BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Phased Reopening of Temples Continues Into September

Hello again, everyone! A short time ago, the Church released the latest information in the ongoing process of reopening all temples Churchwide, which continue to bring more temples worldwide yet another step closer towards resuming normal operations. The latest changes have, as always, been detailed in the latest update from the official Newsroom, with updates also mentioned by the Church News, and reflected in the latest updates to the temple reopening status tracker, The strategy observed by the Church remains the same: focus on a cautiously-coordinated carefully-planned approach to changes in temple reopening stauses, and adapt to circumstances as necessary.

The results of that strategy speak for themselves. Let's now explore the changes that have been most recently announced this morning. The Church has announced updates that will impact the status of 8 temples in total, with 6 that will now offer proxy ordinancces in either phase 2-B or phase 3, and the remaining 2 unpausing and resuming an operational phase. 1 of those 2 is retruning to the same phase it had been in, while another is tranisitioning to a different phase.

Now, regarding specifics: As soon as one week from today (Tuesday September 7), 5 Brazilian temples (Campinas, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, and Sao Paulo) and 1 European temple (The Hague Netherlands) are expected to tranisition to phase 3, and offer all proxy ordinances on a limited availability basis, so that the Church can thus ensure that they are doing their best to keep Church members who are able to work in and attend the temple ast patrons are safe. 

I am not sure how temples elsewhere in the world might work, but I do know that when I worked at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple for 6 years (2006-2012), although a fair porition of the workers there were older retired individuals and couples, there were also a fair number of young adults, both single and married, who rounded out the workforce for the temple. 

I imagine that age, health, and likely susceptibility to COVID-19 would factor into the decisions each temple makes about who staffs the various areas  Most temples are probably using the proverbial "skeleton crew" and having areas staffed by individuals who are either younger, not as susceptible to catching the virus, or those that have been fully vaccinated.

In the meantime, the other two temples having changes announced are the two in South Africa (Durban and Johannesburg). Both have come out of recent pauses in their reopening process. For Durban, the unpausing also involves a shift to phase 2-B, which will allow limited proxy baptisms to occur, in addition to all living ordinances in priorirty order. And with the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, following the conclusion of its' recent pause, it's going back to phase 3, which will allow all living and proxy ordinances by appointment.

Additionally, the Church had previously noted that the Medford Oregon Temple was anticipated to transition to  phase 3 at some point this month, but that change has not yet been able to occur, likely because the Church prefers to be cautious in that temple's particular case, but hopefully, during any one of the 4 Tuesdays in September, that change might be able to go into effect. And the Church News again shared the list of 10 temples that have not been able to offer any proxy ordinances yet, with no phase designation given to the Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan Temples (both of which are closed for renovations).

6 others are in Latin American nations, and 1 of those 6 remains in phase 1, while 1 other had reached phase 2 but has since paused. And the remaining 2 temples are in Eastern Europe and Asia. In view of the changes announced today, the Church has the 8 temples closed for renovations (all but the previous 2 Asian temples I mentioned above have had a phase 3 designation given to the patrons in their districts). And in view of updates announced today, 5 temples remain "paused" in their reopening due to local COVID-19 conditions (of which 3 had reached phase 3 at the time of their pauses, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 20.

Of the temples not closed for renovation or currently impacted by a pause in their reopening statuses, only 1 remains in phase 1, with 6 in phase 2, 10 in phase 2-B, and the remaining 138 are now in phase 3. I willingly and gratefully testify to the inspired nature of the latest announced adjustments, and am grateful that process continues to go as well as it has. For my part, I continue to monitor all developments announced by the Church News and the Newsroom, and remain committed to continuing to provide those reports 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. 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Revised Opening Arrangements Announced for Winnipeg Manitoba Temple

Hello again, everyone! Just over 1 year ago, on September 1 of last year, the Church postponed the opening arrangements for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple.. With the mid-June announcement of opening arrangements for the Pocatello Idaho Temple in mind, I had offered my opinion just recently that that temple would be the only one de/dicated this year

As the Lord often deoes, He has proven me wrong yet again. This morning, the First Presidency announced revised opening arrangements for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. And not only will the dedication of that teemple occur by the end of the year, but with today's announcement, the Church will actually be dedicating the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple prior to the previously-announced dedication for the Pocatello Idaho Temple. Let's break down the details.

