This afternoon, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, announced plans to construction 17 new temples in the following locations:
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Barcelona, Spain
- Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Cusco, Peru
- Maceió, Brazil
- Santos, Brazil
- San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- Mexico City Benemérito, Mexico
- Tampa, Florida
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Wichita, Kansas
- Austin, Texas
- Missoula, Montana
- Montpelier, Idaho
- Modesto, California
With today's announcement, there are now 282 temples that are planned or dedicated. Furthermore, this is also the first time in Church history when the number of temples planned has surpassed 100.
Well, I just went 0/14 on my predictions, that's fun haha. Good thing the Lord knows better.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of the ones announced really surprise me, to be honest. Not even Montpelier, Idaho. I had been thinking for a while that Preston would be important for reducing the drive for southeast Idaho stakes that had to travel to Logan. I recently got to thinking that Soda Springs might better accomplish that from a non-mountain pass perspective. But with two stakes in Montpelier, that makes more sense than Soda Springs. It'll be curious what that means for a future Preston temple, which may still happen as the Cache Valley continues to grow.
No Utah temple really surprises me, though. Maybe allowing the workforce to catch up a bit before putting them hard at work again.
Talking with my brother in law (who was on the phone with for a long time with his relatives in Montpelier today), they said the Montpelierites were expecting this announcement.
DeleteApparently, the Church has bought up the lots (and most of the street) around the historic Montpelier tabernacle over the last few years, so those in the know knew something was a'brewin.'
Here's the real question we're discussing about Montpelier, though...
DeleteWill they:
A. Convert the old Tabernacle into a Temple?
B. Choose a different building in the vicinity as the new stake center (the Tabernacle is currently a stake center, but there are other buildings in the area that could be used/upgraded), and convert the old Tabernacle back into a current Tabernacle?
C. Raze everything and start from scratch (new stake center next to the new temple on the site of the old Tabernacle)?
D. Keep the old Tabernacle and renovate it, but still use it as a fancy stake center?
The Montpelier tabernacle will most likely not be torn down. It was recently had major renovations
Delete@Unknown
DeleteThat's good to know. I appreciate when the Church can still find uses for our historic buildings. Probably option D above, then (maybe B).
Birmingham was a surprise
ReplyDeleteInteresting though it would likely include Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, Lichfield, Coventry, Birmingham stakes. My geography going west not so good, Cheltenham Stake, possibly Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil Stakes in Wales and Bristol.might be in the district.
Why did President Nelson say that we need these 17 additional temples to keep up with membership growth, when the Church's own statistics say otherwise? Why didn't he just say he's trying to bring temples closer to the members?
ReplyDeleteI think the Church knows where the growth clusters are based on the next ten, twenty years. The brethren see more than we can see today, because that is what is expected of priesthood leaders with the keys of the power of God.
DeleteActually the membership statistics seems to indicate that growth and conversion rates are gradually rebounding as the COVID and travel restrictions are done away with; the numbers for 2021 are a serious improvement from 2020.
DeleteLooks like the church is planning ahead for future membership growth spurts. 🤔👍
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ReplyDelete^^ Sorry, grammar issues. I think it's because President Nelson looks at membership growth with a 10 year perspective instead of a 2 year perspective like we do.
ReplyDeleteThere has been greater emphasis on temple attendance, could mean the percentage of temple usage is up as well.
DeleteThat makes sense. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNone of these were a surprise to me.
ReplyDeleteI think the church is way behind on the number of temples constructed vs the number of temples needed. This was true when President Hinckley first announced smaller temples. The Church has never caught up.
Having served in both Helena and Missoula, I am pleased for the saints in those areas. Helena was not going to be a big enough temple to serve all of Western Montana. Missoula will serve the Missoula, Stevensville, Ronan and Kalispell stakes. Helena will serve the Helena, Bozeman, Butte and both Great Falls stakes. But do not be surprised if there is also a temple announced for Great Falls.
Montpelier, Idaho looks to serve 6 stakes, 4 in Idaho (2 Montpelier Stakes, Soda Springs and Paris) and 2 in Wyoming (Cokeville and Kemmerer). Although some may be disappointed that they will not be remodeling the Paris tabernacle.
@Ben H
DeleteI'm from Stevensville. Did you serve there, too? If so, when?
