Stokes Sounds Off: Church News Report on Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

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Sunday, January 14, 2018

Church News Report on Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

Hello again, everyone! I am posting yet again today to pass along the Church News report on the Uchtdorf's addresses at the devotional. You can find that article here. In the meantime, the Mormon Newsroom has published this article which shared some of the same parts of that devotional, and also some others not shared in the Church News Report.

In the comment threads for my previous post, I mused about the fact that, prior to his address to young adults, he had been introduced as "Elder Uchtdorf" but that he used his trademark statement "You may ask, President Uchtdorf". Because the official announcement of the new First Presidency is still 36 hours away, (though it seems to be widely assumed what has occurred), the Church News has removed any questions on the subject by omitting any title from their report of that part of the address. And the Mormon Newsroom report refers to him as "Elder Uchtdorf" as well.

Just wanted to note these things, for what they may worth to any of you. But the article summary is well worth the read, so I had to pass it along. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.


6 comments:

  1. This is an amazing time in the history of the church. We are all anticipating what will happen Tuesday morning. I wonder if will call not just the first presidency but the two new Apostles as well, instead of waiting until General Conference. Maybe there will be some other updates or changes on policy or new revelation as well. Many people are asking why there will be an hour of speaking to the members before the press conference.

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    1. Hello again, Chris! I haven't heard from you in so long that I was worried I might have offended you inadvertently somehow. Thanks for the comment, as always. In previous posts done over the last few days, I have gone into more of the likely reasons why President Nelson is speaking for one hour prior to the press conference, but to summarize, the Church, as you might recall, recently announced their intention to downsize the number of missions and streamline the process of missionary work by utilizing recent technological advances to reach members and friends of other faiths who are religiously minded, which will refocus the effort of worldwide missionary work towards those with a genuine interest in hearing and responding to the gospel message. The first step in that process may be to standardize shifts in the Church presidency to have the new Church president give a one-hour address to Church membership prior to him and his counselors meeting the press. We do know he will introduce his counselors at some point in that process. Some have said he could announce new apostles and other Church leadership changes, announce new temples, announce how the mission consolidation process would begin, or any other major policy announcements that would warrant not waiting until General Conference in April. It would not surprise me at all, given Elder Wilson's statement, which I have previously referenced (regarding the 80 temples anticipated to be announced between late April 2017 when he made that statement and 15 years later, in late April 2032) if President Nelson wants to jump start that process. Some say he may have consulted with the other apostles and may opt to fill any vacancies during that address, rather than waiting for 2.5 months until April General Conference. Whatever the case may actually be, you can count on my full coverage of it here. Thanks for coming back now to comment, Chris! I appreciate you!

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    2. I have been around, just have not had much to say or comment on.

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    3. Good to know. Hope you are well. Thanks, Chris!

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  2. Last night I had a dream that Bishop Gérald Caussé was called as a counselor with a guy named Peterson as the other counselor. I thought Mark E Peterson but he passed away in 1984.

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  3. That is interesting, to be sure. But the last time a new Church President did not retain one (if the other was himself) or both (if the two were different) of his predecessor's counselors was in 1985, when Ezra Taft Benson did not retain Marion G. Romney, who was First Counselor to Spencer W. Kimball prior to his passing. But that seems to have been done in view of Romney's advanced age and ill health rather than a desire to shake up the lineup in that case. So that raises the question: Has President Nelson retained those counselors that served President Monson, or has he opted to call one or two different men for those assignments? And if one or both are different, would he look outside the Quorum of the Twelve for those different picks? The last time a First Presidency counselor served without having previously been an apostle was with Alvin R. Dyer, who was an assistant to the Twelve when he was called to serve with David O. McKay's administration. When President McKay died in 1970, President Dyer (who was an ordained apostle but not a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and was the last man to serve in the First Presidency under that situation. With all of this in mind, there is little to no doubt on my part that President Nelson has retained both Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf. It would not be unheard of or unprecedented for him to do otherwise, but it seems unlikely. That said, Bishop Causse is on my short list for one of the apostolic vacancies. I have been gathering a list of potential candidates, but that list might be made irrelevant if President Nelson fills both vacancies during his address tomorrow morning, so I am waiting to see what happens. Hope this information is helpful to you, Chris. As always, thanks for commenting.

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