo P. Gimenez presiding.

I think we will likely see other groundbreakings take place between the March 9 groundbreaking of the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple and the June 1 groundbreaking for the Teton River Idaho Temple as announced today. As to which temples might have a groundbreaking between now and then, that's not for me to say. But the good news is that I think other groundbreakings will be announced between today and General Conference weekend, so I look forward to seeing what happens there.

We now move on to the site location and preliminary information for the Jacksonville Florida Temple, which was originally announced in October 2022. A 6.6-acre site located at 3323 Loretto Road, Jacksonville, Florida, will be the home to a single-story, 29,000-square-foot edifice. There are now only 44 announced temples that have not had any official information confirmed yet.

The Provo Utah Temple being renamed took me by complete surprise, as did the release of information about the Jacksonville Flordia Temple. As I noted earlier, I had anticipated the groundbreaking would soon be announced for the Teton River Idaho Temple, and the fact that it will be a larger temple means it makes perfect sense that a groundbreaking announced for it now will only take place in early June.

I am grateful for all of this news and the opportunity to pass it along. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

The "Aging Church Leadership": In Response to Gordon Monson's Recent Articles in the Salt Lake Tribune

Hello again, everyone! I hope it is apparent to all who visit this blog, from the longtime readers to the followers to the newest reader discovering this blog for the first time, that I am unapologetically and fiercely loyal to the Church and to any and all of those within the Church that the Lord has called to be His prophets, seers, and revelators. Because "it must needs be there is an opposition in all things", the Church is not short on critics and naysayers, many of whom appear to believe they know better than the Lord and His chosen mouthpieces. 

Some of those individuals, however well-meaning they may be, often offer their opinions without considering the Lord's perspective on the subject at hand. Some treat our prophets and apostles as if they were no more than independent agents, making and unmaking decisions, policies, and even doctrine at their own pleasure, as a result of which such observers "fall short of the mark" and miss the big picture. 

Numerous times on this blog, I have addressed the fallacy of the philosophy advanced by many that, in a similar way to the Church granting emeritus status to GA Seventies at the age of 70, there should be a system whereby apostles, whether all apostles or those who are particularly aged, infirm, or in ill health, should be granted emeritus status and relieved of active duty.  Some have gone further to suggest the cutoff should be 80 or 90. 

The suggestion of an emeritus status for apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not new, and has been repeatedly made by numerous individuals. Most recently, Gordon Monson, a writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, addressed both that idea (treating it as if it were a new concept) and the backlash directed towards him as a result.

There are some offshoots of the Church that either grant emeritus status to prophets and apostles or call and release them based on earthly considerations, and the general result is either an uncertain period in which there is no clear leader of the Church, or where extended periods pass without someone in the top leadership role. For example, the Community of Christ recently named its first female prophet-president, but it won't be until next year that a sustaining vote will ratify that change, meaning that there will be no top leader in that denomination for another year.

By contrast, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates under a system that ensures a continuous line of succession. The senior apostle is always the President of the Church, and he is always succeeded by the apostle immediately junior to him at the time of his passing. Though the process of setting apart the new senior apostle as the prophet, seer, revelator, and President of the Church may not be that immediate, the Church is never without an earthly head. Joseph Smith said to the Twelve: "Where I [meaning the President of the Church] am not, there is no First Presidency over the Twelve."

Apostolic calls are, by nature, for life, except in the rare case of excommunication. In a Church that believes and depends on continuing revelation, the lifetime calls afford the Church stability, constancy, consistency, and a clear method of succession. The Lord has reminded us: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Because the idea of granting emeritus status to apostles and prophets in the Lord's Church is not new, the Church has taken several steps to address it. President Gordon B. Hinckley, on 60 Minutes, talked about how wonderful it is to have a man of maturity at the head who will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine. The wisdom in having older Church leaders is clearly apparent and should go without saying. 

I have personally found the final addresses of each apostle and prophet of the Church to be among their most significant, powerful, and impactful messages ever. We would miss out on those sage final words of counsel if there was some arbitrary, man-made limit to the length or duration of their service. It appears that the Church is not unaware of the criticism about the age of the Brethren. Then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland tackled that subject head-on with a powerful essay just last year.

