Hello again, everyone! With tomorrow marking two weeks since the October 2022 General Conference convened, I wanted to share my post-conference document analysis. First, I wanted to provide a report on my predictions for General Conference. First up is the review of my predictions for the speaker lineup, the changes in general Church leadership, and the most like prospective temple locations. As a result of those predictions vs. what actually happened, I have taken the opportunity to analyze and score those predictions.
Some reminders on the scoring might be helpful. Regarding my projected speaker lineup, 3 points were awarded if I got the right speaker in the right position in the right session. Some examples of that are my correct predictions that President Henry B. Eyring would conduct the Saturday Morning Session, and that Elder Dale G. Renlund would speak in the exact spot he did in the same session.
Two points were awarded if I got the right speaker in the right session but in the wrong position. Some examples of that were President Dallin H. Oaks and President Russell M. Nelson, who both spoke in the first session, but in the reverse order from what I predicted. One point was awarded when I correctly predicted that a leader would speak at any point in the conference, but had them both in the wrong session and the wrong order in that session.
Examples of that are Tracy Y. Browning, who spoke Saturday Morning rather than Sunday Morning, and Bishop Causse, who spoke Saturday Evening rather than Saturday Morning. And of course, anything I had not predicted that occurred was given a score of 0. Examples of that would be the two counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency since I had predicted that Relief Society General President, Sister Camille N. Johnson, would speak.
Regarding my predictions for changes in general Church leadership, on the General Authority Seventies, each name was awarded 3 points, as I had all of those correct. Then there were 3 points apiece for the two changes (releases and sustaining) that were ratified as groups. And on the temple locations, 3 points meant I had the correct location exactly right, with 2 points for having the correct general region but the wrong specific location.
I gave myself a small margin of error on both the temple predictions and the speaker lineup since there were some things I couldn't have predicted, like President Nelson being the last speaker in the Saturday Morning Session, or the two temples in the Philippines and 4 locations around Mexico City.
So, as reflected in the scorecard, even though there was a lot about this conference that I had no way to predict, what I put together yielded a 62.8% accuracy rate, and with all of the unknowns, I'm satisfied with that. If that was all I had to pass along tonight, I'd be satisfied therewith, but I do have a few more items. As I usually do, I have also been able to compile a document showing the lengths of each apostolic address.
I have likewise updated the document showing the total number of General Conference addresses given by each of our current apostles. And I have also created a mock-up of what I think the table of contents might look like for the November 2022 Liahona. It appears as though the HTML version of that magazine is already available. It wouldn't shock me if the PDF version follows in the next week or two. Whenever that is officially available, I will cover that information here. I will also be sure to provide a follow-up on how my mock-up table of contents compares with the actual thing. I likewise continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure to post here with the latest on that as I become aware thereof.
In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time.All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per 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. 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.
Hello again, everyone! On this Saturday, the Church News has reported the unexpected call of new leaders for the Provo City Center Temple:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022/10/15/23405816/new-president-and-matron-of-the-provo-city-center-temple
The reason I said that it was unexpected is that the leaders being replaced have only served for a year. This is the sixth time this year that the Church has replaced temple leaders after only one or two years of service. I have updated my document tracking these changes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J-KR6Hdv4ElYa8ZxBn6OqGWSEMcZxi3GaLcCoYTrJec/edit?usp=sharing
3 additional Church News reports speak for themselves:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/10/15/23405309/book-of-mormon-videos-new-episode-season-4-resurrected-jesus-christ
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/15/23399141/new-for-the-strength-of-youth-guide-what-elder-uchtdorf-said
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/10/15/23404003/music-the-spoken-word-patches-of-godlight-cs-lewis
Also, last night, the Church Temples site reported updates on the Urdaneta Philippines and Columbus Ohio Temples:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/urdaneta-philippines-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/columbus-ohio-temple/
If there are any additional Church News, Newsroom, or temple construction updates today, I will pass those along as time and circumstances allow. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Here is one more Church News report:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022/10/15/23405690/new-zealand-latter-day-saints-learn-from-elder-uchtdorf-ministering
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Sabbath Day, the Church News reported the reorganization of 6 stake presidencies:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2022/10/16/23402661/6-new-stake-presidents-called-in-africa-jamaica-the-philippines-and-utah
Given the time difference between Utah and New Zealand, it is already half-past 7:00 AM Monday in New Zealand. A report on the Sunday rededication sessions for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple was provided as well:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022/10/16/23406879/elder-uchtdorf-rededicates-hamilton-new-zealand-temple
I may have forgotten to mention this when covering the article yesterday about the 4 meetings Elder Uchtdorf held for different groups of members, but Sister Uchtdorf recently had eye surgery and is convalescing at home. As a result of her being unable to be there in person, they were able to connect her by a live feed to some of the meetings, at which she offered remarks. She was also able to virtually participate in at least some capacity in the rededicatory sessions, whether that participation was just limited to watching the feed in Salt Lake or whether she was actually able to remotely speak in any of the sessions.
At any rate, I was pleased to see that report. The Hamilton New Zealand Temple will likely reopen to patrrons either later this week or sometime next week. The final Church News report I have to share is the latest edition of "In Case You Missed It", which recaps the top 9 developments from this last week:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/16/23402452/week-in-review-elder-holland-andrew-teal-elder-bednar-visits-albania-switzerland-austria-hungary
As some of you might be aware, Monday has, in recent weeks, with the exception of last week (which marked the week after General Conference) become the new standard day on which breaking temple updates have been provided by the Church. I am keeping my eyes open for news of one temple rededication (Columbus Ohio) and 3 temple dedications (Saratoga Springs Utah, Richmond Virginia, and Bangkok Thailand).