The Church will offer open house tours for that temple from Saturday October 9-Saturday October 23, with the exceptions of the Sundays of October 10 and 17, in addition to Monday October 11, which marks the day people throghout Canada celebrate Thanskgiving. Aside from the open house dates, the Church has announced a youth dvotional to be held prior to the dedication. 

But rather than having that devotional the nigth before the dedication, Church leaders announced today that the youth devotional will cocur on Sunday October 24. No reason was given for the devotional occurring a week in advance, so if any of you know the reason for the devotional being held a week in advance, please let me know.

In the meantime, in another surprising update, rather than having the traditional 3 temple dedication sessions, the Church has announced that up to five such sessions could be held. 4 will take place every 2 hours at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, with the Church reserving the option to hold a fifth such session if need be, which would probably occur at arounf 4:00 PM. Those sessions are set to be hell on Sunday October 31, which coincides with the observation of Halloween here in the United States.

If you'll pardon the pun here, it will be all treats and no tricks for this scheduled event. This does mean that the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple will be the 169th dedicated temple in the world, with the Pocatello Idhao Temple now becoming the 170th. I shold also note that I anticipate the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple will not open until early next year at soonest, and that the dedications for both the Yigo Guam and Quito Ecuador Temples might likely be similarly delayed into next year.. 

The same holds true for the likely rededication windows for both the Tokyo Japan and Hamilton New Zeland Temples, though the Lord mght prove me wrong on that as well. In any case, I am grateful to have learned about this report so that i could pass that along to you all here, It's worth noting that the Church News also provided coverage on this. I continue to monitor all such developments and remain committed to bringing those to you here as I become aware of all such updates.

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: Additional Temples to Change Phases As Reopening Process Continues

Hello again, everyone! Tuesday has again rolled around, and with it has come the latest announcements in the week-by-week process to reopen temples worldwide. The most-recently announced changes have been shared within the last half-hour or so. The Church continues to detail them through the official Newsroom release, with more in-depth coverage from the Church News, and an area-by-area update of the latest changes as detailed in the temple reopening status tracker. 

As I have customarily done each Tuesday in recent weeks, let me now share additional analysis on the temple reopenings. First, the Church announced this morning that 4 temples in South America (Concepcion and Santiago Chile, Asuncion Paraguay and Cordoba Argentina) will move to phase 3, allowing all living and proxy ordinances, as early as next Tuesday (August 31). And although the Medford Oregon Temple was announced to reopen in phase 3 at some point before the end of August, that has not yet officially occurred, so hopefully the Church will announce that happening among next week's changes.

In last week's update, I mentioned the details about 10 temples which have not yet opened for proxy work.  This week's update did not affect any of those 10, but hopefully, at least a few of those will transition to proxy work in the next several weeks. With the updates announced today, by next Tuesday (August 31), the Church will have 8 temples closed for renovation (all but two of which, Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan) have been granted phase 3 designations, which allows the patrons residing in the districts of those temples to schedule limited proxy work at nearby temples which are also in phase 3).

7 other temples remain "paused" in their reopenings (of which 5 were in phase 3, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 2). Only 1 temple is currently in phase 1, with 6 remaining in phase 2, 15 others offering living ordinances and proxy baptisms in phase 2-B; and the remaining 131 have been given phase 3 status, allowing living ordinances and all proxy work by appointment, with limitations and protocols in place. 

As I read about and pass along these reports on this blog, I'm continually blown away by how well the Church is monitoring COVID-19 conditions around the world and making weekly adjustments as necessary. I remain grateful for the moderate, measured, and cautiously-coordinated way in which the Church continues to reopen temples, and to move each temple that much closer to resuming normal operations. We are blessed to see the Lord's hand directing this process every step of the way. 

