Note: This post, composed on Tuesday April 5, was retroactively dated April 2, in view of a major announcement made during the Saturday Evening Session that was inadvertently overlooked. It bears the date and timestamp which would have originally been applied, had the post been published after the announcement as usual.
Hello again, everyone! President Dallin H. Oaks, who represented the First Presidency at the request of Church President and Prophet Russell M. Nelson, announced a "new direction" involving the new guidelines and parameters which will be in place for the Saturday Evening Sessions going forward. He noted that the parameters of all General Conference sessions, including speakers and music, have been approved by the First Presidency. He then noted that the Saturday Evening Session will continue "for now", but with a different direction and focus than prior Saturday Evening Sessions have had.
In the same way that Women's Sessions have been conducted by the presidents of the female-led organizations of the Church, any of the 15 General Officers of the Church in the 5 General Presidencies thereof may be called upon to conduct future Saturday Evening Sessions of General Conference. This will reduce and simplify the workload of the First Presidency as well. In general, the First Presidency has always been responsible for conducting all general sessions of General Conference, with the obvious exception of the Women's Sessions.
There was also a period of time between 1981 and 1985 wherein President Hinckley was the only active member of the First Presidency, and with the approval of President Spencer W. Kimball, called upon President Ezra Taft Benson, then-President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, to assist in conducting the sessions of General Conference.
So it will be interesting every April and October from now on to see what kind of session is held, to whom that session is directed, and how that will play into which of the 15 General Officers conduct that session. I am excited for the future of this session, and to see how long it might continue to be part of General Conference weekend.
I am grateful to have been able to provide this report to you all here. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple updates and remain committed to bringing word of those to you all as such updates are provided. 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 feedback offered is consistent with the established guidelines.
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