Hello again, everyone! I know that the weekly temple updates, along with additional changes to General Conference and additional temple groundbreakings have been announced. But early Tuesday morning, I had a medical emergency that resulted in surgery yesterday. I am at home and in the mend, but until further notice, previously-prepared content will serve as the bulk of updates here. I do have several additional developments I'm awaiting word on, but I wanted to give you that update. If any of you are aware of anything any of us need to know, please share that in the comments of the newest post. My thanks once again to you all.
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Personal Circumstance Delay Blog Updates
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
10 comments:
In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.
I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.
And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.
Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters.
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Hello again, everyone! The Church News has provided a new section of coverage focusing on the Olympics:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/category/olympics
The Church News also keeps a collection of several articles that provide insight into Church headquarters in general, and also highlights the importance of councils in the Church (from the council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to the many executive councils and committees at Church headquarters, to stake and ward councils, and to family councils:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/category/inside-church-headquarters
Slightly connected to that, in previous threads of comments on this blog, I had mentioned that, during the Seminar for New Mission Leaders, which was held at the end of last month, coverage on Elder Uchtdorf's remarks noted he was finishing a 3-year assignment to chair the Missionary Executive Council. Courtesy of a subsequent comment from another reader of this blog, I received information that Elder Cook was now chairing that Council. Since Elder Cook had been chairing the Preisthood and Family Executive Council, I was reasonably certain Elder Uchtdorf would be called upon to be the new Chairman of the Temple and Family History Executive Council, with Elder Bednar moving to chair the Priesthood and Family Executive Council.
We knew that Elder Cook and Elder Gong were members of that Executive Council, but one of the articles in the "Inside Church Headquarters" series showed a picture of a meeting of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council. Although he does not appear in that picture, the caption for it notes that Elder Soares was another member of that Council, which is slightly different information from the assignments Elder Soares listed when he met with the media in 2018 (at which time he indicated he was assigned to serve on the Missionary Executive Council):
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/elder-gong-and-elder-soares-describe-first-months-as-new-apostles?lang=eng
On July 26 of this year, the Newsroom published the following update about season 4 of the Book of Mormon video series:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/jesus-christ-visits-ancient-inhabitants-of-the-americas-in-season-4-of-the-book-of-mormon-videos-series
That article explicitly stated that Elder Uchtdorf is now the Chairman of the Priesthood and Family Executive Cuoncil, with Elder Dale G. Renlund being one other member of that Quorum who now serves on that Council. So that suggests to me that some apostles have had some changes in their assignments. That's true because Elder Renlund was noted in February as serving on the Temple and Family History Executive Council.
So that suggests that Elder Bednar may either still head the Temple and Family History Executive Council, or that one of the other 4 senior apostles have succeeded him in doing so, and that 1 or 2 of the other apostles on that council might have changed as well. It will be interesting to see how all of that information is confirmed.
And finally, the latest edition of "This Week on Social" was published today:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-07-30/social-media-international-friendship-day-gong-uchtdorf-220958
The latest installment features posts from Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Dale G. Renlund, and Gerrit W. Gong (from the latter of whom two posts were shared); Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham; Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency (from whom two posts were also shared); and Sister Amy A. Wright, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
Another significant development has occurred in terms of adjusting the way new area seventies are called in April and the way others are subsequently released in October after having served for a while. New area seventies going forward will be sustained by name in the April General Conference Leadership Session, with the Sustaining of Church Officers calling for a vote in support of the new area seventies:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2021-general-conference-leadership-meeting
And on Thursday, a letter sent out by President M. Russell Ballard noted that 66 current area seventies are being released effective August 1. I imagine that, when President Eyring leads the Sustaining of Church Officers in October, he will do what President Oaks did in April and call for a sustaining vote on the list of names that have been released. Among those named, as you might notice, is Elder Kevin J. Worthen, who currently serves as BYU-Provo President. While I don't know whether the Church might be looking to release him soon from that assignment, the timing of his release as an area seventy could open the way for him to continue to serve as BYU President, but doing so as a newly-sustained General Authority Seventy in October. My thanks once again to you all.