By mortal reasoning and measures, at least on the surface, the suggestion of Gordon Monson and others might make sense if we were talking about any earthly or man-made entity or organization. But in the Lord's Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, He is the one who has set the conditions under which the prophetic mantle passes from one man to another. He stands at the head of His Church. And He and He alone governs who serves as prophet when, for how long, and who succeeds each of His chosen servants.

The Lord's house is a house of order. However well-intended the suggestions of emeritus status for His prophets, seers and revelators might be, that is not the Lord's way and never will be. 2 days following his appointment as the prophet of the Lord's Church, President Nelson pledged to "serve Him and [the members of the Church] for every remaining breath of [his] life." His fellow apostles have taken similar pledges. The devoted service of these Brethren is both wonderful and humbling to behold.

There is constancy amid an ever-changing world in the voice, message, service, and good works of all those we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators. We are blessed by the global voice of the prophets and apostles. We are blessed to receive their counsel and feel their love. As the Lord has promised, "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." The Lord appoints and releases His servants according to His wisdom and plan for each of them, and because it is a divinely-inspired system, no mortal ideas will ever have power or hold sway to change that.

Of these truths, I bear my fervent, sure, and certain witness in humility and gratitude for the opportunity to do so in the sacred name of Him who divinely inspires and directs it all, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Casper Wyoming Temple; Orlando Florida Temple to Close for Renovation; Revised Rededication Arrangements Announced for the Manti Utah Temple; Exterior Renderings Released for the Natal and Teresina Brazil Temples

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has announced the next major temple construction updates, which affect 5 total temples: opening arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple; a renovation closure for the Orlando Florida Temple; revised rededication arrangements for the Manti Utah Temple; and exterior renderings for the Natal Brazil and Teresina Brazil Temples. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's get right into it.

We start with the opening arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple. As a bit of a preface, I should note that I am somewhat surprised by the timing involved here, as it's much later than I anticipated. A media day will take place on Monday, August 26, 2024. The article doesn't mention any VIP tours, but since the open house only begins on Thursday, August 29, I am assuming VIP tours will take place on Tuesday-Wednesday, August 27-28.

The open house will run through Saturday, September 14 (excluding the relevant Sundays), and the temple dedication will take place just under one month later on Sunday, October 13, 2024, in two sessions to be held at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM MDT, with Elder Quentin L. Cook presiding thereover. Since Elder Cook does not have any connections to the Wyoming area (at least insofar as I am aware), my assumption is that he has apostolic oversight for the North America Central Area of the Church. 

I am not sure why that temple's dedication is not going to occur for another 8 months, as I had anticipated it could occur before the end of June. But I assume the Brethren know something I don't about the situation in Casper and have planned accordingly. It's probably a given, but we are likely to see the dedication of several other temples before the October dedication of the Casper temple.

We move on now to the Orlando Florida Temple renovation closure. The temple will close in July 2024 for extensive renovations, which are not described in detail. The First Presidency will announce the anticipated completion date of those renovations at a later time, and the eventual open house and rededication arrangements closer to the time when the renovation process is complete.

Moving along to the Manti Utah Temple, its' opening arrangements were originially announced on November 20 of last year, at which time the First Presidency indicated that more specific details would be announced at a later date. While the rededication date remains unchanged, and while there is still no word on who will preside over that temple's rededication, the First Presidency announced that the temple would be rededicated in a single session to be held at 5:00 PM MDT on April 21 and that Church meetings for all units in that temple district would still be held on that day.

And that brings us to the Natal and Teresina Brazil Temple renderings. While I will let others more qualified than I provide analysis on any architectural or exterior design elements, I will note that both temples were originally announced by President Nelson during the April 2023 General Conference, and both of them had their site locations confirmed less than 5 months later on August 28, 2023. I would also like to note that I am very appreciative that we got a groundbreaking announcement last week and more exterior renderings this week.

