Hello again, eveeryone! 4 days ago, the First Presidency first annnounced the strategy the Church will take towards reopening temples., which included 17 temples that would reopen under phase 1 today (enabling previously-endowed couples to have their marriages solemnized in the temple). After further evaluating world conditions and governmental restrictions, the First Presidency today announced 17 more teeples which will open under phase 1 one week from today (Monday May 18). The neewest 17 include templess scattered through the United States in the following 9 states:Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. Also included on the latest list are temples in Denmark, Korea, and Taiwan. It is wonderful to see Church leaders moving forward in faith and expanding the phased reopening of temples.
If that was the only development I had to report today, it would be reason enough to rejoice. But above and beyond that development, the First Presidency is also looking ahead to the time when regular worship will resume in meetinghouses worldwide. As assessments are underway on that front, the First Presidency has provided a directive pertaining to art in meetinghouse foyers. Acknwledging the efforts of Church members everywhere to use the correct name of the Church, leaders have felt to reemphasize the centrality of the Savior in Sunday worship services in chapels around the world by directive that artwork featuring the Savior, either on his own, or ministering to others, should be prominently displayed in the entryways of each chapel. Local physical facilities directors are being instructed to prayerfully work with congregational leaders both at the stake/disstrict and ward/branch level to ensure that the artwork that is selected for each such meetinghouse meets the desired parameters as spelled out in today's news release. A First Presidency letter provides more specific recommendations on that.I am grateful to have learned of these developments and to have been able to pass them along to you all here. I will continue to do so with all future developments, whether in new posts or on comments for existing posts.
Just by way of reminder, I do have my next apstolic statistical update set to be published here on Sunday May 24. I will also carry coverage of the upcoming temple groundbreakings for the Layton Utah, Alabang Philippines, and Auckland New Zealand Temples as that is made available. And of course, I also have plans to bring you apostolic birthday tribute posts for President Henry B. Eyring (on May 31) and Elder David A. Bednar (on June 15). So stay tuned for those reports, among others. 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.
Monday, May 11, 2020
UPDATES: First Presidency Announces 17 Additional Temples Which Will Open Under Phase 1; Reemphasizes Guidelines for Art in Meetinghouse Entryways
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.
15 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! The Church News has shared the following 3 additional reports:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-11/masked-latter-day-saints-redlands-orange-groves-183670
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-11/video-coronavirus-mask-project-mozambique-beira-markets-183800
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-11/covid-19-bishops-branch-presidents-ministering-callings-181898
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! In a change that I didn't anticipate coming this soon, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles currently serving on the Church Board of Education, announced earlier today that a new president for BYU-Hawaii would begin serving effective July 1. Native Hawaiian Latter-day Saint John “Keoni” Kauwe and his wife, Monica, will replace President John S. and Sister Susan W. Tanner, who were first appointed to preside over BYU-Hawaii in 2015. The unusual timing of their release leads me to wonder if the Church has another service opportunity in mind for Brother and Sister Tanner. You can read more about this announcement in the following news release:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/john-keoni-kauwe-new-president-byu-hawaii
In the meantime, the Church News has shared the following additional reports:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-12/women-priesthood-covenant-president-bingham-lord-leading-revelation-181757
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-05-12/ldsbc-devotional-elder-curtis-lasagna-testimony-layer-by-layer-183868
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-05-12/elder-peter-johnson-ministering-the-one-holy-ghost-byu-idaho-183970
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-12/coronavirus-gospel-living-app-technology-youth-adults-183919
And the Church Temples site has provided an update on the Tokyo Japan Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/tokyo-japan-temple/news/
According to that latest reported development, renovation on that temple is anticipated to wrap up this year, with an open house and dedication early next year. Consequently, I have again moved the Mesa Arizona Temple ahead of Tokyo on my list of temples undergoing renovation. But I could also see the open house and rededication for the Mesa Arizona Temple being deferred until next year as well.
A minor update has also been reported on the status of the Moses Lake Washington Temple:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/moses-lake-washington-temple/
I will continue to monitor all Church news updates and reported temple developments, and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all through new posts or comments on existing posts. In the meantime, thanks again, everyone!
THe Church News provided coverage a short while ago on the announced change to the presidency of BYU-Hawaii:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-12/elder-holland-byu-hawaii-new-president-kauwe-devotional-184002
My thanks once again to you all.
From social media, the Moroni statue atop the Salt Lake Temple got a new trumpet today, so temporary removal appears to be planned for later along in the renovation.
ReplyDeleteRick also has a site plan for Moses Lake Washington on his site with some related news that came with that, so we cannot be all that far off from finalizing the permits and scheduling a groundbreaking
James Anderson, thanks for stopping by to comment here. I was unawaare of the update on the Salt Lake Temple, so I appreciate you sharing that here. And thanks as well for the additional context you provided on the update I noted in passing yesterday on this thread. I wanted some details confirmed a bit further before I passed the update along, so I appreciate you sharing those details today. With the city apparently requiring the land to be platted within the next year, it will be interesting to see how soon construction will actually be able to begin on that temple. I'm cautiously optimistic that that temple will be one among up to 5 or 6 temples to have a groundbreaking soon, and given the unexpected timing of the announcement and scheduling of the groundbreaking for the Feather River California Temple, hopefully we'll see a few more surprise announcements in that respect in addition to those for which there is enough information to anticipate a groundbreaking announcement soon. Thanks again, James Anderson, for taking time to comment.