I continue to monitor all Church news reports and temple updates, and will be sure to bring you all word of those 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.

UPDATED: Predictions for the October 2021 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Within the last couple of months, the First Presidency initiallydiscontinuedthe Priesthood and Women's Sessions (which had respectively been held in April and October on the Saturday Evenings of General Conference weekend). That was done in early June. Roughly 6 weeks later (towards the end of last month), that session wasreinstated, though a change to its' format was announced. Prior to both announcements, I had repeatedly mentioned that each General Conference held under President Nelson has been uniquely different in various ways.

That was certainly true of last April'sGeneral Conference.4 General Officers of the Church spoke. For the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 3 spoke in the first and last sessions, 4 others in the Saturday Afternoon Session, and the remaining 2 speak during the Priesthood and Sunday Morning Sessions (1 each). The 3 Saturday Sessions featured 3 General Authority Seventies, 2 of whom pre-recorded their remarks while serving outside the United States.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Sessions included 6 GA Seventies in the Morning Session (3 of whom pre-recorded their remarks). Included among those 6 were also one current member of the Presidency of the Seventy (Elder Jose A. Teixeira) and 1 other GA Seventy who began serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the beginning of this month (Elder S. Mark Palmer). And the Sunday Afternoon Session featured 2 more GA Seventies, 1 of whom pre-recorded their remarks. With a total of 11 GA Seventies speaking, that marked the highest number of GA Seventies speaking in a single General Conference within the last couple of decades.

It's also worth noting that no representatives from the Presiding Bishopric spoke. Having now laid out what occurred in the last General Conference, I wanted to note I have gotten to the point of reworking my predictions for the October 2021 General Conference that I can now share what I've got so far with you all here. A couple of preliminary notes: Since the Saturday Evening Session has been reinstated and opened to all Church members and friends of other faiths, I've surmised that the entire First Presidency will speak in reverse-seniority order to close out that session, and that 1 member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and 2 other General Authorities or General Officers might also speak then.

With the process of sustaining the general Church leadership during each General Conference having been shortened, I then determined that the Church would most likely have 4 members of the Quorum of the Twelve speak on Saturday Afternoon, which would allow 2 other general leaders to speak as well. And since the average number of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Saturday Morning Session has been just about 3 every time, I think that will also continue.

So, with 3 Quorum members predicted to speak on Saturday Morning, with 4 more that afternoon, and 1 in the evening, that's a total of 8. For Sunday's sessions, my research shows that having 2 apostles speak in each of those sessions, with President Nelson closing out both, and with his counselors alternating as the first speakers ion Saturday Afternoon, that would open the prospect that more non-apostolic speakers would be able to address each General Conference, particularly the last two sessions.

I apologize for that lengthy introduction, but I wanted to set the background for my predictions. I suppose there is more than a slight chance that the speaker lineup in all General Conferences might be more in line with what happened inApril 2019andApril 2020. The biggest question mark will be how and to what extent the new Saturday Evening format might affect the rest of the conference. All that remains now for this post is for me to share the specific predictions I have assembled. First up is theprojected speaker lineup(with notes providing additional context, when needed), the anticipated changes ingeneral Church leadership, and my revised list of locations in which I have felt a new templecould be announced.

Regarding the last item on the list, I have some additional information to share. Followers of theChurch Growth Blogknow that the blog author, Matthew Martinich, offers his list of the top ten locations in which a temple could be announced just before each General Conference. While I'm not comfortable narrowing my list to the top ten candidates, what I have done is created a breakdown of the most likely places in which a temple could be announced this time around based on the geographical area of the Church under which each location falls.