I see in these announcements that the First Presidency is releasing renderings as they can to enable the settings of groundbreakings at later dates. I fully believe other groundbreakings are coming. In fact, with the opening arrangements confirmed for the Casper Wyoming Temple today, and with no other dedication announcements likely for at least a month or two, that will allow the First Presidency to focus on site approvals and confirmations, exterior renderings, and groundbreakings. 

So I'm looking forward to such announcements in the coming weeks. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.  

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband Observes His 73rd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! Elder Ronald A. Rasband is observing his 73rd birthday tody. Ronald Anderson Rasband was born 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. Sometime following his honorable return from his mission, he met Melanie Twitchell in a class they both attended at BYU. At the time, both of them were dating other people, but they soon made arrangements to go on a date themselves, and once they started dating, that was it for both of them. They got engaged eight weeks later, were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1973, and went on to raise their five children.

Following their marriage, they continued their studies at the University of Utah. He later discontinued his college experience in order to begin 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 of that company. It was not until 1995 that, in tribute to his success as a businessman, he received an honorary degree in business and commerce from Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University).

As prestigious as his professional career might have been, his life, in similarity to those of his fellow apostles, has been characterized by a variety of assignments in the Church. Elder Rasband has served as a bishop, Temple Square missionary guide, member of the Church’s Sesquicentennial Committee, and, from 1996-1999, as president of 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. Over the next 5 years, he served in the Europe North and Europe Central Areas from 2000-2003. Those areas were later consolidated into a single Europe Area before subsequently splitting agin in August of last year. From 2003-2004, Elder Rasband presided over the Utah Salt Lake City Area. In August 2004, responsibility for oversight of the work of the Church in North America was transferred to the Presidency of the Seventy (with oversight for the US and Canada subsequently being delegated back to area presidencies in August 2018).

He then served from 2004-2005 as Executive Director of the Temple Department. He was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, at which time he was assigned oversight for the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. Two years later, his assignment shifted to supervising the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South Areas (from 2007-2009).

With the April 2008 call of Elder D. Todd Christofferson to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 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 became 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 same assignment 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 seventh in seniority among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the tenth in overall apostolic seniority. He also ranks as the fifth oldest among the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve, and the eighth oldest among all 15 apostles.

As I’ve noted previously, I have an indirect personal connection to Elder Rasband. When my wife was initially involved in the institute program, Elder Rasband was one of her instructors. As a result of the three apostolic vacancies in 2015, my wife was one of many who felt Elder Rasband would be called to the apostleship to fill one of those, and she (and others who felt the same way) turned out to be right.

I will never forget praying in advance of the October 2015 General Conference for my own personal witness to know that whoever was called had indeed been chosen by the Lord. The moment President Eyring read the names of the three new apostles, I received the witness I had requested. That experience is one that has been repeated for every apostle called since I entered my adult years.For that reason, I gratefully sustain not just Elder Rasband, but also each of the other 14 apostles in their divinely-appointed roles.

Having served for nearly 23 years as a General Authority, Elder Rasband has had 23 opportunities to address us in General Conference: 1 as a General Authority Seventy, 5 more while in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 17 since his call to the apostleship around 8.33 years ago. Any of those addresses, covering a wide variety of topics, is well worthy of review.

I am grateful to be able to provide both birthday tributes to and attest to the spiritual confirmation I continually receive regarding the inspired calls of those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. I am likewise grateful to have the opportunity to share the latest details on the global ministries of these Brethren.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Exterior Rendering and Groundbreaking Information Released for the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple

Hello again, everyone! Today, as expected, the next major temple construction update has been announced. I was not expecting this, but today's announcement related to the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple. Its' exterior rendering has been released and a groundbreaking date has been set. Let's break down the details:

This temple was announced during General Conference in April 2022. Its' site location was confirmed a little over six months later, several weeks after the October 2022 General Conference. The groundbreaking will occur in just over a month, on Saturday, March 9, 2024, with Elder Sean Douglas, Second Counselor in the Mexico Area presidency, presiding thereat. 

