Hello again, everyone! Though these breaking news developments are a few hours old, in view of some personal illness that has kept me from doing my first check of the Church websites until now, I only found out about two major developments a few moments ago.
First of all, Sister Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of President M. Russell Ballard,, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died earlier today after struggling with many health issues, one of which was Alzheimer's. Further information about her life and thoughts from her family about her legacy can be found in the Church News and via the Newsroom on the Church's official website. Those sources speak for themselves, so I will say no more about them, except that funeral services will be held a week from today, and that I am sorry those will coincide with his birthday, though perhaps that was President Ballard's choice so he could share one last birthday with her. My condolences go out to the Ballard family at this time.
While I don't want to overshadow that news, I am also pleased to report that the First Presidency has announced the open house and dedication dates for the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. The official release about that notes that a public open house will begin for that temple on Tuesday March 12, and will go through Saturday March 30, with the exception of the Sundays of March 17 and 24.
The Church, which will continue the tradition of having a youth devotional instead of a cultural celebration, will have such a gathering for the youth in Kinshasa on Saturday April 13, with the temple dedication to be held the next day in 3 sessions, and will be broadcast to all Saints living in the Kinshasa temple district. But here's the thing that intrigued me most: The release also notes: "Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date." What that means exactly, I don't know.
I would just like to add here that the timing of this dedication was just about when I estimated it would be. When I last posted my estimates for known temple events, I had shared my feelings that this temple could have a dedication in mid-April. But I should also note that I thought that the next big temple news would be either the confirmation of the groundbreaking for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple or the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. There is still time for both of those to be officially confirmed in the near future.
With my thanks to those who commented here earlier today to share these developments with me, and my thanks to all of you for your ongoing interest and support, that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any subject at any time. Thank you for the ongoing additional privilege of your time.
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Monday, October 1, 2018
BREAKING NEWS: Sister Barbara Ballard Passes Away at Age 86; First Presidency Announces Dedication Information for Kinshasa DR Congo Temple
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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Hello again, everyone! I just wanted to add here a thought that I find impressive. With the previously-announced dedications for the Concepcion Chile, Barranquilla Colombia, and Rome Italy Temples, the announcement of the dedication for the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple means that, for the first time in a long time, the Church will dedicate 4 new temples within roughly a 7-month period. That, by any measure, is outstanding to consider. I continue to monitor any and all Church and temple news and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it. Thanks again, everyone!
ReplyDeleteSome sad bittersweet and some exciting news today.
ReplyDeleteThe page for the Rome temple dedication also mentions that more details for that dedication will be announced at a later date.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lds.org/church/events/rome-italy-temple-open-house-and-dedication?lang=eng
I think it has something to do with the fact that the dedication will span a week, but it will be interesting to see what those statements mean for both the Rome and Kinshasa temple dedications.
Thank you, Chris and Eric, for taking time to comment. I concur fully, Chris, with the sentiment of your comment. Eric, I was thinking about the unusual statement made in conjunction with the dedications of these two temples. In the case of both announcements, mention was made of the youth devotional and of the relevant dates, but nothing was said about where those youth devotionals would be held. or who among the general Church leadership would be in attendance.
ReplyDeleteWe just recently learned that President Nelson would indeed preside at the dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple, but until that was officially and publicly announced, it was speculation on the part of many. So perhaps the unknown details of that sort may be what the Church is referencing in that wording in both announcements. But that's just a hunch on my part. Thanks again, Chris and Eric, for taking time to comment.
Sorry. Another thought struck me, which is something I have mentioned previously but warrants reiteration here. Although I have no doubt that President Nelson potentially could be in Rome to preside over the entire 8-day dedication of the temple in Rome Italy, I have voiced my opinion that attendance at those dedicatory services will likely be rotated among all 15 apostles. As the first temple in a long time to have a dedicatory service span more than a week, it would not surprise me if quite a few general Church leaders are able to participate over the course of those services.
ReplyDeleteI am anticipating that there will be 3-4 dedicatory services for each of those 8 days, which would be a total of 24-32 sessions, but even the exact number of sessions is unknown as of yet for the Rome temple. Just an additional thought, FWIW.
I wonder if the 8-day dedication may be to broadcast it throughout Europe or maybe around the world where different areas would participate different days. That would be quite something. I still remember the loud audible gasp of the congregation in the conference center when the Rome Temple was announced followed by President Monson's chuckle.
ReplyDeleteIt is always exciting when a new temple is dedicated. I'm excited for all the temples that are under construction or announced and for all those that will be blessed by them.
Hello, Eric! I may be incorrect, but I think the 8-day dedication may have more to do with the rich Christian history in Italy (and particularly in Rome) than it might with the idea and intent to broadcast sessions to areas outside of Europe. The news release about the Rome dedication notes that the temple will serve Italy and "surrounding nations", so the 8-day dedication may be more about making sure that many sessions will be held for Italian Saints, while other sessions could see Saints attend from neighboring nations that will be served by this temple as well. It has been quite a while since the Church has broadcast a temple dedication to other areas of the world not directly connected to it. And US temple dedications have lately been restricted to those living within the new temple district.
ReplyDeleteCould the Church change what has been a standard pattern for at least the last decade? Possibly, and I would welcome it if it happens, particularly as I have friends with Italian ancestry or who have served missions in Italy but may not be able to make the trip to personally attend that temple's dedication. It will be interesting to see exactly what "additional details" the Church will release in the future, and once I learn more about those, I will be sure to pass them along here. Thanks again, Eric, for taking time to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.
Hey, Eric! I just took some time to reread the official information the Church released about the Rome Italy Temple dedication. Although that material states that "more details will be announced at a later time", it also says that the youth devotional will be broadcast to all units in the temple district. And since it is not categorically stated that the dedication will be broadcast throughout the world (which has generally been noted well in advance for other temple dedications that have been broadcast on a larger scale, or even worldwide) it is a pretty fair bet that the temple dedication will be restricted to either the temple district, or to the entire European continent. That said, it is also true that this temple is historic in nature for the rich Christian history in Italy in general and in Rome in particular. Although I would love to find out that this event will be broadcast on a wider scale than we have recently seen, I wouldn't count on it. Unless I am misinterpreting the information or something is officially released to prove otherwise, given that the event in question is set to occur in 5.5 months, it seems unlikely.
ReplyDelete