Predictions for Changes in General Church Leadership
Statistical Report, 2019 (corrected figures in parentheses)12
References—Part Two
8In April 2018, 3 changes in the Presidency of the Seventy that would be effective August 1 were sustained in advance. Since Elder Clayton, the current Senior President of the Seventy, will turn 70 in 2020, his release from the Presidency will likely become effective August 1, so his release and the sustaining of his replacement are likely to be presented for sustaining vote. Based on recent changes in that Presidency, the new member may be someone who was born outside the United States, which would increase the internationally-born majority (currently 4 out of the 7 members were born outside the US).
9It has been customary in recent years for any new General Authority Seventies to be sustained in April, so that is likely to occur again.
10Since 2017, it has been customary for the Church to release less than 10 area seventies each April. Among those releases this go-round could be those called as GA Seventies, mission presidents, or temple presidents whose service could begin before the October General Conference, any current area seventies called to serve in the new Young Men General Presidency, or any called before April 2015 who have not yet been released. Although I anticipate only a few releases, I have compiled the following list of those who might be released, so as not to overlook anyone: Ruben Acosta, Frederick O. Akinbo, Vladimir N. Astashov, Jorge T. Becerra, M. T. Ben Davis, E. Xavier Espinoza, Sam M. Galvez, Wisit Khanakham, Jose E. Maravilla, Adeynka J. Ojediran, Alexey V. Samaykin, Gordon H. Smith, and Kevin J. Worthen (who, as the current BYU-Provo President, if released as an area seventy, may be called as a General Authority Seventy).
11Since the current Young Men General Presidency has served together since April 2015, and since the standard call length for general officers of the Church has typically been 5 years, it would make sense if the current presidency was released during this General Conference, with a new General Presidency called. Past precedent indicates that the new presidency members could be comprised of one or more current General Authorities released to fill this new assignment, one or both of the outgoing counselors in the current Young Men General Presidency, either of the counselors in the Sunday School General Presidency, any member of the Sunday School or Young Men General Board, any current area seventies, or any men from the Church-at-large.
12In a continuation of the new tradition which began in April 2018, the Statistical Report will not be presented over-the-pulpit, but will instead be released on the Church’s official Newsroom directly following the Saturday Afternoon Session of this General Conference.
I expect a very dramatic change from the normal sequence of events for April General Conference. Instead of speakers, we may see some special video presentations. I also expect to see one or more speakers presenting from a location outside of Utah. Maybe even some extra events besides the normal 5 sessions of conference.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to comment. I know a lot of people (myself included), anticipated that this General Conference would be markedly different in substance and in terms of the location(s) from which General Conference might be broadcast. While it is all right to entertain such thoughts, since offering such opinions myself, I found two relevant articles, one an opinion piece from Boyd Matheson for the Deseret News, and one from Sarah Jane Weaver, the Church News editor. I share those articles here in the hopes that it will demonstrate that the location(s) and special developments which some may anticipate occurring are not as important as what the focus will be in terms of the addresses given:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-10-06/boyd-matheson-wow-moments-must-be-followed-by-inspired-action-and-forward-movement-163589
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-10-20/general-conference-october-2019-president-nelson-bicentennial-164417
And, as I have previously noted, if our focus on the hype surrounding why the April 2020 General Conference might be "unlike any other" detracts from our ability to follow President Nelson's counsel about how to properly prepare for it, we may be missing the mark, and will thus not be able to get all we can from the next General Conference, as President Nelson has expressed hope would be the case for every Church member. That said, I appreciate you taking time to comment. To whom may I offer thanks to for the comment above? THanks again.