Hello, everyone! I have sad news to report. At 12:15 PM, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles passed away. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing. As previously noted, he turned 85 years old on August 24. More information will be provided as it becomes available. Rest well, Elder Hales! You've earned it. I know this good man merited the greeting from the Savior: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make you a ruler over many. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Funeral arrangements will be announced in the near future. That does it for this post. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all in all that you do.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
BREAKING NEWS: Elder Robert D. Hales Passes Away
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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James,
ReplyDeleteI too was saddened by this news, in part because Elder Hales was the first apostle called in my adulthood- I can still recall being surprised that the camera person in 1994 had either been warned or was very quick and able to zoom in on him sitting with his counselors in the Presiding Bishopric as soon as his name was mentioned as the new apostle. However, I am not surprised by his passing, which has seemed inevitable for some time. I do find the timing of his death a but surprising, as it is fairly rare to have a General Authority die during conference. (I'm pretty sure Elder Derek A. Cuthbert did, and I can think of one or two before my time who were pretty close if not actually during conference, including Lorenzo Snow and J. Reuben Clark. I vaguely remember Elder McConkie's last talk but I'm thinking of deaths closer than that to conference.)
Also, I was reminded today that the 1st Presidency and Quorum of 12 that was served together and was unchanged from 1995-2004 was responsible for both the Proclamation on the Family and The Living Christ (and I would add, the movie Special Witnesses of Christ in its VHS/DVD form, which I still have a copy of and still love to watch every once in a while). Well, I think someone in conference mentioned that there were only 7 of them left- and since that was before the news of Elder Hales' passing, that means we now only have 6 of them. (And that number will undoubtedly be shrinking more within the next few years. Considering how long it usually takes for someone to become senior apostle, it's kind of amazing how much turnover we've had in the last 15 years.)
By the way, you may also be interested to know that I saw this news first on your site.
Sorry, I got an extra 'was' in the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph.
ReplyDeleteThank you for those comments. I am gratified to learn that you first heard this news here from me. That shows I am doing my job in getting Church News to my readers in the very minutes it happens. As to your comment about the deaths of Church leaders near General Conference, while I don't know the particulars of the death of Elder Cuthbert, I do know about the death of Bruce R. McConkie. From my study of old Ensigns in my parents' basement, I know he rallied his strength to deliver his final message in the April 1985 General Conference, then fell ill and passed away around two weeks after General Conference. The May 1985 Ensign shared his final powerful testimony in the session in which it was delivered, then there was a two- or three- page spread in the Church News section in the back.
DeleteNow, just a word on your comment about the apostles who are left that were apostles at the time the Proclamation on the Family and the Living Christ were published, we have President Monson, the only one left from the First Presidency that was serving at that time, President Nelson, Elder Oaks, Elder Ballard, Elder Holland, and President Eyring.
It is interesting to see what has happened with apostolic succession in recent years. President Monson is the 77th man to be named a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. So all 76 apostles senior to him have passed away. With President Nelson being the 85th member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, we see that the 8 men with apostolic seniority between Presidents Monson and Nelson have passed away as well. And we have even had three apostles senior to Elder Holland but junior to Elder Ballard pass away as well. It is likewise interesting to consider that, at the time President Monson became Church President, his chosen counselors, Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf, were 12th & 13th in apostolic seniority. They now sit at 6th and 7th, having gone from the junior half to the senior half of the apostleship. It is likewise interesting to see what is happening in the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Cook was the junior member of that Quorum when President Monson's presidency began. With the death of Elder Hales, Elder Cook has become one of the six senior members of that Quorum. While we do not yet know how long President Monson will live, we do know that the Lord is clearly controlling how that apostolic succession is taking place. It will be interesting to see whether this vacancy is filled before or during the April 2018 General Conference. Whatever happens, you can depend on my reporting it as I am able to. Thanks again.
DeleteAs to the special witnesses video, don't know if you are aware of this, but the Church has continued that video series by letting new apostles film clips for it. You can find the clips for the newest apostles at the address below. I am grateful the Church has continued to do that. Enjoy!
Deletehttps://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/what-are-prophets-testimonies?lang=eng