Stokes Sounds Off: 02/18/18

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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Oakland California Temple Closes for Renovation

Hello again, everyone! For those who are not aware of this fact, I wanted to note that, while all temples worldwide are closed on Sunday, most (if not all) of the temples within the United States are also closed on Monday as well. My purpose in mentioning this is to note that, while the closure for the Oakland California Temple was officially set to begin tomorrow, because that temple traditionally is closed on Sunday and Monday, the closure has essentially gone into effect.

As we also know, when this temple's closure was announced roughly a year ago this month, the stated purpose for the renovation is to upgrade electrical and mechanical systems upgraded and for its' finishes and furnishings to be refreshed. According to that news release, the temple is anticipated to be rededicated before the end of the next year. But because this is the first time this temple is being renovated, and because the first renovations for older temples have had a history of taking longer than anticipated, it has, as I have observed, been my feeling that this temple's rededication may only occur during early-to-mid 2020. I will keep my eyes open for more information on this process as it unfolds and will do my best to pass it along as I learn of it.

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.


A Word About the First Presidency Message in the March 2018 Ensign

Hello again, everyone! With the fact that an Ensign Supplement accompanied in February 2018 Ensign, I had felt that the March 2018 edition of that magazine might contain articles about the reorganization of the First Presidency. With an HTML version of the magazine now available, I can confirm that did not happen. Those articles may be printed with the April edition of the magazine.

In the meantime, it has been somewhat customary for the new Church president to write the first First Presidency message published following his ordination. That was the case for President Monson (whose first First Presidency message was published in the April 2008 Ensign), President Hinckley (whose first First Presidency message was published in the July 1995 Ensign, as the April 1995 Ensign covered President Hunter's funeral, the May 1995 edition was a report of President Hinckley's first General Conference as Church President, and since the June edition had an article about President Hinckley written by Elder Holland in lieu of a First President message), and President Hunter (the July 1994 Ensign was a tribute to President Benson, the August 1994 edition had a feature article on President Hunter written by then-Elder James E. Faust, and the September 1994 Ensign contained President Hunter's first First Presidency message as Church president).

Looking further back into the history of the first First Presidency message following the ordination of a new Church president, the first First Presidency message published following President Benson's ordination as Church president in November 1985 (which appeared in the December 1985 Ensign, directly following the tribute articles (including addresses given during the funeral) written in honor of President Spencer W. Kimball. Since President Hinckley had previously been asked by President Kimball to write the First Presidency message for that edition of the Ensign, President Hinckley was given permission to follow through on that assignment, and the message was published under his former title of Second Counselor in the First Presidency.

My purpose in mentioning all of this is to set the background for what occurred for the March 2018 First Presidency message. Apparently, with the usual rotation kept during President Monson's presidency, it was then-President  Uchtdorf's turn in that rotation to pen a message for that Ensign. With President Nelson's approval, President Uchtdorf's prepared message has been published with the March 2018 Ensign, and can be found here.

For that reason, I imagine that President Nelson's first First Presidency message will be published in the April 2018 Ensign. It will likewise be interesting to see if the traditional report of the new First Presidency is included in April as well, and how soon an Ensign supplement is published to reintroduce President Nelson to the Church membership.

I hope this information is helpful to at least some of you. 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.