BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces 2021 Dates for Churchwide Events; Provides Phased Reopening Updates for Templesa

Hello again, everyone! In these early morning hours, I have two breaking news developments to report. Firstly, I have previously mentioned that the Church had not yet released a formal schedule of Churchwide events for next year, and as recently as within the last week, I had suggested that the scheduled events being added to the Newsroom events page apparently replaced the formal announcment of events for 2021. Any theories I previously offered in that respect are now incorrect and irrelevant.

This morning, the First Presidency authorized the release of the official list of Churchwide Events for 2021. The lsit of events inluce the following highlights:

January 10, May 2, and September 12: Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults. Additionally, the speakers for the January 10 event have been announced as Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Susanr, and that the September 12 event will be combined with a Face-to-Face Event.

February 21: New Event for the children of the Church entitled "Friend-to-Friend", the equivalent for Face-to-Face events for Youth and Young Adults of the Church. The event will feature Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, alongside the Primary General Presidency (Sisters Joy D. Jones, Lisa L. Harkness, and Cristina B. Franco). 

Parenthetically, I should note that since Sister Jones will have served as Primary General President for five years in April, despite the changes to her First and Second Counselors in 2016 and 2017, some change may be made to the Primary General Presidency during the April 2021 General Conference. With that said, here are some other events that will occur in 2021:

February 25-27: RootsTech Connect (to be held virtually, with Temple and Family History Leadership Training set to occur on February 25, as previously detailed)

,March 17, 2021: Youth Music Festival

March 26-27: Handel's Messiah

April 3-4 and October 2-3, 2021: General Conference Weekend, with the Priesthood Session in April and the Women's Session in October as usual. The April General Conference will again coincide with Easter Sunday, as it did in 2018, so the speaking lineup may be altered from what has been typicl.

April 29-30: 2021 BYU Women's Conference

June 13, 2021: Face-to-Face Event for Single Adults, which is another new event for a specific group in the Church.

July 22 & 23: Music for a Summer Evening (Pioneer Day Commemoration)

November 14: Face-to-Face for Youth

December 5: First Presidency Christmas Devotional

So that is the overview of the 2021 Churchwide events, as provided today. But temple reopenings have been announced this week, with the Newsroom and the Church News have also provided this week's update on temple reopenings, which, given the substance thereof, I thought would be best mentioned in this new post as well rather than the commentsts. 2 more temples will reopen under phase 1 next Monday, which allows husband-to-wife sealings where both have been previously endowed, with limited guests in attendance. The two temples are Barranquilla Colombia and Caracas Venezuuela.

Additionally, one temple (Guatemala City Guatemala) is shifting from phase 1 to phase 2, which allows the performance of all living ordinances, in the following priority order: indviduals preparing to be married who have not yet received their own endowments, missionaries already out in the field who departed before receiving their own endowments, those preparing to enter the mission field who need to receive their own endowments, and then any others who may need that done for any other reason.

And finally, on a not-so-postivie front, the Church has reported thath four temples previously upgraded to phase 2 will be downgraded to phase 1: Calgary and Ednomton Alberta, Baton Rouge Louisiana, and Ceub City Philippines. Additionally, seven other temples have gone back into a "puased" status in their reopenings due to local COVID-19 conditions and govermental regulations. Those seven temples include the following: 3 in California (Fresno, Newport Beach, and Oakland); 2 in England (London and Preston), along with the Haifax Nova Scotia and Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temples.

So, it's a bit of a mixed bag of good news, interesting news, and some difficult news this morning. I continue to montitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep doing my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it. 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: Groundbreeaking Held for the Antofagasta Chile Temple

Note: This post was originally published here at 3:20 PM, with updates being added thereunto at 6:00 PM MST.

Hello again, everyone! A short while ago, the Church's official Newsroom confirmed that ground had been broken for the Antofagasta Chile Temple today, as anticipated. Elder Juan Pablo Villar, a Chilean native and Second Counselor in the South America South Area Presidency presided at that event today. When the Church announced the groundbreaking arrangements for that temple and the Mendoza Argentina Temple, the rendering for the Antofagasta temple was released for the first time.

The temple, which will be built on a 2.2-acre site around Avenida de Las Palmeras 44 in Antofagasta, Chile, is set to be a two-story edifice with an approximate area of 23,000 square feet, making it slightly smaller in square footage than the Bentonville Arkanasas and Brasilia Brazil Temples, so I anticipate it will be another temple that could have its' construction completed at some point in 2023. 

There are now 6 temples total for which full-scale construction is pending: San Pedro Sula Honduras, Brasilia Brazil, Salta Argentina, Davao Philippines, Coban Guatemala, and Antofagasta Chile. I am hopeful that consutrction on half of those 6 could begin in full at some point next week, with the others perhaps follwing before the end of the year.