Unless I have miscounted what's on my list, I have a total of 24 candidates that seem most likely to have a temple announced. Here is a copy of that list:

October 2021 Top Temple Candidate Locations (projected):

Africa Central—Kampala Uganda
Africa South—Antananarivo Madagascar
Africa West—Monrovia Liberia<
Asia—Jakarta Indonesia
Asia North—Ulaanbaatar Mongólia
Brazil—Florianópolis João Pessoa/Ribeirão Preto Brazil
Caribbean—Kingston Jamaica<
Europe—Edinburgh Scotland
Mexico—Durango Mexico
North America Central—Green Bay Wisconsin & Wichita Kansas
North America Northeast—East Brunswick New Jersey
North America Southeast—Jackson Mississippi
North America Southwest—Queen Creek Arizona
North America West—Fairbanks Alaska & Bakersfield California
Philippines—Tacloban & Angeles Philippines
South America Northwest—Iquitos Peru & La Paz Bolivia<
South America South—Osorno Chile
Utah—Herriman & Lehi Utah

So those are my updated predictions for the October 2021 General Conference. An open commenting period remains in effect on these predictions until 10:00 PM on Thursday September 30, which will allow me roughly 36 hours to carry out any needed updates. I look forward to any feedback any of you have on these predictions. I continue to monitor all Church 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Announces Groundbreaking for the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple

Hello again, everyone! Within the last few minutes, breaking news has again been reported by the Church. The First Presidency has just confirmed the groundbreaking arrangements for the Phnom Pehn Cambodia Temple. The groundbreaking has been set to occur on Saturday September 18, 2021. In an interesting development that I personally did not see coming, instead of having a member of the Asia Area Presidency or an area seventy preside at that groundbreaking, the Church has assigned the president of the Cambodia Phnom Pehn Mission, Veasna Kuonno Neang, whose service just began in July, to preside at the event.

I suppose that shouldn't be a huge surprise to me, as COVID-19 and governmental red tape has led the Church to do things differently in recent years than they have. Oddly enough, the size of the temple was also clarified. It is anticipated to be a single-story edifice of roughly 10.000 square feet, which I would not have guessed from the rendering when it was originally released during the November 2019 visit from the prophet to the Saints in that nation. 

But hopefully, that also means that work on the temple might only take 18-24 months, which I'm sure would be wonderful for the Saints in that nation. The temple site will also include an ancillary building. I was also surprised at the timing of this groundbreaking. My research had led me to conclude that this temple's groundbreaking might be a little further out than it wound up being. But I am pleased to have been able to learn about it and share that information with you all. 

With 5 temple groundbreakings now scheduled, in addition to the 5 which have already taken place thus far this year, the total number of groundbreakings to occur in 2021 will have risen to at least 10 by the week after the October 2021 General Conference. But I have a feeling other groundbreaking announcements could come down the pike relatively soon here, and I don't think it is out of the question for the Church to remain on track this year to the point of exceeding the 21 groundbreakings which occurred last year.

I will continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates on an ongoing basis, and remain committed to bringing word of all such news to you 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 TEMPLE NEWS: Phased Reopening of Temples to Continue Through August and September

Note: An initial version of this post was published on this blog at 10:12 AM. Following the addition of specific details, the updates were published between 1:00-1:30 PM.

Hello again, everyone! Another week has come and gone, and it is time once again for me to provide analysis on the latest temple reopening updates from the Church. Those updates have been (or soon will be) released through the Newsroom, the Church News, and the temple status tracker which lists the temples in each of the Church's 22 areas). 

I hope to be able to post a more complete analysis on these changes later today, but I have another commmitment this morning that will delay my analysis on the latest updates. Stay tuned for a more complete report later this afternoon. This post will be updated. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

I am back just under 3 hours from when this post was originally published to provide further analysis and information about the latest temple reopening adjustments which were announced this morning. Two temples in Mexico (Ciudad Juarez and Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Mexico) are expected to transition to phase 3, allowing all proxy ordinances in priority order, with limited proxy work available as scheduled for those temples. 

Although the Church has not yet specified how soon it might occur, the updates released today also noted that the Medford Oregon Temple will also transition to phase 3 by the end of this month. Since that shift was not noted as part of today's update, I'm assuming that the phase 3 designation will be effective for Medford either later this week, or by either of the two remaining Tuesdays of this month (August 24 and 31 respectively).

