Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned in a comment earlier today, the Newsroom released new information about the one-volume new handbook for Church members, which included an official letter from the First Presidency that provided details about the changes, along with a list of FAQs. The Church News provided additional context and further resources. I took some time earlier today to review much of the new handbook, and it is well worthy of your time and attention.
If that were the only development for which I was posting now to reiterate its' significance, that would be reason enough for a new post here, but in the hours since the new handbook was released, another Church nrws article announced that the Church will also be implementing a new wifi network. The previous network name "LDSAccess", will be retired in response to President Nelson's reemphasis on the correct name of the Church. Meetinghouse networks can now be accessed under the name "Liahona", which comes from the Book of Mormon tool given to Lehi's family that gave them direction from the Lord as they gave heed to it.
This change is appropriate in my mind because worship in Church meetinghouses should rightly be focused on the way in which such instruction guides us in our daily walks of life during the week. Although the "LDSAccess" network will be available for usage in meetinghouses through April 15 of this year, Church leaders and members are being encouraged to immediately begin using the "Liahona" wifi network instead. I am grateful that, whenever there has been any doubt about whether or not a change should be made to Churchwide names or resources, there has always been a preference towards making such changes. Eliminating the wifi network with "LDS" in the name appears to be a commonsense move. And I am grateful to see the many ways media outlets and other organizations have made themselves compliant with President Nelson's efforts to ensure the correct name of the Church is more commonly utilized.
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such things. 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 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.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
BREAKING NEWS: Church Handbook Released; New Church Wi-fi Netowrk Specifics Announced
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
24 comments:
In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.
I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.
And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.
Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters.
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Hello again, everyone! Some additional details have been released about Churchwide events, and I anticipate that will continue to be the case in the near future for other upcoming events. So I wanted to provide a link to the document I will be updating as more information is provided on those events in the future:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1zjqLCa-qt9nJnjk1AuPOeaYcOHd0Vjf_FVBhw0ESibc/edit?usp=sharing
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
The following additional Church news stories have been reported:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-20/agency-voice-sister-eubank-keys-positive-change-uvu-women-leadership-174969
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-20/elder-uchtdorf-south-america-ministry-dental-crown-174706
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-20/elder-ulisses-soares-central-america-guatemala-el-salvador-costa-rica-174857
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
So... It's that time of year again... Do we have any serious rumors or predictions for April's General Conference? How do you think General Conference will be "unforgettable" as we celebrate the bicentennial of the Restoration? I don't have much to offer in ways of predictions, but I love the shift in emphasis to a global/international church, and look forward to possibly new music from the upcoming hymnbook that will represent all cultures. I'm just really excited for it all. (And, of course, temple announcements!)
ReplyDeleteHello. I am not sure to whom I should address this comment, but wanted to provide a copy of some things I noted in a recent comment on this very subject on the Church Growth Blog earlier today. This is not the full comment, but only the relevant bits:
Delete"As far as what might make the April 2020 General Conference unlike any other, aside from President Nelson's counsel about how to properly prepare for it, we also have the following Church News articles:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/search?q=April+2020+General+Conference
"Of specific note among those Church news articles are this from Boyd Matheson:
https://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
"When President Nelson dropped that particular teaser, many people (myself included) had a wide variety of theories about that General Conference. But the more outlandish ones have since been debunked (through official news releases from the Church, we have learned that General Conference is anticipated to originate from the Conference Center as usual, rather than any of it orginating from any other locations).
"The biggest change will probably be that, at least for this General Conference, the Saturday Evening Session will be for all Latter-day Saints ages 11 and up, which will preempt the usual Priesthood Session that has been held in conjunction with the April General Conference since 2018. We also know that a multicultural choir will be featured in that session, because that information has been officially released. And if you research "April 2020 General Conference" in any internet search engine, you'll get a variety of results, ranging from reasonable conjecture to off-the-rail guesses.
