Stokes Sounds Off: 03/15/18

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Thursday, March 15, 2018

BREAKING NEWS: Church to discontinue monthly First Presidency Message

Hello again, everyone! Big news has come from the Church, likely as recently as today. President Nelson requested that the remarks he made from the temple on January 16 be reproduced in the April 2018 Ensign, which seems to replace the traditional article introducing the new Church leadership.

But that is not the big news. At the end of that message, a note was included from those editing the Church magazines that indicated that this message would be the last First Presidency message included in the Ensign, and that any major messages from the First Presidency would be shared via social media and Church websites.

There is nothing as of yet to verify this, but it seems safe to infer that this also means that the Church will move the home teaching program more in the direction of what has been done for visiting teaching, and that, rather than a prepared message, the emphasis for home teachers will be to share a message as inspired by the Spirit based on the principles that should govern home teaching.

If that is the case, then it is plain that the Church is wanting to encourage all members to rely more on the promptings of the Spirit than a written message. In the meantime, for those interested, you can review President Nelson's message here.

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.

Update Provided on Renovation Process for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple

Hello again, everyone! Continuing the reports on temple updates I have somehow missed (due to illness & not currently having access to my document on which I track such progress), I wanted to note a major update on the renovation process for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple. The last time I provided an update on that process was on February 22.

At that time, I noted that the new entrance lobby of the temple was being sheathed. The new information of which I have become aware is that the structural framing has been completed for the steeple and that the exterior is being waterproofed.

While this milestone is significant, to be sure, it does not appear that there is any justification to believe that the more general estimate provided by others or the more specific ones which I have felt safe in providing need to be altered at all.

With that said, it would not surprise me in any way if the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple was delayed until after both the Memphis Tennessee Temple and this one have their rededications.

As always, I am doing my level best to keep an eye on developments in this regard, and I will continue to the best of my ability to pass along any and all temple-related news and developments as I become aware of them, including and especially any alterations that may become necessary to any general or specific estimates provided by myself or others.

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.

Update Noted on the Lisbon Portugal Temple

Hello again, everyone! I don't know if this was reported earlier and I didn't notice it, or if this is new information, but I have found out about a status update for the Lisbon Portugal Temple.

The last time I reported a change in this temple's status was February 28, at which time I noted that the walls for its' steeple had been poured and that the scaffolding had been removed.

The new information indicates that scaffolding & netting has gone up around the temple's exterior. While this update is a good indication of this temple's progress, it is not significant enough to warrant a change in its' general or more specific completion estimate.

As always, I am doing my level best to stay on top of all temple progress and will continue to post all such updates as I receive them.

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.