There are now 10 temples which have not been granted any phase designations that would allow any form of proxy work (phases 2-B and 3). Of those temples, 2 are closed for renovation: Tokyo Japan (which is completed but awaiting announced reopening arrangements) and Hong Kong China (which is anticipated to be rededicated in the mid-to-latter part of that year (probably sometime around August, September or October). 

For the remaining 8 not yet able to offer proxy work, 1 (San Jose Costa Rica) is in phase 1, with 1 other (Buenos Aires Argentina) which was in phase 2 but had to pause in its' reopening process). The final 6 temples (Barranquilla and Bogota Colombia; Arequipa Peru, Kyiv Ukraine, Montevideo Uruguay, and Seoul Korea) are in phase 2.

As of next Monday (August 23), 8 temples will remain closed for renovation (all but two of which, Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan) have been granted phase 3 designations, which allows the patrons residing in the districts of those temples to schedule limited proxy work at nearby temples which are also in phase 3). 7 other temples remain "paused" in their reopenings (of which 5 were in phase 3, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 2).

Only 1 temple is currently in phase 1, with 6 remaining in phase 2, 19 others offering living ordinances and proxy baptisms in phase 2-B; and the remaining 127 have been given phase 3 status, allowing living ordinances and all proxy work by appointment, with limitations and protocols in place. As I read about and pass along these reports on this blog, I'm continually blown away by how well the Church is monitoring COVID-19 conditions around the world and making weekly adjustments as necessary.

Of course, to a certain extent, it's not surprising at all that a Church guided by heavenly inspiration through a living prophet has been better equipped than many secular, governmental, or educational entities at rolling with the changing circumstances that the fluctuating COVID-19 situation requires. While not surprising, it is impressive. And I hope that each of you, my readers and followers, have found similar inspiration and comfort in observing that process as well.

With my having added some new reports from the Newsroom and the Church News that were provided between the release of the temple reopening information and now, I continue to monitor all major updates in that regard, in addition to the latest developments and milestones. I also continue to work as I can on my predictions for the upcoming October General Conference and will publish those here ASAP once I have those completed.

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 President Dallin H. Oaks on His 89th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early-morning hours of August 12 to pay tribute to the third (and last) apostle who has his birthday this month. President Dallin H. Oaks is observing his 89th birthday today. Dallin Harris Oaks was born on this day in 1932 to Dr. Lloyd E. and Stella Harris Oaks in Provo, Utah. Included in his mother's ancestry is Martin Harris, who, as we know, was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. 

President Oaks' first name was given in honor of the last name of an artist with whom his mother had worked (as the model) for a statue in Springville Utah. His father was an ophthalmologist, and he died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis. Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave young Dallin some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken.

After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor. In the meantime, young Dallin attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer.

Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games. At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. 

He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later. He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis. He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that same period of time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. 

Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter resulted in lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. He also served on the foundational board of a Mormon thought periodical. He was also chairman of the university's disciplinary committee. He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. 

He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court. He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade.

However, a surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled prior to that General Conference. April 1984. Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference. Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained.

President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."

Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained, having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3. He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 34 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998.

Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since. In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile. With the death of President Thomas S. Monson in January 2018, Elder Oaks became the second most-senior apostle.;

President Nelson, in becoming the new Church president, felt impressed to call his apostolic seat-mate, Elder Oaks, to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency. He was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018. President Oaks has given a total of 87 addresses in General Conference, the first of which was given during his service as BYU-Provo President. Interestingly enough, that address from the early 1970s is somehow not listed in the Church's repository webpage of his General Conference addresses). He gave 68 additional addresses in General Conference as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the remaining 18 (so far) as a member of the First Presidency. He currently ranks as both the second most senior member and the second oldest member of the First Presidency, while he is the second in overall apostolic seniority, and the third oldest apostle who is currently serving.

