Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to report breaking news to you all tonight. The transcripts of all addresses given during last weekend's General Conference have been published today. I am grateful that the Church is now able to make those available so soon after each General Conference. I will publish another post with updated documents relating to this conference later this week.
Either by the end of this week or early next week, I hope to have my General Conference predictions analyzed and published here as well. In the meantime, I am also hard at work on the initial draft of my predictions for the October 2022 General Conference. So there are a lot of great projects coming down the pike for this blog. I also continue to monitor all Church news reports and temple construction updates and will pass along those updates ASAP as I become aware of them.
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 feedback offered is consistent 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.
>"1830, when Joseph Smith set apart his brother Samuel as an early missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ.3 Since that time, more than 1.5 million missionaries have traveled throughout the world teaching all nations and baptizing those who embrace the glad tidings of the restored gospel."
ReplyDeleteOne Stat I always wondered about! Glad Elder Stevenson included it this time
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/43stevenson?lang=eng
Some cool bits in the footnotes
ReplyDeleteFrom Elder Gongs message:
In 2021, some 99 million names were added to public family trees. And recently, digitization was completed of 2.4 million rolls of microfilm containing approximately 37 billion names (with some duplications).
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/26gong?lang=eng
Elder Cook also makes full use of the footnotes
>" I particularly appreciated reading the printer’s manuscript and the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon published as volumes 3 and 5 in the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers. They are both landmark volumes."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/29cook?lang=eng
Elder Rasband:
Member and Statistical Records Department figures for 2021 year-end: 16.8 million total members; US and Canada: 7 million members; outside the US and Canada: 9.8 million members.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/45rasband?lang=eng
President Nelson:
"One of the surest antidotes for despair, discouragement, and spiritual lethargy is gratitude. What are some things for which we can give thanks to God? Thank Him for the beauty of the earth, for the Restoration of the gospel, and for the countless ways He and His Son make Their power available to us here on this earth. Thank Him for the scriptures, for angels who respond to our pleas to God for help, for revelation, and for eternal families. And most of all, thank God for the gift of His Son and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for us to fulfill the missions for which we have been sent to earth."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/47nelson?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/36renlund?lang=eng
Danny, thank you for sharing these insights from the footnotes. I seem to recall at least a few times when different outlets covering Church developments did features entitled "Found in the Footnotes". Each of your above observations would be valid inclusions in such articles. I did want to comment, however, on an odd thing: the transcripts were definitely available last night when I made the report on that, and they were obviously still available when you published your comments above, but for some reason, those have been taken down now. I don't know whether there are system issues, or whether some kind of different problem was found that made taking that down necessary, but hopefully they will be back up at some point today or tomorrow. Anyways, thanks again for sharing those insights. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Danny.
DeleteHello again, everyone! The Church News has provided the following additional reports today:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2022-04-06/bishop-gerald-causse-sharon-eubank-savior-modeled-service-community-building-europe-refugees-249783
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-04-06/lebanon-backpacks-supplies-church-humanitarian-aid-syria-palestine-refugees-249735
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-04-06/anthony-sweat-byu-devotional-endowment-temple-covenants-power-spiritual-challenges-249764
There have been no new updates from the Newsroom or on the construction status of any temples, but I did find something on Youtube that indicated that this weekend's groundbreaking for the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple would be carried live at 3:00 PM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpVBjQIQyEE
If I'm correct in assuming that's 3:00 PM Utah time, it should occur at 6:00 PM local time in Bahia Blanca. Just wanted to note that, FWIW.
Keep up the blog, James. As always very good and informative.
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! Great to hear from you. Thanks for your kind words and continued readership. Hope all is well with you. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
DeleteOn this Thursday, the Church News has provided one additional update:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-04-07/temples-announced-president-nelson-by-the-numbers-look-246036
My thanks once again to you all.