DeleteHello again, everyone! The Church News has shared a few more additional reports, which speak for themselves:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-13/covid-19-byu-rotc-new-officers-army-air-force-training-183884
I'd just add that among the new ROTC officers mentioned in that article is a young man who is the son of Elder Jörg Klebingat, and the timing of their son's commissioning is somewhat providential, as they got that key moment to celebrate that milestone with him before they assume their new roles in the Africa West Area, where Elder Klebingat will serve as Second Counselor in that area presidency.
Meanwhile, Kalani Sitake, the coach of the BYU football team, talks about preparing for the season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares how the legacy of past BYU coaches and players and the BYU Honor Code regulations have helped to formulate his own coaching strategies and strengths:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-13/kalani-sitake-byu-football-coach-covid-pandemic-goals-184074
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has also provided the next installment of its' ongoing series of articles featuring words of encouragement and counsel from each member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This week's latest addition thereunto features some thoughts from Elder Neil L. Andersen, who provided some perspective on how what he calls "compensatory blessings" are available in the midst of ongoing COVID-19 conditions, while he also focused some thoughts he offered on how COVID-19 has impacted him and the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, for each of whom current efforts to minister to the membership of the Church and to friends of other faiths looks different at this time:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-13/covid-19-elder-andersen-compensatory-blessings-184193
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
And on the Church's website, the News and Events page highlights a few developments that may be unique to or a compilation of previous reports from the Church News. First is a summary of remarks made by Elder D. Todd Christofferson to prospective missionaries who are currently doing their MTC training remotely from home:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/your-individual-efforts-matter-elder-christofferson-tells-missionaries-in-home-mtcs?lang=eng
And another article highlights the previously-noted calls of new temple presidents who will begin serving within the next year or so:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/new-temple-presidents-and-matrons-called-to-serve-beginning-october-2020?lang=eng
I'd just mention here that there were no additional presidents mentioned for temples outside of the ones that had been previously reported by the Church News. It therefore appears likely that the Church is anticipating that the completion of both the Abidjan and Quito Temples will be deferred into early 2022 at earliest, but I will have to do some research on that and provide further analysis thereon at another time. In the meantime, for those who would like to do so, I'm posting again my copy of the running list of newly-called temple presidents as those previous announcements have identified them for comparison to the data against the Church's official list:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/new-temple-presidents-and-matrons-called-to-serve-beginning-october-2020?lang=eng
My thanks once again to you all.
Oops. Forgot to post the document in question. Here's that link (for real this time):
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1qcf4P9oxAlBJ7Mh20Ixy11WQ7BQGxOtgqIRwnFhSn6A/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks again, everyone!
Hello again, everyone! With the Church having set 5 of the 18 groundbreakings referenced by Elder Bednar last conference, I believe the other 13 for which groundbreakings will be held this year are those mentioned in the following document:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/12SuRKhXucFZN6qrHxIfb1E1W52mNxn-fFAskrKAOEVo/edit?usp=drivesdk
My thanks once again to you all.
Just to ensure I have that link correct, here it is again:
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/12SuRKhXucFZN6qrHxIfb1E1W52mNxn-fFAskrKAOEVo/edit?usp=sharing
At the time I posted it last night, there was also an error on the list. Bentonville Utah should have read Bentonville Arkansas. My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! On social media this morning, Elder David A. Bednar outlined how the United Arab Emirates is holding a day of fasting and prayer today. In the spirit of previous invitations issued by President Nelson, Elder Bednar encouraged the Church members who feel they can do so to join those in the UAE who will be fasting today:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-14/elder-bednar-united-arab-emirates-fasting-prayer-covid-184211
And the Church News continues to share feedback from young missionaries whose service and original mission call assignments are being impacted by COVID-19:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-14/returned-missionaries-unexpected-blessings-covid-19-responses-183804
In the meantime, with Elder Bednar having been the first Church leader featured in the new #HearHim video series, the second video thereof shares a message from Relief Sosciety General President Sister Jean B. Bingham:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sister-bingham-shares-how-she-hears-christ-in-hearhim-video-series
My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News today covered the devotional to which I referred yesterday (the one in which Elder D. Todd Christofferson spoke to missionaries who are doing the "home MTC" training online:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-14/elder-christofferson-missionaries-home-mtc-broadcast-183629
And the Church News continued its' series of articles about leaders who were sustained during the most recent General Conference, with an article introducing Elder Kelly R. Johnson published today:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2020-05-14/elder-kelly-r-johnson-general-authority-seventy-faith-compassion-183941
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The latest edition of "This Week on Social" was a shorter one:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-05-15/this-week-on-social-uchtdorf-eubank-craig-instagram-facebook-184267
It featured posts from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Sisters Michelle D. Craig and Sharon Eubaank, who both serve as First Counselors, in the Young Women and Relief Society General Presidencies respectively.
The Church News also shared the inspiring story of an 8 year-old Church member living in the Pacific Islands who unexpectedly passed away after valiantly battling several serious health issues:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-05-14/grif-the-great-hawaii-joy-paddle-out-jack-johnson-lds-living-184246
And the Church News shared a series of examples demonstrating how, in the midst of COVID-19, resilient Church members and missionaries around the world are unexpectedly developing talents and skills they never knew they had:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-15/want-a-look-into-your-neighbors-quarantine-life-you-might-be-surprised-and-inspired-183855
My thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! The Church today announced the death of a full-time missionary from Utah who was serving in Georgia:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/young-missionary-passes-away-georgia
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2020-05-17/missionary-georgia-dies-car-bicycle-accident-from-utah-184315
In the meantime, the Newsroom also provided a report on how Church service missionaries and some Church employees, while being unable to carry out their usual responsibilities, are participating in Family History efforts:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/despite-global-pandemic-displaced-church-service-missionaries-and-employees-keep-busy-with-family-history-work
My thanks once again to you all.