This leaves only the Mendoza Argentina Temple in the queue of those for which a groundbreaking had been set for November. And with no word on an exact date when that could occur, unless it has happened this evening, it is now approaching 10:00 PM Argentina time, so if the Mendoza groundbreaking does occur by the end of this month, that will likely happen either tomorrow or Monday, since those are the only viable days left in NOvember for such an event.

It is also worth noting as a quick aside that we do not yet have exact dates identified for the three temple groundbreakings set to occur in December, but I anticipate that all of them will be done before Sunday December 20 in order to not interfere wth the Christmas and New Year's celebrations in the Philippines, Aisa, and Africa. And I am also confident that, once next week rolls around, the Church will begin announcing the first temple groundbreakings that may occur in 2021.

I will do my level best monitor all of that and bring you word of updates on those developments and any additional Church news, in addition to all of the December blog projects I have planned for publication prior to the end of this year It has been a busy 2020 already, and I look forward to seeing whatever might be next. 

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: Groundbreaking Held for the McAllen Texas Temple

Hello again, everyone! As confirmed in a new report from the Newsroom a short while ago, this morning, ground was officially broken for the McAllen Texas Temple by Elder Art Rascon, an area seventy. Since Texas is one state that has seen severe outbreaks of COVID-19, local regulations prevented a large gathering, so a video of the proceedings will be made available later this week. In a recent comment about that temple on the Church Growth Blog, someone living in Texas noted that the temple was anticipated to be completed in late 2022. It seems as though a lot of temples have a window of late 2022-early 2023, so it will be interesting to see what actually happens in that respect.

As previously announced, the temple is anticipated to be one story, and approximately 25,000 square feet in area, and will include an adjacent meetinghouse on the site. It will be interesting to see how quickly full-scale construction can begin for this temple. As some of you might recall, in the days leading up to this groundbreaking, the Church was still working on obtaining a conditional use permit for the property. Insofar as I am aware, that permit has not yet been obtained, which may or may not lead to a delay in the construction for that temple.

The McAllen Texas Temple, in addition to being the fifth for the state of Texas, is also the sixteenth temple to have a groundbreaking this year alone. The Church now has five temples left that are on the docket for a groundbreaking this year. And for the first time since Halloween, this week ground was broken for only one temple. I had mentioned in the threads of my previous post that the exact date of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Antofagasta Chile Temple had been confirmed as this upcoming Friday, November 27. That means that only the Mendoza Argentina Temple groundbreaking remains in the queue for November, and will occur at an as-yet unspecified date.

One other note may be of interest to you all here: with this latest groundbreaking, there are now 30 temples in the current construction queue, and 33 others are announced. If the Church remains on track in breaking ground for the other five temples this year (Antofagasta Chile, Mendoza Argentina, Okinawa Japan, Harare Zimbabwe, and Bengaluru India), then the Church will end the year with more temples under construction than there will be just in the announced section. 

With that in mind, given the efforts this year to clear that queue in the midst of a global pandemic, and in consideration of the number of temples for which groundbreakings might soon be announced, we could easily see a large number of new temples announced during the April 2021 General Conference. I am still putting together some updates on my temple files, and evaluating how and to what extent recent precedents and developments might factor into my April 2021 General Conference predictions, but if all goes well, hopefully, I'll have something posted soon.

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 NEWS: President Nelson Shares "Spiritual Prescription" for Temporal and Societal Issues #GiveThanks

Hello again, everyone! As had been previously announced, President Nelson addressed the world this morning through a video posted on social media and shared by all official Church Youtube channels. In the days leading up to this morning when that video was posted, I saw many comments about the upcoming address. In those comments, many people expressed what they hoped or expected to hear from the address.

Many of those comments noted the hope that President Nelson would reiterate proper health measures for these COVID-19 conditions, despite the fact that Church leaders have repeatedly demonstrated their personal support for and adherence to those measures in word and deed, and by example. One or two comments expreessed the hope that the Lord would prompt the prophet to send out the apostles around the world to per0ssonally heal individuals and families afflicted by the virus.

In expressing the latter hope, those who made those comments cited the way in which the Prophet Joseph Smith, assisted by the apostles, participated in what became known as a "day of God's power" when malaria and its' impact had laid up so many Church members and those of other faiths. Though the Prophet and his family had been similarly affected, following several days of illness, the Prophet rose from his sickbed, having been healed by the Lord, then administered to each member of his family, who were also immediately healed.

The Prophet then went out home-by-home providing healing blessings, counsel, or words of comfort to several more who were afflicted, which included many members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After being directly involved in that process for a period of several hours, although there were more people who needed the healing measures provided personally by the Prophet, Brother Joseph felt inspired to step back from doing so personally, and commissioned the members of the Twelve to extend those same meausres to others who needed them. 