Missoula looks like it could also serve the Salmon Idaho stake. That would give both the Helena and Missoula temple districts with 5 stakes each.
DeleteMontpelier, like Nauvoo, may see a larger summer attendance pattern than in winter. A nearby location is the Bear Lake area and there are a fair number of summer cabins and other things that have a lot of people staying at/en them during the summer months.
ReplyDeleteSaw another feed and Tampa blew everyone's mind there, given the building requirements due to hurricanes.
Yes to the thought they need to give the Utah construction teams a chance to catch their breath. Still some big work to do on several, inside work on more, and two groundbreakings and the Provo rebuild start to go.
I thought I had posted a long list of 80 some possible temples, but I could not find it. I think even that list may have not fared well this time.
ReplyDelete2 in Brazil, 2 in Mexico, 1 in Peru and none in the Phillipines.
The lack of a Utah Temple is a surprise, although Montpelier, Idaho is almost Utah.
This is more east in the US than April 2021.
We get Tampa, Knoxville and Cleveland east of the Mississippi.
Cleveland can be seen as a result of 2 new stakes in Ohio, although it might not serve any of the new stakes, but it will relieve pressure on Columbus. This will put either Detroit or Columbus mission with 2 temple depending on exactly where it us located. Cleveland proper is split between the Cleveland stake in the Detroit mission and the Kirtland stake in the Columbus mission. With the location of Akron and Youngstown Stakes, I would not be surprised if the temple is somewhere in Kirtland stake boundaries, but I could be wrong.
It still leaves possible a Dayton, Cincinatti or Middletown, Ohio Temple.
Tampa is the most populous metro area without a temple. I think this still leaves Jacksonville as an option.
Wichita does not surprise me, even if for personal familial reasons I was rooting for Des Moines, close to Ames where my father was born, and especially Appleton, Wisconsin where my grandfather was branch president and my father was baptized.
Is Montpelier in the North America Central Area? That area had if Montpelier is in it 3 new temples announced for a total of 31 temples, which is a bigger number than the Utah area. Utah has more members, but the temple there are often much bigger.
San Luis Potosi Mexico seems not yo have made lists. Mexico City Benemerito has been mentioned some but not often. Some seem to have thought it an unlikely 2nd temple location for Mexico City.
My Dad served in Santos on his mission so I am glad about that. I think I expected Florianapolis and maybe Londrina first. Likewise I think I expected Joao Passoa before Maceo.
In Peru I think I expected Iquitos, Piura and Huancayo and maybe even Chiclayo before Cusco. Cusco is Peru's 7th largest city and close to Arequipa.
Wellington does not surprise me at all. It is closer to the South Island, and if you look where stakes are is more central than anything on South Island.
Birmingham is quite good. I am also encouraged by Barcelona. Spain will be the second country in mainland Europe with a new temple.
I would say these temples look more growth than distant caused. Brazzaville for example we get because of growth there and Kinshasa not because of distances involved.
I suspect that Christchurch (or some other city on the South Island of New Zealand) was swapped out with Wellington shortly before the announcement. The church newsroom has writeups for each location right after conference presumably prepared in advance (not something you can do for 17 temples in 1 minute!), but the original first sentence for Wellington read as the following:
ReplyDelete"This will be New Zealand’s third temple and the first temple on the South Island."
They have since changed it to the following:
"This will be New Zealand’s third temple. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is located on the southwestern tip of the North Island."
Of course, this could have simply been a mistake (like saying there were 0 rededications for 2021, when there was 1, Mesa).
I think this was probably someone trying to convey that Wellington is further south than the other 2 temples in New Zealand who did not realize that Wellington was still on the north island, but I do not know for sure.
DeleteThis does reduce by one the number of countries that have temples but not one in their capital. I was really hoping for a temple in Abuja as well.
What does it say about me that when President Nelson announced the second highest number of temples he has announced at once I still focus on what was not announced.
San Luis Potosi is awesome.
@JPL:
DeleteAustin also knocks one off the list for US states without a temple in their capital city. :)
I think it's the first time a temple in Utah wasn't announced
ReplyDeleteThe first general conference u der President Nelson that did not include announcing a temple in Utah.
DeleteThe Newsroom list says Ohio has 6,000 members. Maybe this should be 60,000. Clearly 6,000 is wrong. It has 16 stakes.
