Additional Church News--Part One: Article Published to Introduce Elder Soares; Some Additional Thoughts and Observations About the Calling of an Apostle

Hello again, everyone! In yet another example of how quickly new Church developments can be reported, I am pleased to post now in order to pass along many additional Church News stories that are worthy of a mention here. I became aware of many of these news articles earlier today, but due to taking care of some personal obligations, I was not able to pass those along before now. I should also note that this will be done in two parts. In this first part, I will be highlighting an article about new apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, and I will also touch on some observations regarding the administration of the Church, the handling of day-to-day questions from Church members, and how the calls of Elders Gong and Soares were handled differently than apostolic calls in the recent past. So let's get right to it.

In posting some Church news stories yesterday, I had referenced an article the Church news published to introduce Elder Gong. Today it was Elder Soares' turn. One common theme that I really appreciated in yesterday's article about Elder Gong was also present in this article about Elder Soares. Both articles mention the fact that, while our two newest apostles recognize that their appointments are historic for the Church (as Elder Gong is the first Asian American apostle, and Elder Soares is the the first Latin American apostle), they recognize that they have not been called to represent Asian or Brazilian Saints in the leading councils of the Church or to the Lord, but rather to represent the Lord's will to the people wherever they are sent.

And it is a point well taken. Many people seem to feel that there should be more diversity among the leading councils of the Church, and such people also found fault with President Nelson for the way he answered the question about diversity in Church leadership. While the Brethren we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators do manifest the Lord's will to us, and are the only ones authorized to speak in the Lord's behalf, as someone who has been a lay member of the Church for just over 31 years now, I know there is truth in what President Nelson said during the press conference.

The Brethren would not be as free as they currently are to discern, determine, and proclaim the will of the Lord if they were constantly being called upon to make determinations about local issues. Many people seem to feel that they have a right to discuss whatever their concerns or issues are with the leading Brethren of the Church, but overlook the fact that such things are now handled by local leaders. The fact is that if every concern was handled on a general level in this global Church, hardly any of the Brethren would be free to do much else than that. If local leaders are given the chance to resolve such things, as should be occurring, that will leave the Brethren free to not just settle important issues on a Churchwide scale, but, more importantly, to be out among the people of the world, and gaining more of an understanding about what Church members and friends of other faiths in various nations are experiencing, that they might more effectively minister and administer to people of all backgrounds.

And while it is significant, to be sure, that the first two apostles selected during President Nelson's administration were from minority groups in the Church, I would hope that the point made by both Elder Gong and Elder Soares is not lost: their focus will be representing the Lord's will to the people, and they are anxious to go wherever they are sent.

One other take-away I got from these articles about our newest apostles is that, for the first time of which I am aware, both Elders Gong and Soares, in reporting the circumstances of their calls, noted that they and their wives were asked to meet with President Nelson. That is somewhat unprecedented, in my experience. We have heard new apostles previously say that after they met with the Church president, they then shared the unexpected news of their new callings with their wives. But this is yet another example of how President Nelson is demonstrating his clear understanding of how such calls will affect the spouses involved as well, and also, by extension, how important the wives of these new apostles will be in terms of allowing their husbands to serve. That was great to read about.

As noted above, I had started this post intending to cover many news stories in one go, but the commentary I felt to provide on this article introducing Elder Soares makes it necessary to put the other stories in a post of their own. Therefore, 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 (which should be published within the next half hour or so and will touch on other important Church news), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.