Review of Temple Construction Progress During the Third Quarter of 2020

Hello again, everyone! As the final minutes of September 2020 move ever closer towards their conclusion here in Utah, I am pleased to provide a look back at temple construction progress which has occurred during this third quarter of this year (spanning from June 1 until today). During that time, the opening of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, and its' subsequent dedication, which had been announced at the end of April, has been postponed. During the third quarter of this year, groundbreakings have been held for seven temples (Alabang Philippines, Auckland New Zealand, Feather River California, Orem Utah, San Pedro Sula Honduras, and Brasilia Brazil).

During this quarter, groundbreakings have been announced for the Brasilia Brazil, Taylorsville Utah, Moses Lake Washington, Red Cliffs Utah, Bentonville Arkansas, McAllen Texas, Coban Guatemala, and Okinawa City Japan Temples. Meanwhile, the arrangements for the groundbreaking of the Salta Argentina Temple were originally announced (with that event first scheduled to be held on Saturday August 15), but twice postponed due to COVID-19 conditions, being pushed back first to Friday October 9, then to an unspecified date in November. And this quarter saw all groundbreakings following that of the Brasilia Brazil Temple scheduled to occur during a general month, rather than a specific and exact date, which will result in us not knowing the specifics of when each of those will take place until the Newsroom reports that each has been conducted.

In addition, sites have been  confirmed for 6 more temples during this third quarter, 5 of which have also had a rendering released. As I've previously noted, in last April's General Conference, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted that the Church was planning to break ground on 18 temples this year, and with those scheduled thus far, there will have been 16 temple groundbreakings when each of those have taken place.  At this point in time, it's just about impossible to know how feasible it would be for the Church to plan 1 of the other 2 groundbreakings for sometime in October, or if subsequent groundbreakings could take place in November above and beyond the 5 already scheduled. 

It is similarly hard to know for sure whether one or both of the remaining 2 could take place in December, since the Church would need to make arrangements for those around Christmas and New Year's festitivities. But I have also previously cited the example of how President Hinckley's goal to have 100 operating temples dedication prior to the end of the year 2000 was able to not only be met, but also exceeded by 2. Due to that past precedent related to temple construction, I have perhaps wondered whether the Lord, seeing how diligent His servants have been in working towards that goal despite the complications caused by both the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters and calamities throughout the world, will open the way for more than 18 temples to have a groundbreaking.

Whatever might occur in that regard, given the fact that Elder Bednar, who chairs the Temple and Family History Executive Council, publicly (and for what I believe was the first time it had ever happened) announced a specific number of temples would have a gorundbreaking this year, it wouldn't shock me if, whenever he speaks during General Conference next weekend, he was to give a progress update on this year's efforts and outline any preliminary plans the Church has for any number of groundbreakings next year. It could also be possible that either President Nelson, or Elder Bednar with the prophet's approval, could make an announcement about any other groundbreakings that will take place before the end of this year, and/or that revised dates for the open houses and dedications/rededications of temples could be noted as well.

And of course, with General Conference set to get underway in less than 72 hours, there will almost certainly be more new temples announced. It will be interesting to see all of that unfold, and to the best of my ability, I will continue to document those events as they happen. With those preliminary comments in mind, I'd like to remind you all where the Church stood in terms of temple developments as 2020 began and where things stood by the end of the first quarter of 2020, just 3 days prior to the April 2020 General Conference, where things stood at the end of the second quarter (also first half) of 2020, and how things look today as 2020's third quarter concludes.

With the sheer number of breaking news developments relating to temples that have been shared by the Church since June 1 of this year (which marked the start of the most recent quarter) it will be interesting to see what announcements come down the pike through the remainder of this year. Whether or not any other temple groundbreakings take place beyond what has already been announced, I personally hope that for some of the smaller temples nearing completion (Winnipeg Manitoba, Yigo Guam, and Praia Cabo Verde) could have some carefully-controlled openings of some kind announced, even if that meant strict regulations on the number of people attending at one time, which could be achieved by having more extensive open houses.