Wow. Just Wow. I'd bet most of the new temples in the U.S. will be modular. Other than expecting Modesto, I expected most of the others to be announced within the next 2 years.
ReplyDeleteObviously looking to get temples closer to members, usually easing current or projected strain on other temples while doing so.
@Anonymous
DeleteMy question is whether Missoula will be a smaller modular temple of the same size as Helena (10,000 sq ft), or a slightly bigger modular one (20,000 sq ft). Personally, I'm hoping for the latter.
On the Newsroom site, that's life, stuff happens.
ReplyDeleteHave seen other minor misses, sent in a couple of things and they checked those out then fixed them, both times in minutes.
The increase in temple attendance is clear, we've heard the stories of temples packed to the gills before the pandemic. Now that we are on the verge of phase 4, we will likely see similar. Then the newer temples will come on and relieve the pressure, but in Utah that relief seems to only last a few years and the temples, both the older one and the one that took stakes from the original district, are full-up again.
FamilySearch users, over half of whom are not members, are said to have added well in excess of 100 million names to the Family Tree. And as other things are found, and the AI-aided indexing ramps up, particularly once the 1950 Census is clear and up, then the rest of the connections to prove relationships to more of that may be found, adding to what must be an enormous backlog of names that need work done.
Now the church will have 2 Birmingham temples. (The first in Birmingham, Alabama). Maybe we'll put one in Portland, Maine in the future. I did have Austin,Texas; Cleveland,Ohio and Tampa, Florida on my list.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping for two San Jose Temples. Birmingham may be the first case of 2 temples in different places with the same name. However Columbus/Columbia/District of Columbia/Columbia River/Country of Columbia is a set of related names.
Delete@Bryansb1984
DeleteI remember a lot more of us having Cleveland on our lists a couple of years ago. I think Pittsburgh's announcement may have knocked it off the radar for us.
Good job with the correct guesses!
I thought that Charlotte NC would get one, but Knoxville Tennessee will definitely be a welcome addition to the Saints in Western NC.
ReplyDeleteColombia
ReplyDeleteDefinitely exciting to see all the new temple announcements.
ReplyDeleteI had just come up with my own list of most likely locations in Brazil, I didn't have Maceio or Santos. I was favoring Florianopolis, Londrina, Cuiaba, Teresina, Ribeirao Preto, and possibly Natal OR Joao Pessoa.
I'm happy about the 3 new ones in the eastern US, but definitely still eagerly awaiting one to be announced for Maine, or possibly one in New Hampshire that would be closer for the 2 stakes in Maine - I also don't know what is delaying the creation of a 3rd stake in Maine, since Cumorah shows 16 wards and 7 branches in the 2 stakes in Maine (not including units belonging to other stakes). The most likely location for a new stake would be in Portland, so the suggestion of a temple there is a possibility.
I was also surprised at no new announcements in the Philippines. The southern part of the country is well covered now, when the announced ones are completed, but it seems like they need at least 3-4 more for Luzon Island.
I am hoping at least 1 temple will be announced for the Philippines in the fall.
DeleteOn another note, Republic of the Congo was the country with the most stakes without a temple. Before that it was Liberia.
Uganda at 3 stakes now is the country with that distinction. That puts Kampala as a lead contender. If Uganda or Kenya pick up any stakes before October it will be a bigger contender.
Wow, a lot of people were surprised by these. Looking at the matrix, from 2 previous posts:
ReplyDelete4 of the temples announced were not even in the same state or country as anything on the list.
3 more barely made the matrix, only being on 1 list (and one of those was predicting a temple where one already exists, in Memphis Tennessee).
Only 3 of the announced temples were in the same country or state as the top 10 predictions from the matrix, those being the locations in Peru and Brazil.
I don't mean this as a criticism - I didn't contribute a list, but I don't think I would have done any better.
We will be expecting more temples in thier own due time. 100 temples announced by President Russell M. Nelson in just 5 years is unprecedented. The oldest operating temple was dedicated in 1877 in St George Utah and is under renovation. Of the total 282 temples in any stage of operation, construction, or announcement; over 35% have been announced since 2018. We are living in an age where the work of the Lord is excelerating at a pace unheard of.
ReplyDeletePresident Nelson became president of the Church in January 2018. So that is 4 years and 3 months. We can't really speak of what he did in 5 years until at least October conference.
