General Observations and Assumptions That Have Molded My Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! In the last week or two, as time and circumstances have allowed, I have worked on assembling my initial predictions for the October 2018 General Conference. I will share those in a subsequent post, but for now, I wanted to pass along some assumptions I have made that have molded those predictions.

The list of those assumptions follows below. So as not to interrupt the flow of those assumptions, I will end the post here. That does it for now. 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.

Assumptions and Conclusions That Have Shaped My Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference

Overall:

1.      Any new temples may be announced as part of President Nelson’s remarks during either the opening session on Saturday Morning or the concluding one on Sunday Afternoon.

2.      President Nelson will continue to share the responsibility for conducting sessions with his counselors, with the exception of the Women’s Session, which may still be conducted by one of the presidents of the Women’s Auxiliaries.

3.      The Sustaining of Church Officers will be conducted at its’ usual time at the beginning of the Saturday Afternoon Session. Since President Oaks did such a wonderful job with the names of area seventies that were released and sustained, President Eyring may lead the Sustaining of Church Officers this go-round, when few (if any) changes in area seventies may be noted.

4.      The First Presidency will continue the tradition established during the April 2018 General Conference of having an equal or greater number of speakers born outside the US as within it.

5.      We will hear from one member of the Presiding Bishopric (likely during the Saturday Afternoon Session), two members of the Presidency of the Seventy (likely during the Saturday and Sunday Morning Sessions), and at least three general officers of the Church (unless only two speak.

6.      From among the General Authorities, we will hear from half of the 8 who were called in April 2018, and also from more seasoned General Authority Seventies who have either not given a second address yet, will likely be granted emeritus status this conference, or who have not had an opportunity to speak in 4.5-6 years.

Saturday Morning:

1.      President Nelson’s remarks will be short to pre-endorse the other addresses that will be given during General Conference. Any major announcements, including new temple locations, may be made during that time.

2.      Three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak.

3.      The General Authority Seventies and member of the Presidency of the Seventy that will speak will all be born outside the US.

4.      We may hear from one general officer of the Church.

5.      One of President Nelson’s counselors will speak during this session (whichever one does not present the Sustaining of Church Officers in the following one).

Saturday Afternoon:

1.      As noted above, whichever counselor in the First Presidency does not speak during the Saturday Morning Session will present the Sustaining of Church Officers.

2.      Four members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak during this session.

3.      The member of the Presiding Bishopric might speak during this session.

4.      Three or four General Authority Seventies may speak during this session as well.

5.      At least two or three speakers during this session may have been born outside the US.

Women’s Session:

1.      Barring anything unexpected, this session will likely be conducted by one of the presidents of the Church’s three female-led auxiliaries.

2.      No members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will likely speak during this session.

3.      The Church will continue to invite one member from each of the three female-led auxiliaries to speak.

4.      Unlike previous Women’s Sessions, this session will see all three members of the First Presidency speak.

Sunday Morning:

1.      Whichever of the two counselors did not speak during the Saturday Morning Session will speak during this one, and he may be the same person who led the Sustaining of Church Officers in the Saturday Afternoon Session.

2.      Two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles may speak during this session.

3.      We may hear from another member of the Presidency of the Seventy during this session.

4.      We may also hear from one of the female auxiliary presidency members during this session.

5.      Two or three of the speakers may be selected from those who were born outside the US.

6.      President Nelson will speak at the conclusion of this session, and may announce new temples during that address, if he has not done so in the Saturday Morning Session.

Sunday Afternoon:

1.      The remaining three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will likely speak during this session.

2.      A member of either the Young Men’s or Sunday School General Presidencies may address us during this session.

3.      The Church could either opt to have no speakers born outside the US, or one or two internationally-born speakers during this session.

4.      3-4 speakers will likely be General Authority Seventies.

5.      If a second member of the Presidency of the Seventy has not spoken before this time, it could occur during this session.

6.      President Nelson will likely speak at the conclusion of this session, and may make any announcements (including new temples) that were not made during the previous three general sessions.

Additional Updates Noted On Several Other Temples

Hello again, everyone! Although it has been just about 3.5 hours since I posted the last temple updates I had, I have since learned of several other developments that I wanted to pass along as well. So let's get right into all of that.

We begin with the Fortaleza Brazil Temple. The last time I posted an update on that temple was on Saturday April 14, at which time I noted that the temple in that city was still having its' cladding being put up around its' exterior, while on the grounds, trees were being planted and walkways and staircases were being poured as well.

The newest update of which I have become aware indicates that cladding is nearing completion on the temple's exterior, while sod has been laid and trees have been planted in the oval garden feature. I have previously mentioned my feeling that this temple could be dedicated prior to the date when a dedication will occur for the temple in Kinshasa, which is an opinion I stand by.

Turning next to the Lisbon Portugal Temple, which, unless I have missed something, has not had a status update in the last 3-4 weeks or so, it would appear from an update today that a vapor barrier and cladding is going up around that temple's exterior, while the parking lot surface is being laid.

Doubling back now to Brazil, the new status update for the Rio de Janeiro Temple shows that waterproofing and a vapor barrier is being applied to the exterior walls of that temple. The last time I found an update for that temple was about a week and a half ago, on Saturday April 14. It is great to see progress being made after such a comparatively short time.

And I have one other update which has been noted, this one on the renovation process for the Frankfurt Germany Temple, where cladding is being reattached to its' exterior. As I have previously stated, it is awesome to consider that this temple, which, at the beginning of this year, was anticipated to be rededicated at some point this year, but which could not have a rededication pinpointed any more specifically than that. It may even have been earlier this month when we learned that its' completion was anticipated for the early or middle part of next year, and the fact that it has progressed substantially since that change clearly demonstrates the justification of that belief.

I continue to monitor all temple developments, and will, to the best of my ability, pass those along ASAP after I learn of 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.

Several Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Just a few moments ago, updates on several new temples and those undergoing renovation were brought to my attention. Before getting into specific updates, I wanted to first note an update to something I have shared before: my belief that the Church will have a minimum of 200 operating temples by or before the Church's 200th anniversary (which will be observed on Saturday April 6, 2030). As of today, that anniversary is 11.95 years away, which means that, if an average of 3.43 temples were dedicated each year, it could easily be done.

With 2 temples scheduled for dedication later this year, 2018 will be below that average. But next year, we know that 5 or 6 new temples will be dedicated, and there are 3 others that we know of so far which will be dedicated in 2020. If, as I have said before, several other announced temples have a groundbreaking within the next year and beyond, that would also increase the number of those that will be completed during 2020 and the years that follow. So it seems logical to assume that at least 200 temples will be operating by that time.

Having noted that, we now turn our attention to the updates I mentioned. We start first in Rome Italy. While the last update I posted for that temple still applies (that the visitor's information center is open and that the plaza water feature is being tested), it has additionally been noted today that asphalt has been laid for the driveway.

Turning next to the temple in Kinshasa DR Congo, it has been noted that a concrete block perimeter wall is being built, and that work has resumed on the roof of the temple. And although I noted just yesterday that interior framing was being done for the walls of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, I learned today that the baptismal font has also been poured.

Since that is all the updates of which I have been made aware for new temples, I now conclude by passing along an update on the status of the renovation process for the Oakland California Temple. New information on that process indicates that both water feature fountains have been removed from the grounds, and that work has begun on the process of renovating the temple's interior.

It continues to amaze me how much things can change in terms of such developments, even within the space of 12 hours or less. The Lord is hastening the work of allowing His children access to temples around the world, and it is thrilling for me to be a witness to such developments and to pass them along to you all here. I will continue to do so to the best of my ability.

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.