BREAKING NEWS: Elder Quentin L. Cook Dedicates Temple District of Nauvoo in First Apostolic Assignment Outside of Utah

Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom and the Church News have shared a similar report on the first major apostolic travel assignment to be filled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who chairs the Priesthood and Fmaily Concil of the Church, visited Nauvoo to look over several prominent Church history sites in the city, and to dedicate those sites collectively to form what will be known as the Temple District of Nauvoo. That name is being applied to those historic locations because they are all fairly close the the Nauvoo Illinois Temple of the Church. 

Note the subtle difference in title there. The Nauvoo Illinois Temple District encompasses the specific stakes assigned to that temple. But the Temple District of Nauvoo refers not to those stakes that the temple serves, but the historic sites just west of the temple. Elder Cook was accompanied by his wife, Mary G. Cook, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., who serves as the Church Historian and Recorder, and his wife, Jane C. Curtis. Also in attendance at the dedication was Lachlan Mackay, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Aposstles in the Community of Christ, who was accompanied by his wife, Christin Mackay, the latter of whom has an assigned role in the Community of Christ as the Joseph Smith Historic Site Director.

Elder Cook provided grateful acknowledgement of the efforts of Mackay and his wife in fulfilling their roles to maintain those sites, and noted that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ have a good partnership in place to ensure the preservation of those sites for years to come. The articles note the specific sites that were included in the dedicatory prayer offered by Elder Cook. And the Newsroom particularly provides more context into why each site is significant in Church history.

This is a wonderful development. And that's not just because of the dedication of the Temple District of Nauvoo, but also because it is the first time since the onset of COVID-19 that any apostle has traveled outside of Utah. I am hoping that means that the Church is able to cautiously transition back into having the apostles expand their ministry efforts through more regular travel.

Having said that, as President Ballard and other apostles have acknowledged, the COVID-19 pandemic has led the Church towards hopefully using a combination of in-person apostolic visits where practical in combination with virtual efforts where that option makes more sense. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months in that respect. I continue to monitor all Chruch news and temple updates and will be sure to bring word of those to you all as I become aware thereof.

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.