DeleteI was looking at actual calendar years (by name). Not full years. 99 temples over 9 conferences and one temple outside of conference.
DeleteAt some point Matt might do a study of all these new Mormon temples and the local church activity and member retention, to see if making it easier to “go to the temple” really does help improve activity or retention.
ReplyDeleteAnd also the convert baptism rate. The Mormon church almost certainly is building attractive and even opulent, gilded temples around the world as permanent and highly visible advertisements and public and missionary outreach.
Given the evidence and history of Mormon church that’s touched on in their “Gospel Topics Essays,” for instance — and the YouTube video of President Nelson pushing his face into a hat, for instance — it’s pushing a heavy burden up hill. It’s easy to imagine all these Mormon temples might be hopefully seen as part of the solution to their conversion and baptism and retention problem.
Please stop incorrectly referring to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints using the name of a deceased prophet who would be very offended at people trying to imply the Lord's Church is his Church.
DeleteAnti-Mormon much? That's a dull axe you're trying to sharpen.
DeleteMormon was a general and prophet and ancient records editor in the 4th century AD somewhere in the Western Hemisphere. He was a prophet for the Lord, Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteIn 1830, the modern Church of the Son of God began in upstate New York, as is known.
The Book of Mormon was being published at that time.
Many of us live in the United States, some call it America.
We try to show deference and reverence to our Lord by calling the Church properly. Believing it is His.
Do we live in the country of America, or the U.S.? The same? Well, most New World countries consider themselves American, too. North, South, Central.
These are nations, not religions.
People can be stereotyped and denigrated, slandered and stigmatized by their nicknames.
Racism and bigotry and hatred perpetuate this way too often.
Please use names properly, but if not, take the conversation elsewhere.
Awesome temple building, it takes thousands of active members to support each one.
We are in the Latter Days, pun intended.
Love the Lord and His work, which is us.
Finally.
ReplyDeleteFinally. Finally.
We get a temple up here in Missoula! :)
Only been waiting for that for a few decades. :)
Equally excited for the Montpelier Temple, which is where my brother in law is from. So there was lots of rejoicing in our household today.
Honorable mentions:
Barcelona is where my best friend served his mission.
A sister on my mission (who ended up marrying one of my companions) is from San Luis, Potosi.
I'm excited for the Mexico MTC Benemérito Temple. I taught a lot of people from el Distrito Federal on the mission.
Several friends from New Zealand. I'm sure the Wellington Temple will make them happy. I hope it will be seen by a lot of tourists visiting Wellington for the Lord of the Rings tour.
@Johnathan
DeleteCongrats on the Missoula Temple! I actually thought of you after I heard it announced as I recall you have been hoping for it for a long time. :)
I have a goal of visiting almost every temple that I can in the U.S at least (which is quickly getting more and more ambitious), so I look forward to the time when I get to make that western Montana trip.
@Eric S.
DeleteThanks, man!
You can visit Helena and Missoula when they're completed, then head north and stop up here and we'll grab lunch on your way across the panhandle to Spokane. :)
(You can even take a slight detour across the border to Cardston - if you have your passport, that is.)
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ReplyDeleteWhile it's likely going to take another year or two before we see a little bit more growth to warrant a temple announcement for Dublin, Ireland; I can still see a temple announcement for Scotland coming up maybe fall conference, or next spring.
ReplyDeleteThough despite the almost stagnant growth; Ireland does have LDS ancestral connections; Joseph Smith Jr. was Irish, NOT English on his paternal side; his great grandfather was an indentured servant that adopted 'Smith' as his last name.
Nearly a third of the pioneers that came from England or Scotland had Irish ancestry or had immigrated to the UK from Ireland -before receiving the gospel.
And while the scientific evidence of this is lacking or spotty at best -it's believed that some of the lost tribes of Israel, or their descendants -that were not taken to Babylon after the Assyrian conquest; ended up fleeing that land and eventually settled in Ireland with the Phoenicians (or they were possibly absorbed by the Phoenicians beforehand (the Phoenicians established a secret settlement on Ireland that they didn't want the Romans to know about)), so I do personally believe that there is some biological Israelite ancestry in the Irish people and their descendants, especially Joseph Smith and his family, in-my-humble-opinion.
