MORE DELAYS TO THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE RENOVATIONS: BEHIND 2 YEARS FROM ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT

 When President Nelson announced that the Salt Lake Temple will close in 2019, he said the Temple is expected to reopen in 2024 with a public open house. See highlighted screenshot and link:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/plans-unveiled-salt-lake-temple-renovation



It was reported today that the renovations will not be completed until 2026. From the article:

The current estimated completion date is now in 2026, according to a Thursday news release from the church.

When the construction began, church leaders said it was estimated to be completed in 2025. It includes renovations to the temple — including a seismic upgrade — and changes to the grounds and other buildings. Thursday's statement said church leadership, project consultants and the general contractor support the new estimate.

At a minimum the Salt Lake Temple will have been closed for Six Years.

The news article is actually wrong to report that the church leaders said it would be completed in 2025 when the above news room article quotes President Nelson that it would be done in 2024.

Here is the link the new article.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50606781/temple-square-construction-now-estimated-to-be-done-a-year-later-in-2026

LIFE AND DEATH - SPRING EQUINOX 2023

The first "official" day of spring arrives today. At 3:24 PM here in Utah, the sun will be shining directly down on the equator at a point over the Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,900 miles (3,100 km) southeast of the Hawaiian Islands. 

I usually try and go on a sunrise hike on this day, but the weather forecast for this entire week was not looking good so I went a couple of days ago on a clear night and morning. 

Woke up around  4:00 in the morning to drive up into the mountains and began hiking at 5:30 AM. 

Here are some photos from the hike:

Moon rising above the mountain early in the morning on March 16,2023

It has snowed about a foot the day before. We had to plow our own trail to the summit.

Guardsmas Pass. The large pipe sticking out the snow is the "chimney" of the restroom facility that is buried under at least 10 feet of snow. 

Sunrise around 7:40 AM 

Beautiful morning. 

On that morning we were observing rebirth of spring, later that night one of our friends passed away.  

LIFE and DEATH on a Single Day

 

Spectacular and Miraculous Sign in the Heavens on March 1, 2023

 The Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on March 1, 2023

Spectacular: beautiful in a dramatic and eye-catching way.

Miraculous: highly improbable and extraordinary and bringing very welcome consequence

After attending a lecture in Provo on the evening of March 1, my wife and I were driving around to find a good place to see what some called, the 'kissing' of Venus and Jupiter (or what the astronomers call the Conjunction) The two planets appear so close to one another, some called it a kiss. In reality,  the never touch but the closest they'll ever come from our perspective is about the diameter of a full moon apart. 

It has been snowing the entire day and even though the snow had stopped that evening, it was still very cloudy. I wasn't sure if it was going to be possible to view the conjuction of the two brightest planets. Doubt started to set in as well as disappoint since it was important for me to observe this Heavenly Sign and I was unable to see anything through the heavy clouds.

I thought, if this sign is important surely it was meant to be seen and not be veiled behind clouds.  sSo, we started to drive back home hoping maybe Salt Lake had clearer skies. We were somewhere near American Fork, when I thought I saw a break in the clouds. I took the next exit and got out of my car looking West. 

What happened next was amazing. For a very brief moment, Venus appeared from behind the clouds and then Jupiter appeared right beside her. Both planets visible side by side before they disappeared again for the rest of the night. Very grateful to be able to see this Spectacular and to me, miraculous event.

Here are the three photos to bear record of the event. 

Photo of the Planets behind the clouds at 8:33 PM on March 1, 2023

Photo of Venus appearing from the clouds at 8:33 PM on March 1, 2023

Photo of both Venus and Jupiter at 8:33 PM on March 1, 2023