Barranquilla Colombia Temple Is Dedicated; Other Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! I have some more Church news to report. First and foremost, official reports on the dedication of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple are now available. We have a report on the youth devotional, another from the Church News covering the dedication, and a report from the Newsroom covering both events. It is interesting to note that only 2 new temples were dedicated this year, but 6 others will be dedicated next year. As we know, 3 have already had a dedication scheduled, and we are almost certain to see the open house and dedication announced for the Fortaleza Brazil Temple within the next couple of weeks or less.

That said, let's discuss the other Church news. A Deseret News staff writer, who also covers news of the Church, shared his memory of how he and Elder Holland both saw their fathers pass away during the Christmas season, how Elder Holland comforted him after his father passed away, and how he (the Church News staffer) only learned about Elder Holland's experience as a result of the address he (Elder Holland) gave while Elder Holland gave a Christmas message at an Anglican chapel in Oxford, England.

And finally, Gerry Avant, the retired Church News editor, continued her retrospective look back at the highlights of her career by sharing her experience covering the then-Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now known as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square) in their tour of Israel in 1993. During that time, the Choir was approached by Franciscan monks who expressed appreciation for the opportunity to hear sacred songs celebrating the Savior's birth in the land in which He walked, ministered, and taught.

It is wonderful to see the inspiring Church news reported on a day-to-day basis. I continue to monitor those stories, and all temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. I continue to work as hard and quickly as I can on getting my General Conference predictions finalized so I can share those with you all here.

I am also still planning on posting the final apostolic age & tenure update for 2018 one week from today, and a birthday tribute to Elder Gong the following week. On the last day of 2018, I will be providing a look back at the progress made on temples. So I hope there will be a lot to which all of you are looking forward.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are in harmony with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.