I am grateful to have been able to take the opportunity to share more about President Dallin H. Oaks on this, his 87th birthday. I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, have indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Additional Temple Reopenings Announced for August and September

Preliminary note: An initial version of this post was preset to publish on this blog at 10:35 AM MDT this morning, which coincided with the exact time at which the latest temple reopening developments were reported by the Church News and the Newsroom. Due to personal circumstances today, I was unable to complete the process of updating the post with today's announced adjustments until 5:00 PM-6:00 PM MDT. The post still shows the original timestamp.

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share the latest temple reopening updates, which were released by the Church this morning. This post will highlight those updates, as they in are found in the updated official release from the Newsroom, with coverage also provided through the Church News update and the updated temple reopening status tracker. 

Let's get into what these changes are, when they will go into effect, and the updated data about how many temples will be open in each operational phase as of next Monday (August 16). According to today's report,  barring any unexpected readjustments, by the end of August, all but 11 of the Church's temples worldwide are anticipated to be able to offer some proxy ordinances (through phases 2-B and 3).Of the 157 temples which have seen phased reopenings, 6 of the 8 temples closed for renovation have had phase designations given to their temple districts, which allows patrons in those districts to schedule phase 2-B or 3 ordinances at the nearest temples offering those phases.

The only two temples closed for renovation which have not yet been given a desiganted reopening phase are Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan. The remaining 9 temples not yet open in a phase which would allow proxy ordinances are the Barranquilla and Bogota Colombia, Arequipa Peru, Kyiv Ukraine, Montevideo Uruguay, and Seoul Korea Temples (which are each in phase 2); the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple (which is in phase 2 until one week from today); the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple (which had reached phase 2 before being currently paused in its' reopening); and the San Jose Costa Rica Temple (currently in phase 1). 

Today's update also notes that the Kyiv Ukraine Temple moved to phase 2 operations effective yesterday. Additionally, the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple transitioned to phase 2-B as of Saturday August 7, with the Campinas, Curitiba, and Recife Brazil Temples doing the same, effective today. The Porto Alegre Brazil Temple might also transition to that phase, as soon as next Tuesday (August 17). The Cordoba Argentina and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples unpaused their operations, with the former resuming phase 2-B, and the latter resuming phase 3. Additionally, the Spokane Washington Temple will move to phase 3 as early as next Monday (August 16), with the Medford Oregon Temple following at a yet-to-be-determined date in August as well.

In view of today's reported updates, as of next week, 8 temples remain closed for renovation (6 of which have had their districts designated into a reopening phase), with 7 more "paused" in their reopenings. Of those 7, 5 had been in phase 3 when they were paused, with 1 each in phases 2-B and 2. Of the remaining temples in various phases of reopening, the Church has just 1 in phase 1, 7 in phase 2, 20 in phase 2-B, and the reamining 125 in phase 3. 

I am grateful for the measured approach and week-to-week adaptability the First Presidency has shown in their efforts towards reopening temples as quickly and as safely as possible. I remain committed to bringing you all the latest in Church news and temple developments (relative to temple reopenings, temple construction, and temple milestones).

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 omments 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.

Elder Neil L. Andersen Celebrates His 70th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! Elder Neil L. Andersen is marking his 70th birthday today. As a result of reaching this milestone, Elder Andersen becomes the tenth current apostle to be 70 years of age or older. Let's get right into the latest birthday tribute I'm posting in his honor. Neil Linden Andersen was born on this day in 1951 to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen in Logan Utah. His family relocated to Pocatello when he was five to run a dairy farm. He served a full-time mission in France, then obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, eventually earning his MBA from Harvard, also in economics.

During his time at BYU, he met and married his wife, Kathy Sue Anderson, and together they raised four children. He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president (assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission) from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.

Through the next couple of decades as a Seventy, he served in a wide variety of Church assignments, including as executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West ,Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he also served as the area president).

In 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy, where he was assigned to preside over the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007). By the time his stewardship switched to the North America Southwest Area (2007-2009), he had gone from being the second-least senior member of that Presidency to being the third-most-senior member. In 2008, with Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in April) and the release of Senior President Elder Earl C. Tingey (in August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference), Elder Andersen then became the Senior President of the Seventy, a role in which he would only serve for around 8 months.

