Stokes Sounds Off: UPDATED: April 2023 General Conference Predictions (Final Version)

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Thursday, March 30, 2023

UPDATED: April 2023 General Conference Predictions (Final Version)

Hello again, everyone! On this Thursday, with 36 hours remaining until the April 2023 General Conference, I wanted to pass along the final version of my predictions for the upcoming conference. But before I get into those, a disclaimer: I have no inside information, nor do I claim any special inspiration that would lead me to assert that these predictions are in any way an accurate representation of what will occur this weekend. Such inspiration is solely in the purview of the prophet of the Church. 

That being said, I have noticed some patterns in General Conference upon which these predictions are based. And whether I am correct or incorrect about any of these elements, I always enjoy seeing if and how my predictions based on those patterns stack up against what actually transpires over General Conference weekend. So I hope none of you takes these predictions as inspired or gospel, because they are neither. 

With that disclaimer noted, first up, we have the projected speaker lineup (which includes the alterations I made based on the announcement that the Saturday Evening Session would be two hours rather than 1.5 hours). The speaker lineup is relatively self-explanatory. I will just add that I anticipate that the prophet will conclude the Saturday Morning Session rather than opening it, especially if the recommendations of his physicians are to be seated while he gives those remarks. If that happens, President Eyring will likely be the first speaker in that session. 

The second document shows the changes I anticipate will be made in general Church leadership, and also the projected data for the Statistical Report, 2022. With the exception of the temples dedicated and rededicated, the temple total, and the stake and mission totals, those figures are based on a somewhat complex algorithm that is difficult to explain.

And the third document shows the list of potential locations in which a temple announcement appears most likely for this General Conference. As I have noted previously, I heard last year that 35 new temples would be announced, and since that happened, and since President Nelson has made new temple announcements a prominent part of his prophetic tenure, I believe we will see a minimum of 40 new temples announced this year. 

If that happens, I anticipate a 21/19 or a 19/21 split between April and October. I have been slightly more specific in my selections in another document that shows the temples announced every 6 months by geographical areas of the Church. The more specific list for this conference is at the bottom of that document.

I will be tuned in to General Conference throughout this weekend and will bring you the latest major updates and announcements as they are publicly released. In the meantime, since midnight tomorrow marks the end of the first quarter of 2022, stay tuned for my first quarter 2023 review of temple construction progress just before that time tomorrow.

In the meantime, that does it for now. 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. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

19 comments:

  1. Herriman for a Temple Site is interesting. Why Herriman? I know the Temple Districts in the Salt Lake Valley are going to have to be realigned with Taylorsville coming online in the next 12-18 months and Salt Lake coming back in a few years. Staffing of Temples in the Salt Lake Valley will be interesting.

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    1. Why Herriman? Because my research indicates that the Southwest Salt Lake Valley site first referened by President Gordon B. Hinckley in April 2005 is located in Herriman. No other temple site announced between April 2005 and now fits the description of the site he provided. The land in question ws subjected to a border dispture between Bluffdale and Herriman for quite a while, but the latest information I have indicates that the plot in question is currently within the Herriman city limits. President Hinckley stated in 2005 that the location of that temple would be officially announced when the growth in the area made it necessary. And since Herriman, Bluffdale, and their environs and surrounding communities continue to grow so much, we are surely getting close to the conditions President Hinckley described when announcing that site 18 years ago. A temple in Taylorsville doesn't match the description of the "Southwest Salt Lake Valley". Herriman would. Hope that information helps. Thanks for stopping by with the inquiry.

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  2. Hello again, everyone! As we are now just over 21 hours away from the start of the first session of General Conference, the Church News has provided two new updates:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/3/31/23662039/general-conference-2023-conference-tradition

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/3/31/23660823/united-nations-assignment-status-of-women-europe-ana-maria-bonny

    If there are any additional Church News, Newsroom, or temple construction updates today, I will bring those to you all here as I become aware thereof. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

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    1. Here are two more updates from the Church News:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/3/31/23661026/fsy-asl-summer-2023-deaf-hard-of-hearing-youth-byu

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2023/3/31/23649454/latter-day-saint-lds-temples-utah-28-total-march-2023

      My thanks once again to you all.