Today's announcement gives me hope that we could see groundbreakings for other temples sooner than I've conjectured, because I wasn't anticipating today's announcement and had projected a window of late 2024 for that temple's groundbreaking. So the fact that this groundbreaking will occur in March is huge news. Also, this means that 2024's second temple groundbreaking will be taking place one month earlier than 2023's second temple groundbreaking.

So if other temples in the queue can likewise have an exterior rendering released and a groundbreaking announced simultaenously, or if others can get a site announcement confirmed, a rendering released, and a groundbreaking announced, there could be many other drastic shifts to the current queue of announced temples as we know it. And this indicates that the Church may indeed be able to do a double-digit number of groundbreakings this year. 

With the size of the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple, I''m sure it could easily be constructed speedily, possibly having construction wrap up sometime in 2026 or 2027. Stay tuned for more on this as that information is released.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments.Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for Knoxville Tennessee Temple; Sites Identified for Iquitos and Cusco Peru Temples

Note: An initial version of this post was published at 2:07 PM today. Updated analysis was added between 4:30-5:30 PM.

Hello again, everyone! I had wondered if today's announcement on the Red Cliffs Utah Temple media day was the only announcement we'd get. I am pleased to be able to report that we got more than that. The Church has confirmed that ground was broken for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple on Saturday as scheduled. As I mentioned previously, barring anything unexpected, I anticipate that full-scale construction will begin on that temple either later this week or early next week.

And those aren't the only updates the Church shared in terms of temple construction today. The First Presidency also released official information for 2 temple sites in Peru: Cusco Peru (announced by President Nelson in April 2022) and Iquitos Peru (announced by President Nelson in April 2023). Let's break down the relevant details: 

A 2.48-acre site at Avenida Arcopata 452 Cusco, Cusco, Peru will be the location of what I presume will be a single-story edifice of approximately 9,950 square feet. And a 1.75-acre site at Calle San Marcos 117–137, San Juan Bautista, Maynas, Loreto, Peru will be home to what I believe will be a single-story temple that will be approximately 20,000 square feet.

The good news is that with both of these temples on the comparatively smaller side, approvals will likely be more easily obtained than for their larger counterparts elsewhere in the world. Exactly how soon that might occur is anyone's guess. But I imagine that these temples will have similar exterior designs as other temples of similar sizes.

I was somewhat surprised we have not yet heard about opening arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple, but even if that is not announced until mid-February, the odds seem pretty good that a dedication could still occur for that temple by the end of June. I know many of you might be surprised also by the fact that no groundbreakings have been announced today. I would count on an uptick of those announcements in February.

I would also like to note that I am not concerned about the lack of more groundbreaking announcements at this time. As was observed on the Church Growth Blog, approvals were accelerated for the Hinckley-era smaller temples, and many of them are seeing problems crop up now. I would prefer the Church take their time to get the necessary approvals to ensure we avoid that scenario going forward. As I have previously observed on this blog, President Nelson doesn't seem to be afraid of or deterred by a temple backlog.

As a result of today's announcements, of the now-95 announced temples, only 45 now lack an official announcement. I expect that number will go down further before General Conference in April. And when spring hits in the northern hemisphere, I expect to see an uptick in the number of temple groundbreakings, though we are also likely to see groundbreakings in the southern hemisphere between now and June, when winter hits that part of the world.

 In any case, I trust that the Brethren know what they are doing and how to work through the necessary approvals, so I have no doubt groundbreakings will pick up throughout the rest of this year. And I am not worried in the slightest about any sort of "backlog" of announced temples. Looking ahead to April, I think we will see anywhere between 15-20 new temples announced. The Brethren also seem to be more deliberate in how they schedule temple dedications and groundbreakings, so we can trust that process fully.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Tribute to Elder D. Todd Christofferson on His 79th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to be able to provide a birthday tribute to Elder D. Todd Christofferson, who is today observing his 79th. 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 on this day in 1945 in American Fork, Utah (a place I proudly claim as my hometown) to Paul Vickery and Jeanne Swenson Christofferson . 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 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 first seven years 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 38 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, and thhe remaining 32 as a members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Christofferson currently ranks as the fifth most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and as the fourth oldest. He is now the eighth 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. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.