Stokes Sounds Off: Elder Ronald A. Rasband Marks His 69th Birthday Today

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

Elder Ronald A. Rasband Marks His 69th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! On this morning of February 6, 2020, I am pleased to bring you all here a post in tribute to Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who is marking his 69th birthday today. Here is some biographical information about him: Ronald Anderson Rasband was born on this day in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Rulon Hawkins Rasband and Verda Anderson. He served as a full-time missionary in the Eastern States Mission, which was headquartered in New York City and encompassed the whole New York Metro area, while also stretching into western New York and Pennsylvania. He married Melanie Twitchell in 1973, and together they raised five children. He studied at the University of Utah, and would later receive an honorary doctorate degree in business and commerce from Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) in 1995. He began his professional career in the Huntsman Container Company as a Sales Representative in 1976. Still in that employment 11 years later (in 1987), he was promoted to the position of president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation, where he closely worked with Jon Huntsman Sr. and later served on the board of directors for that company. He has served extensively in the Church throghout his life, having previously been a bishop, an institute instructor (during which time my wife was in one of the classes he taught), Temple Square missionary guide, member of the Church’s Pioneer Sesquicentennial Committee (which was observed in 1997), and, from 1996-1999, presided over the New York New York North Mission. On April 1, 2000, he was sustained as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, where he would serve in the Europe North & Europe Central Areas from 2000-2003. From August 2003-August 2004 (at which time oversight for all North American areas was transferred to the Presidency of the Seventy), he served as president of the Utah Salt Lake City He then served from 2004-2005 as Executive Director of the Temple Department. He and his future fellow apostle, Elder Neil L. Andersen, were called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, at which time Elder Rasband was assigned oversight of the North America Northwest and North America West Areas for two years, then was reassigned to preside over the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South Areas. By August of 2008, he had become the second most-senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy. The following April, as a result of Elder Neil L. Andersen's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Rasband succeeded him as the Senior President of the Seventy, and, as such, was given oversight for all areas in the United States and Canada.

He was still serving in that capacity when, in October 2015, he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. With Elders Gary E. Stevenson and Dale G. Renlund called at the same time (something that had not happened since 1906), the number of those who had served as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reached a total of 100. He is currently the eighth in seniority among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, making him the eleventh in overall apostolic seniority). By age, he ranks as the sixth-oldest among the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. and is resultantly the ninth-oldest of all 15 current apostles. As long-time readers of this blog can confirm, prior to the filling of the 3 apostolic vacancies in October 2015, and again when two others were filled in April 2018, I offered some thoughts about who might be called to fill those vacancies. But I also advocated for the practice of praying in advance for a personal witness that whoever was called had indeed been chosen by the Lord. And in every single one of those 5 most-recent calls to the apostleship, no sooner had their names been presented than I felt the Lord's spirit confirming to me that their calls came from Him. As a result of those witnesses, anytime a new apostle is called, I know the Lord's hand is deeply involved with that process.

Because Elder Rasband has spent nearly 2 full decades as a General Authority, (including a decade of service in the Presidency of the Seventy, and 4.5 years in the apostleship), he has given 15 addresses thus far in General Conference: 1 as a General Authority Seventy, 5 others during his tenure in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 9 since his call to the apostleship almost 4.5 years ago.  I am grateful for this opportunity I have had, in my own small way, to pay tribute to and reflect on the life and ministry of Elder Rasband today as he is celebrating his 69th birthday. I do continue to monitor all apostolic updates, general Church news, and any temple-related developments and will keep bringing word of those to you all here as I become aware of such reports.

In the meantime, looking ahead on my planned schedule for upcoming projects on this blog, aside from anything unexepeced, and ongoing reports of the usual kind, although the next apostolic birthday will not be observed until May 31 (at which time President Henry B. Eyring will be 87), I am preparing to post my first 2020 apostolic milestone update on this blog, which I plan to do on Sunday February 16 (that update coming on the same day the Durban South Africa Temple will be dedicated). 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.

10 comments:

  1. The temples site is reporting this about Yigo, Guam (and presumably about San Juan, Puerto Rico and Praia, Cape Verde) since those three followed the same plan in the rendering:

    The sacred structure was designed within a compact footprint that debuts some innovative features like multipurpose spaces. The sealing room, for example, can be used for presentation of the endowment.

