A Word About the Descendants of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to do a new post now to share some thoughts about the direct descendants of Joseph and Hytum Smith, It has been common for the Quorum of the Twelce Apostles to have at least one descendant of those brothers in the Quorum of the Twelce Apostles. In the 1900s, 4 apostles had direct connections to the Smith family line. Joseph F. Smith was the son of Hyrum Smith, and two of his sons, Hyrum Mack Smith and Joseph Fielding Smith. 

So for a time, there were 3 direct descendants of the Smith brothers serving rogether in the apostleship. Both Joseph F. and Joseph Fielding subsequently served as the respective sixth and tenth presidents of the Church. While Joseph Fielding Smith was serving as Church President, he promised his son-in-law, Elder Bruce R. McConkie (in a cconversation that took place in the early 1970s) that he (President Smith) would call him (Elder McConkie) to the apostleship when the next apostolic vacancy occurred. 

As it happened, President Smith himself was the next apostle to pass awdenay. Subsequently, President Harold B. Lee, as the new Church President, ascertained the validity of that account from Elder McConkie himself, and he (President Lee) chose to honor his predecessor's promise. In 1985, following the death of Elder McConkie, Elder M. Russell Ballard, a descendant of the Smith line through his mother, Geraldine (another daughter of Joseph Fielding Smith), was called to the apostleship. 

Although I hope it will be several more years before the next apostle passes away, I've come to the conclusion that either President Eyring or President Ballard may be the next apostle to pass away. While I know speculation is discouraged by the Church on many matters, if and when President Ballard passes away, i thought it might be worthwhile to be aware of the possibilities for the next Smith line descendants who could be called. 

Right now, I see 3 possibilities as most likely. They are President Ballard's oldest son, Craig B. Ballard (born in 1970), Peter M. Huntsman (President Ballard's son-in-law, born in 1963), or the one other known Smith descedant serving as a general leader of the Church, Brother Jan E. Newman (rn in April of 1960), Second Counselor in the current Sunday School General Presidency. Of the three, since I don't think the Church would want to be accused of nepotism, Brother Newman seems most likely to be called.

If Brother Newman does wind up being called to succeed President Ballard, in between now and whenever that occurs, he could be called full-time as a GA Seventy in the coming years, or could shift to an apostolic assignment from his current role. Again, I hope that all of our current apostles will serve together for a while yet, and I will sustain any new apostles going forward as fully as I sustain our current ones. Bur I hope this overview of the Smith famly line and apostolic descedants is helpful.

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 TEMPLE NEWS: Church Continues Cautiously-Coordinated Plan to Reopen Temples

Hello again, everyone! Another week has come and gone, and it is time once again to discuss the latest temple reopening adjustments from the Church. As always, the latest information can be found in the official release from the Newsroom, the Church News overview of those changes, and the temple reopening status tracker.

This week's updates note that the Mesa Arizona Temple, which was rededicated on Sunday, will reopen in phase 3 as early as December 21. Additionally, rhe Suva Fiji Temple, which was paused in its' rreopening since May of this year, will unpause but also will revert back to phase 1, only allowing living sealings of a previously-enodwed husband-and-wife. That temple joins the San Jose Costa Rica Temple in phase 1.

And the Sydney Australia Temple, which "paused" in its' reopening from mid-July until now will reopen to phase 3, allowing all living ordinances in priority order, and all other ordinances for the dead on a limited scale by appointment only.

As a result of these updates, the status of temples will stand as follows on Tuesday December 21: 8 temples are closed for renovation, with 1 more closed for what the Newsroom terms a "renovation" but for what the Church News calls "extended maintenance". I defer to the Newsroom's terminology because the Church's official page for Medford terms the current closure as a "renovation". 

Aside from Medford, the other 8 have all been granted phase 3 designations. No temples are currenrly "paused in their reopenings, and none are in phase 2 either. There is 1 temple in phase 1, 5 others operating in phase 2-B, and the remaining 155 temples are in phase 3. As I've noted in just about every temple reopening update in the last several weeks, I am grateful for the carefully-planned cautiously-coordinated reopening of temples around the world, and for the revelatory process that drives those announcements every week. 

Although no temples anywhere have reached phase 4 (a return to full normal operations), it is wonderful the Church has been prudent and wise in the announcements of changes each week. Having noted all of that, it's also worth noting that the newest strain of COVID-19 popping up in various world areas may, in subsequent weeks, lead to other temples being "paused" in their reopenings. I will be sure to watch for any such updates and will pass them along to you all as I become aware thereof. 

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 Will Deliver a Christmas Message on Thursday

Hello agsin, rveyone! This morning, prior to reporting the latest temple reopenings, the Churvh News shared another announcement: Church President Russell M. Nelson will deliver a Christmas message to the world on social media channels, similar to thr message he gave on gratitude in November of last year. I imagine the message was inspired in the same way that the earlier message came to be given: specific inspiration about the length and content of the address was given to President Nelson in his late night patterns.

The message will be published to those channels on December 16 ar 8:00 AM MST. I am grateful to have seen and been able to pass along this news. I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word thereof as I learn about them. 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.