I know this is based on evidence and ancient writings that are speculative at best, though modern DNA tests have confirmed that the modern Irish people do have middle eastern ancestry. And like indigenous Americans, that DNA strand will only be a small sliver of genetic makeup among the various other races and ancestors that make up such demographic groups. But still, from my own research- that link is there.
Regardless, I hope some of these things will indirectly inspire stronger future interest in the restored gospel among the current people of Ireland (the entire island). And for a future temple to come about there soon. 🙏
Scotland remains as likely with Birmingham announced. In fact it seems more likely. The stakes that would benefit are not helped at all by Birmingham. I am not sure if Birmingham even takes stakes from Preston, but either way a Scotland Temple is doable.
DeleteCharlotte, North Carolina becomes the second most populous metro area with no temple. The most is Baltimore. However with the size and proximity of the Washington DC Temple Baltimore seems a dark horse candidate. Although I can see arguments for placing a temple in the city of Baltimore proper to benefit inner city and student populations. Since Elder Renlund was bishop of a largely inner city ward in Baltimore while doing his residency, I can even see such a position being advocated in the top councils of the Church, so I could see it happening.
@Cody Quirk
DeleteIf the Irish indeed are a scattered remnant of the House of Israel, perhaps that's one reason why they've been so persecuted and put down over the years? (Besides the obvious Catholic/Protestant differences.)
On a related note, I've been researching my own Irish line recently (Telfords).
Don't know if you've heard this one (and I'm not saying it's true, but something to consider), but there is an old Irish legend that a granddaughter of Noah landed on the Island after the flood and settled there:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessair
You can't to Kinshasa from Brazzaville - there's no bridge there over the Congo River. So that doesn't surprise me.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting Charlotte or Asheville before Knoxville - it looks like Knoxville will serve five stakes (Asheville, Chattanooga, Kingsport, Knoxville, and Knoxville Cumberland).
I was not expecting Modesto before Bakersfield, but Bakersfield could be right around the corner, like with Helena and Missoula.
Tampa surprised me, but it makes sense. I don't know enough about Latin America to say what fits there. Barcelona means things are humming along in Spain.
You can't get to Kinshasa from Brazzaville.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the announced Mexico City Benemérito Mexico Temple is in reference to the "Benemérito Ward - 203998" of the Mexico City Arbolillo Stake - 507326?
ReplyDeletehttps://classic.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/#ll=19.535566,-99.145368&z=16&m=google.hybrid&layers=stakecenter&find=ward:203998
I could not find any other Stake or City by that name in Metropolitan Mexico City area.
Thoughts?
The Church operated a high school in Mexico City for nearly 40 years.
DeleteIt was called "Benemérito de las Américas."
At one time, it was a great place but some of the later directors weren't doing their jobs right so the school was allowed to be closed. The space needed for the MTC was the perfect cover for that.
Now there will be a temple there.
If you read what is on the newsroom post, the Mexico City Benemerito temple is at the MTC in Mexico City. Named after the high school the church used to own on that plot of land.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit surprised to see 17 announced. I was thinking around 8 to 12. We just need 18 more for an even 300. I will predict that October Conference will announce 18 temples.
ReplyDelete@Nephi
DeleteI'm hoping for 18 for the Fall, as well. I'm sure the leadership is aware of the 300 milestone - just like how President Hinckley set the goal of an even 100 temples by the year 2000. It'll be interesting to see if it comes to pass.
If the Hinckley goal was 100 temples by the year 2000, then, at the current rate of temple announcements, it is not out of the question that we could have 500 temples (at least announced) by the Church's bicentennial. Not a prediction, just an outlandish observation.
DeleteI did some math, and that would require an average of about 13.5 temples per conference through the April 2030 conference
DeleteVery excited about all these new temples and the lives that will be blessed on both sides of the veil because of them!
ReplyDeleteIf there are ones that I would say surprised me they would be Birmingham, San Luis Potosí, and Montpelier. Mainly that is due to considering other places first. San Luis Potosí though is one that I didn't think of before, so that was a nice surprise (as it always is) to hear a city that I didn't think of before.
I predicted Bakersfield for this go around, but I thought it and Modesto seemed like the most probable for the next temple in California. I think Bakersfield will be next.
California is now the first US state outside of Utah with double digit temples, with Idaho close behind at 9. Texas has now jumped ahead of Arizona with 7, but I think more will come to Arizona (and Texas too - thinking El Paso).
