Stokes Sounds Off: Miscellaneous Church News Reported; Angel Moroni Installed Atop Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple

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Friday, February 22, 2019

Miscellaneous Church News Reported; Angel Moroni Installed Atop Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to share some additional Church news stories and the one temple development which have been reported in recent days. So let's get right into all of that. First, while I was working on writing this post, the latest edition of "This Week on Social" was published on the Church News website. That article focuses on posts which were mostly directed to young adults (both single and married), but also some directed to those going through severe trials in their lives. That latest edition featured posts from President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the following other members of that Quorum: Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Gary E. Stevenson, and Ulisses Soares, and also Sisters Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President and her Second Counselor, Reyna I. Aburto.
 
Next, a couple of articles have been published relating to missionary work. One of the new mission presidents who has been called to serve is Scott Featherstone, who will preside over the Washington Vancouver Mission, alongside his wife Lori. He is the son of Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, a General Authority Seventy who passed away last May. Three of soon-to-be President Featherstone's sons are deaf, and three others are not. Their inspiring family story is highlighted in this article.

And in view of the change announced last week by the First Presidency (that full-time missionaries can call or text their families weekly on preparation day as inspired to do so), the Church News requested reactions from those who had been able to communicate with their missionaries, then shared 17 of the best responses. It sounds as though some missionaries have determined that a weekly call might be too distracting, so many of those responding are letting their missionaries set the frequency of their direct contact. There was even one respondent who noted that their missionary was close enough to finishing that they determined a call would be too distracting.

Meanwhile, missionaries in Mexico heard about the First Presidency announcement directly from Elder Quentin L. Cook during his recent visit to the Church's Mexico Area. That was one of many highlights during his recent visit to the Mexico Area, which also saw him conducting the annual review of that area, and included visits with the Saints in Mexico City, Merida, and Cancun. He also met with youth and young adults, and spoke at a gathering of religious, political, and educational leaders on the subject of religious freedom.

Elder Cook was accompanied by his wife, Mary; Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Seventy, and his wife Kathy; Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric and his wife, Carol; and the members of the Mexico Area Presidency and their spouses: Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela and his wife, Silvia; Elder Rafael E. Pino and his wife, Patricia; and Elder John C. Pingree Jr. and his wife, Anne.

Turning now to other Church news, another former General Authority has passed away. Elder V. Dallas Merrell, who served from 1992-1997, died yesterday at age 83. The Church News provided this artcile in tribute to his life. He had one opportunity to speak during General Conference and bore powerful witness of the Savior.

And the Church News provided a look at two developments relating to the sisters of the Church. In the March 2019 Ensign, an article written by a BYU-Provo Professor of Church History and Doctrine (who taught one of the religious classes I took during my brief time at BYU) highlights the essential connection between the women of the Church and the priesthood. You can also read that article. Meanwhile, some adjustments have been made to the available garment styles for the women of the Church as well.

At BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday, Elder Erich W. Kopischke gave 3 suggestions for how Latter-day Saints can stay cheerful amidst trials. Additional missionary news includes the earlier reported death of a missionary serving in the Dominican Republic, and 29 experiences shared by members of the Church relating to learning a language for their missionary service.

There may be other Church News stories which have not been focused on here, and you can review any others I missed on the Church News website  In the meantime, I wanted to pass along one other article, this one from the official Church website. After retiring from his position as a full-time organist for the Tabernacle Choir last April, Brother Clay Christiansen recently reflected on the highlights of his 35-year career in that position. He had long been a favorite of mine, and the article in question was published as his friends and colleagues prepare to honor his prestigious career.

With that said, I will end this post by sharing the latest temple update I have. It was reported earlier that the angel Moroni statue was installed atop the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple today, and that the work of cladding the temple's exterior in stone has been completed. It may be a few more months or so before we know how likely it is that this temple will be dedicated prior to the end of this year, but I will keep my eyes open for word on that.

In a similar manner, I will be sure to continue to monitor any and all other Church news and temple updates and bring you all word of those here as I become aware of it. 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 made in accordance 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.

6 comments:

  1. Hello again, everyone! I have mentioned before in the recent past how grateful I am that general Church leaders, especially our apostles whom we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators, are taking more time and opportunity to use various platforms to provide encouragement to Church members all around the world. We saw that recently with President Nelson's blog post on the Church's website which he wrote to thank the women of the Church for responding to the invitations he issued last October. It has happened again, with his Second Counselor, President Henry B. Eyring, posting on the Church's blog his thoughts on how the Lord speaks to him through the scriptures. It is an amazing post with wonderful insights into his process of studying the scriptures, and I share a link to that blog post below:

    https://www.lds.org/blog/how-god-speaks-to-me-through-the-scriptures?lang=eng

    I am grateful to have been able to pass that along to you all here today. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will bring you all word of those here either in new posts or comments on existing posts as I become aware of such developments. My thanks again to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello again, everyone! Though I am much later in doing so than I'd hoped or planned, I wanted to share some additional temple developments and Church news stories which have crossed my radar within the last 24 hours. We begin with the temple updates. First, now that it is after midnight Utah time, that means that the public open house tours will begin for the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple in just two weeks, a day which will also mark the final day for the dedicatory services of the Rome Italy Temple. It is good to be looking forward to that.

