The Sapporo Japan temple was dedicated on Sunday as the Church's 151st temple. Under the direction of the First Presidency, President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the temple. He was accompanied by Elder Gary E. Stevenson, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The unique thing I learned about Elder Stevenson and this temple is that he was involved with every part of this temple's construction. He broke ground for it as President of the Asia Area of the Church, oversaw its construction as Presiding Bishop of the Church, and came back as an apostle to assist in the dedication. That was special to hear.
The dedication coincidentally was on the same date as President Monson's birthday. President Monson was able to vies the proceedings of the cultural celebration and dedication via closed-circuit television.
The Church News ran several articles about this dedication. Click here for a general article about the dedication. This article focuses on the fact that the temple dedication was sandwiched perfectly in between two tropical storms. This one talks about how the Sapporo Japan temple is a fulfillment of apostolic prophecy regarding the growth and development of the Church in Japan. And this one focuses on why this temple dedication is so significant for Elder Stevenson.
I wanted to touch briefly on the health of the leading brethren of the Church and their wives. I had wondered why it seemed that President Uchtdorf has been the most visible First Presidency member recently. I learned from my mother that in addition to President Monson not being in good health, President Eyring's wife is suffering from dementia, which is why we haven't seen him around a lot lately. I anticipated that President Eyring would be the one to dedicate the Sapporo Japan temple, but clearly, he is not in a position to do so. As far as I know, President Uchtdorf is the most visible member of the Presidency because he and his wife are both still doing all right.
It is by no means an uncommon thing for only one member of the First Presidency to be actively involved in the day-to-day affairs of the Church. We saw President Hinckley carry on for President Kimball and his ailing counselors, and saw Presidents Hinckley and Monson more involved as President Benson aged. President Hunter died after only a short time as prophet, and President Hinckley was active until the tail end of his life. We have seen President Monson slow down and reduce his workload lately. Some people are saying he has Alzheimer's and possible dementia.
With President Uchtdorf being the sole active member of the First Presidency, this opens the likelihood of a possible additional member of the First Presidency, with the most likely candidate being one of the apostles. I have my own opinions as to who that person might be, if it happens at all, but will keep my opinions about it to myself until we know more about the health of the brethren.
Also, more responsibility is being shouldered by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with much of the workload falling to the more senior members of the Quorum. This has been evidenced by President Nelson presiding at the Sapporo Japan Temple dedication and one session of the Provo City Center Temple Dedication, with Elder Oaks being listed as the one who dedicated the temple because he presided at two of the three sessions. In the meantime, Elder Ballard, as I observed, served as the Grand Marshall of the Days of '47 KSL Parade, a role typically filled by a member of the First Presidency.
As to the rest of the apostles, Elder Hales is also reportedly not in good health, though he has by all appearances been doing better. All of the other apostles are helping to shoulder the load too.
What a comfort it is to know that there is a system whereby if our leaders are not able to function, those under them shoulder the load.
With the developments in the First Presidency, it is also interesting to note that President Nelson is the oldest of all the apostles but may be one of the best in terms of health. It is also interesting to note that, as of tomorrow, the average age of the First Presidency is 82.68, while the average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.23, with six of the Quorum members being younger than the average age. The average age of the apostles overall as of tomorrow is 75.92, with over half of the apostles being younger than that average. I am honestly not sure how these averages compare with the past averages, but I think it is safe to say that some apostles are much older than the typical average, while some of these are much younger than the average.
What I can say is that I will be absolutely intrigued to see and report on what happens with these men as time goes on. I have no doubt we will see some of the older, more ill ones pass away before too much longer, while I predict the longevity for others to rival some of the oldest living records. It is interesting to note that we have had 17 nonagenarian apostles, with six more to be added to that number before the Church marks its 200th anniversary, assuming they live that long. One thing I can say with absolutely certainty: I have been an eyewitness to the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord that He has sanctified their service to the renewal of their bodies. The amazing thing is how the Lord moves along his work through the transfer of service from group to group. We have seen some amazing apostles pass away, and we have seen equally amazing individuals called to fill the vacancies occasioned by their deaths, none of which have been untimely, and all of which have been directed by the Lord.