The efforts of the Twelve to expand the healing efforts and minister as direct4ed by the Prophet proved successful in every casee. Getting back to the expressed hopes for today's prophetic address, in a way, I can see why some expressed the hope that the prophet and apostles would similarly spread healing efforts throghout the world. My personal thought was that it wouldn't be wise for 15 men in the vulnerable age demographic for COVID-19 to go out into the world in that kind of scenario, which seemed to be verified by the fact that all Church leaders have avoided international travel during this period of time.

And some who made other comments on the upcoming addresss seemed to agree, noting tithat if any of us approached the upcoming address with preconceived notions about what we expected or felt we needed to hear, we likely wouldn't find satisfaction, comfort, or inspiration in the message that would be delivered. And so many others expressed excitement for the upcoming message, saying that whatever President Nelson had prepared in the way of today's message would be inspiring and just what is needed.

When thinking about some of those comments, I was reminded of the biblical story of Naaman the Syrian. Being afflicted with leprosy, Naaman requested healing from the prophet Elisha, who in turn instructed Naaman to wash himself seven times in thI am ge River Jordan. Naaman, who had expected a personal healing from the prophet, and noted that other rivers might be better suited for the task, was reluctant to follow the offered counsel, until his servant pointed out that if Elisha had instrctued Naaman to do any greater task, Naaman would have done it. 

His servant then asked Naaman why he was resisting the counsel of the prophet to do something as simple as washing himself in the river Jordan seven times in order to be healed, Properly chastised, Naaman followed the counsel and came up out of the water completely healed. With that scriptural story in mind, I was pleased to see the comments leading up to the address that hoped all of us were ready to receive any message that President Nelson, as the current prophet, would provide this morning.

Given that we are now less than one week away from Thanksgiving Day in the United States and elsewhere, it is not surprising that President Nelson's full remarks focused on the healing power of gratitude, and that the address included two more prophetic invitations upon which all should act.  The invitations included flooding social media for the next seven days with expressions of gratitude and to unite in prayers of gratitude, accompanied by petitioning the Lord for healing from all negative wordly conditions.

As someone who has made no secret of my admiration for the leading Brethren of the Church, and who has covered multiple developments relating to their apostolic ministries, I am grateful for the prophet's loving invitations. In our ongoing efforts as soldiers in the army of the Lord, and as members of His battalion, we have now received our latest marching orders, and it is time we muster together in our rank formations and follow them. 

I was similarly inspired by the powerful prophetic promises made by uur prophet for those of us who will act on the counel we've received, and by the fact that President Nelson chose to conclude his inspired message with a prayer of gratitutde, thanksgiving, and a petition to the Lord for His healing power. I am grateful for a prophet who tells us what we need to hear when we need to hear it, even if what is said is not what others wanted or expected to hear. 

I am also grateful for the inspired invitations, and the petitionary prayer offered by President Nelson on behalf of the human race. I aam likwise grateful for a prophet who receives inspriation for our day for all of us as children of God. I know that as we follow the counsel from our beloved prophet that the Lord will bless us with what we need to overcome all wordly circumstances, and I share that witness gratefully, and express gratitutde to all who may read this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

UPDATE: 2021 Churchwide Events Schedule

Hello again, everyone! I have an update to provide whiich I felt wsrranted a new post rather than a comment on the threads of a previous post.  Over the last several years, it has been somewhat customary for the Church to release a list of Churchwide events for each year in August or September of the preceding year. August, September, and October of this year came and went with no such schedule of 2021 Churchwide events released. And here we are into mid-November, with nothing in that respect released thus far.

As many of you might also recall, on June 1 of this year, the Church announced a streamlining of the way in which Church news and event details would be shared, which involved merging the previously separate  News & Events page into the Newsroom. When that announcement was made, quotations from Church leaders noted that the Newsroom would thus become the main hub on the Church website for all news releases and events. 

In view of that change to how Churchwide events are tracked, the decision may have been made to just list the Churchwide events on the Events page as those plans are finalized, rather than putting out an official hard copy of a formal schedule showing all events for the year. Unless a formal schedule for next year is released at a later time before the end of this year, that is my assumption. With that being the most likely scenario, I am pleased to report that the first events for next year have been noted on that events page. 

In late February of next year, the Church will hold the Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction,  which will specifically feature the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who serve on the Temple and Family History Esecutive Council: Elders David A. Bednar (who chairs that council), Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund. And the dates for the April 2021 General Conference, along with the details for it, have also been confirmed. 

As has been traditional, the conference will occur on the first Saturday and Sunday of April (3 and 4 respectively). There will be the Saturday and Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions as usual, in addition to the customary Priesthood Session for all men and boys ages 11 and up on Saturday evening. The Sunday sessions will coincide with the 2021 Easter Sunday, so that may or may not change the traditional patterns we have seen in those sessions in recent years.

