Stokes Sounds Off: Additional Church News Resources Regarding the New First Presidency

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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Additional Church News Resources Regarding the New First Presidency

Hello again, everyone! After a very long day yesterday, I am back to share some additional Church news resources about the new First Presidency. First, it is worth noting that the Church's leadership lists were updated with the changes yesterday evening.

With that said, the new First Presidency recorded these thoughts on social media in response to their newly announced assignments. The Church News also republished biographies of the new First Presidency that were featured in Church resources as a result of their original calls to general Church service.

For Presidents Nelson and Oaks, those appeared in the May 1984 Ensign, in the report of the conference where both were sustained to the apostleship. For President Eyring, the reproduction is pulled from resources the Church put out at the time of his April 1985 call to general Church service (which at the time was to the presiding bishopric; since he subsequently went on to serve in the Seventy, the Twelve, and the First Presidency, he is the only man in Church history to have filled all of those assignments.

Click here for President Nelson's biography, here for the one on President Oaks, and here for that of President Eyring. It was wonderful to read these words that were written about each of these men around the time their full-time service commenced. We now have the obligation and duty to sustain and support each of them individually but also collectively, as the First Presidency is the presiding Quorum of the Church.

That does it for this post. Any and all 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.

4 comments:

  1. While the changes in the First Presidency and Quorom of the twelve are updated, they still have not removed the Seventies who were released in October. Also there is still no birth date for Elder Parrella

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    1. There have been a lot of problems I have noticed in terms of the Church website updating the lists of area seventies, and that problem obviously extends to GA Seventies as well. In terms of Elder Parrella, he is the only GA Seventy for whom an exact birth date has yet to be revealed. It is highly unusual. But there must be a reason for it. Thanks, Scott.

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  2. There is a lot of flack online about the release of Uchtdorf being "demoted" from the first presidency. But in the church callings and releases are normal. I've seen stake presidents being released and called as young men's presidents or bishops. It is not a demotion. But a change. Most callings are only for a limited time. Elder Uchtdorf still has has same position in the 12 as before. He will still be visible and has an important place and responsibilities.

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    1. It is strange that people seem to have such a problem on that point. The teachings of Elder Uchtdorf during his time as both a new apostle and later as a counselor to President Monson should be a clear indicator that in the Church, callings are never sought or declined, that church members lift where they stand, and that when an assignment comes to an end, each of us should accept that graciously. And it also makes sense that President Nelson would want President Oaks by his side, since, barring anything unexpected, he is anticipated to succeed President Nelson at some point, and would likely be more comfortable in doing so after having experience in the First Presidency already, rather than coming to it after being just the Quorum President as did President Nelson. And between President Eyring and Elder uchtdorf, it makes sense that the more senior of the two would be retained. Since President Eyring served as a counselor to both Presidents Hinckley and Monson, he would be in a position to know of anything either intended to do that may have not been able to occur, for whatever that reason might be. And as President Nelson noted in his remarks introducing the leaders yestereday, this is not in any way a demotion. The last decade in which President Uchtdorf served in the First Presidency acquainted him with the administrative aspects of some areas of Church government that will now, as noted, uniquely suit him for the extensive responsibilities and assignments which President Nelson said he had already given him as he now takes his place as the third most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Anyone who claims it was for any other reason obviously doesn't understand how the Church works, nor do they accept what then_President Uchtdorf said on the subject of how Church members and leaders alike should rightly respond when such assignment changes occur. Thanks.

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