So where do I see the Church in the next little while? I have observed that I think we will see President Monson pass away at some point in the not-too-distant future and President Nelson serve for a few years followed by President Oaks, President Holland, and President Bednar.at varying intervals. How long that will be is known only to the Lord, but I anticipate short periods of service for President Nelson (the second most senior aposle, who, if he lives that long, will become the oldest living apostle on August 8, 2030, and the first centenarian apostle/prophet on September 9, 2024) and Elder Dallin H. Oaks (eight years younger than President Nelson and currently the third most senior apostle.) The next most seior apostles are not likely to ascend to the Presidency. Elder Ballard, the 4th in seniority, is just a year younger than President Monson. Elder Hales, the next most senior, is 12 days younger than Elder Oaks. Next comes Elder Holland, the youngest of those born in 1940. He is followed by President Eyring, born in 1933, and President Uchtdorf, born a month before Elder Holland. Next comes Elder Bednar, who is young for being the 9th most senior apostle, being the third youngest apostle. He is followed by Elder Cook, the oldest of the apostles born in 1940. Then comes Elder Christofferson, who is the 11th in seniority and the 10th oldest. Elder Andersen is next and is the youngest of our apostles born in 1951. The next most senior apostle, Elder Rasband, is six months older than Elder Andersen. Next is Elder Stevenson, currently the youngest apostle, born in 1955. The most junior apostle, Elder Renlund, is five months younger than Elder Bednar. Knowing where the apostles are in terms of seniority and age, I hope it is apparent why I think what I do about how we will see the Presidency of the Church pass from one to another.
That does it for this post. Please stay tuned for the next one.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Sapporo Japan Temple Dedicated/President Monson's 89th birthday/The Health of the Brethren
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
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I think Pres Hinckley served as an assistant to the twelve before being called as an apostle. I think at one point he was called as a third counselor or an assitant to in the first presidency when their health was slowing down. Could that calling come back?
ReplyDeletePresident Hinckley served as an assistant to the Twelve before being called as an apostle. He was a counselor in the First Presidency for the period between 1981-1982 before the First Counselor, N. Eldon Tanner, died and the FP was reorganized with Marion G. Romney as First Counselor and President Hinckley as second counselor. The calling of additional counselors is not unprecedented. Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, David O. McKay and Spencer W. Kimball all had additional counselors. There is a provision in Church history and doctrine that an ailing prophet can call as many additional counselors as may be needed, President Monson may choose to do so, or he may not. It's completely up to him. Not sure that the calling ever "went away" or was discontinued. It's always been an option. Some presidents have simply elected not to use it or have had a functional enough presidency without it. But now I don't know what to think. A building on the U of U campus was renamed today for President Monson, and all members of the First Presidency were present. So we will have to see what happens there. As always, stay tuned for future developments. Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, during President McKay's ailing years, he had five counselors. One of them, Alvin R. Dyer, was an assistant to the Twelve before his call and reassumed that assignment once President McKay died. Another counselor to President McKay was Joseph Fielding Smith, who retained his status as quorum president and his role in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles even while serving as a member of the First Presidency. That kind of arrangement could work in this case. In President Hinckley's case, he retained his apostolic seniority but was made a permanent member of the First Presidency, and Neal A. Maxwell was called to fill his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Either method works and either way would be a possibility for President Monson to have additional help in the FP. Thanks again for the comment.
DeleteIn the case of President Hinckley's call, that made 16 apostles. When N. Eldon Tanner died, President Kimball simply moved President Romney and President Hinckley to be the First and Second Counselors respectively. Since there was no resulting apostolic vacancy to fill, that left 15 apostles again, and no other changes in the apostleship took place until after Mark E. Petersen's death in 1983 and, exactly one year later, LeGrand Richards in 1984. The vacancies were not filled until the April 1984 General Conference when President Kimball was coherent enough to receive revelation about who should assume the apostleship. At that time, Russell M. Nelson, who had been Sunday School General President and was serving in the now-defunct regional representative position, and Dallin H. Oaks, a Utah State Supreme Court Justice, were called.
DeleteActually, just realized I had it reversed. It was LeGrand Richards who died in 1983, and Mark E. Petersen who died in 1984.
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