Other events that will occur in 2021 are likely to be added to that pge as the plans for those are finalized, which includes the Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults, all Face-to-Face events for all groups, any  other major speaking assignments for Church leaders, and all temple events once those plans are able to move forward. I will do my level best to keep up on additions or alterations to that events list as those occur, and to pass them along to you all 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 all in everything you do

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreakings Held for Coban Guatemala and Davao Philippines Temples

Hello again, everyone! After last week, when 3 of the 8 November temple groundbreakings took place, I wasn't sure what to expect for this week. But as confirmed by the Newsroom this morning, ground has been broken for the Davao Philippines Temple,Additionally, the Guate mala Newsroom notes that a transmitted broadcast will be held at 6:00 PM Guatemalan time for the Coban Guatemala Temple. 

I don't know if that's the video version of a groundbreaking that has occurred/will occur earlier in the day, or whether that is the live broadcast of the event, but what I do know is that, given the time difference, the video will be made available at 5:00 PM Utah time. With these temple groundbreakings having taken place, that leaves 3 of the 8 left to occur later this month, including the Antofagasta Chile, Mendoza Argentina, and McAllen Texas Temples. I believe that at least two of those could occur one week from today, which would leave 1 to occur in the final 1-2 weeks in November. 

I will be sure to keep my eyes open for word on those events and will pass that along here as I become aware of it. In the interim, the two groundbreakings that have been (or will be) held today brings the queue of temples under construction to a new high total of 29, with 34 now announced. I am grateful to have been able to find out about these events and to bring you word thereof. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will bring you all word of those as I become aware of them as well. 

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and app;reciated, 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.

Tribute to Elder Dale G. Renlund, Who Is Observing His 68th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am back with a post in tribute of Elder Dale G. Renlund, who, as noted, is marking his 67th birthday today. Let's get right into all of that. Elder Dale Gunnar Renlund was born to Mats Ake and Marianna Andersson, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on this day in 1952. His parents had emigrated from Finland (Mats) and Sweden (Marianna) respectively in order to be married in the temple. In view of that, Elder Renlund grew up primarily speaking Swedish. The fact that he did not speak English as a primary language gives him a certain degree of international appeal. In his teenage years, Elder Renlund lived with his family in Sweden while his father was a building missionary for the Church.

Several years later, Elder Renlud returned to Sweden, this time as a full-time missionary. Following his missionary service, Elder Renlund continued his scholastic endeavors at the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and his M. D. Approximately 3 or 4 years after he concluded his missionary service, he met and married his eternal companion, Ruth Lybbert, who was the daughter of another General Authority Seventy, Merlin R. Lybbert. Elder Renlund went on to do a three-year cardiology residency and a three-year fellowship in cardiology, both at Johns Hopkins University, and served as a bishop while he did so.

During that very same period of time, his wife was earning her law degree, and Ruth also gave birth to their only child, a daughter, Ashley. At some point in 1986, Elder Renlund became a professor at the University of Utah. From 1991 to the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2009, he served as the medical director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals Cardiac Transplant Program. In 2000, he was also appointed the director of the Heart Failure Prevention and Treatment Program at Intermountain Health Center headquartered in Salt Lake, while his wife was working as a law partner in the firm of Dewsnup, King and Olsen.

In the Church, in addition to serving as a bishop, Elder Renlund also served locally as ward Sunday School president, high councilman, and as a stake president. From 2000 to 2009, Elder Renlund served as an area seventy. He became a general authority seventy in April 2009, at the same conference in which Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained as an apostle. The August after his call, Elder Renlund began serving in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, which is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. He concluded that service by as the area president from 2011 to 2014.

Just over a year after concluding that service (during which time he served in other general capacities at Church headquarters), he was the third man to be called to fill the three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve in the wake of the passing of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scot (with his call occurring the same day as that of Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Gary E. Stevenson). Some have claimed (rightfully so, in my opinion) that since Elder Scott was the last of the three to pass away, Elder Renlund, as the last of the three new apostles called, was the one filling the apostolic vacancy occurring from the death of Elder Scott. Others may disagree on that, as is their right, but I think that is a fair statement.

Elder Renlund's apostolic call was significant for a few reasons. The calls of Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund made them the 98th, 99th, and 100th members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called in this dispensation. There have been more men ordained as apostles, but only 102 of those men have officially served in the Quorum of the Twelve. There is another significant aspect of Elder Renlund's call. As most of you are probably aware, at times in the past where 2 or more apostles have been called, tradition is that they will be called, sustained, and ordained according to their age, from oldest to youngest. That tradition, as has been the case a couple of times before, was slightly adjusted, as Elder Stevenson, almost three years younger than Elder Renlund, was called, sustained, and ordained as the senior apostle to Elder Renlund. That kind of thing is not in any way unprecedented, but it is a significant anomaly to note.

As

Given that all apostles from Elder David A. Bednar through Elder Renlund were born in the United States, some have taken issue with the Church for the perceived lack of diversity in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But as was observed in this article, Elder Renlund's diverse background certainly qualifies him as having strong international ties and experiences. Elder Renlund had 2 opportunities to speak in General Conference prior to his apostolic call (1 of which occurred six months prior to his first address as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), and gave his eleventh talk as an apostle just over a month ago. You can review any of those 13 addresses at your convenience.