Mexico and Brazil are getting close to 20 each. Very cool that two were announced for both. Mexico City is now the sixth major international city/metro that will have two temples.
For Arizona to have more temples it would seem Flagstaff would make sense, and one on the southwest side of the Phoenix metro area. Perhaps Kingman would be a good remote area for one, but a temple in the Navajo region would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have always hoped and prayed that native Americans would be redeemed as a people, That might seem culturally appropriative to some, but I mean it from a sense that we want indigenous Americans to maintain their cultures and languages and knowledge.
I would love to attend a temple ceremony in Navajo or Hopi or another native language.
I have attended in Samoan and with Polynesians, and it is very powerful.
California continues to impress. Really sweet.
Tennessee with three? Wow.
Yay for Brazzaville.
And all the rest.
On the issue of temples and growth. When Columbus Temple was built it served about 8 stakes. Those are now 12. Plus Clebeland Temple may take Toledo from Detroit Temple, which is easier since Detroit Temple has also gained 2 stakes.
ReplyDeleteBrazzaville looks to be from growth there and in Kinshasa. Distance per se is not a factor, but convenience in not having to traverse an international boundary may be.
I'm starting to see an interesting trend taking place in California in regard to the announcements over the past couple of years of three new temples (Feather River, Yorba Linda, and now Modesto) and the stagnate or declining Church membership in the state.
ReplyDelete1.) The Church owns already has a very large amount of real estate holdings in California, outside of temples, in terms of meetinghouses, sports fields, and private campsites. Of this, much of it is now under utilized due to demographic changes and shifts in membership that have taken place over the past few decades.
2.) Both the Feather River and Yorba Linda temple sites were/are existing stake centers or meetinghouses that are essentially being "redeveloped" into temples. Many of the church units using these meetinghouses could easily be shifted over to others in the area and make it possible for the Church demolish the meetinghouse and build smaller temples on the same property without the hassle of acquisition and city approvals (since it's already zoned for a religious building), thus saving on both time and cost. My guess is that this same approach will be used for Modesto as well.
3.) Despite the current membership trends in the State, I think that there will be a a major shift in the missionary efforts in California in terms of reaching out to more diverse demographics which have not been focused on in the past.
One thing with Cusco, I was wondering 2 things. How long does it take to get to Arequipa. Also with this being in the mountains, how often are the passes blocked due to weather? I guess another question is what type of transportation most members in Cusco have. If a large percentage, as I suspect, do not have cars, than a big question is, how reliable and safe is public transit through the mountain passes? Also how costly for the income.
ReplyDeleteThese factors make me not surprised it is the next place to get a temple in Peru. Chiclayo has more stakes, but it is closer as the crow flies to Trujillo, the roads are more direct, and it looks like the shortest distance from Cuzco to Arequipa is mainly through not top roads, so in fact public transit, and maybe even most drivers will go all the to Juliaca and around to get to Cusco. Plus mountain transit due to switch backs, going up hill and such, is slower and longer than it looks on a map. I plugged it in a distance calculator and Cusco to Arequipa is 303 miles while Chiclayo to Trujillo is 109 miles, but that is a shorter route that goes on roads that look less full improved.
Cuzco seems to have more stakes and districts than Vitoria, although only as many stakes. A big unknown is how close any stake in the Cuzco area is to splitting, or how close the districts are to being stakes.
Another issue is if Aymara is the main language in the Cusco area as opposed to Spanish in other parts of Peru, having a temple staffed with Aymara speakers may help. I know in theory having the endowment recorded and so presentable in your native language no matter what it is, makes language not a super issue, but it still helps if you have temple staff who know your language.
ReplyDeleteMofesto is an area where people have relocated who still hold jobs in the Bay Area and CA has built freeways out to that area connecting into 5 and 99, but those are packed most days usually for up to 18 hours a day. Having the temple in the south end of that area reduces time needed to get to other temples, given also the matter of getting into Sacramento to attend there.
ReplyDeleteBakersfield will help western High Desert areas, Barstow and Victorville may still go to Redlands and Lancaster may still go to LA if that distance is shorter but half of that trip is into the heavy traffic in LA once you hit the Newhall interchange so it could end up at a Bakersfield temple.
Montpelier, again, will be a summer destination temple for those spending the summer months near Bear Lake, there are wards that only function between May and September nearby, mainly to provide church things for those that are temporarily there but go elsewhere the rest of the year.