On this Sabbath day, the Church News has shared the following additional reports:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-08-01/video-president-ballard-explains-how-the-church-has-risen-up-through-the-council-system-220918
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-08-01/week-in-review-saturday-evening-session-general-conference-area-seventies-220921
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2021-08-01/new-stake-presidents-argentina-brazil-mexico-city-philippines-utah-ivins-provo-bonneville-220882
Additionally, in view of today being Sunday August 1, all area leadership changes, in addition to all assignment changes at Church headquarters are now in effect. That means that Elders Robert C. Gay and Terence M. Vinson have been released from the Presidency of the Seventy, that Elders Paul V. Johnson and S. Mark Palmer are now serving in that Presidency. It also means Clark G. Gilbert is now Commissioner of Church Education, with Brian K. Ashton succeeding him as BYU-PW president. The list of area seventies shared this week have now been released from those roles. And there have now been major changes to apostolic assignments. Aside from the Executive Council, Committee, and area assignments for those Brethren, changes have also been made to the Church Board of Education:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church-education/about/ces-administration?lang=eng
You'll notice from that list that, while four members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (Holland, Bednar, Cook, and Renlund) had previously been listed, the Board member updates only list Elders Holland and Christofferson, both of whom are on the Executive Committee of the Boards.
Hopefully more information will be forthcoming on other assignment changes for the apostles, the General Authority Seventies, the Presiding Bishopric, and the General Officers of the Church. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
We hope you recover quickly and return to normal soon.
ReplyDeleteNathanial, thanks for your kind comment. If how I'm feeling currently is any indication, I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm beginning to bounce back a little. I will see what I can do later today to post some Church News and temple updates of which I have become aware, and, as I mentioned in a previous thread, I will also be working on a major overhaul to my predictions for the October 2021 General Conference. I planned out the initial version of those predictions within a month or two after General Conference in April. But I had to adjust those in early-to-mid June in view of the announcement about the Saturday Evening Session being discontinued.
DeleteI was still working on that around the time I had the medical emergency. While I was hospitalized, the Church announced that the Saturday Evening Session will continue for all members and friends of the Church. So I'm back to the drawing board on those.
That being said, before my recent medical emergency, I had been able to prepare a few posts for publication in advance. I've scheduled the next apostolic milestone update for this upcoming Sunday (August 8), and I've also prepared posts in tribute to the 3 apostles who will celebrate their birthdays this month: Elders Gary E. Stevenson (August 6) and Neil L. Andersen (August 9) and President Dallin H. Oaks (August 12).
Those four posts, prepared in advance, will hopefully enable me to continue the at-home recovery process, while I also continue to pass along any new major updates in terms of Church news or temple developments.
My hope is to have my revised General Conference predictions published here in enough time to allow 6 weeks of discussion, if needed, before the pre-conference deadline I have set (Thursday September 30 @ 10:00 PM MDT). So hopefully I will be able to update and publish those revised predictions by August 18-19.
Sorry about that uninteded sidetrack. Thanks again for stopping by with your best wishes for my recovery. I always appreciate hearing from you.
Hello again, everyone! The Church News has provided a lot of coverage on the Olympics, particularly focusing on members of the Church who are competing therein. Those latest updates can be found in the following special section from the Church News website:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/category/olympics
Meanwhile, a few days into this month of August, the Young Men and Young Women General Presidencies have announced the theme for Aaronic Priesthood Quorums and Young Women classes worldwide next year. The theme will be the well-known scripture Proverbs 3:5-6. With the world continuing to still be shaken by a variety of conditions (an ongoing global pandemic, war, famine, disease, disaster, upheavals of nature, political, civil, or societal unrest, etc.) the six General Officers observed that it is more important now than it has ever been for youth to trust in the Lord and allow Him to direct them. And I would extend that to include all of us as well, regardless of age. Here is the Church News coverage on that development:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2021-08-02/what-is-the-2022-youth-theme-221167
There may or may not be new temple construction updates to pass along. If there are, I will try to share those later this evening. I also continue to work as I can on the latest revisions to my predictions for the next General Conference, and will have those published ASAP as well.