And the Church News has also provided preliminary biographical sketches for the new Relief Society and Primary General Presidencies, who were sustained in General Conference and will begin serving on August 1:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-04-07/new-relief-society-primary-general-presidencies-sustained-during-april-2022-general-conference-249749
Full biographies for each of these 6 new General Officers will be published after the Church News has published the biographical articles for the 6 new General Authority Seveties who were called during that same Geeral Conference:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022-04-07/new-relief-society-primary-general-presidencies-sustained-during-april-2022-general-conference-249749
My thanks once again to you all.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI thought with your expertise in predicting temples you might be able to provide some insight into a question I have about the temple being constructed in Yorba Linda, California. Church membership seems to be plunging downward in California. In San Diego the area I live in had seven stakes 30 years ago and now is covered by only four. Before the pandemic people would tell that they went to the San Diego temple on a weekday, and they were the only people attending the session. So if membership and temple attendance is decreasing, why build a new temple in close proximity to two other temples? I'm not complaining: I think it's wonderful, but it doesn't seem to make sense.
Thanks for the question. Here's the thing: By worldly definitions, it doesn't make sense. I agree on that point. Anyone looking at the past history or current condition of the Church in California would agree such announcements don't make sense. But the assessments being done on temple prospects in California are being done by prophets, seers, and revelators, who can see things coming in the future that would not be as obvious to those of us who look at this from only a past or present perspective. President Nelson recetly addressed Latter-day Saints in California in a devotional, wherein he encouraged current California Church members to stay and build up the Church in that state. For those who consider that a prophetic directive to them personally, they will heed the counsel. And maybe the new temples don't make sense for now, but when prophetic vision looks towards the future, they can discern quite a bit about what California's future needs will be, based on what can and will happen as Church members follow the prophetic counsel. As one who is an avid student of Church history, I can confirm that temples that wouldn't seem to make much sense on paper have ultimately led to greater blessings from the Lord upon the Saints in such regions. So when you understand that the goal is to provide for future needs that are not as evident to those of us without prophtic vision and foresight, it does actually make a lot of sense. When in doubt on anything that is announced or planned by the Church, remembering that prophets are duty-bound to prepare what is needful for the Church's longterm needs anywhere in which the Church has or will yet have any presence. Hope that answer is helpful. To whom might I offer thanks for this inquiry?
DeleteKimberley Hirschi from San Diego. I hope this means California is at the brink of an upward surge in membership.
DeleteKimberley Hirschi, thanks again for this inquiry. My impression regarding California is that the Brethren may be operating on the idea that "if we build [the temples], the [people in California] will come." Building new temples and then opening them to the public has been a powerful tool in the past to increase interest not just in temple worship, but also in what Latter-day Saints believe. It has been relatively consistent for the construction and opening of a temple to lead to conversions. I seem to recall recent examples of construction crew members assigned to temple construction projects getting curious about the Church in the process, and constructing new temples also piques community interest in various ways. The Church has recently repeatedly emphasized the strong connection that exists between missionary work and temple work, so it makes sense that building and opening temples is a powerful missionary tool, as well as being an opportunity to share with friends of other faiths our beliefs about the importance of temple work. Just a few extra thoughts in response to your inquiry, for whatever they might be worth to you. Thank you again, Kimberley, for taking time to comment.
DeleteAnother factor is that while some people have been moving away from California to more favorable social/political/economic areas, the general trend in the church is that members are becoming more active, more faithful, more temple-going.
DeleteAdditionally, California is a huge geographic area and tens of millions of people and thus it makes sense to try to build temples for people to have better opportunities to go more often.
Another thing to consider is that, with some exceptions, most temples being built these days are smaller temples. The focus seems to be expanding the opportunity for people to make covenants and regularly return to participate in temple work for their ancestors.
Above all else, the Lord has said he will do his work. The more I learn about the temple site location process, the more I recognize this fact. Those assigned to finding the best spots based on all the factors and logic can do all their best efforts to find and select a place, but the Lord directs the Prophets to where He wants it.
Also: I think the temple attendance had a big spike up the year prior to covid when the Lord directed the adjustments to the temple ordinances to be implemented. At the Portland Oregon temple at least, the temple was effectively at capacity for months, and if we had the workers we could have run the temple day and night 24/7. It slowed a little bit, but I think many people returned and made it a habit.