I am grateful to have been able to offer this birthday tribute in his honor, and am also grateful for his service. I gladly sustain him and the other 14 apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to bring word of those to you all as I receive it. 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: Groundbreaking Held for Red Cliffs Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! For the first time since Saturday September 5, today, two temples of the Church have had a groundbreaking. In addition to my previous report on the remote gorundbreaking being held for the Bentonville Arkansas Temple under the direction of Elder David A. Bednar, today also saw Elder Jeffrey R. Holland return to his hometown in St. George to preside at the groundbreaking for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple. So that's 3 down for November, 1 more scheduled (for one week from today) and 4 others anticipated to occur at some point later this month.

As far as construction time-frames, I am projecting a window of mid-to-late 2023 for Bentonville, with a window of late 2023-early 2024 for the Red Cliffs temple. Just one week into this month, and we are already nearly haflway through the scheduled queue of November temple groundbreakings. I have a feeling that 2-3 more will occur this week, with the remainder scattered through the next 1.5 weeks between then and Thanksgiving.  I will keep my eyes open for those reprots and will bring you all word thereof as I receive it.

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: Elder Bednar Remotely Presides At the Groundbreaking for the Bentonville Arkansas Temple

Hello again, everyone! The second of the eight temple groundbreakings set to occur this month has taken place. As previously announced, Elder Bednar presided remotely at the ceremony, and offered a prayer dedicating the site. The news release on this does not mention which senior leader (whether that was a General Authority or Area Seventy), but obviously this was a split assignment, given that Elder Bednar couldn't wield a shovel on-locaation at the temple site. Either way, we are two temples down, with six morre to go for this month, and it seems likely we will see two temple groundbreakings every week this month.

I may add more information and sources to this post ocne those become available, or leave those additional resources in the comments section below, but either way, I am grateful to have been able to find out and report on this. 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 Tribute to Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Who Observes His 80th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! With today being November 6, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is celebrating his 80th birthday. Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf was born to Karl Albert and Hildegard Else Opelt Uchtdorf on this day in 1940 in the city of Ostrava, which, at that time, was known as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but is now identified as the Czech Republic. With his family twice becoming refugees, he grew up in Germany, where his family joined the Church in 1947. 

Due to developing an early interest in airplane flying, he studied engineering, business administration, and international management, after which he joined the German Air Force in 1959, where he trained to be a fighter pilot. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot, working as an airline captain from 1970-1996. He held many responsible executive positions with German Airlines. He reported feeling discouraged about having to learn English, but has also described how he was able to do so.

He married Harriet Reich (whom he had met when the missionaries brought her and her family to Church while he was a young man) on December 14, 1962 ,and they both have different recollections of the details whereby they actually got together). They raised two children and now have several grandchildren, along with a few great-grandchildren. He served as a stake president before his call as a General Authority. During that time, he gave an instrumental interview to the press in which he tackled tough topics related to his faith as the Frankfurt Germany Temple prepared to open. 

He was subsequently sustained as a General Authority on April 2, 1994, and was initially assigned to the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Roughly two years later, on April 6, 1996, he was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 15, 2002 and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 2, 2004 and ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004 (becoming the eleventhth apostle born outside the United States).

On February 3, 2008, he was set apart as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency to President Thomas S. Monson. Although 12 men born outside the United States have served as apostles, he became only the sixth apostle born outside the United States to be called to serve in the First Presidency. At the time of his call to the First Presidency, he was the thirteenth in apostolic seniority. During the period of almost a decade in which he served alongside President Monson and First Counselor President Henry B. Eyring, the deaths of six apostles senior to him meant he had become the seventh in apostolic seniority. 

And with the death of President Monson occurring just three months after the death of Elder Robert D. Hales, the First Presidency was dissolved.The new Church President, Russell M. Nelson, chose as his counselors his seatmate Elder Dallin H. Oaks and President Eyring. As a result, Elder Uchtdorf returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When he departed that Quorum to serve in the First Presidency, he had been the tenth most senior member of that Quorum, and he returned to it as the third in seniority, with only Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ahead of him. 

In recognition of his administrative capacities and capabilities, his assignments as a recently-reassigned Quorum member were those that had previously been held by the three who had been the most senior members of the Quorum prior to that time (Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard). Elder Uchtdorf has spoken frequently about ways in which Church members should consider themselves called to action. I enjoy hearing what he has to say in his General Conference addresses every six months.