It occurs to me that the Cleveland Temple may be renamed as the goundbreaking gets closer, as has sometimes happened with earlier temples, such as Columbia River, Willamette Valley, etc. What if the new name was the Kirtland Temple??? Kirtland is less than half an hour from central Cleveland. I've heard rumors--perhaps more like 'wishes'--that the church might arrange to buy the Kirtland Temple. It will be interesting to see the location.
ReplyDeleteI also see that Cusco is nearly a 10 hour drive from Arequipa, so in terms of remoteness, it is a very good location, and looks to serve at least 6 Stakes/Districts.
I am so glad that Montpelier is getting a temple. Sure, it may be great for those in the summer, but in the winter it will be much appreciated by the locals to avoid winter roads. I really hope that this is the first of many (like Star Valley as well) that pop up in these smaller communities that are so devout.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I find out I find out the name of the Church Units (wards/districts) that makeup the Kiev Temple district?
ReplyDeletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/kyiv-ukraine-temple/district/
ReplyDeleteTough times for everyone in these parts.
Thank you very much, Eduardo!! But where do I learn the Wards within the Stakes? Or are we not privy to that info? Thanks so much for your help. And indeed so many prayers and fasts and supplies are needed.
ReplyDelete@Butterfly and Bones
DeleteIf you go to the meetinghouse locator you can click on the meetinghouse icons and see what wards/branches are assigned to what buildings. As for what wards and branches are assigned to what stakes and districts, I know you could find that on the Classic LDS Maps, but for some reason I am unable to find it. I know it's still accessible somewhere, so perhaps someone else might be able to help there. Hope that helps.
Apparently there is also a legend that the prophet Jeremiah is buried in Ireland, and I have read an account claiming that he first accompanied the daughters of King Zedekiah to Egypt, and then from there to Ireland.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of legends/mythology purportedly entwined with Hebrew Bible roots throughout Europe, but this DNA stuff in Ireland is news to me. It's interesting to read about, but I would take it with a grain of salt for now. I love nebulous legends and links to the Hebrew Bible -- they're fascinating to me. For instance, this one where they compare the Tribe of Dan with the Celtic Customs: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/celts-lost-tribes-israel
ReplyDeleteAlso, your comments about Ireland, DNA, and Lost Tribes led me to articles like these (for fun):
https://dnaconsultants.com/when-ireland-was-jewish/ "According to Celtic tradition, Conchobar was one of the two men who believed in God in Ireland before the coming of the Faith, Morann being the other man. Such a statement can only mean that Conchobar and his advisor Morann were monotheists or Jews" --- I like how the other guy is named, "Morann" -- just add an extra "m" there after the "r" :)
https://www.accantors.org/irish-and-jewish This one says myths of Tribe of Dan were linked to the fairies living in caves
https://www.bibleblessings.net/scots-irish-welsh-dna-proves-israelite-descent/ -- this one talks about DNA (as someone posted previously)
LDS Classic maps has drop down options to see boundaries of wards, stakes, missions, and maybe areas?
ReplyDeleteI have not looked at this for a while, but it is very interesting.
Some countries do not show as much info, like Pakistan and China, I think.
I could see Brazil have 30 temples, easily.
Amazing times.
Africa will continue to build quickly, too.
I just plugged in drive time from Tampa to the Orlando Temple and public transit time from Baltimore to the DC Temple. This is probably in both cases a realistic estimate of how the majority of members would take the trip.
ReplyDeleteBy car from Tampa to Orlando Temple is 1 hour 32 minutes. By public transit from Baltimore to Washington DC is 1 hour 47 minutes.
To be fair google maps tells ne it cannot find any public transit to go from Tampa to the Orlando Temple, so members who mainly use public transit in Tampa have no access to the remote at all.
Baltimore to DC Temple said it was 44. To be fair I ran this search on Saturday at about 6:40 PM. I am sure if you left a job in Baltimore at 5 on a Wednesday and headed towards the DC Temple it would take you well more than 44 minutes to get there. Just for the fun of it I did Newark to Manhattan Temple. It said that would be 48 minutes, this late on a Saturday there is huge amounts of traffic on the George Washington Bridge, it may be due to an accident though. Public transit it says can get you to the temple in 43 minutes.