But in any case, in addition to those 3, it will be interesting to see if, when, and how soon the Church is also able to reopen the Washington DC, Tokyo Japan, Mesa Arizona, and Hamilton New Zealand Temples. The leading Brethren of the Church, and all who continue to assist them in the work, have become very experienced at rolling with the punches as far as working through COVID-19 circumstances as that has become necessary, and I'm sure that will continue to be the case going forward. Either way, with what we know so far, 2021 is shaping up to be a big year for temple dedications, rededications, and groundbreakings.

You can depend on my monitoring all such developments, along with any updates in any respect related to general Church news, and that I will provide those updates ASAP as I hear about them. In the meantime, 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreakings Announced for Coban Guatemala and Okinawa Japan Temples

Hello again, everyone! In these early-morning hours, I am pleased to share that the First Presidency has announced the groundbreakings for two more temples: Coban Guatemala and Okinawa Japan. Elder Brian K. Taylor, Central American Area President, will oversee the former in November 2020, with Elder Takashi Wada, Asia North Area President, presiding over the latter in December. Both will take place on unspecified dates.

This news marks the groundbreakings for two more temples originally announced in 2019 (in October and April of last year respectively) and means that the Church has scheduled 16 of the 18 temple groundbreakings to which Elder David A. Bednar made reference last April. Whether or not the Church is able to meet that goal, it's wonderful that such developments are bringing that goal closer. Given that there are now five temples set to break ground in November, it seems extremely likely that one or more thereof could occur on the same date.

I continue to monitor all such developments and other Church news, and will be sure to bring word of all such updates here as I learn about 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 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 allin everything you do.

UPDATED: October 2020 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! As I have recently mentioned, I found a few minor errors and oversights in my predictions for the October 2020 General Conference. After reconfiguring a few things, I have updated my predictions for the poteential speaking ordeer, the most likely changes in general Church leadership, and the list of locations in which a temple might be announced. The updates largely speak for themselves, but I am happy to field any questions any of you might have about them. 

In the meantime, if there is anything I may have overlooked, underestimated, or failed to consider, please let me know that as well As previously noted, the open commenting period on these predictions remains in effect until 10:00 PM MDT on Thursday October 1, which will allow me roughly 36 hours to finalize my predictions before General Conference commences on Saturday October 3 at 10:00 AM MDT. I look forward to any input any of you have to offer.

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Postpones Salta Argentina Temple Groundbreaking Yet Agaimn

Hello again, everyone! As many of you will no doubt recall, the Church had originally planned to hold the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple on Saturday August 15, subsequently moving that back to Friday October 9.

Fast forward again to today. As confirmed by both the Church News and the Newsroom, COVID-19 conditions in Argentina have necessitated that the groundbreaking arrangements for that temple be pushed back once again

That event will now take place on an unspecified date in November, whenever local conditions allow that and the appropriate arrangements can be made. The Newsroom will provide an acknowledgement and coverage of that once it has occurred.

This brings the total number of temple groundbreakings set to occur in November to a grand total of 4. It will be interesting to see what happens in that respect. I am grateful to have learned about this so I could pass it along to you all here.

I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to bring word on those to you all as I become aware of any such reports

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Confirms Location, Releases Rendering for Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple

Hello again, everyone! Echoing recent trends, late this Monday night (which is mid-day Tuesday in the Pacific), the Church has confirmed preliminary details for yet another announced temple, namely the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple. 

The confirmed details for yet another temple originally announced in October of last year includes confirmation of the site location (Muniogo Crescent, Badili, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea), and an exterior rendering (another without the angel Moroni statue).

The temple is anticipated to be a single-story edifice of roughly 9,550 square feet. A meetinghouse currently on-site will be demolished to make way for missionary and patron apartments, a residence for the temple president, and a Church distribution center.

Although a groundbreaking date has not been set, project leaders will begin working with government and community leaders through the approvals process. As I've previously mentioned, the Church appears to be laying the groundwork for temple groundbreakings that will take place at some point within the next year What a wonderful season this has been for so many temple developments. I continue to monitor all such things and will bring word thereof to you ASAP after I learn about 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 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. 

