Hello again, everyone! This morning, in addition to the update about the renovation of pioneer-era temples, the Church News shared that the First Presidency has authorized the creation of a new position for female leaders at the area level, which was first reported in United Kingdom edition of the Church's official Newsroom page. Six women in the Europe Area of the Church wil now serve as international area advisers. What does this mean? Let's break it down.
Area presidencies outside the United States, at their discretion and with the approval of Church headquarters, may recommend and call women to serve as international area advisers. Women called to these positions will participate in area councils ad will coordinate with leaders at the ward and stake levels to provide training and support for all women serving at the ward and stake level as leaders in the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary organizations.
The hope is that those who are called to serve in that capcity will be able to give women more of a voice and bridge that gap in reprensation between the general Church level and at the congregational level. Insofar as I can ascertain, those called to that position in Europe are the first to be publicly announced. Other international areas may subsequently call women to these roles. It is not clear why that applies specifically to areas outside North America and not to the 6 areas that cover the continent. It has been an exciting day for reported breaking developments, and it's not very far into this Friday afternoon.
I continue to monitor all such Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass along word of those developments 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.
Hello again, everyone! As many of you are probably aware, the Church has recently reiterated its' institutional neutrality when it comes to political candidates, although the Church has weighed in on poliitcal and civic matters that have bearing on the doctrines, beliefs, and practices of the Church. It appears that information recently came to light about a family financial account operated by Elder and Sister Uchtdorf, to which other family members have access. During the most recent election cycle, that account's transactions recorded donations to major political campaigns, including that of now-President Joe Biden and the two democratic senate candidates in Georgia. When information about those donations came to light, Elder Uchtdorf released a statement on behalf of himself and those who have access to that account, stating that as an apostle, he adheres to the Church's neutrality on political candidates, but that the donations were made in his name from that account to those campaigns. My personal opinion is that those contributions were a private matter that only the Uchtdorf family had the right to know about. But at the same time, I appreciate Elder Uchtdorf's willingness to be transparent about both the donations (which were not made personally in this case by either him or his wife) and his commitment to uphold and publicly support the political neutrality of the Church. In my opinion, this whole matter is a non-issue. But that Elder Uchtdorf would want to comment on this matter in particular makes me love and respect him even more than I already did. Here is the story in question:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ksl.com/article/50124864/elder-uchtdorf-says-oversight-led-to-biden-other-campaign-donations-made-in-his-name
My thanks once again to you all for your continued interest and ongoing support.
The Newsroom has shared the details of the planned broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir's presentation of Handel's "Messiah":
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/the-tabernacle-choir-to-stream-handels-messiah
Meanwhile, the Church News has shared another article penned by the Young Women General Presidency and advisory council (formerly the general board):
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-03-12/young-women-leaders-using-questions-help-others-grow-205853
And the latest edition of "This Week on Social" was published this evening:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-12/social-media-international-womens-day-music-festival-miracles-206557
This week's installment included posts from the following apostles: Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, D. Todd Christofferson, Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and the following female General Officers of the Church: the entire Relief Society General Presidency (General President Sister Jean B. Bingham (from whom 2 pots were shared) and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Sharon Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto); the entire Young Women General Presidency (General President Sister Bonnie H. Cordon and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Michelle D. Craig (from whom 2 posts were shared) and Becky Craven); and the entire Primary General Presidency (General President Sister Joy D. Jones and her First Counselor, Sister Lisa L. Harkness (from whom 2 posts were shared).
My thanks once again to you all.
The Newsroom has covered the impact recent flood conditions in Laie Hawaii has had on buildings pertaining to the BYU-Hawaii campus, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Laie Hawaii Temple:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/torrential-rain-causes-flooding-laie-hawaii
My thanks once again to you all.
This afternoon, the Church News provided its' own coverage ofthe flooding in Hawaii to which I referred in my last comment:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-03-13/flooding-at-byu-hawaii-laie-temple-pcc-206655
And tomorrow's "Music & the Spoken Word" broadcast will again be a hybrid combination of previously-recorded performances accompanied by a new "Spoken Word" message. The Church News has provided the text transcript of that message:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-13/music-and-the-spoken-word-love-loneliness-206343
My thanks once again to you all.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-03-13/music-and-the-spoken-word-love-loneliness-206343