    The other temple updates which I have are for two temples currently undergoing renovation. First, another update has been provided on the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple, where exterior cladding has been completed, and where the entrance doors have been installed.

    And the Angel Moroni statue was added about 12 hours ago to the Raleigh North Carolina Temple. The odd thing is that the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple had its' Angel Moroni statue installed almost two weeks ago, so we can see from that how two different construction crews working on two different temple projects approach doing the same things in a different order, which makes sense. I will post another comment within the next couple of hours or so with the Church news updates. Thanks again, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello again, everyone! Much later than I anticipated, I am back to share some Church news stories which have recently crossed my radar. Let's get right into those. First, as some of you may be aware, the Church lost another young missionary from Utah recently. His death appears to have been due to coming into contact with an electrical cable. More on that can be found in the article below:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-02-23/electric-cable-contributed-to-death-of-missionary-from-utah-church-says-49060

    For any who are interested, the Bells on Temple Square group is accepting applications for new members. Anyone interested can apply below:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-02-23/want-to-be-a-part-of-the-bells-on-temple-square-heres-how-to-apply-49054

    A longtime Church spokesman has passed away at the age of 85. You can read more about L. Don LeFevre below:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-02-24/l-don-lefevre-longtime-church-spokesman-passes-away-at-age-85-49062

    ReplyDelete
  4. The latest list of mission presidents includes 1 current area seventy, 2 former area seventies, and the son of a former General Authority Seventy:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2019-02-24/new-mission-leaders-called-to-serve-in-peru-brazil-philippines-and-other-areas-around-the-world-49041

    In this week leading up to the RootsTech sessions, the Church News has provided a list of kid-friendy Family History activities:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-02-24/google-earth-family-search-primary-put-the-family-into-family-history-with-these-new-kid-friendly-activities-49045

    The Church News also provided some introductions to those who will headline the RootsTech sessions:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-02-25/actress-patricia-heaton-lion-film-subject-saroo-brierley-and-ukulele-musician-talk-2019-rootstech-49056

    Two BYU professors have provided some insight into how the "Come Follow Me" curriculum should just be the beginning of Church members' gospel study:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-02-25/new-testament-come-follow-me-2-byu-religion-professors-october-2018-general-conference-weigh-in-on-personal-gospel-study-49036

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  5. And, rounding out the Church News coverage is, first, an opinion article by Boyd Matheson about how missionaries calling home should supplement (rather than supplant) their letters home:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-02-24/book-of-mormon-uchtdorf-deseret-news-latter-day-saints-boyd-matheson-while-calling-home-missionaries-should-still-write-the-things-of-the-soul-49031

    Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has provided narration for a stunning new video released on "Mormon Channel" which compares the annual migratory tradition of some animals to how we as human beings have moments in which our hearts can, in similar fashion, find the paths that will lead us to our heavenly homes:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-02-25/watch-this-breathtaking-new-nature-video-featuring-a-message-from-elder-uchtdorf-49069

    And two more articles have been published about missionary work. One of the survivors (not victims) of the Brussels Airport bombing, Richard Norby, has provided more insight into what he and his wife personally experienced during that time:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-02-26/general-conference-rirchard-norby-terrorist-attacks-on-surviving-brussels-bombing-moving-forward-with-faith-in-jesus-christ-49043

    And finally, missionaries are called to focus their labors on saving people's souls. But at various times, the need for rescue has been more physical. A missionary companionship in Kiribati came upon 4 men who were stuck in a car that was sinking into deep water and leaped into action to save them:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2019-02-25/missionaries-save-lives-of-4-men-in-island-nation-of-kiribati-49065

    I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will keep passing word of those along to you all as I become aware of it. Thanks again, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  6. And, in yet another example of how quickly new developments can be reported, the Church News has provided a look ahead at the event that will be live-streamed on Thursday night, the RootsTech leadership session, which will feature instruction by Elders David A. Bednar, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-02-26/have-a-family-history-calling-dont-miss-this-live-stream-with-3-apostles-on-how-to-better-help-your-ward-49071

    My thanks again to you all.

    ReplyDelete

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