BREAKING NEWS: Groundbreaking Announced for Moses Lake Washington Temple;; First Presidency Announces Further Guidelines for Resuming Church Activities

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency made two major announcements this morning. Area Seventy Elder David L. Stapleton will preside at the October groundbreaking ceremony (for which the exact date has not been specified) for the Moses Lake Washington Temple.

I had thought that the Church could schedule more groundbreakings for a few smaller temples around those previously announced, and it's wonderful to have that confirmed in this case. 

This announcement means that, when all currently-scheduled groundbreakings have occurred, there will only be 4 left for the Church to make the total 18 mentioned by Elder Bednar during General Conference five months ago.

Parenthetically, based on all that is and is not known about the specific timing and order for groundbreakings in October, since the Salta Argentina Temple is the only one with an exact date set, I have moved both the Taylorsville Utah and Moses Lake Washington Temples below Salta on my list of scheduled temple groundbreakings.

Also, further guidelines have today been provided to allow members worldwide to safely resume normal activities.  As communicated to congregational leaders by area seventies following approval from each area presidency, members worldwide may cautiously resume regular in-person or virtual attendance at Church block meetings, as long as governmental and medical guidelines regarding  appropriate precautions are followed.

For those congregations allowing virtual participation, it's recemmemded that the Sacrament administration potentially be held at the end of each Sacrament Meeting. This is because the Sacrament portion is not to be virtually broadcast, since members cannot virtually partake of the Sacrament, and because that part of weekly worship is sacred and should not be broadcast publicly outside the meetinghouse from which it originates. The timing and extent of these changes as they impact each congregational meeting can be implemented ASAP as local conditions and tnrestrictions allow once the appropriate approvals are received

Meanwhile, effective November 1, as determined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as communicated by area presidencies through area seventies to congregational leaders, Stake Conferences can resume in-person or virtually based on COVID-19 guidelines from medical experts and governmental leaders.

I was grateful to learn about and share these developments here today. I continue to track all Church news reports and temple updates and will be sure to pass those along ASAP. 

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.

Church President Russell M. Nelson Marks His 96th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am back once again, this time to share a post in tribute to our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who, following the recent worldwide celebration for his 95th birthday, is officially marking that milestone today (September 9, 2019). So let's talk about this wonderful man whom we sustain as the President of the Church and as a prophet, seer and revelator. Russell Marion Nelson was born in Salt Lake City Utah to Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson on this day in 1924 (just a day before the birth of Boyd K. Packer, his future immediate predecessor to the Presidency of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) . Though he grew up in a loving family, his parents were not active in the Church. As a teenager, he went looking for books about the Church at Deseret Book. His parents allowed him and his siblings to be baptized when he was 16.

President Nelson married his first wife, Dantzel, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have nine daughters and one son. When his wife unexpectedly died in 2005, he described having "inconsolable grief" for a time. He married Wendy Watson, a BYU professor, the following April. He studied at LDS Business College and went on to obtain his BA and MD at the University of Utah. He simultaneously trained as a surgeon and did doctoral studies at the University of Utah. He was part of the research team that developed the heart-lung machine that was used in 1951 on the first open-heart operation on a human being. He spent two years on medical duty for the US Army during the Korean War, then underwent another training period in Boston at the prestigious Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts General Hospital.

At one key point in his medical career, the University of Chicago was anxious to get him to come and teach at their school of medicine, so the president of that university asked Dallin H., Oaks, then a professor at the law school, to try and persuade him to come. Then-Brother Oaks did his best to convince then-Brother Nelson to accept the offer. But Church President David O. McKay advised Brother Nelson not to go, so he turned down that opportunity. In 1955, he accepted a teaching opportunity at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he built his own heart-and-lung machine. Around a year later, he was on duty to perform the first pediatric cardiac operation. In 1960, he performed the first successful operative repair of a tricuspid heart valve. Being worried that a surgical procedure he had been asked to perform was too risky for anyone, he requested and received a blessing from then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball, who was one of his patients.