Throughout his 26 years as a general authority, and his now-16 years as a special witness of the Savior, (including almost a decade of service in the First Presidency), he has now given 72 addresses in General Conference. Of those, 2 were given prior to his apostolic call, though the Church's list for some reason omits the first address he gave as a new General Authority Seventy.  He also gave 7 addresses between the time of his call to the apostleship and his subsequent call to the First Preidency. He then gave 57 more addresses in General Conference during the near-decade in the First Presidency, and has given 6 more addresses since resuming his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Uchtdorf is a man of great personal warmth and charm, and we are blessed indeed to have him among the Special Witnesses of Christ at this time. He has always struck a very warm and welcoming tone in his public discourses, and his current assignments are a clear testament to the great faith the Brethren have in him. In addition to being the third-most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he is also the third-oldest, behind only President Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook. He is also the seventh-most-senior apostle overall, and the sixth-oldest of the 15 apostles overall. I am grateful for the life and ministry of this charismatic servant of the Lord, and appreciate the opportunity I had to offer this post in tribute to his 80th birthday today.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. 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 all that you do.

Some Additional Thoughts and Observations About Apostolic Area Assignments

Hello again, everyone! The Church News has reported on how, in a single day (Sunday November 1), 6 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, accompanied by their respective wives, gave counsel to young adults living in each of the Church’s 6 North American areas. For reasons I will be detailing in this post, the nature of the respective reports has led me to some additional thoughts and observations about specific apostolic assignments (particularly in relation to the Church here in North America).

In detailing how those devotionals broke down, I will list each apostle and his wife one at a time, providing the geographical area to which each couple addressed their remarks in parenthesis: Elder Dieter F. and Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf (North America Northeast); Elder David A. and Sister Susan K. Bednar (North America Southeast); Elder Quentin L. and Sister Mary G. Cook (North America West); Elder Gary E. and Sister Lisa J. Stevenson (Utah); Elder Dale G. and Sister Ruth L. Renlund (North America Central); and Elder Gerrit W. and Sister Susan L. Gong (North America Southwest).

As I have noted a few times previously, the Quorum of the Twelve is assisted by the Presidency of the Seventy in the global administration of the Church’s now-22 areas. For a while now, it’s been difficult to determine at times which members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were assigned oversight for each area, except in cases where that has been specified. So let’s take a look at some of the assignments listed to see if we can draw any conclusions.  The first natural conclusion to draw is that each apostle who spoke to young single adults in each area is assigned oversight for each of those respective areas.

And on the surface, that conclusion may be mostly sound and perfectly justifiable. The biography of Elder Brent H. Nielson shows him assigned to assist Elder Quentin L. Cook in the administration of the North America West Area. That’s explicitly stated, so it’s verified. But let’s now look at the biographies for Elders Carlos A. Godoy and Patrick Kearon. Although Elder Godoy’s biography notes only that he has responsibility for the Utah Area, Elder Kearon’s biography notes that Elder Ronald A. Rasband oversees the Utah Area. The note about Elder Rasband overseeing the Utah Area may be based on outdated information in an August 2018 video in which Elder Rasband introduced the new Utah Area Presidency.

I am suggesting that the information may be outdated based on another theory: When the video to which I I shared the link above was released, Elder Rasband did indeed have oversight for that area. But seven months earlier, in January, when the First Presidency reorganization was introduced, Elder D. Todd Christofferson had oversight of the Church Public Affairs Committee, and conducted the January 16, 2018 press conference as a result. At some point following the apostolic calls of Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares, there was a reshuffling of responsibilities and assignments at Church headquarters, and it appears that Elder Rasband at some point took over Elder Christofferson's role in chairing the Church Public Affairs Committee.

Depending on the other assignments that each member of the  Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have, it could be that the Brethren shifted oversight responsibility for the Utah Area from Elder Rasband to Elder Stevenson.With the information from the Church News articles being more current than the information in the broadcast may have been, and with a reshuffling of assignments possibly at play here, it seems  more correct to surmise that each apostle who spoke did so in the North American Area for which they have respective oversight. 

Let me add just a few more thoughts here: For the remaining four members of the Presidency of the Seventy, no area assignments are listed for either Elder Carl B. Cook or Elder Jose A. Teixeira. But specific area assignments are noted for both Elder Robert C. Gay (including the North America Northeast) and Elder Terence M. Vinson (North America Southeast). The specific apostles the two are assisting with those areas were not detailed. But if we assume that the information in the Church News articles is correct, we have correctly been able to identify which members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have oversight for each of the six North American areas of the Church. 

Although I wish the Church was more transparent about the specific assignments each apostle is filling in terms of areas and responsibilities at headquarters, the two articles seem to provide more official information than what we previously had to work with in that respect.  I will, of course, while tracking all other Church news developments and temple updates, continue as I can to keep my eyes open for any other insights I can glean on the specific assignments which are being filled by each of our current apostles, and will be sure to pass word of those updates along to you all as I am able to verify 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: Groundbreaking Held for Salta Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! Less than half an hour ago, in updating my previous post that highlighted the intial cautious reassignment process for non-native missionaries in some areas of the world, I had noted that the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple was anticipated to occur, perhaps within minutes, of when I published those updates. A short time ago, the Church's official Newsroom confirmed that that temple groundbreaking had taken place.

