I know that my report of general conference news and information is still pending, but I wanted to share news I just received and my assessment of it, which partially has to do with my General Conference observations. More developments from General Conference are coming shortly, but I am working on a couple of post-conference things that are important to me. That said, here's what I know:
As has been the custom in the four general conferences prior to the one that took place this weekend, President Monson only spoke twice, and the combined length of his remarks was less than 10 minutes. Additionally, he was only in attendance at 3 of the 6 sessions of General Conference last weekend.
During his brief remarks in the Priesthood and Sunday Morning Sessions, he spoke of topics of import. While my wife and I had no problem whatsoever understanding what he was saying, I was initially surprised that his remarks were captioned. But my wife observed that the intent there might have been to prove to the Church and its many critics that President Monson is capable of accurately delivering verbatim the messages he has prepared. In spite of the brief and captioned remarks and his not being in attendance at sessions in which he did not speak, I was pleased to hear his messages.
That said, on both occasions, I had the distinct feeling come to me that these might be his last addresses as Church President. I have been wrong before in so saying and feeling, as many of you have been so kind as to observe, but I cannot help feeling that he might not live to see his 90th birthday. I hope I am off base here, but it seems to be possible.
This is even more true in light of the brief breaking news that was shared near the end of the 5:00 pm newscast on KSL. It was reported by the Church about an hour ago that President Monson has been hospitalized.
The news releases I have read have been reassuring as to his condition, with the statement from the Church spokesman that President Monson is all right, and that the hospital stay is anticipated to be very brief.
That said, another local news outlet, the Deseret News, also released an article about our prophet's health condition, both what it has been in general recently, and what it now is. So I am not sure what to make of that report. Click here to read that article, which includes emphasis on what happens in the event a Church President is ill, if and when he passes away, and also what happens when other leading Brethren fall ill. Also, click here to read the report that was posted on KSL.com, which is the website for my favorite local news (that local station is, as before noted, at least partially or fully owned and operated by the Church).
It is looking more and more likely that President Monson might pass away very soon, if not as imminently as many think or speculate. I hope that he will have the chance to see his 90th birthday (which is about 4.5 months away) and the 10th anniversary of his tenure as Church President (which will happen in less than 10 months), but I am not as sure as I once was that he will reach either milestone. I will post more on this as I find out more.
For now, this is the update I wanted to share. Feel free to share your thoughts about President Monson's condition. I am trying my best to moderate comments as they occur. I am not wiling to enable required approval prior to allowing such comments to be posted, because it is a hassle I don't need. But to make things easier for me, I would ask and request that any comments stay respectful. I would urge us all to follow the advice of Thumper's mother in Bambi: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Any comments that are disparaging or criticizing about our prophet, me or anyone else who comments on this thread will be deleted as spam as soon as I learn of them. Thanks for helping to keep the discourse civil.
It is my hope that we will all continue to keep our beloved prophet and Church President in our prayers. Thanks again.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Update: President Monson's Health Condition
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.