That surgery was a success, and he later w used the same technique to operate on Elder Kimball himself, a risky procedure, which only moved forward following a pointed directive from President Harold B. Lee, who at that time was serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency. While performing that operation, Brother Nelson had the overwhelming feeling that President Kimball would one day be President of the Church. As a result of that operation's success, Church members were blessed to enjoy the counsel and ministry of President Kimball for almost another decade and a half. The doctor-patient relationship he experienced with President Kimball enabled Brother Nelson to write a letter of assurance about President Kimball's health when the latter was called as Church President.

He has served in many positions on different hospital boards and has received several awards for his pioneering work. He likewise had many service opportunities in the Church. He served as a stake president for over six years, during which time he served alongside another future apostle, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. In mid-1970, Ernest L. Wilkinson, then president of BYU, submitted his resignation, which went into effect early the following year. As Neal A. Maxwell, Commissioner of Church Education, searched for a replacement, Brother Nelson was one of the candidates considered for the position, which was in due course filled by Brother Nelson's future apostolic seatement, Dallin H. Oaks.

In the meantime, Brother Nelson was called in June of 1971 as the Sunday School General President (during which time, Brother Wirthlin would again serve alongside him.) Brother Nelson would go on to also serve in the now-defunct calling of regional representative, during which time, having been present when President Kimball suggested that some of them should learn Mandarin Chinese, took on that task in obedience to the prophet's counsel. In April 1984, with the advice and consent of President Spencer W. Kimball, President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, called Brother Nelson to fill one of two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Then-Brother Oaks was called to fill the other vacancy, and the two have sat side-by-side in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since that time.

Over the next 31.25 years, each one of the living apostles junior to President Monson but senior to Elder Nelson would pass away. When President Boyd K. Packer died on July 3, 2015, Elder Nelson became the de facto President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was officially set apart in that capacity 12 days later, on Wednesday July 15, 2015, by Church President Thomas S. Monson, who had by that time begun to decrease his involvement in the day-to-day administration of the Church. When the Church released an official statement in mid-May 2017, which noted that President Monson would no longer be taking an active role in leading the Church, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Nelson filled a vital role in assisting President Monson's counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in taking care of the day-to-day administration of the Church.

When President Monson passed away on January 2. 2018, President Nelson directed the affairs of the Church as the senior apostle (and the de facto Acting President of the Church) for 12 days before his ordination as Church President. After meeting individually with each of the other 12 apostles, he selected his seatmate, Elder Oaks, and Elder Eyring, who had served as a counselor to both Presidents Monson and Gordon B. Hinckley, as his First and Second Counselors, respectively, in the First Presidency. As a result of that reorganization, Elder Uchtdorf again took his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During the broadcast and subsequent press conference when the new First Presidency was introduced to the world on Tuesday January 16, President Nelson paid tribute to his predecessor's counselors and mentioned that both were willing to now serve where they were most needed. And the responsibilities assigned to Elder Uchtdorf were those previously held by the senior three apostles of the Church, Presidents Nelson and Oaks, and the new Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, M. Russell Ballard. Even prior to serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, or subsequently as President of the Church, President Nelson took great care of his fellow Brethren in the apostleship.

Many of you will recall how, in the midst of an address about charity, the pure love of Christ, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin began shaking uncontrollably, In a silent demonstration of what his colleague was teaching, Elder Nelson stood by and supported Elder Wirthlin until he closed his address, then gently helped him back to his seat. Not long after Elder Richard G. Scott underwent a needed surgical procedure, he was surprised to learn that President Nelson had stood inside the operating room observing the procedure in its' entirety. And, of course, as recounted during the funeral of Elder Robert D. Hales, following the Sunday Morning Session of the October 2017 General Conference, President Nelson felt impressed skip his lunch break and go immediately to the hospital to visit Elder Robert D. Hales, who passed away within a few minutes after President Nelson arrived.