"I also know, for example, that both Matt and myself, he on [his] blog, and me on mine, have offered more commontary on that invitation as well. It is certainly interesting to think about what could happen, especially in light of President Nelson's invitation. But as many sources have also observed, if our conjecture or dialogue about what might happen takes away from our ability to follow President Nelson's counsel about how to properly prepare for that General Conference, we may miss the mark in the process, and not be able to have the kind of experience for which President Nelson is hoping we will be prepared."
would also add here by way of clarification that I have ons ffered, as has been my tradition, a slate of predictions for General Conference, which includes some conjecture about what could make the conference different. A search on this blog using the terms "April 2020 General Conference" or through following the "General Conference" label in the upper right-hand corner of this blog's layout can lead you to more specific observations from me in this regard, which I hope might prove illuminating for you, and to which I am happy to redirect you.
DeleteI have been toying with the idea of possibly updating those predictions in a few cases, which, if I do so, will necessitate my posting a fresh link to those updates, but given my current personal circumstances (wading through some additional personal health challenges while continuing to help my wife through her recuperative process from her first major surgery, which she had earlier this month), my ability to focus on such projects is limited at best.
But I will do what I can to update those ASAP, in addition to covering other developments in various ways as circumstances allow. In the meantime, I hope the substance and tone of this reply is helpful to you, and I also hope that nothing I said nor the way I said it came across as abrupt, rude, or disrespectful, which, as I have rcently been reminded, has been problematic periodically for those who read and comment here. Again, I don't know your name, but thanks for taking time to comment.
Not the original source, but this member website says that the open house and dedication dates for the Washington DC Temple will be announced nextThursday at 8am our time, or 10am on the east coast
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ldsliving.com/Church-to-Announce-Washington-DC-Temple-Open-House-Dates-Thursday/s/92413?fbclid=IwAR2P4nipq14cMZxMRIBSk_XQvMZExI8U4I8I6NW80AnGcM3JYIckkbhnchE
James Anderson, I apologize for not seeing your comment and responding to it earlier. That is exciting stuff. What I heard on my end regarding that is that the Washington DC Temple open house may be longer than has been the case for a while (by which I assume it will not be as long as what is anticipated for the Salt Lake Temple when it reopens in 2024, but slightly longer than we have seen recently) and that the dedication could span several days or a week minimum, with some sessions broadcast more widely than has been the case lately. Interesting that a press conference will be held to announce that information. And the fact that the announcement is coming down the pike in a press conference is interesting as well. I also find it intriguing that, insofar as I can tell, the information, which, as noted in the LDS Living magazine, came from the Church, has not been confirmed or acknowledged in an official release on the Newsroom website. Maybe an official release will be forthcoming tomorrow or Sunday. Something to stay tuned for for sure. Thanks again for taking time to share that here, James Anderson. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteI think I know why and how this came, Scott and Maurine Proctor, who run LDS Living, have some good connections in the DC area, and so someone they knew obtained the release indicating there would be a press event on the stated day. Often done generally to give a chance for the media to get details. Sort of like what was done here for the Salt Lake Temple renovation announcement
DeleteJames Anderson, what you said makes perfect sense to me. Given their personal connections, they'd know about that for sure. And the comparison of that to what happened with the Salt Lake Temple press briefing last April seems appropos as well, with the one difference being, of course, that perhaps official word on the press briefing for the DC temple will only be passed along by the Church after that briefing is held. It could also be that official acknowledgement of the briefing could come in the next day or two as well.
DeleteEither way, I find it interesting that the DC Temple opening dates announcemnt will be occurring on the same day as the Temple and Family History Leadership Training, 11 hours prior to be exact. I will be likewise intrigued to see what that training involves. It was awesome that the Church noted that those serving in missionary capacities in their congregations will be invited to the training as well. I look forward to seeing what Elders Bednar, Stevenson, and Renlund have to say this go-round. In the meantime, thanks for taking time to comment about this, James Anderson. I always appreciate hearing from you.
