Church News Publishes Two Articles about General Conference

Hello again, everyone! I thought I had reported on this already, but apparently I haven't. The Church News recently shared two articles about General Conference. This one gave an overview of how President Monson and Elder Hales, who were absent from General Conference, still had a profound effect on the messages given & the events that took place, in addition to sharing messages that verified that, even in these uncertain times, "the best days are yet ahead."

And this article, submitted by retired Church news editor Gerry Avant, who will still be contributing to the Church News in the wake of that retirement, but as "senior contributing editor", talks about the results of President Monson's birthday wishes of the past, as reflected in the words of those who enjoyed General Conference.

That does it for this brief news update. Any comments are welcome and appreciated, as always. For now, thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all until my next post. Until that time, I wish you all the best.

More Information Provided on Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Renovation

Hello, everyone! I wanted to pass along some information that came to me today about the renovation process for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple. Apparently, the main purpose of that renovation will be to alter the exterior appearance of that building. I am not sure of the extent to which that is planned, but wanted to note it anyways. To mark this information, a video presentation has been made available. Enjoy!

Report on Elder Hales' funeral

Elder Hales's funeral just ended a few minutes ago. I just wanted to post a brief report on that. President Uchtdorf conducted, as anticipated, and the Tabernacle Choir provided beautiful music for the service. Interestingly enough, at the beginning of the funeral, it was announced that President Monson and Elder Holland were both absent. The invocation and benediction were offered by seatmates Elders Neil L. Andersen and Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles respectively. Tributes were shared by Elder M. Russell Ballard, who was home taught by Elder Hales's father and who reminisced about ; President Russell M. Nelson, who reminisced about standing by when Elder Hales underwent heart surgery; and President Henry B. Eyring, who recounted how he served alongside Elder Hales in numerous assignments. We did not hear from anyone from the Hales family, but that is understandable. All in all, it was a beautiful service. I was glad to have seen it. That does it for this brief update. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you in all that you do.

Added 12:30 PM: The Church News offered this summary of the funeral proceedings. Thank you again for your kind attention.