Stokes Sounds Off: Clarification on Blog Comments

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Sunday, February 13, 2022

Clarification on Blog Comments

Hello again, everyone! Since a good majority of the comments on this blog lately have come from me personally, I wanted to provide some clarification. I had one new comment submitted today on the threads of the previous post by Nancy, who also comments periodically on the threads of the Church Growth Blog. Though there wasn't anything wrong with Nancy's comment, she chose to delete it herself a few hours after it was posted.So I wanted to set the record straight regarding comments from you all here: Last year or the year before, any new development was covered in a new post, leaving the comments free for others to share their thoughts. As there have been more minor developments than major news items lately, I have begun providing a stream of those updates in the comments thread of other posts.

So I worry that many of you may have felt discouraged to share your feedback and input in the comments becausee a majority of the comments in each thread come from me. Here's the thing: As I'm sure many of you reading these posts know, there has been quite a lot more to cover in termis of general Church news on this blog. I no longer have time to devote new posts to every update, which is why I have shared the bulk of those in comments lately. But I never intended for any of you reading this blog to feel as a result of my increased comments that your input is no longer valid or necessary. To the contrary, as coverage of major developments continue, more than ever, I need the input of my readers.

I sincerely apologize if that hasn't been clear to you all. I also apologize if my large monopolization of the comments thread has been a deterrent to any of you from weighing in. I want to provide as much coverage of the ongoing developments of the continuing restoration as I can. But I also very much want to hear from you all in response to those reports, as often as any of you might want to weigh in. So if you have any feedback on what I can do to improve the comment threads here so it's not always just me sharing subsequent updates, I'd be happy to take those suggestions under advisement.

As the work accelerates, we need each other. I need to hear from you just as much as I want to ensure I provide the most thorough coverage of the ongoing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.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.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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.

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5 comments:

  1. James G. StokesFebruary 14, 2022 at 12:08 PM

    Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom and the Church News have each provided coverage on today's Valentines' Day message from Church President Russell M. Nelson:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-02-14/president-nelson-valentines-day-message-lovingkindness-242874

    And for the second time in two consecutive weeks, Brother Brad Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, offered a second apology for not only his most recent comments on race and the priesthood, but also for all of his previous ignorant comments about on that subject. He stated he had some frank discussions with Brother Ahmad Corbitt and severalm other Black African friends in recent weeks, and realized that his past comments, above and beyond his most recent ones, were also concerning. He pledged to have more discussions of this sort with other Black African friends:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-02-14/brother-brad-wilcox-offers-second-apology-for-insensitive-hurtful-comments-242934

    My thanks once again to you all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James G. StokesFebruary 15, 2022 at 10:21 PM

      Hello again, everyone! Yesterday, I was unable to pass along additional Church News reports due to my not feeling well. Here are the rest from yesterday:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-02-14/friend-to-friend-event-for-primary-children-february-covenant-path-240833

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-02-14/elder-rasband-ces-byu-idaho-love-god-christ-valentines-day-joshua-old-testament-service-obedience-242892

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-02-14/basketball-returned-missionaries-salt-lake-community-college-undefeated-242920

      And here are the new reports from earlier today:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2022-02-15/episode-70-the-expansive-enterprise-of-the-salt-lake-temple-renovation-project-with-brent-roberts-and-andy-kirby-243159

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-02-15/congo-africa-family-history-work-moving-forward-digitize-vital-records-242960

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-02-15/latter-day-saint-charities-italy-colori-vivi-training-job-skills-refugee-women-242988

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2022-02-15/olympics-2002-salt-lake-city-remembering-moments-latter-day-saint-torch-tabernacle-choir-242997

      And here is a Newsroom report from yesterday:

      https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-rasband-shares-4-ways-you-can-express-your-love-for-god

      My thanks once again to you all.

      Delete
    2. James G. StokesFebruary 15, 2022 at 10:47 PM

      An update was reported today on the status of the Casper Wyoming Temple:

      https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/casper-wyoming-temple/

      My thanks once again to you all.

      Delete
    3. James G. StokesFebruary 16, 2022 at 6:46 PM

      The Church News has shared the following 4 new reports:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-02-16/ensign-college-devotional-kenneth-alford-faith-hope-waiting-on-god-fulfill-promises-243189

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-02-16/brazilian-actress-thais-pacholek-rootstech-2022-keynote-speaker-243283

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-02-16/2022-temple-and-family-history-leadership-instruction-elder-bednar-242537

      Before moving on to the last report, I did want to note one other thing: The article above noted that Elder Bednar and Elder Gong would be featured alongside Sisters Camille N. Johnson and Reyna I. Aburto. At last year's Temple and Family History Leadership Training, Elder Bednar was joined by Elders Stevenson and Renlund. In the interim, we received information on threads of earlier posts here that Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Cook had switched apostolic assignments, with Elder Uchtdorf now overseeing the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, and Elder Cook now heading up the Missionary Executive Council. A later news release indicated that Elder Renlund was assisting Elder Uchtdorf, so a shift in apostolic assignments seemed likely. Since Elder Gong is the only other apostle who will be with Elder Bednar, he at least now seems to be on the Temple and Family History Executive Council. As I've mentioned previously, if there is a third apostle on that council currently, it is likely either Elders Ronald A. Rasband or Ulisses Soares.

      That being said, here is the other Church News report:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-02-16/california-wildfires-justserve-lessons-learned-disaster-relief-243321

      My thanks once again to you all.

      Delete
  2. James G. StokesFebruary 17, 2022 at 1:05 PM

    On this Thursday, the next 8 biographies were shared for new temple leaders:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-02-17/new-temple-presidents-and-matrons-montreal-south-africa-gilbert-oakland-orlando-rome-portugal-birmingham-243098

    With the exception of the Birmingham Alabama Temple (for which the outgoing president has only served 2 years), the other 7 temples are or would have been on my list of temples likely to have a new president announced. The total number of temples with new leaders identified has now risen to 24, with 15 other temples likely to have their first presidents announced in the next year. There are an additional 27 temples on my list (which remains incomplete for now) for currently-operating temples most likely to have new leadership announced.

    The Church News also provided a tribute to Colonel Gail "The Candy Bomber" Halverson, who passed away yesterday at the age of 101:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2022-02-17/candy-bomber-gail-halvorsen-obituary-germany-meet-the-mormons-243399

    And two other Church News reports speak for themselves:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-02-17/meetinghouse-shooting-victim-michael-fauber-alabama-perspective-injuries-increased-testimony-dayton-ohio-242248

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-02-16/california-wildfires-justserve-lessons-learned-disaster-relief-243321

    My thanks once again to you all.

    ReplyDelete

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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