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    2. In the latest edition of "This Week on Social", Church leaders share their excitement for the upcoming General Conference:

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/3/31/23662278/this-week-on-social-president-cordon-shares-lesson-from-lavenders-brother-wilcox-fsy-place-miracles

      The general leaders featured in this pre-conferene installment included: Young Women General President Sister Bonnie H. Cordon and her respecitve First and Second Counselors, Sisters Michelle D. Craig and Rebecca L. (Becky) Craven;; Primary General President Sister Susan H. Porter and her respective First and Second Counselors, Sisters Amy A. Wright and Tracy Y. Browning (from the latter of whom 2 posts were shared); Brother Bradley R. (Brad) Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency. Oddly enough, no members of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had content featured, but that's likely because they are focused on General Conference leadership meetings this week.

      This weekend or next Friday, we will likely see a special edition of "This Week on Social" focused on the posts from our apostles and general officers during the General Conference weekend. I will be covering all the major updates from General Conference here, of course. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

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    3. On this evening before General Conference, the Church Temples site has noted changes in the construction queue that impact the Casper Wyoming, Tallahassee Florida, Salvador Brazil, Antofagasta Chile, Nairobi Kenya, Harare Zimbabwe, Burley Idaho, Phnom Pehn Cambodia, and Freetown Sierra Leone Temples. Since I am hard at work on making the necessary updates to my temple construction progress report prior to providing my published report on temple construction progress during the first quarter of this year (which will be posted in around 5.5 hours), I will refer any of you who are interested in these changes to the temple construction status page:

      https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/status/

      And in view of Scott's comment below, it's more than likely that other temple construction estimate changes are coming. Stay tuned for more on that per my report tonight. For now, my thanks once again to you all.

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  3. James,

    I just left the Burley Idaho Temple construction Visitor's Center. The missionary couple in charge (Elder & Sister Griffin from Pocatello) said the construction is currently on schedule to be completed in the fall of 2024. I sent this same message to Rick, so he should update his site as well.

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    1. Hey, Scott. Thanks for passing along that report. Interesting information. Once Rick has done any updates to his temple site for the latest milestones, I will be intrigued to see where Burley lands in that queue. I'd certainly trust the on-site missionaries to know what's what as far as the temple timing. Your report today gives me hope that I could be wrong in my assessment on the completion timing for several other temples. The Elko Nevada Temple was moved up in the queue twice just within the last couple of weeks. And of course, as temples at the head of the queue have dedications set, that pushes up the completion timing of the temples below them.

      With all of this in mind, I'm more convinced than ever that the Church will easily have 200 operating temples before the April General Conference next year, especially if multiple temples are dedicated per months (and also if more than two temples are dedicated on at least two Sundays in any given month). I look forward to seeing how that queue looks after the announcement of new temples this weekend as well.

      Thanks again for taking time to share this report, Scott. Safe travels to you and your family as you head this way for General Conference.

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  4. On this General Conference morning, the Church News has provided three new reports:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2023/4/1/23663825/april-2023-lds-church-300-temples-6-maps

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2023/4/1/23657831/general-conference-traditions-hymns-primary-songs-survey-latter-day-saints

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/4/1/23665500/general-conference-april-2023-download-activity-page

    My thanks once again to you all.

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    1. The Church News has identified new leaders for the Caracas Venezuela and Uradenta Philippines Temples (the first leaders for the latter):

      https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2023/4/1/23660201/new-leaders-of-the-caracas-venezuela-and-urdaneta-philippines-temples

      1 incoming president is a former Area Seventy and current service mission leader, and the other is a former stake president and current Sunday School teacher. The Church has now announced new leaders for 46 temples, and I anticipate new leaders could be announced for at least 7 other new temples and 8 currently-operating temples:

      https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZFxVX_M7JfchmzNG_7QAMP00a6jLLvfZjFIy-ka1Ut0/edit?usp=sharing

      My thanks once again to you all.