President Nelson has demonstrated a keen intellect, a willingness to seek for and follow revelation from the Lord, and an undeviating loyalty and full commitment to his family, his Church, and his apostolic colleagues. We have seen him respond swiftly to such revelation, and perhaps the greatest details of the revelation he continues to receive regularly are yet-to-be revealed in the upcoming General Conference. I have always been impressed and touched by President Nelson's remarks. He has given 91 addresses thus far in General Conference, including 65 followsing his call to the apostleship, 5 given while he served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and 21 so far which he has given since becoming President of the Church. I am grateful for the chance to have paid this birthday tribute to President Nelson. He and all of the other apostles have my unequivocal and everlasting support and sustaining vote.

I know for myself that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God, that he will not lead us astray, that he speaks for and in behalf of the Lord and that we will be blessed by the Lord as we follow the counsel given by His chosen mouthpiece. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location Announced and Exterior Rendering Released for Davao Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! Within the last couple of hours or less, breaking news has been reported on yet another temple of the Church. At some point this morning, the First Presidency confirmed the location of and shared an exterior rendering for the Davao Philippines Temple. The temple, first announced in October 2018, will be built on on a 2.7-acre site at Ma-a Road and Anahaw Road, Bgy. Ma-a, Davao City 8000, in that city. Plans call for a two-story structure of approximately 18,450 square feet. While the existing meetinghouse on that site will be removed, during the construction process, a new meetinghouse will be built in conjunction with that project, alongside housing facilities for the temple presidency members and for patrons travling to the temple. For the time being, the project leaders will be working with city leaders through the approvals process. A groundbreaking date for the temple has consequently not yet been set. 

An interesting anomaly relative to this announcement is that, six months before this temple was announced, during President Nelson's first General Conference as the prophet, he had announced a temple for Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines. It isn't often that, when two temples have been announced for the same nation in fairly close proximity, that the latter one that was announced becomes the first to have any official information confirmed. 

But it looks as though the Church's plan is to not only ensure that, as referenced by Elder Bednar in General Conference last April, the Church will break ground for 18 temples this year, but that no matter how many temples actually do have their groundbreaking ceremonies this year, the Church is laying the groundwork towards a similar queue to keep temple construction going strong in 2021 and the years that follow. 

Of course, this means that I will again have to update my temple files, which I was planning on doing before this announcement was released. I am pleased to see the Church continuing to provide all such updates.

For myself, I do continue to monitor all breaking developments, be they temple-related or otherwise, and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as any such updates cross my radar 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.

In Honor of Elder Quentin L. Cook's 80th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early morning hours of September 8 to share some thoughts about Elder Quentin L. Cook in honor of his 79th birthday today. Let's dive right into that subject. Quentin LaMar Cook was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook on this day in 1940 in Logan, Utah.His ancestry includes his great-great-grandfather, Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was one of the original apostles of the Church and who was instrumental in bringing the gospel to England and supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith at key moments when apostates made efforts to replace Brother Joseph as the Lord's mouthpiece. Young Quentin was a middle child, having an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in a very gospel-centered home, although his father eventually lost interest in Church activity.At age 15, he had a discussion with his brother Joe that changed his life. Joe was unsure whether to continue with his medical school studies, or to delay that in order to serve a mission, with their father favoring the former. During that conversation, they determined that either the gospel was true or it wasn't, and that if it was, serving a mission would be the best use of Joe's time. Joe’s decision to go resulted in young Quentin eventually accepting his own call to serve in the British Mission.

One of his two mission presidents was Elder Marion D. Hanks, who simultaneously served as a general authority. At one point during his mission, his companion was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Though the two didn't know it at the time, both would go on to serve as General Authority Seventies and as colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Of his service in the mission field, Elder Cook noted the following in relation to Elder Holland: "Sometimes we receive revelation even when we do not know the Lord’s purposes. Shortly before Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was called to be an Apostle in June of 1994, I had a beautiful revelatory experience that he would be called. I was a regional representative and could see no reason I would be given that knowledge. But we were companions as young missionaries in England in the early 1960s, and I had a great love for him. I considered the experience a tender mercy for me. In recent years, I have wondered if the Lord was preparing me to be junior in the Twelve to an incredible missionary companion who was my junior companion when we were young missionaries. I sometimes warn young missionaries to be kind to their junior companions because they never know when they might be their senior companion."

