UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data roughly every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, April 19, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 18 Church Presidents (including our current prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 30 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including current Quorum President, Henry B. Eyring). 

The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency not even making that list for the next 6 years), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). The tenure clock on the current groups (the Quorum of the Twelve and the 15 apostles overall) reset when Elder Gilbert was ordained.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group, plus apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 15 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 13 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

With these updates being published every 7 weeks, the next one will be provided here on Sunday,July 26. Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do. 

Initial Predictions for the October 2026 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Having previously covered the results of my April 2026 General Conference predictions, I am pleased to now present my initial predictions for the October 2026 General Conference, consisting of my projected speaker lineup, my predictions for changes in general Church leadership, and my masterlist of all prospective locations in which I believe a temple could be announced.

The projected speaker lineup could use a little more explanation. It used to be that we'd hear from members of the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric during every General Conference. The last time a member of the Presiding Bishopric spoke was when then-Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé spoke in April 2025, and that was the same conference in which we last heard from a member of the Presidency of the Seventy (Elder S. Mark Palmer, who, as we know, will be released from that Presidency and granted emeritus status on August 1 of this year). 

I've been wondering if the Church has decided to put members of the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric on the same speaking rotation schedule as the other General Authority Seventies. If so, then it's almost certain we will hear from a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, based on the fact that Elder Edward Dube last spoke in April 2021, and all of the other GA Seventies who last spoke in April 2021 spoke in April of this year.

I don't know what that might indicate about the Presiding Bishopric, but I have included both Elder Edward Dube and Presiding Bishop W. Christopher Waddell in e predictions just in case. Also, ordinarily, when a smaller number of GA Seventies is sustained in April, almost all or all of them speak in October. Given that I'm including both Elder Dube and Bishop Waddell in my predictions, there wasn't room in this lineup for all 8 of the new GA Seventies named in April.

As far as the changes in general Church leadership go, barring anything unexpected, only changes in area seventies appear likely to occur this time around. And although I do not anticipate any new temples being announced in General Conference, my masterlist shows those candidates that might be announced in between now and the weekend of the October 2026 General Conference.

Other than these notes, the predictions speak for themselves. I gladly welcome any questions or comments on them. Just to reiterate, this is my initial draft of these predictions. I could see other iterations published if much clarification or correction is needed. 

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Ceremony Announced for the Naga Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency officially announced the groundbreaking ceremony for the Naga Philippines Temple, which will take place on Saturday, August 8, 2026, with Elder Steven D. Shumway of the Philippines Area Presidency presiding thereover.  The groundbreaking announcement follows the temple's announcement in October 2022, and the temple's site announcement and exterior rendering release in February of this year, 

This will be the second temple to have a groundbreaking in August, following the August 1 groundbreaking for the Santos Brazil Temple that was announced last Tuesday. I hope that these back-to-back groundbreaking announcements that have taken place over the last two weeks, with their ceremonies also coming on back-to-back Saturdays, will be the beginning of a potential string of week-by-week groundbreaking announcements followed by week-by-week ceremonies. 

I also wouldn't be shocked if the Church announces multiple groundbreakings in the coming weeks, whether or not they have more than one announced per week. With this announcement, the Church has scheduled the ninth groundbreaking for 2026. By the second week in August of last year, the Church had 12 groundbreakings take place. So hopefully 2026 can eventually keep pace with (or surpass) 2025 in temple groundbreaking. I am grateful for today's announcement and the opportunity to share it with you all here.

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.