During General Conference this weekend, many changes were announced in relation to Church leadership. Daniel L. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy since 2006, and Francisco J. Vinas, a General Authority since the time of President Benson, were released from the First Quorum of the Seventy, and Elder Kent F. Richards, a General Authority Seventy since 2009, and Jairo Mazzagardi, a General Authority Seventy since 2010, were released from the Second Quorum of the Seventy. These brethren were all granted emeritus status and received a vote of thanks. This also marked the first time in several years when an actively-serving General Authority has passed away while serving. President Eyring, who led out in the sustaining, paid tribute to Elder Per G. Malm, who died of cancer earlier this year.
As has been customary the last few conferences, when the leading brethren who hold the sacred calling of apostle were sustained, several people vocally expressed their opposition to their sustaining. Despite the constant invitation given to these people, rather than taking the matter up with their stake presidents, they continue to oppose the vote to sustain. If that weren't enough, the sustaining, which is supposed to be a silent vote of support, became the target of vituperative people who chose to verbally state their opposition. These people were hell-bent on stirring up trouble. But as has been the case during the sustaining, those opposed were treated with great respect.
It is tragic that the ritual of sustaining of our Church leaders has been marred by people who only want to stir up trouble. I take comfort in the knowledge that these people will one day stand accountable before God for failing to sustain the leaders the Lord has put into place.
We also were witness to how the Brethren are doing health-wise. President Monson looks frail. I will be amazed if he makes it to the next General Conference. And Elder Hales's talk sounded a lot like a final testimony to me. I hope I am wrong on both counts. But if these brethren are meant to pass, I take comfort in knowing that there is a system of succession in place. We never again have to ask what will happen if any of these brethren pass. And we can take comfort in the fact that if and when that happens, the Lord's plan is perfected to the point where we never again have to wonder what will happen to the Church.
By contrast, our oldest apostle, President Nelson, is looking as hale and hearty as ever. I have a feeling he will live to become the oldest living apostle/prophet in Church history. At 92, he shows no signs of slowing down. And he will live for several more years, I'm sure. I would be very much surprised if he does not become the next prophet. When that will happen remains to be seen.
Just by way of information, as of Sunday, the average age of the First Presidency members is 82.79, while the average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.34, and the average age of the 15 apostles together is 76.03. It is interesting to note that some of the apostles are much older than the average, and some are much younger. How blessed we are to have constant, continuous access to the words of these great men. Hope you enjoyed this post.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Changes in General Church Leadership/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.
2 comments:
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.
At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.
I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.
And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.
Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am wondering about the health of Pres. Eyring as well. I was only able to listen to some of conference on the radio, but during the sustaining portion it sounded like he said Deiter Frank Uchtdorf and R. Todd Christofferson. I understand he is probably reading it, but he is so close to those bretheren it seems like an odd mistake.
ReplyDeleteEach time President Eyring leads the sustaining of Church Officers, he has gotten closer and closer with his pronunciation of President Uchtdorf's middle name. This time was the exception, and he did say R. Todd Christofferson. I didn't notice anything amiss in his appearance at General Conference, but I did notice he represented the First Presidency at the naming of a Scout building in Idaho. I was surprised at how gaunt and old he looked. As of Sunday, he is 83.34 years old. As I stated above, it is hard to see these Brethren getting older. But we can take comfort in the knowledge that there is a perfect system in place whereby the Church is in good hands even if some of the Brethren ail due to age or failing health. And with President Nelson doing as well as he is, I am confident he will outlive President Monson. Time will tell. In the meantime, the possibly ailing Presidents Monson and Eyring may warrant the calling of a third counselor in the First Presidency. I have my own theories about who that might be, but will refrain from revealing who I think it will be until we know more about the health of the Brethren. As stated above, I also felt like Elder Hales was giving his final address. I hope I am wrong, but time will tell. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDelete