UPDATED: April 2026 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! In view of the November 17 announcement to discontinue the Saturday Evening Session of General Conference,the November 6 call of Elder Gérald Caussé, and the February 12 call of Elder Clark G. Gilbert to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, I have made major revisions to my April 2026 General Conference predictions. So I now present my revised projections for the speaker lineup, my predictions for changes in general Church leadership (which also includes my estimates for the data in the Statistical Report for 2025)  and my masterlist of potential locations in which a temple could be announced.

As previously mentioned, during an interview in conjunction with the Burley Idaho Temple dedication, President Oaks said the following about the announcement of new temples: "It has occurred to me for a long time that the best place to announce a temple is in that temple district. And the best person to announce it is the file leader in that area, which can be an Apostle on assignment to a stake conference or another meeting, or it can be the area president if there’s no Apostle in the district when a decision is made by the First Presidency to have a temple there."

He further stated: "It’s a pattern that we will follow as long as I have influence in determining those things. This does not change the pattern of decision-making or gathering facts and determining the agreeable timing and the need. And all those things will continue to be analyzed. But when it comes to making a decision from all those facts, the First Presidency will continue to make the decisions. But they’ll assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built."

With that in mind, I don't think there will be any new temples announced in any General Conference at all under President Oaks' prophetic administration. But Iwanted to include mymasterlist anyways, though I would be  shocked if the Easter-centric General Conference included temple announcements. We may or may not see somethingelse announced, but that is harder to project. And with just 4 sessions instead of the 5, there may be fewer speakers, or the non-apostolic speakers may have shorter allotments of time.

Whatevermight happen during General Conference weekend, 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 APOSTOLIC NEWS: Elder Clark G. Gilbert Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

 Hello again, everyone! As announced by the Newsroom and the Church News, Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authortiy Seventy since April 2021 and the Commissioner of Church Education since August of that same year, has been called as the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. According to the reports, he was called to the apostleship yesterday, and was ordained an apostle by President Oaks and the other 13 apostles earlier today.'

His call fills the vacancy created by the December 27, 2025, death of President Jeffrey R. Holland, who was serving as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he passed away. Elder Gilbert, who was born in Oakland, California, on June 18, 1970, is 55 years old and brings a wide range of experience to his new calling. The reports note he made the following statement in response to his call:

"This is an amazing time to point people to the Savior Jesus Christ. When we do that, we can find joy and comfort and peace in Him. As President [Russell M.] Nelson once said, it’s much harder to find happiness where it doesn’t exist. And we’re so grateful that I have this calling now to witness that Jesus is the Christ. If people all across the world will look to Him, He will make their lives better, more meaningful, more joyful. And it happens in and through our Savior Jesus Christ.”

He grew up in a family where he was taught that there is a connection between education and Church membership. He went on to graduate from BYU in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in education. He also has a a master’s degree in East Asian studies, and a doctoral degree in business administration. He went on to teach at BYU-Idaho and later served as CEO of Deseret Digital Media, president of the Deseret News, president of BYU-Idaho, and the first president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

I was kind of hoping the new apostle would be announced soon, and even though I wasn't expecting Elder Gilbett would fill that vacancy, as soon as I read about his call, the Spirit confirmed to me that he has been called of God. One thing the article doesn't mention is how long he will continue as Commissioner of Church Education, there is precedent for apostles serving in that capacity. If they do replace him down the line in that capacity, there won't be as much of a domino effect as there was with the apostolic call of Elder Gérald Caussé.

I testify that Elder Gilbert has been called of God, and that we will be blessed as we follow his counsel and that of his fellow 14 apostles. 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: Site Location Confirmed and Exterior Rendering Released for the Norfolk VirginiaTemple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has just released the location and the exterior rendering for the Norfolk Virginia Temple. The 18,850-square-foot, single-story building and an adjacent Distribution Center will rise on a 23-acre site just off Harbour View Boulevard and Bridge Road in Suffolk, Virginia. The rendering speaks for itself. This update follows the temple's announcement in April 2025 by President Russell M. Nelson.

In view of today's announcement, of the 108 announced temples, there are 54 with confirmed site locations (37 of which also have exterior renderings), and there are now 54 announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet. I suspect that number will go down in the 7 Mondays between now and the April 2026 General Conference.

Next Monday is Presidents' Day in the United States, so the customary Monday announcement might be made on Tuesday. 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.