I heard some news at my mission reunion about the Ukraine Kiev temple. Now, I believe this info to be true, and coming from my former mission president who is still actively involved in the church's affairs in Ukraine, I believe it to be authoritative. But still, take every bit of this with a 25 lb bag of salt. He did not make any official church pronouncements, and he did say that things could change. Anyway... Pres. Biddulph (my former mission president) said that the architectural drawings, etc. are all ready to go for the new temple. The contractor is standing by and ready to start. They have a stake center sized church building on the land, and they hope to start the hotel for the temple soon (so out of town temple patrons can have a place to stay). They have preliminary approval for the temple construction, and they're waiting on final approval from the government. He said that he is hopeful that there will be a groundbreaking by the end of the year, but that it is by no means guaranteed. When I talked with him about it before his talk, he did agree with me that the temple construction would have gone a lot faster if the church had been willing to bribe the government. Everything over there is done on the basis of bribes.
__________________
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
That is awesome!! You served your mission over there? My grandpa came to the US from Chechersk (north of Gomel) back in 1910. He was the only one in his family to ever immigrate. We are at a standstill with his genealogy, even according to the big Family History library in downtown Salt Lake. They haven't had people go there because of Chernobyl or something. It wouldn't be on my mind as much, but my mom dreamed of him - that he wanted his temple work done, which we did some time ago. But nothing as far as his parents or siblings, or anyone else. It "bugs" me once in a while and I keep thinking of what we can do. Maybe the Church will get more records out of this area now.
__________________
Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