    But small temples have been decades in the making. This presentation by Elder Bednar, in a Q&A format, sheds more light on that, partway through while discussing President Hinckley's role in introducing smaller temples (this presentation should move to another location in a few days, I'll reply to this with that link when it does:
    https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/live-broadcasts?lang=eng&video=6128692064001p1s2rEqGesM

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    Replies
    1. James Anderson, thanks for sharing that development. As recently as early September of last year, President Nelson had indicated that announcing smaller temples was part of his plans. When it comes to the concept of multipurpose rooms for temple worship, that is another Nelsonian change that makes sense, and another one that led me to wonder why that concpt hadn't been more commonly used. That definitely explains how a large number of temples could be announced and utilizem the multipurpose plan, which would be a very quick way to rapdily ncrease the total number of operating temples within a very short period of time.

      Speaking of temple developments, in the last few days, a new report indicates that the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple has been officially turned back over to the Temple Department for finishing touches before an open house and dedication arrangements are announced. Based on that report, it seems likely that the earliest that temple dedication could take place is probably late Augut or early September. I am hopeful we may see an official announcement on that soon, in addition to groundbreaking arrangements being announced for the Auckland New Zealand Temple, which I hope could result in that temple having a groundbreaking before the April General Conference, for which timeframe it appears that everything is falling neatly into place.

      Again, James Anderson, I appreciate you sharing that development here. While I am in the midst of helping my wife through her post-surgery recovery, I have not been able to make my daily checks of the major Church websites. I had been aware of the report of the multipurpose ordinance room for Yigo Guam, but had not yet had a chance to pass word thereof along, so I appreciate you mentioning it here for that reason as well. And I am grateful that you mentioned Elder Bednar's recent comments as well. I am hoping that, based on the information disclosed thus far of Nelsonian-era temple plans, that President Nelson could, perhaps with an assist from Elder Bednar (in similarity to what has happened in the last two October General Conferences where President Nelson has explained preliminary details of forthcoming changes, which were the expanded on in more detail by Elder Cook), with the details being specified as to the extent and timing of President Nelson's plans, with a mass number of temples then announced to fit those parameters, and Elder Bednar then explaining more specifically how all of that will work, and that the bicentennial of major Church anniversaries that will be commemorated in conjunction with the April General Conference may be the best time for that to be detailed. It's just a feeling I have, but I have long held the belief that when all the ncessary pieces are in place, such explanations and a set of mass announcements will be possible. And given the increased coverage of what President Nelson, his wife, and his apostolic Brethren have said about that recently, the time may be right for such an explanation to be given in detail. And that would be a very good way to get a large number of temples approved and built in a very short period of time (less than 2 years for each such edifice). Just my thoughts based on this report and the information I now have. Thanks so much, James Anderson, for taking time to comment. I alwAys appreciate hearing from you.

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  2. Hello again, everyone! Things have normalized enough with my wife's recovery that I have been able to assemble links to (and relevant commentary on) Church news which has been reported in the last week, which can be found here:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oYZrp2FYC9ihFS4JF3XHLXD0gC8BedcYJxmJhYrymhQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

    My thanks again to you all.

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  3. And relevant temple updates (highlighted in red text) can be found in the following document:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NjOQjruF_hn11NO04fVSNWAF-r2OuaSLMDTqQXWeXo/edit?usp=drivesdk

    Thanks again, everyone!

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  4. Also recently reported is the inspiring story of a star high school athlete who made his comeback in an unexpected way following the amputation of his leg due to a sports-incurred injury:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-02-10/basketball-football-injury-prosthetic-leg-miracles-173728

    My thanks once again to you all.

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  5. And 10 days from his birthday he will dedicate the Durban South Africa Temple. Its confirmed unless there will be a surprise change before Sunday. The link says it all.
    https://www.facebook.com/SouthAfricaMormonNewsroom/videos/119411329475795/

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    Replies
    1. Nigel, thanks for stopping by to share this comment. In the video, Elder Rasband mentions that he is there "on assignment for the dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple, which may not be exactly the same as his being sent to preside at that dedication. There is mounting evidence from unofficial sources (namely social media posts from Elder Rasband) that seem to suggest that he will preside over this temple dedication, and on the one hand, I'd be hard pressed to explain why all of his children and grandchildren are joining him and his wife in South Africa if he is not being given his first opportunity to preside at a temple event.