But it is also possible that the Church could release any new information about any announced temples, which could include site identifications and confirmation of initial details, the release of exterior rendering(s) for one or more other temples, and/or the setting of groundbreaking arrangements. With some of the unexpected announcements that have occurred in that regard lately, I wouldn't rule out anything.
I am keeping my eyes open for any such temple updates, in addition to other temple construction developments, and for all Church news updates, and will bring you all word of those updates as I become aware of them. My thanks once again to you all.
Here is one more Church News report:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/16/23407483/elder-david-a-bednar-bucharest-romania-central-europe-ministry-tour-pioneers-covenants
My thanks once again to you all.
And here is a Newsroom update:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-bednar-meets-european-pioneers
My thanks once again to you all.
Not sure if this has been covered yet, but the Kyiv Ukraine Temple resumed operations on the 14th this month on a limited basis. https://kutv.com/news/local/latter-day-saint-temple-kyiv-ukraine-reopens-mormon-lds-russia-church
ReplyDeleteHey, Noah! I came across the information on the Kyiv Ukraine Temple that you mentioned at some point yesterday afternoon. I thought I had made mention of that update here, but couldn't find such an update on either this thread or the previous one that I would have posted. I think that I saw it on the Church Temples site and I had planned on passing the information along, but I apparently never did.
DeleteSo thanks for noting it here and especially for providing a source verifying the information. Unless I am mistaken, since the temple in question is still in the middle of a war zone, my assumption would be that it is only open in phase 1 for living husband-to-wife sealings with limited guests allowed. I say that because the Ukrainian capital city is still very much an active war zone, and the Church would want to limit the amount of lives risked while still allowing living sealings to move forward so that couples awaiting that are taken care of.
That being said, I'm cautiously optiimistic that having the temple open in any capacity, even a limited one, might enable the Saints in that nation to draw strength therefrom to the fullest of their abilities. It has occurred to me to wonder if, as bad as this Russian invasion and incursion is, the Lord is allowing it to occur to open the way for a regime change in Russia motivated by the discontent that the fiasco has caused in the lives of the people in Russia who have been dealing with the fallout of this situation. If such a regime change is at all possible, it could potentially open the way to a quick resolution of the conflict ad to the Church potentially being able to actually get somewhere with the construction of the Russia temple.
I watch these events unfold with that perspective in mind. It will be interesting to see what happens. And even if I'm wrong on this, if nothing else, it's a very good sign that the Kyiv Ukraine Temple has been able to open at all. Thanks for taking time to make sure everyone knew about this development, Noah! I appreciate you!
If there isn't a regime change, the members in Russia may very likely be barred from attending a temple if they haven't been already, as Finland and Sweden will likely be joining NATO really soon, placing both the Kyiv and Helsinki Temples in "hostile" nations. I wonder if the Church somehow made an agreement with the Russian government to establish protection guarantees on church properties in Ukraine since the Church's official position is neutral on the conflict. Similar with the Freiberg Germany Temple in East Germany, the Russian Temple may very well be built under similar circumstances, to persuade the Russian members to stay in Russia and allowing the Church to maintain good relations with Putin's government.
DeleteThanks for those additional observations, Noah. It will certainly be interesting to see what unfolds when, and how and to what extent Church members are affected. I appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteAs another week begins, I'm pleased to share some news that was reported last night by the Church News and the Newsroom:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/16/23407483/elder-david-a-bednar-bucharest-romania-central-europe-ministry-tour-pioneers-covenants
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022/10/16/23408007/church-reopens-kyiv-ukraine-temple-for-ordinance-work-on-a-limited-basis
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2022/10/16/23408153/president-nelson-offers-6-steps-to-becoming-true-disciples-of-jesus-christ-canada
https://news-ca.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/the-prophet-speaks-to-latter-day-saints-of-western-canada
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-bednar-meets-european-pioneers
https://news-nz.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-dieter-f--uchtdorf-rededicates-hamilton-new-zealand-temple
I anticipate a major temple announcement at some point today. As I've mentioned, the temples in Columbus Ohio, Saratoga Springs Utah, and Richmond Virginia seem close enough to full completion that opening arrangements could be announced for any or all of them, even if potential supply chain issues lead to those being scheduled for a later window than I've been anticipating. The Bangkok Thailand Temple may not be far behind, but it remains to be seen if all four might have announcements at once or if the 3 in the US might precede Bangkok by several weeks.
A few other temples cod also have sites announced, renderings released, and/or groundbreakings set as well. Stay tuned for any such updates. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
We got our announcement, but it wasn't dedications. We have 4 additional groundbreakings scheduled, all in Latin America. Hopefully the Pacific and Idaho temples are next.
DeleteScott, thanks for sharing that here. I had actually composed a post about that update an hour before your comment came in, but you might not have seen that. All those interested in my analysis on this development can click the link that says "Newer Post" at the bottom of this page. Thanks for making sure this news was shared here, Scott. If you are able to do so next time, could you post a link when sharing those updates so those reading your comment can find the information more easily? I appreciate hearing from you.
Delete