As originally announced, Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, President of the South America South Area of the Church, presided at that groundbreaking. Just by way of review, the Church had originally announced in June that that temple would have a groundbreaking on August 15. Three days before that was to occur, the Church then had announced that the groundbreaking would be delayed until Friday October 9. And just over a month after the second delay was announced, the groundbreaking was then pushed back until sometime in November.

Then, of course, just a few short days ago, we got word of the arrangements that the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple would occur today at 6:30 PM local time. The fact that we now have confirmation that it actually occurred as arranged is tremendous. Although we don't have any solid information at present as to the proected size of the temple or the aniticipated duration of the construction process, based on my research for that temple, I am assigning it a general completion estimate of late 2023-early 2024.

And unless any temple groundbreakings are held between now and then, the next one for which we have confirmation of specific arrangements is the Coban Guatemala Temple, which will, as previously confirmed, occur on Saturday November 14. That being said, although no other temple groundbreakings have been confirmed to occur between now and then, I would anticipate at least one might be noted as having occurred, particularly for any of the temples in the United States. 

It's also possible that either or both of the two counselors in the South America South Area Presidency may be able to break ground for the Mendoza Argentina and Antofagasta Chile Temples within that time. Whatever might happen in that respect, rest assured I will be keeping my eyes open for developments in that respect and will bring any such word to you all here as I become aware of it.

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: Church to Begin Cautious Reassignment of Missionaries.Outside Their Home Natioms

Note: This post was originally published at 9:58 AM MST, and given massive updates that were completed at around 2:20 PM MST.

Hello again, everyone! A few moments ago, Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff issued an official statement on behalf of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, noting that leaders will begin what he described as a limited, deliberate, and cautiously-coordinated effort to start reassigning some missionaries to fields of labor outside their home nations. The Church News provided some additional information and context.

In the statement, Brother Woodruff also expressed gratitutde for the way in which current missionaries (and, by extension, those preparing to depart for the mission field) have responded to what has happened in so many cases, with required quarantines and other precautions being taken to get missionaries to a new field of labor, and also for the way in which so many young missionaries have embraced greater use of technology to meet their obligations to share the gospel throughout the world.

As previously acknowledged by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council of the Church, one impact of COVID-19 on missionary service is that it has changed the way the Church looks at missionary efforts. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, and its' wide-spread impact throghout the world, it was easier for the Church to uphold the status-quo perception, ideas, and practices relating to how missionary work was conducted on a global scale. 

But with COVID-19 changing so much in relation to the Church's day-to-day operations, out-of-the-box solutions had to be sought for and implemented. As a result, with the changes that have been necessary during this COVID-19 pandemic are expected to be part of the "new normal" in missionary work in the days ahead.  And the process of making any necessary adjustments will continue to unfold following consultation between leaders at Church headquarters, area presidencies worldwide, and, through that process, conveyed to mission presidents and to current and prospective missionaries and their families. 

With most missionaries having opted to resume their service in their home nations as quickly as they could following their quarantines, the process of reshuffling missionaries or adjusting assignments may take time to sort out. Today's statement also noted that missionaries would be contacted by the offices of the missions to which they will be assigned, whereby those missionaries will receive information about their travel itineraries, including scheduling and arrangements that will play into their arrival in the field, and that missionaries who have received that information can then convey it to their families. 

At this point, the Church is urging missionaries and their families to be patient with the process, and is further discouraging missionaries and their family members from unnecessarily reaching out to the Church Travel Office, embassies, or consuls about their travel plans or documents. because the Church is carefully planning all of that on their end. By patiently allowing the Church to handle coordination in that respect, missionaries and their families will save themselves a lot of hassle, stress, and worry.

It is also worth noting that COVID-19 conditions are still in flux throughout much of the world. As a result, the Church is carefully weighing every aspect of returning to any semblance of normalcy in every step along the way to whatever the long-term :"new normal" may look like. The statement also notes that the Church's foremost concern in the process of making adjustments to assignments will be the safety of the missionaries worldwide, the satfety of their companions and mission leaders, and the safety of all those with whom any missionary or missionary companionship will interact.

So there will be a lot to consider here in that respect, especially since the Church has so much to evaluate with respect to COVID-19. President Nelson has repeatedly reemphasized that the health, safety, and well-being of Church members and friends of other faiths around the world will remain the Church's utmost concern. Given the fact that we just recently received word that it may be a while before any of the Church's temples in phase 2 transition into phase 3, it's apparent that the reassignment of Church missionaries, the reopening of temples, and the resumption of Church meetings is something that the Church is not inclined to rush a return to normalcy.

And that's consistent with the scriptural directive given by the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 10:4. It is wonderful to see that the Church is determined to not run faster or labor harder than the prevalent worldly conditions as a result of COVID-19 will allow.  It's far easier to take a slow and steady approach in all such matters than it is to rush any of it and potentially be in a situation where the Church and the actions it takes become part of the problem rather than contributing to the resolution of the COVID-19 problems.

