Hello again, everyone! Among the Church news stories which I have recently referenced (all of which I hope to pass along in the near future) are several vital and significant updates on the ministry and travels of our apostles around the world. These updates come from both the Church News and courtesy of Mormon Newsroom. Let's dive right in and discuss those now.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland continues his ministry in Europe, and a report has come in that notes that, while he spent time in Scotland, he paid tribute to the life and ministry of a previous Church president, David O. McKay, who was inspired by and molded his ministry as an apostle and prophet on the phrase: "Whate'er thou art, act well thy part", which he had encountered on a building during his missionary service in Scotland. You can read more about that story here. Mormon Newsroom also published a release on that story, which you can find here.
In relation to that story, I had a thought occur to me. Following reports of many of the apostles visiting the Philippines within the last year, I did not find it accidental that we had both another temple announced in that nation for Cagayan de Oro, and heard today that a groundbreaking for the Urdaneta temple in that same nation was anticipated to be announced soon.
My point in mentioning this is that, because many times the visit of an apostle to a certain nation may involve "testing the water", as it were, to determine the feasibility of a temple. I have had a temple for Scotland on one of my three lists for just about as long as I have been offering my thoughts on future temples here on this blog. So with this report of Elder Holland visiting Scotland, does that strengthen the argument in favor of a temple being announced for that nation soon? Let me know your thoughts on that in the comments below.
In the meantime, Elder Holland's seatmate, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, is also in Europe at the moment, where, among other things, he visited German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, for the purpose of discussing many subjects, including important matters related to Germany, and to exchange thoughts on the refugee crisis currently existing in many nations, including the United States and Germany. You can read this report from Mormon Newsroom for more on that visit and the conversation that followed.
A few significant thoughts came to mind surrounding this meeting. First, Elder Uchtdorf was accompanied by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who arranged this meeting, which was the first of its' kind between the German chancellor and a senior leader of the Church. Second, with Elder Uchtdorf having been a longtime resident of that nation, in addition to being in the senior leadership ranks of the Church, he was in a very unique position to understand the issues that were discussed. As I understand it, he has dual citizenship in Germany and the US.
But the third thought is kind of more out there, and may or may not turn out to have merit. It did occur to me to wonder if the Church might be considering the prospect of building a third temple to serve the Saints in Germany, so if that turns out to be the case, would Berlin be a good candidate city for that honor? And if so, how imminently likely might such a prospect be? And on which of the three lists I am keeping would that prospect be appropriate to add, for the immediate or near future, or as more of a long-shot prospect? I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on these questions in the comments below as well.
I additionally thought it would interest some of you to know that the Church News has published another article in its' series: This Week on Social Media. In this week's article in that series, among comments from other Church leaders, Elders Holland and Uchtdorf shared highlights of their current assignments, and some thoughts and reflections that came to their minds as they filled them.
It has certainly been a big day in terms of breaking Church news and temple developments. I continue to monitor all of these developments and will post updates in that regard as I become aware of them.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, whether on the questions I posed in this post, or on any other topic. 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.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Apostolic Ministry Updates
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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