Stokes Sounds Off: Preliminary Note on Future Apostles

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Friday, January 26, 2018

Preliminary Note on Future Apostles

Hello again, everyone! Now that there has been (at least for the moment) a slight slowing of Church and temple news to report (though there have been a few developments I may mention this weekend), I wanted to follow through on my promise to post some updated thoughts about the current apostolic vacancies and who might be called to fill them.

Before I get into all of that, I need to offer a couple of disclaimers to absolve myself of potential trouble: Firstly, I do not have any kind of "inside track" into who might be called, so the thoughts presented here are no more and no less than my own personal thoughts about why each individual on this list would be a strong choice, based on patterns I have observed in those called in recent years.

Second, some may be uncomfortable or have a problem with my posting about this, seeing it as speculation. I have no objections to those who see these thoughts in that way. With that said, I do not see any problem in offering my thoughts about those that could potentially be called based on the observed patterns that have formed this list; the question of whether or not any of this individuals will be called, either to fill the two existing vacancies or any others that may occur in the near future is entirely up to the Lord.

Third, I want it absolutely understood that I have a deep and abiding testimony in the process by which such calls come (which I acquired at a very early age), and that whether or not any of the men on this list are called at this or other times, anyone called as a special witness of Christ will always have my respect, sustaining vote, loyalty, and support, and it will be so until my last breath.

With that said, the thoughts I have compiled on this subject will follow in a subsequent post. So as not to disrupt the flow of these thoughts, I have felt it wise to close this post before I do. 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.

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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.