In any case, I fully believe that the decisions made at every level in the Church are inspired by the Lord. We have particularly seen the inspired leadership of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in the measured approach taken to weigh the issues at hand and to respond accordingly. It is wonderful to see that unfolding the way it has. And in between the updates that the Church continues to provide in that respect, I do continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to pass along word of those to you all as I become aware of such things.

With the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple set to occur at 6:30 PM local time, that is now just 15 minute away from now, so you can count on my covering that here once such coverage is available. 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: Report on How My Predictions for the November 2020 Ensign Table of Contents Turned Out

Hello again, everyone! Between the apostolic birthdays coming up later this month, and the exact dates being confirmed for 2 of the 8 temple groundbreakings within just the last 48 hours or less, I wanted to get ahead of the rush on everything else I'll need to cover. Although the PDF version of the Novembmer 2020 Ensign is not yet available for online viewing or downloading, I received my physical copy of the magazine in the mail today.

Due to those upcoming projects that will come down the pike in the next couple of weeks, I wanted to provide a comparative look at how my projected table of contents for this issue compared with the actual layout. As has been the case for previous General Conference editions of the Ensign, any differences between what I had predicted and what the magazine actually shows is in parentheses.

The one other note I have on this document (which largely speaks for itself aside from that) is that this will, of course, consittute my final analysis of General Conference editions of the Ensign. That's true because, as of January 2021, The Liahona will be the standard monthly magazine for adults, and the next analysis of a General Conference magazine will be the first General Conference edition of the Liahona after those changes go into effect.

Aside from these notes, the information largely speaks for itself. 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: Specific Date Announced for the Groundbreaking of the Salta Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! Within the last hour or so, new information from the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site has provided more specific information about the timing for the Salta Argentina Temple groundbreaking.  According to that site's page for the Satla Argentina Temple, the groundbreaking for that temple will occur on Wednesday November 4 (two days from now) at 6:30 PM local time. That coverts to Wednesday November 4 @ 2:30 PM here in Utah.

A couple of other thoughts about this: I had thought (and suggested) that the groundbreaking for this temple could have its' groundbreaking occur on the same date as the groundbreakings for the Mendoza Argentina and Antofagasta Chile Temples. But unless there is confirmation on those two occurring on this date, either or both may occur on another day (or two separate days) later this month.

And this means that the groundbreaking for this temple will occur ten days before the also recently-confirmed groundbreaking for the Coban Guatemala Temple. And in 48 case, we now have confirmation of the exact dates for the groundbreakings of 2 of the 8 temples scheduled to have that occur this month. I think we may see at least one more temple have a groundbreaking prior to the mid-point in November, but I'm not as certain on that.

Either way, it's been a crazy 48-72 hours in terms of temple construction developments, and I can only imagine what's ahead in the coming days. I will be sure to monitor it all and will try to bring word of those updates to you all 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.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Changes in Area Leadership Assignments; Other Assignment Changes for General Authorities at Church Headquarters

Hello again, everyone! Some additional breaking news was just shared that is unrelated to temples or any other recent announcements. As reported by the Church News, some changes have been made in area leadership assignments, with the assignments of other General Authority Seventies also changed in the announcement as follows:

First, the Church News has confirmed all area leadership changes previously shared by ScottS in his comment on that subject in the threads of a previous post, so we now have another official Church source stating that, with Bishop L. Todd Budge's new assignment in the Presiding Bishopric, Elder James R. Rasband replaces Bishop Budge as First Counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency, while Elder John A. McCune in turn succeeds Elder James R. Rasband as Second Counselor in that Area Presidency.

And since Elder McCune has been serving as Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area, he has also been replaced in that assignnment as previously detailed by ScottS in his aforementioned comment, with Elder Kelly R. Johnson now filling that role. Elder Johnson had previously been serving as an area assistant for that area, so it was a fairly logical shift.

But for the first time of which I'm aware, the First Presidency also provided information today about additional assignments that have been given to other General Authority Seventies. Announced today was the assignment of Elder William K. Jackson as an Asssistant Exeuctive Director of the Church's Missionary Department.

I had previously mentioned that the Church had confirmed that Elder Brent H. Nielson, the newest member of the Presidency of the Seventy, had been succeeded as Executive Director of the Church's Missionary Department by Elder Marcus B. Nash, so it's not altogether surprsing that additional assistants have been called for that department, given how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impacting missionary work.

Meanwhile, in addition to their other assignments, Elder Adrian Ochoa will serve as serve as a Priesthood Advisor for Welfare and Self-Reliance Services and as a member of the JustServe Steering Committee, with Elder Lynn G. Robbins now serving as as a member of the Welfare and Self-Reliance Executive Committee. In light of these announcements, I hope that is an indication that the Church will be trying to be more transparent about the assignments in which each of its' leaders are serving.

I continue to monitor all such news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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.