Hello again, everyone! Breaking news was just shared by the Church a short time ago. Yesterday (Wednesday January 15), President Russell M. Nelson officially set apart Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The announcement was made by the Newsroom and the Church News. So it is officially President Holland now, and he will be sustained in that capacity during the April 2024 General Conference. This is the news I expected, but it is coming sooner than I expected.
I assume the new Acting President will be introduced as such if he speaks during the funeral services tomorrow for his predecessor. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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.
Interesting. When KSL reported on this update during the 5:00 PM newscast, they said, "We will keep our eyes on this and other changes in Church leadership in the days ahead and will report any updates to you." Kind of makes me think that President Nelson will follow President Hunter's example and not wait to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. If that happens, I anticipate the earliest we could get such an announcement will be Monday. Stay tuned here for any updates on that or anything else reported by the Church. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteLest there be any doubts as to whether President Holland will be able to do this job, I also just wanted to highlight this sentence from the Church News report to which I linked above: "President Holland, who missed October general conference while recovering from illness, has returned to work at Church headquarters. In an Oct. 11 social media post he reported that he is coping with the loss of his wife and drawing strength from his family and his faith in the Savior." My thanks once again to you all.
Deletei think elder holland will do great when he was at byu he gave an address telling the kids to use his testiomy tell they had one the children love him
ReplyDeleteJoellaFaith, thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I hope it's not wrong to have favorites among the apostles, because President Holland has always been a favorite of mine. His talks have always had a profound impact on me personally, and I've missed hearing from him in General Conference the last couple of times. I actually have a couple of unique familial connections to Elder Holland. My mom is a freelance proofreader. In the late 1980s, when President Holland was serving as the Church Commissioner of Education, she worked on a number of projects for the CES. She still refers to him as "her boss" and was grateful to hear this news when I shared it with her today. And my dad grew up in St. George. His dad was actually the home teaching companion of Elder Holland when "young Jeff" was an Aaronic Priesthood holder. My grandfather often marveled that a boy like that could grow up to be an apostle of the Lord. President Holland will do wonderfully. And I'm glad to hear he has recovered from his recent health challenges. I've been quite worried about him. Again, I really appreciate hearing from you, JoellaFaith. Thanks for taking time to comment. I was going to invite you to subscribe for updates, but it looks like you have already done so. Thank you for that as well.
DeleteOn this Friday, the funeral services were held for President M. Russell Ballard. The Newsroom and the Church News shared summaries of the proceedings. I should have thought of this, but it was President Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Quentin L. Cook (President Ballard's fellow British missionaries and apostolic colleagues) who spoke. Though President Holland was seated and has gone terribly gray-haired, it was great to hear from him again, and he is looking so much better. I think that having been set apart on Wednesday in his new assignment really helped him in his recovery. President Dallin H. Oaks, a longtime seatmate of President Ballard, conducted and spoke at the funeral as well. It was a fitting tribute to a wonderful man.
ReplyDeletePhotographs from the funeral and graveside services have also been released. New features have come to FamilySearch.And the Church News also shared how to watch Sunday's Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, with Elder Quentin L. Cook and his wife, Mary G. Cook. My thanks once again to you all.
On this Saturday, there are two new reports from the Newsroom. Prior to returning to Salt Lake from his ministry in Mexico, Elder David A. Bednar spoke to thousands in Ciudad Juarez. A leader of Muslims from Mali recently visted Church headquarters. And from the Philippines Newsroom, Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and Primary General President Susan H. Porter recently ministered there, where they met with the Vice President of the Philippines.
DeleteMeanwhile, from the Church News, RootsTech has launched a video and social media campaign to start developing hype for RootsTech 2024. The Church News also shares a by-the-numbers look at programs for education and employment. And finally, the Church News also shared the text of the message that will be delivered in English and Spanish during tomorrow's "Music & the Spoken Word" broadcast.
My thanks once again to you all.
On this Sabbath Day, the Church News shares another inspiring story in the lead-up to next month's rededication of the St. George Utah Temple. The Church News has also updated its' article about the 2023 Giving Machines. This week's edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review highlights the top nine developments shared by the Church News within the last week. 5 out of those 9 related to the passing of President M. Russell Ballard a week ago. This week's "Come, Follow Me" curriculum focuses on 1 and 2 Peter. The Church News shares what Church leaders and religious scholars have said about those passages. And Elder Uchtdorf has paid tribute to those who died during Volkstrauertag. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has summarized the final2023 Worldwide Devotion for Young Adults. My thanks once again to you all.
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