Elder Cook returned from his mission with a strong testimony of the Savior and a resolve to associate with people who love the Savior, both within and outside of the Church. He married his high school sweetheart Mary Gaddie in the Logan Utah Temple on November 30, 1962. Their posterity includes three children and numerous grandchildren. He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in political science and from Stanford University with a juris doctorate degree. As a managing partner in San Francisco Bay area law firm, he specialized in business law. He later became president and chief executive officer of California Healthcare System, and vice chairman of Sutter Health Systems. His church service has included being a bishop, stake president’s counselor (during a period of time when his brother Joe was president of that same stake), stake president, regional representative, and area authority. While he was in the stake presidency, he was instilled with a love of people from all nations when he had responsibility for Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations.

He was named a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6, 1996, and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 1998. He served as a member of area presidencies in the Philippines, the Pacific, and North America, and he also served executive director of the Church Missionary Department during the period of time that "Preach My Gospel" was developed and instituted as the standard guidebook for missionaries, and was subsequently called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2007. Nine days after that, the death of President James E. Faust, who had been serving as Second Counselor to Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, would wind up having an unexpected impact on Elder Cook's life. As the October General Conference rolled around, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring was called as President Hinckley's new Second Counselor, which created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 6, 2007, Elder Cook was sustained to fill that vacancy, and he was ordained an apostle five days later.

Elder Cook has spoken 28 times in General Conference: twice as a General Authority Seventy and 26 additional times in the almost-13 years since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for his service as a special witness of Christ, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other apostles. 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.

UPDATED: October 2020 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! Although I have a few other projects on my plate for the future, given that the October 2020 General Conference will occur in just over 3 weeks, and because the arrangements for it have been officially confirmed, I wanted to provide today an updated version of my predictions for that, which I finally was able to complete.Again, given that I can now share those predictions here with links to the appropriate documents, I have separated my predictions out into three subsections: predicted speaking order, anticipated changes in general Church leadership, and potential locations in which a temple could be announced this go-round.

Each document includes relevant notes with explanations that I kept as brief as they could be for context. The open commenting period on these revised predictions remains in effect for the next 3.5 weeks, until 10:00 PM MDT on Thursday October 1, which will then allow me roughly 36 hours to make any necessary adjustments. I look forward to your feedback. Also coming up soon here are Elder Quentin L. Cook's 80th birthday on Tuesday and the 96th birthday of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. I have those tributes ready and set to publish on the applicable days. I also hope to soon have updates available once again to many of my temple files, which are outdated as a result of the latest developments.

I will continue to additionally monitor all major Church news and temple updates and pass those along to you all here ASAP after I learn 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 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Postpones Opening of Winnipeg Manitoba Temple

 Hello again, everyone! This just in from the Church's official Newsroom. The open house, youth devotional, and dedication arrangements for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple  have been postponed until large public gatherings are deemed safe once COVID-19 conditions ease. At this point, due to the unpredictable naturue of COVID-19, it appears that the Church will likely defer all temple open houses and dedications/rededications until large public gatherings are once again deemed safe.

On the upside, however, with President Nelson extending opportunities to his fellow apostles to preside at temple dedications or rededications, it seems certain that, once COVID-19 is under control globally, apostles could be sent out individually, or iin various groups, to dedicate or rededicate temples in the queue. My personal thought was that with Winnipeg being a smaller temple, a smaller-scale open house and dedication could occur, but obviously, the Church doesn't feel comfortable about doing that.

As a consequence, it may be almost impossible for any of us to gauge how soon each dedication/rededication may be able to occur. I am not personally worried about this, however, because the Lord's hand has obviously been involved and His inspiration present in this decision. Whenever the dedication is reset to occur, I am sure that Elder Gerrit W. Gong will preside thereat as previously arranged.  In the meantime, I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here 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 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.