With the December 2008 death of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. An interesting bit of trivia is the fact that Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband were all seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy as of August 2007, and they would all go on to be apostolic seatmates, with their apostolic calls occurring in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015 respectively.

Since Elder Andersen's original call as a General Authority Seventy in April 1993, he has given a total of 28 addresses in General Conference (3 of which he gave as a General Authority Seventy, with 2 others given while he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 25 since his call to the QuorIum of the Twelve Apostles).

Elder Andersen continues to be the seventh in both senirotiy and chronological birth order among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ranks tenth among the 15 total apostles in both seniority and birth chronology. I gladly sustain him and each of his 14 apostolic colleagues as prophets, seers, and revelators, and am grateful to have been able to publish this tribute in honor of his birthday today. 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: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! As most of you are almost certainly aware, I have provided updates on the latest apostolic data (specifically relating to tbeir lifespan or tenure length milestones) roughly every seven weeks. Having last done so on June 20, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with that last update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents, along with updated information on the tenure length records for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The first document also shows information on three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (which will not be updated with the First Presidency as presently constituted until 2024), in addition to the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).  

The latest version of that document also shows when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as currently comprised will move up on the list of the longest-serving Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to specifics on when the current members of that Quorum, along with the current First Presidency, will reach the next milestones on that list.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the apostolic groups overall, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 15 apostles being on that list, and the timing noted for when each of the other 13 apostles will join that list).

Hopefully this shared data will be of interest to you all, and again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. I will, of course, conFitinue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of all 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.

Tribute to Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Who is Marking His 66th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 6, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is celebrating his 66th birthday. Gary Evan Stevenson was born to Evan and Jean Stevenson on this day in 1955 in Ogden, Utah. He grew up in the Cache Valley. He served full-time in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, after which he continued his secondary education at Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. During the course of his studies there, he met Lesa Jean Higley, whom he later married in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, and with whom he would raise four sons. He spent his professional career working as the COO of ICON Health and Fitness, and served on both the Marriott School of Management Advisory Council and also the USU Foundation Board.

In the Church, he has served as a bishop and a stake president's counselor. From 2004-2007, he and his wife presided over the Japan Nagoya Mission. Less than a year after his return, he was among the first general authority seventies called during President Thomas S. Monson's prophetic administration in April 2008. In August of that same year, he was called to serve as First Counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency, marking his third return to Japan as a representative of the Church. The following year, he became the president of that same area, and he served in that assignment until April 2012, at which point, he was released as a General Authority Seventy and sustained as the Church's 14th Presiding Bishop.

In October 2015, with three vacancies in the apostleship due to the deaths of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott, Elder Stevenson was unexpectedly summoned to meet with the First Presidency. He related that he felt sure that he was being notified that one of his counselors (Bishops Gerald Causse or Dean M. Davies) were being called to the apostleship. He was stunned when the apostolic call was instead extended to him personally.

He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015, and was ordained an apostle on October 8, then released as Presiding Bishop one day later. His call to the apostleship marked the second time a current General Authority Seventy who had subsequently been called as Presiding Bishop was also eventually called to the apostleship. Previously, that had been the case with Elder Robert D. Hales, who was called as a General Authority in 1975, and as Presiding Bishop of the Church in 1985 before being called to the apostleship in 1994. Those two former Presiding Bishops of the Church would serve together in the apostleship for approximately two years before Elder Hales' passing on October 1, 2017.

2015 marked the first time since 1906 that the Church needed to fill more than two apostolic vacancies. 1906 that the Church had more than two apostolic vacancies to fill at the same time.

In 1906, following the resignations of Matthias F. Cowley and John W. Taylor over the Church's repeal of the doctrine of plural marriage, and the death of another apostle, Marriner W. Merrill, the Church called George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay, Of the three, Then-Elder McKay was the youngest, with Elder Whitney being the oldest, and Elder Richards fell in age between the two. This was an exception to the gneral rule that when more than one apostle was called on the same day, they are typically ordained in order from oldest to youngest. The three apostolic calls in 2015 saw a similar anomaly in that respect. Although Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund were all called to the apostleship on the same day of the week in the week prior to General Conference, Elder Rasband is the oldest, Elder Stevenson is the youngest, and Elder Renlund is in the middle of those three.