      But on the other hand, every time I have mentioned a social media post from any of the Brethren, it is usually information that has bee corroborated by official Church resources (namely the Church News or the official Newsroom). As of the time at which this reply is being posted on this blog, insofar as I am aware, anything official has not yet been reported in either resource.

      So in all such cases, my personal preference is to chalk the information down as a definite maybe, then post confirmation of the details when those are provided through official Church resources. I do that not because I have a hard time believing that the information is likely correct and accurate, but because I want to make sure that the reports I share on this blog do not require a later correction or clarification.

      I hope this comment does not come across as disrespectful, Nigel, because personally, I have no problem believing that Elder Rasband will preside over the temple dedication. But as a Latter-day Saint blogger whose reports depend on accurate information, I need to be more reserved in noting something as official until that is confirmed by official Church resources. I hope that's okay with you. And either way, I thank you for taking time to share the video. Hopefully the Church will officially confirm Elder Rasband's role in that dedication in the next couple of days, at which time, I will be pleased to post that official confirmation. Thanks again, Nigel, for taking time to comment.

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  6. Hello again, everyone! Elder Soares is in the midst of an apostolic ministry visit to the Central America Area of the Church, and the Newsroom reported on his recent visit with the president of Guatemala:

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-soares-meets-guatemala-president

    His tour will continue through Sunday, when he will return to Church headquarters after also visiting El Salvador and Costa Rica. I had half-wondered whether the visit might have included assessing how soon the Coban Guatemala Temple might be ready for a groundbreaking to occur, but in that sense, I'd defer to my Central American Church member contact, who has indicated that the probable order in which construction will begin for the 3 Central American temples is San Pedro Sula Honduras, then Coban Guatemala, and finally Managua Nicaragua. Unless that has changed since that contact last commented here on that subject, perhaps my hope that something could have been assessed for the Coban Guatemala Temple is in vain. Time will tell. In the meantime, one other Church News story has been reported:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2020-02-11/saints-volume-2-polygamy-mountain-meadows-massacre-deliverance-173958

    The upcoming release of that second volume will particularly highlight the experiences of the women of the Church during the period of time when Utah was colonized, the pioneer-era temples were being built, and when the practice of polygamy by the Church had a profound impact on the women of the Church. Consequently, many female Church historians made significant contributions to that volume to preserve the accuracy of and integrity whereby those events were covered in that latest volue. I have some temple updates to share as well, but will defer those for another comment. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

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  7. As far as the temple updates I mentioned, most of them are reflected in the document to which I posted the web address on February 10, 2020 at 4:49 AM. But one of those updates in particular warrants a bit more of an explanation here. For a long time now, both the Tokyo Japan and Washington D.C. Temples have had an anticipated general completion window of mid-to-late 2020. It has since been confirmed that the rededication of the latter will definitely occur before the end of this year, so as not to interfere with the US Presidential Inauguration, which is set to occur on January 20, 2021 (an arrangement mandated by the provisions in the US Constiution).

    As some of you may also recall, the renovation process of the Tokyo Japan Temple has been somewhat extended beyond the originally-planned time-frame as a result of the Church's unexpectedly acquiring land adjacent to the temple, which led to the plans being expanded to include a new annex.

    With the construction of that new annex still being an ongoing process, and in view of the fact that the dedication of the Washington D.C. Temple will be preceded by an extended open house prior to its' rededication, the Washington D.C. Temple is now moved up above Tokyo in the queue of temples undergoing renovation. The general window for D.C. remains at mid-to-late 2020, while the estimate for Tokyo's rededication has resultantly been shifted to late 2020. With this change in mind, I will definitely have to readjust my more specific estimates for future temple events, for this year, and likely also the next several years thereafter. I will have a link to those updates published in a new post once the process of making those updates is complete. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

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  8. THe following 3 additional Church news stories have been shared as well, all of which speak for themselves:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-11/elder-bednar-ces-broadcast-personal-revelation-174180

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-02-11/elder-soares-guatemala-president-central-america-ministry-174137

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-02-11/lisa-harkness-joshua-trees-tumbleweeds-agency-byu-idaho-174110

    My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.

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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.

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