Hello again, everyone! The following additional Church news stories have been reported:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-02-20/rootstech-salt-lake-city-family-history-conference-174959
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2020-02-21/coronavirus-update-missionaries-members-temples-worship-services-175044
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sister-eubank-encourages-women-global-citizens
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-21/elder-uchtdorf-chile-youth-confidence-174927
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-20/agency-voice-sister-eubank-keys-positive-change-uvu-women-leadership-174969
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sister-eubank-encourages-women-global-citizens
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-02-21/university-of-utah-athletes-faith-football-cross-country-swimming-soccer-175082
The latest edition of “This Week on Social was also published:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-21/this-week-on-social-primary-talk-lunch-with-sister-oaks-and-invitation-to-young-adults-175070
The general Church leaders featured in this latest edition included the following: President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency; Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, D. Todd Christofferson, and Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham; and Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.
Meanwhile, the following update has been reported on the Salt Lake Temple: The wall around Temple Square has been removed where the South Visitors' Center was formerly located, and construction entrances have been added to the south wall of Temple Square along that same area.
ReplyDeleteThere may be further temple updates to pass along in the coming days, but I want to make sure of my information on those before I pass them along, so as to ensure accuracy in my reports and eliminate the potential need for a future retraction or correction if the information I have is not correct. Stay tuned for now, and in the meantime, my thanks again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! Sister Sarah Jane Weaver, the current editor of the Church News, has shared some powerful lessons she learned as she was first introduced to the history of the Relief Society as found in "Daughters in My Kingdom":
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-22/julie-beck-relief-society-daughters-in-my-kingdom-174948
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them. In the meantime, thanks again everyone!
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has shared the next 8 biographies of new mission leaders who will begin serving in July:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2020-02-23/8-new-mission-leaders-recently-called-learn-more-bolivia-texas-mexico-africa-puerto-rico-174704
Among the latest group of those whose biographies were featured this week are included the following: 1 current area seventy, and 1 assistant area auditor. WIthout exception, each new mission leader companionship has served in several crucial roles in the Church. It is wonderful to have these biographies that give us a glimpse into the people who will fill them. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of such reports.
In the meantime, a comment on the Church Growth Blog recently reminded me that I had some update work to do on my April 2020 General Conference predictions, due to some additional insight I have gleaned from a few more resources that have crossed my radar. Part of that process will likely involve some readjustments, changes, or updates to the list of potential temple locations as well. And regarding a few elements of my previously offered predictions, a complete overhaul or rework may be needed.
I will hope to have those reworked and published here by no later than next Sunday, March 1, so as to allow a 4-week commenting period on them (which will run until Monday or Tuesday March 30 or 31). Once the open commenting period concludes, that will then give me the next few days before General Conference to make any final tweaks or adjustments that may be necessary. So stay tuned for that.
As always, I’d like to thank you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, were featured in a Face-to-Face event focusing on the "Children and Youth" Initiative that went into effect at the beginning of this year. The interactive event allowed individual children and youth, along with some parents and leaders thereof, to share their experiences and to have follow-up questions answered by President and Sister Oaks, who also provided words of kind encouragement to all who are involved in the program. The Church News and the Newsroom both shared various hightlights from that event:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-02-23/children-and-youth-program-president-oaks-face-to-face-175112
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-and-sister-oaks-host-face-to-face-event
Aside from that coverage, given the general lull in Church news and temple updates for now, I am hard at work on the revisions to my April 2020 General Conference predictions. I hope to have those published later this week or by no later than a week from today, as I noted in my previous comment. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Hello agaiomn, everyone! The Church News and the Newsroom have both shared the annual report from Latter-day Saint Charities for 2019, which highlighted the many ways that Latter-day Charities has worked with the Humanitarian arm of the Church to provide relief in crucial ways in areas of the world impacted by natural disasters and a variety of circumstances:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2020-02-24/lds-church-latter-day-saint-charities-annual-report-2019-175164
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2020-02-24/lds-church-latter-day-saint-charities-annual-report-2019-175164
Also, a new update provided today on the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple shows that the walls of the temple tower have been poured. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of such things. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News also provided a report today on a medal received by Elder D. Todd Christofferson this weekend:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-24/elder-christofferson-receives-george-washington-honor-medal-from-freedoms-foundation-175182
My thanks once again to you all.