At the age of 60, Elder Stevenson was the youngest man called to the apostleship since Elder David A. Bednar (who was 52 at the time of his October 2004 apostolic call). He would retain his status as the youngest currently-serving apostle until the April 2018 call of Elder Ulisses Soares, who was 59 at the time of his call. With the apostolic calls of Elders Gerrit W. Gong (another apostle with strong connections to Asia) and Ulisses Soares in April 2018, Elder Stevenson is now the 9th in seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the 12th in seniority among all current apostles. In terms of his age, he is the second-youngest among both the Quorum of the Twelve and the apostles overall. In his 11 years of service as a general authority, he has given ">15 addresses in General Conference (1 as a General Authority Seventy, 2 as Presiding Bishop, and the remaining 12 since his call to the apostleship). All of these addresses, covering a wide variety of topics, are well worthy of your time, attention and review.

I gratefully sustain Elder Stevenson as a prophet, seer, and revelator, and appreciate this opportunity to post this tribute to him for his birthday. I similarly greatly admire and sustain each and every one of the other apostles in their God-given roles and responsibilities, and I am grateful to them for giving their time and talents to build up the kingdom of God, and to go wherever they are sent, bearing witness of the Savior at all times and in all circumstances. I share my witness that these men are called of God, and that we will be blessed as we give heed to their words. 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: Latest Phased Temple Reopenings Announced for July and August

Hello again, everyone! Following a one-week hiatus necessitated by my aforementioned medical emergency, I am back to share the latest temple reopening updates, which were released by the Church this morning. This post will highlight those updates, as they in are found in the updated official release from the Newsroom, with coverage also provided through the Church News update and the updated temple reopening status tracker. 

Without further interruption, let's dive right in to what these changes are, when they will go into effect, and the updated data about how many temples will be open in each operational phase as of next Monday (August 9). According to today's report, the Paris France and Stockholm Sweden Temples have now offficially entered phase 3, allowing all living ordinances in priority order, in addition to limited proxy work by appointment.

Meawhile, 5 temples in Brazil are anticipated to move to phase 2-B later this month, alowing all living ordinances in priority order, in addition to limited prxy baptism as scheduled. The 5 in question are Campinas, Curitiba, and Recife (each of which may enter phase 2-B as early as next Tuesday (August 10), with the Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo Brazil Temples anticipated to enter phase 2-B as early as the following Tuesday (August 17).

Today's coverage also reiterated that the Spokane Washington Temple was still anticipated to transition to phase 3 as early as Monday August 16, with the Medford Oregon Temple anticipated to do the same at some point between now and the end of August (an exact date on that has not yet been mentioned on that). Additionally, the two temples in the Philippines (Cebu City and Manila) will pause operations for the time being, out of an abundance of caution and in compliance with restrictions in that island nation.

As I have previously done with recent temple reopening reports, I wanted to again share the demographic breakdown of the different temple statuses. It remains a given that 8 temples continue to be closed for renovation. Of those 8, 6 have been granted phase 3 status so that those in the relevant temple districts can schedule living ordinances in priority order, in addition to limited proxy work, at the temple nearest to the Church members in the districts of those 6 temples.

Meanwhile,` 9 temples are "paused" in their reopenings. Of those 9, 6 had been in phase 3 when they were paused, with 2 in phase 2-B and 1 in phase 1. Of the remaining temples in various phases of reopening, there are 2 in phase 1, 9 in phase 2, 16 in phase 2-B, and the reamining 124 in phase 3. I am grateful for the measured approach and week-to-week adaptability the First Presidency has shown in their efforts towards reopening temples as quickly and as safely as possible. I remain committed to bringing you all the latest in Church news and temple developments (relative to temple reopenings, temple construction, and temple milestones.

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 omments 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.