July 14, 2019 Marks Two Significant Milestones for the Church

Hello again, everyone! Tomorrow will mark two milestones in the Church. First, the Tabernacle Choir broadcast that airs will be focused on the 90th anniversary of "Music and the Spoken Word". With the first brodcast thereof having aired on July 15, 1929, this Sunday will mark the closest broadcast date to that anniversary. Over the course of the last 9 decades, the Choir and its' associated personnel have very aptly and capably filled their roles as emissaries for the Church. The Spoken Word which will be provided tomorrow in conjunction with that anniversary will pay tribute to all those who made the milestone possible, from those on camera or microphone to those behind the scenes, to the music directors and the organist, to the many people who have offered the "Spoken Word" messages.

But it will also allow those currently involved in the brodcast to pay tribute to the many who have listened to or watched the brodacast over the years. The Church News has shared the Spoken Word message that will be offered tomorrow. And from the Tabernacle Choir's website, a page sharing the highlights of the broadcast, including the musical selections which will be featued in tomorrow's broadcast, has been provided. Additionally, from time-to-time, the Tabernacle Choir has made a live stream of the Choir broadcast available each Sunday, which remains available for a few hours following the broadcast's original airing.

That will be the case for the live stream of the broadcast tomorrow, for any of you who may not have TV or radio access to it. If this milestone broadcast is not reason enough for us to rejoice, tomorrow also marks the day on which President Nelson will be observing 1.5 years as Church President. Within that time alone, the Church as we know it now has been transformed in all sorts of significant ways, from the many temple milestones which have been observed, to the calling of the first Asian-American and Latin American apostles, to changing the status quo of tradition in programs, policies, procedures and practice as they have been observed for decades, to extensive travel, to so many "firsts", including one yet-to-be observed in September, when President Nelson's first milestone birthday as Church President will be his 95th.

And such developments show no sign of stopping. President Nelson has observed that we, as Church members, have gotten used to things being done in a certain way, where tradition has become more observed than intent. So much of what has been done during this time has been with a view to both reduce and simplify the work of the Church, and to unfy and streamline Church practices, programs, and resources on a more global scale. When we look at where the Church was at at the time of President Thomas S. Monson's passing on January 2, 2018 in comparision to where things are now, the Church has been indelibly and most postively changed in the last 1.5 years alone. If the words of President Nelson, his wife, and all of his apostolic colleagues is to be believed, such developments will continue to shake up the status quo and defy prior traditions and expectations.

Although all prophets have been as clear as they are able to be regarding how much their actions have been inspired and directed by the Lord, President Nelson is making that far more plain, transparent, and clear than it ever has been. What may be coming in the next 1.5 years remains to be seen, but if there will be an accelerated pace for everything in the Church now, then the unprecedented territory which has been marked from January 14, 2018 to now will almost definitely be overshadowed and outpaced by what will come in the next 1.5 years between tomorrow and the third anniversary of his prophetic administration (which will occur on January 14, 2021). President Nelson clearly wasn't kidding when he offered his physician's presription: "Eat your vitamin pills. Get your rest. It's going to be exciting."

For my part, I am grateful to have been able to acknowledge both of the significant milestones covered herein. I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep doing my level best to bring you word of such things as I become aware of them. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.