As a side note...I know several people who commented that in the months prior to the shutdown they had an almost anxious encouragement from their ancestors to get to the temple and do their work soon. They didnt know why then, but when they suddenly didnt have access to the temple it made sense.
The shutdowns and restrictions caused a huge training and worker gap that temples will probably spend at least the rest of the year working to get back to pre-covid numbers to be able to have patrons at the pre-covid numbers or greater.
Another factor is that temples have moved to the appointment system for everyone and this is a huge stumbling block for many who were accustomed to just showing up at the temple. This is actually turning into a blessing as it brings members of classes and quorums together to learn the system and teach each other.
I am optimistic about the future of the church in the United States, there are so many elect who have been prepared for this time and are just not yet members because they havent had the opportunity to learn of Christ and His Church. Temple open houses provide an opportunity for people to stand in holy places and learn, and opportunity for members to invites friends to come and see and learn.
Danny, you bring up some very good points. What an impressive comment! I agree 100% with everything you said. I also think it's fair to point out that President Nelson, his wife, and just about every one of the prophet's apostolic colleagues (not to mention other General Authorities and General Officers of the Church) have talked about the work moving forward at an accelerated pace. And as President Nelson noted at least twice in the last two General Conferences of the Church, "extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures."
DeleteCertainly, an increase in the number of temples being announced and constructed fits the category of "extraordinary measures" that are being implemented for these "extraordinary times" in which the work is moving forward "at an accelerated pace." I've said it before and I will do so again frequently: When President Nelson reommended that we "eat [our] vitamin pills" and "get [our] rest", he wasn't kidding. As I've also noted, President Nelson seems to be particularly qualified and sufficiently prepared to lead the Church at this present time. I'm sure the Lord knew that in the lead up to the pandemic, the Church needed a prophet who, as a former physician with a keen ability to discern, act upon, and boldly relay the will of the Lord to His Church, would be uniquely able to direct the operations of the Church during the pandemic, and would be able to find or be led to inspired ways to rapidly expand the number of temples worldwide for the needs of the world that have followed since President Nelson became the prophet 4 years ago.
There are no mistakes made when it comes to the timing of each prophet's beginning to serve and when that service is concluded. President Nelson is clearly the man for the time, and I look forward with great anticipation to whatever might come next. Thank you, Danny, for those excellent additional insights. I always appreciate hearing from you.
This all sounds like good news for California. Historically we have helped provide the lifeblood of the church. The original plan for the state of Deseret included San Diego, so if the church had been more popular at the time it was made a state we would be part of Utah now.
ReplyDeleteThat is a fair observation, Kimberley. I am, of course, well aware of the pioneer history pertaining to California, including the group of Latter-day Saints led there by Sam Brannan, who tried to convince Brigham Young that California was the best place to settle the Saints. I also recall the accounts of the Mormon Battalion, who were discharged from their assignments when they had reached California.
DeleteAnd while I was aware that the proposed state of Deseret did have its' boundaries that were far bigger than the state of Utah is today, I'm not sure I knew that the proposed bounadaries stretched out as far as San Diego. I am also, of course, well aware of the repeated efforts to try and subdivide California's current bounadaries into multiple smaller states. All of that aside, I was grateful that President Nelson's recent remarks to Saints living in California encouraged them to stay and build up the Church there. It's also worth mentioning that I've been pleasantly surprised by the announcement of three new temples in California by President Nelson thus far.
Since early 2018, I have had a temple for Bakersfield on my list of the most likely temple prospects in the near term. Yuba City (with the temple there being named for Feather River), Yorba Linda, and Modesto haven't been anywhere near my radar for an announcement in the near term. So it's been profoundly humbling to be reminded with each of those announcements that the Lord knows so much more than I do about where His temples are most needed. As each crop of new temples are announced, the parameters used to predict temples have had to be adjusted.
It is an exciting time in the Church (and absolutely unprecedented) to have 100 new temples of the Church announced in the last 9 General Conferences. It will be wonderful to see what is next for the Church as time rolls on. Thanks again, Kimberley, for taking time to share your thoughts. I hope you will feel free to continue to weigh in on discussions here as often as you'd like to do so.