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  5. I was talking with some family who knows someone who works in the Payson temple, and apparently the Payson temple is severely understaffed and cannot get enough workers, so until it is more staffed I'm not sure how likely a Spanish Fork or Mapleton temple would be.

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    1. Anonymous, thanks for stopping by with your thoughts. I'm not surprised to hear that the temple in Payson is short-staffed. It seems every temple deals with some degree of understaffing, which is probably why the Church gave the okay to having people in prominent ward or stake callings serve as temple workers as their shedule allows.

      Quite honestly, though I have another temple on my list for that region, it feels to me as though temples in Herriman and Lehi are more urgently needed and may be given priority, assuming either or both actually get temples this go-round. The Church put a hiatus on announcing new Utah Temples last year, so that may or may not continue this conference. But since all announced Utah temples are now in the construction queue, that does give me some hope for one or two new Utah temples. I appreciate your comment. To whom might I offer thanks for your feedback?

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    2. Haha, I forgot to log in! Sorry. I definitely think that with the growth in the area Herriman or Lehi is more likely. I am 25 but have been a temple worker at two temples now, and there was never a wait for me to start working because there was always a need.

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    3. As I mentioned below, I'm not shocked that many temples appear to be short-staffed. I worked at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple for 6 years, and we were always pretty busy, even on less hectic shifts I hope the fact that temple shift lengths have been reduced and that the Church no longer limits who can serve as temple workers will continue to encourage those who can to take that service opportunity. My wife and I had to conclude our temple service in 2013 due to long-term illness we are still trying to fully resolve. Thanks again for your comment.

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  6. I agree. I am an ordinance at Oquirrh Mountain and we can never fully staff. Most of those in their thirties to mid forties don’t want to sacrifice five hours to serving in the Temple.

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    1. Thanks for this additional information. We are seeing a literal fulfillment of President Nelson's statement that "It is easier for us to build a temple than it is to build a people ready for a temple." I know that we were shortstaffed and had crazy busy times during the 6 years in which I served in the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. The shft splitting to cut the time commitment to 4-5 hours was done to enable people to have an easier time committing to a temple shift, but unless people are making that choice, it's probably going to be a perrenial problem.

      Thanks for stopping by to comment. To whom may I specifically offer thanks for your input?

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  7. Sorry it was Gapper

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    1. Cool name. Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Gapper. I appreciate hearing from you.

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  8. Here are some general Church News articles about General Conference sessions held Saturday:

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2023/4/1/23666021/general-conference-april-2023-saturday-morning-session-summary

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/4/1/23666260/general-conference-april-2023-saturday-afternoon-session-summary

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2023/4/1/23666159/who-are-5-new-church-general-authority-seventies-sustained-april-2023

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2023/4/1/23666226/new-young-women-general-presidency-sustained-new-young-men-presidency-counselors

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/4/1/23666260/general-conference-april-2023-saturday-afternoon-session-summary

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/4/1/23666377/2022-statistical-report-church-of-jesus-christ

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2023/4/1/23666356/general-conference-april-2023-enduring-hardship-with-faith-in-jesus-christ

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2023/4/1/23666474/general-conference-april-2023-saturday-evening-session-summary

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/3/29/23661083/general-conference-april-2023-talk-summaries-session-highlights-news-announcements

    And here are some General Conference reports from the Newsroom:

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2022-statistical-report-april-2023-conference

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2023-general-conference-new-leaders

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2023-general-conference-saturday-morning

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2023-general-conference-saturday-afternoon

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2023-general-conference-saturday-evening

    My thanks once again to you all.

    https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2023/4/1/23666333/general-conference-april-2023-church-leaders-taught-about-joy

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