DeleteAdditionally, barring anything unexpected, at very least tomorrow, the Church will almost certainly make the weekly announcement about the latest phased temple reopenings. Due to my being unable to report on those last week, I hope to be able to resume those weekly summaries tomorrow. It is also possible that on 1, 2, or 3 days this week, the Church will announce arrangements for at least one temple opening/reopening. But the bigger announcements I am excitedly waiting for is word on additional temple groundbreakings, and/or the release of the official site location and/or the exterior renderings for additional temples.
Among the 21 temples announced in April & May of this year, only 2 here in the United States have not yet had their site locations and preliminary information confirmed (Eugene Oregon and Ephraim Utah). There seems to be a possibility that Eugene could either be in the size range of the Helena Montana, Casper Wyoming, or Elko Nevada Temples (10,000 square feet), or perhaps the size of a few other US temples for which construction has started in the last year (which would potentially put it in the range of 20,000-40,000 square feet or so). And based on previous information supplied at the time the temple in Ephraim was announced, that temple is anticipated to be somewhat comparable (if not almost identical) in size and design to the Brigham City Utah Temple.
Before I move on to talk about additional temples for which groundbreakings seem likely to be announced in the near term, I wanted to note that I do have a theory about the next set of temples which will be built under President Nelson's prophetic inspiration. Although I can't prove this, it appears that Helena Montana was used by the Church as a "test case" scenario to see how quickly approvals could be granted and temples could begin construction when they are announced to be a similar or identical size or design.
My theory is that, after sufficiently testing the approvals process for temples in the United States that will be exactly 10,000 square feet or close to that, temples of that size and design, with architectural differences in those designs to match the surrounding regions, might be used on similarly-sized temples outside the United States as well.
DeleteSuch an approach would enable a large number of temples all over the world (and not just in the United States) to be more quickly approved to begin the construction process, which could accelerate temple construction in ways we have not seen before now.
Having put that theory out there, I have been gradually updating the list of temples on my files for which a groundbreaking could soon be anticipated. Right now, there are 12 such temples on my list for the next 3-6 months. Although I might be incorrect on the timing here, right now, I'm listing those temples in the following order: Casper Wyoming, Elko Nevada, Bahia Blanca Argentina, Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, Port Vila Vanuatu, Tarawa Kiribati, Farmington New Mexico, Grand Junction Colorado, Burley Idaho, Yorba Linda California, Phnom Pehn Cambodia, and Lindon and Smithfield Utah.
Already this year, 9 temple groundbreakings have been scheduled (with 4 of those already having taken place). If we add to those 9 the 12 I mentioned above, 2021 will already tie 2020 in terms of having the second-highest number of temple groundbreakings.
But I'm almost definitely convinced that there will be quite a few more temple groundbreakings scheduled. President Nelson has demonstrated a willingness to do all he can to move as many temples up in the queue as quickly as he is able to do so. That's been wonderful to see.
Stay tuned for more on all of these developments in the days ahead. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
The temple locations has added China, making 252 shown total temples.
ReplyDeleteBest to your health, friend.
Cuffers, thanks for taking time to comment. If I'm understanding your comment correctly, you are referring to the fact that the Church's official temple list now shows the one in Shanghai, where it hadn't before.
DeleteI appreciate you mentioning that here, as it's a good reminder. For a long time after that temple was announced last April, due to the nuancees of the Church's relationship with China, there was apparently some red tape involved which prevented the Church from including that on the list in question.
I seem to vaguely recall mAking a mention myself at some point within the last few months or so that the issues related to the Church listing the Shanghai temple had been resolved, but I might be mistaken on that. Either way, thanks again for stopping by to comment and to share your well-wishes in my behalf. I appreciate it.