Church News Conglomeration

This will be a massive post to highlight Church News which, if not mentioned before, is still very significant for the Church.

On November 25, the Church flipped the switch to turn on the light display on Temple Square. The light and decor is, as always, amazing. Click here for more on that.

The Draper Utah South Mountain Stake was rocked with tragedy recently as a fatal car accident claimed the lives of two of the stake's youth, injuring three others that were also in the vehicle. To honor them, the youth in the stake went to the temple. More details here.

On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered an address to missionaries spending the holiday in the MTC. The details are well worth reading.

To mark the Worldwide Day of Service that will take place on December 1, the First Presidency has encouraged members of the Church to find someone to serve on that day, and to do as much service as possible to commemorate the Christmas season. They said, as they have repeatedly stated before, that the best gift we could give the Savior is to spend His birth month in serving. It is a call that appeals to me personally. I recall many Decembers between 2006 and 2012 when I was serving in the temple and (for two years) with Welfare Services. Our hearts were always humbled by the circumstances of those who came to assist those less fortunate. It is natural that the Christmas season can and should revolve around service. It makes my heart ache to think that I may not be able to serve very well this Christmas season because I honestly don't know what will happen on December 1. If future surgery becomes necessary, I may not be good for much during the holiday season. I only hope I can keep the spirit of the holidays, even if I cannot be out there benefiting my fellow man. To read more about this Christmas initiative, click here.

New Zealanders displaced by the massive earthquake in that nation were benefited by the assistance of the Mormon Helping Hands. Click here to read about the relief efforts.

As a sidenote, I am amazed continually by the number of centenarians there are in the Church, and the number of couples who are marking 70+ years of marriage. The Church highlights such milestones each week. The Church News website is an excellent resource to visit to read of these remarkable milestones.

This is the text of the Hartford Connecticut temple. A recent decision was made that the Church would no longer provide self-pack services. Want details?

The First Presidency's annual Christmas Devotional is coming up on Sunday. As per the tradition, I am anticipating a member of the First Presidency (In their rotation pattern of the last few years, it is President Monson's "turn", but he may elect to ask someone else to speak.), a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (since they have been including the apostles, we have heard from Elder Bednar (2015), Elder Christofferson (2014) and then-Elder Nelson (2013)), a member of the Presidency of the Seventy (we have heard from Elder Clayton (2015), Elder Maynes (2014), Elder Rasband (2013, three years prior to his apostolic call)) and an auxiliary presidency member (we have heard from Sister Burton (2015), Sister Oscarson (2014)), and Sister Wixom (2013)).

With these past speakers, and no set pattern for choosing speakers or establishing the order in which they will speak, it is anyone's guess who will represent the Church. I will be particularly interested to see if any of the newer apostles, Presidency of the Seventy members, or male auxiliary presidents will be asked to represent their tiers at the devotional.

BYU is seeking qualified individuals to teach in China. It sounds like an excellent opportunity for someone to gain experience in a unique way. It's not my thing, but it is worth a mention.

The Church has called eight new visitor's center directors. A BYU Symposium was held to honor Alexander Doniphan. For those who don't know who he is, he was a soldier serving in the United States army at the time that Joseph and Hyrum Smith, along with many others, were illegally held in Liberty Jail. Doniphan, assigned to guard the men, refused point-blank to obey an order from his superior to kill Joseph and those captured with him. He said it was cold-blooded murder, that he would not follow the order, and that if he found out these men had been killed without due process, he would hold his superior responsible before a tribunal. His courage saved the lives of those men. It made such an impact on Joseph that he named one of his sons after this courageous, noble, and most honorable man. The Prophet found in Doniphan a sympathetic ear and the protection he needed to foil the attempts at falsely charging and trying him, all through Doniphan's permitting him to escape. As long as his story keeps getting passed along, Doniphan's memory will not be forgotten. This article says it all.

Colombia has marked 50 years that the Church has grown and progressed there. Their celebration was marked by service. The Church has announced a new Book of Mormon video series.

I mention my final news item reluctantly. The Church has updated its resources for members who struggle with same-sex attraction. While this is wonderful to hear, I have a member of my extended family who is a staunch defender of the practice of homosexuality, having a brother who deals with this. I have delayed posting about this Church milestone out of my concern that she will feel like I am attacking her and her beliefs. I have no desire to do so. Coming from a Church that, in its early years, was viciously and vituperatively attacked by those who wanted to deny our right to believe and practice the way we would like to, I can well understand how it might seem that all the Church is doing is to hurt those who deal with this. I have avoided goling in-depth on my beliefs regarding this practice in consideration of how it might affect my family. But it is awesome that the Church is doing more to help those who deal with this. Much like their resources for those dealing with pornography, addiction, or any other problem arising from living in a far-from-perfect world, their resources for those dealing with same-gender attraction are becoming ever more widely available. The latest resources to come from the Church are highlighted here.

It is my firm belief and testimony (because I have witnessed this firsthand) that there is no earthly problem, temptation, trial, or tribulation of any kind for which the Church is not prepared to offer support and resources. My personal study of the gospel of Jesus Christ and my adherence to the principles I have so willingly embraced and so fervently cling to are the only reasons I am able to deal with all that my situation entails. There is no wound that the gospel cannot heal. There is no challenge anyone can ever grapple with that is so far-reaching the gospel and the joy thereof cannot help them handle. And it is only because of my beliefs that I am able to be of any influence to anyone. I hope others will see in me the light of Christ, and that I can be successful in bringing even one person closer to the Savior. If I can do that, my life, no matter the length or the impact, will not have been wasted. Thanks for wading through this.