Saw a report today that LDS Business College will change to Ensign College.
ReplyDeleteThey will also add a limited number of bachelor's degree as well.
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for taking time to pass this news along. I myself became aware of that development just before you posted your comments above, but had other priorities that needed to be handled before I could say anything about it here. For those wanting to read the official Church news article covering this development, you can find it at the following web address:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-25/ldsbc-lds-business-college-new-name-ensign-college-175226
No confirmation from the Newsroom on this change, but hopefully that will be coming soon. In the meantime, the Church News also shared an article about how a college wrestler and mid-shipman in the US Navy was recently called as second counselor in the presidency of the first branch that was created for the Naval Service Academy:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-02-25/lds-navy-midshipman-college-wrestler-branch-presidency-counselor-anchored-gospel-casey-cobb-175193
I have some temple updates to pass along as well, but will do so in another comment shortly. In the meantime, thanks, Chris, for taking time to comment, and to all of you for your continued interest and ongoing support.
Hello again, everyone! I mentioned in my comment above that I had temple updates to pass along, and given the nature of those updates, have felt it best to again share a copy of my temple construction progress report, for which the relevant changes are highlighted in red. The web address where that can be found follows below. In the meantime, the biggest game-changers in the newest updates are the adjusted completion orders and time-frames for most of the temples anticipated to be completed in 2021 and 2022. I continue to monitor all such developments and will pass those along to you all s I receive them. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NjOQjruF_hn11NO04fVSNWAF-r2OuaSLMDTqQXWeXo/edit?usp=sharing
I also have one additional development to note here as well. Several months ago, I mentioned that the Church had apparently determined to no longer have any of the male General Officers of the Church serving as advisers to the Church magazines. The January 2019 Ensign only lists the three female general officers and the General Authorities who serve as such, in addition to the editor thereof. But effective as of the February 2020 edition of the Ensign, Brother Jan E. Newman, Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, has now been listed as an adviser as well. So that's another minor chage that I wanted to pass along.
ReplyDeleteWith the April 2020 General Conference drawing ever closer, and with changes in general Church leadership that will be announced, and also with the anticipated announcement at some point later on in April about the new area leadership assignments and other reshuffling of assignments at Church headquarters, it will be interesting to see if and how the Church magazine's editor and advisors may be impacted. I will keep my eyes open on that and everything elese. In the meantime, thanks again, everyone!
Hello again, everyone! In the 4 hours or so since my last comment, two additional articles have been published via the Newsroom:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/new-primary-general-board-members-named
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saints-distribute-more-than-63-million-lighttheworld-donations-to-charity
My thanks once again to you all for your contineud interest and ongoing support.
Hello again, everyone! Earlier this morning, the Church News, the Newsroom, and the official Church Blog all provided copies of President Nelson's second invitation to Church members during this bicentennial year for the Church: to ponder and reflect on the reason for and purpose of the Father's invitation for us to "Hear Him (the Savior)!" You can find those resources at the following web address:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-26/president-nelson-restoration-invitation-2020-hearhim-joseph-smith-first-vision-bicentennial-175302
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-hear-him-2020
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/how-do-you-hear-him-a-special-invitation?lang=eng
Additionally, an update on the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple now indicates that building permits have been secured, and that the process of grading the temple site is complete. The attention of the construction crew now focuses solely on finalizing the process of clearing the site. Hopefully that means that construction will begin on the temple proper in the near future.
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things. in the meantime, thanks again, everyone!
Brasilia Temple rendering released:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/brasilia-brazil-temple-rendering-released