Hello again, everyone! I will be continuing my post series on potential future temple locations later on this week, but I wanted to ask for input on another element of my predictions for next General Conference. If, as I assume will be the case, new temples and the new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are both announced during the next General Conference in April, how and when might that happen? A review of apostolic announcements may be helpful.
In April 1995, President Hinckley's first apostolic appointment (of Elder Henry B. Eyring) was announced during the Saturday Morning session Solemn Assembly, and that was also true in April 2008 for President Monson's first apostolic appointment (Elder D. Todd Christofferson). The other apostles appointed during President Hinckley's presidency (Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, and Quentin L. Cook) were also all sustained in the Saturday Morning Session, with President Hinckley leading out in just the announcement and sustaining of Elders Uchtdorf and Bednar, and taking the role of leading the entire sustaining of Church officers when Elder Cook was sustained. In like manner, President Monson conducted the sustaining of Elder Neil L. Andersen, his second apostolic appointment, during his opening address in the April 2009 General Conference.
Six and a half years later, because he was reducing the number and length of his addresses, President Monson did not speak until the Priesthood Session of the October 2015 General Conference, but he did authorize President Uchtdorf to mention that three new apostles would be sustained during the conference, and President Eyring led out in the sustaining of those three at the beginning of the Saturday Afternoon Session.
Additionally, in terms of temple announcements, President Monson had also habitually announced new temples during his opening remarks at General Conference, which was true until 2015. The new temples announced in the last three Aprils have all been announced during President Monson's main address during the Sunday Morning Sessions of General Conference.
There has also been a general precedent in place for what has happened at times when Presidents Kimball and Benson were having health-related difficulties. During those times, it has generally been the most senior member of the First Presidency announcing temples.
So, having explained all of this, it is my theory that President Monson will authorize President Eyring to announce and lead out in the sustaining of the new apostle and also announce any new temples at the beginning of his remarks in the Saturday Morning Session, and that that will be reiterated in the Saturday Afternoon Sustaining of Church Officers.
But that's just my opinion. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Input needed on General Conference Predictions: When might new temples and the new apostle be announced?
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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Both depend on who is the prophet by April. If under Pres Monson then I say the apostle will be announced during the regular sustaining and temples announced whenever Pres Eyring speaks.
ReplyDeleteUnder Pres Neilson then first thing for apostles because of the solomn assembly and then when Pres Neilson first speaks Sat morning.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Kenny. You raise an interesting point. If President Monson were to pass away, that would change things considerably. We are entering an interesting time right now. We are seeing a prophet in declining health for the first time in 24 years or so. Prophets had been known to step back previously from an active role, but there was never a public announcement as what we had from President Monson. The interesting element of prophetic decline is that, in the last two cases, Presidents kimball and Benson lived several years after they were rarely seen in public. I have heard several times of rumors going around that President Monson had passed away, only to see something official from the Church debunking all of that. President Monson could be called home by next conference, in which case President Nelson would have two apostolic appointments to make.
DeleteThis gets more interesting when we consider prophetic transitions. The last time a new prophet gave his first address after the Solemn Assembly sustaining him was when President Hunter presided at his only General Conference as Church President in October 1994. That time, coincidentally, was the last time an apostolic vacancy had been filled before the Conference.
For both President Hinckley and President Monson, their first addresses as prophet were given during the Priesthood Session, and they spoke to the Church at large the next morning.
Of course, there are no hard and fast rules about when a new prophet can give his first address. Assuming President Monson is still alive by then, and that the typical rotation is followed, President Eyring will be the first speaker in the Saturday Morning Session, which is why I advanced the idea above that he, as the most senior leader speaking at that time, could lead out in the sustaining of the new apostle and announce any new temples, representing President Monson in doing both. In the cases of the last three apostles sustained, President Monson authorized President Uchtdorf to mention that the three new apostles had been called at the beginning of the Saturday Morning Session, and, as we know, the sustaining of those men was ratified as part of the Saturday Afternoon Session, since President Eyring, the senior leader to President Uchtdorf, was asked to lead out in the sustaining, as he has every October.
But these are my own thoughts, no more, no less. President Uchtdorf has acted for President Monson in announcing one new apostle on his behalf when he led the Solemn Assembly in April 2008. The announcements of the new apostle(s) and temples will happen whenever the prophet at that time, whomever he may be, authorizes that to happen, and whenever it does, you can depend on my posting about it here. Thanks for your thoughtful feedback, Kenny! I appreciate you!
Just wanted to add a couple of things here, and I hope that in doing so, I am not belaboring the point or discouraging others from participating in such discussions. We are down to only 5 of our 14 apostles that were called prior to the presidencies of Presidents Hinckley and Monson.
DeleteOf the remaining 9 called under these two prophets, two (President Eyring and Elder Christofferson) were announced during a Solemn Assembly Saturday Morning Session. The three between those two (President Uchtdorf and Elders Bednar and Cook) saw their calls announced by President Hinckley at the beginning of the Saturday Morning Session, and President Hinckley actually became the first prophet in as far back as I could find to conduct a Sustaining of Church Officers himself, which he did during his last General Conference as Church President, and letting everyone know about President Eying's call to the First Presidency and Elder Cook's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Andersen's call and sustaining was led by President Monson.
It is true that there has been a precedent for sustaining new apostles during the Saturday Afternoon Session, but there is also a precedent for doing so during the Saturday Morning Session, whether that is led by the senior counselor in the First Presidency or the prophet himself. I imagine the reason for things happening the way they did in October 2015 was that President Monson, unable to make the announcement himself, wanted the Church to know that the vacancies had been filled, which is why President Uchtdorf mentioned that had been done, but he (President Monson) wanted the official announcement to come from the next senior Church leader, his right-hand man, President Eyring, and since he was asked to lead that Sustaining in the Saturday Afternoon Session, that could be why we only learned who had been called that afternoon.
If I have the rotation right (which I hope I do), then President Eyring will be the first speaker at the Saturday Morning Session. Based on that, it wouldn't surprise me if we found out about the new apostle at the beginning of President Eyring's address in that session. That would also be an opportune time for any temple announcements. Unless President Monson passes away between now and then, or rallies enough to make such announcements himself (either is just as likely), I am sure he would want all of these announcements made by President Eyring. But then, I could be wrong. It will be interesting to find out what does happen. Thanks again to all of you for wading through this additional thought.
Something else occurred to me. With President Eyring being more senior, he probably would have been the one to lead the Solemn Assembly Sustaining, if he had not had an issue with his ankle that limited his ability to take an active role in General Conference aside from speaking. With that in mind, it makes sense that President Monson asked President Uchtdorf to lead that instead. I would think, with that in mind, that President Eyring's seniority would mean that he would represent President Monson in making any major announcements, including the new apostle and any new temples. But it is also true that President Monson could just as easily authorize President Uchtdorf to identify the new apostle in the Saturday Afternoon Session. The one good thing about Elder Hales's death happening between the last sessions of last General Conference is that, whenever the new apostle is called, whomever he may be, the First Presidency will likely have more than enough time to make any additional adjustments to the body from which that individual is called. If memory serves me correctly, the three apostles called in October 2015 were all called on the Tuesday before they were sustained. And in view of the history made by the call of three apostles at the same time (which had not happened since 1906). finding and arranging for successors in the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding BIshopric took a backseat until later that month. The long and the short of my observation here is that the First Presidency will likely be able to make any subsequent changes that may be needed based on whomever is called prior to all of those changes being presented and ratified at General Conference. Thanks for wading through this additional thought on my part.
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