Hello again, everyone! With today being July 18, Elder Patrick Kearon is observing hie 64th birthday today. This post will be my birthday tribute to him Let's revieiw some details about him: Patrick Robert David Kearon was born on this day in 1961 to Paddy and Patricia Kearon in Carlisle, Cumbria, Northern England.
His parents met when both were serving in the British armed forces. Despite his family not being religious, Elder Kearon and his four older siblings were raised in an environment of service, sacrifice, and devotion to one another. While his family was stationed in Saudi Arabia, Patrick spent time away from his family in boarding schools, and he recounted the hardships of that.
While at his second boarding school, he and his classmates were tasked with helping to clean up after flooding in the area of his boarding school. That too was a formative experience for him in his youth. Once Patrick finished high school, he returned to his family in Saudi Arabia, where he underwent vocational training in several industries, eventually concluding with a communications consultancy that he ran with his wife.
When he was 19 years old, his father and brother-in-law died in a tragic accident. Patrick went home to England to be with his mother for a time, but soon returned to Saudi Arabia to continue working. In a later return to London, he met some Church members. From them, he gained a genuine appreciation and respect for their Christlike examples. A couple of years after that, some impressive missionaries asked if he would like a priesthood blessing.
During that blessing from a senior missionary he knew well, he felt a strong peace, light, and joy that he couldn't deny. After a couple more experiences that further touched his mind and heart, he was baptized on Christmas Eve in 1987. Two years later, he was in a YSA ward when he met Jennifer Hulme, who was an American-born student on a foreign-exchange program. She was impressed by the way he interacted with and treated people. They married in the Oakland California Temple in January 1991.
They raised their family in England for 19 years until Elder Kearon's April 2010 General Conference call as a General Authority Seventy. Coincidentally, that was the same conference in which his now fellow apostle Elder Gerrit W. Gong was also called as a General Authority Seventy. Prior to his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Kearon served as branch president, stake president, and area seventy.
Elder Kearon was called to the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2017, where he served alongside Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares, who would become his immediate apostolic seniors. Elder Kearon became the Senior President of the Seventy in August 2020, serving in that capacity until his aforementioned call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in early December 2023.
Following a meeting with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Kearon was invited to meet with President Nelson, who extended the apostolic call to him. Upon his acceptance of that call, President Nelson asked him to go with him to meet the other apostles. He was then given his apostolic charge, was ordained an apostle, and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He didn't have much time to adjust to his new role, as he and his wife had to catch a plane to BYU-Hawaii, where he spoke about how daunting the call seemed to him.
Those who know Elder Kearon best describe him as very soft-spoken, kind, and genuinely interested in everyone with whom he comes in contact. Elder Kearon has spoken 6 times in General Conference, twice as a GA Seventy, once as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and 3 times since his apostolic call. I am pleased to testify of the divine origin of his call to the apostleship. The moment I read about the call, the Spirit witnessed clearly to me that he was the right man to fill this apostolic vacancy.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to pay tribute to Elder Patrick Kearon on this, his 64th birthday. Stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 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 all such 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 liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated, but never required. 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.
The Church News has shared this tribute to Elder Kearon for his birthday today. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Newsroom has shared the latest edition of "Latter-day Saints Around the World", which featured stories from Chile, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines and Togo. Meanwhile, from the Church News, Church Historian and Recorder and GA Seventy Elder Kyle S. McKay joined Utah teens on a Pioneer Trek experience on a newly-reopened Wyoming Handcart Trail, a wood carver in Palau demonstrates his faith, and the latest edition of "This Week on Social" has been shared.
ReplyDeleteThe latest installment in the weekly series includes posts from the following general Church leaders: Acting President Jeffrey R. Holland and Elders Quentin L. Cook, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Gerrit W. Gong, all of whom are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency (who posted via Young Women Worldwide); and Brother Michael T. Nelson, the outgoing Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
The survivors of that deadly bus crash in Lesotho (on which I previously reported) have shared grief and faith in the wake of tragedy. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteSlight updates have been reported for the Provo Utah Rock Canyon and Salt Lake Temples. To the best of my knowledge, there have been no other temple construction status updates noted today. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared one new report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Saturday, the Church News has shared an introduction to new GA Seventy Elder Brian J. Holmes and a commentary article about a teachings on prayer from a Peruvian Catholic.
DeleteMeanwhile, the European Newsroom has carried an article about the 50th anniversary celebration of the Church in Portugal. Latter-day Saints and friends of other faiths gathered to express thanks for that milestone. Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at the event on July 5, 2025, both as an apostle and as a former mission president in the Portugal Porto Mission.
Above and beyond that, the latest update on the Davao Philippines Temple indicates that major construction has wrapped up, and that the temple is awaiting the announcement of its' opening arrangements. That now brings the total number of temples with that specific status to 5, the most there has been in quite a while.
I am cautiously optimistic that, with the open house of the Farmington New Mexico Temple now underway, the Church may begin to announce dedications for the 5 temples with that status. I'm hoping we can count on at least hearing such an announcement for the temples in Burley Idaho and Lindon Utah. And I think that, with both the Alabang and Davao Philippines Temples completed, there is a very good chance that their dedications could be announced at the same time, and set to occur a couple of weeks apart.
That being said, I know the Church may be having a lot more trouble getting the final touches added to temples outside the US than they do for temples within the US. So the announcements of the opening arrangements for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple and the two newest temples in the Philippines may occur several weeks or even 2-3 months after the announcement (or announcements) of opening arrangements for the Burley Idaho and Lindon Utah Temples.
I am keeping my eyes open for all such announcements and will bring word of those to you all here ASAP after I learn of them. Additional updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites will follow later today as they cross my radar. For now, my thanks once again to you all.
The Church News has shared one additional report. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has also provided the text of the message that will be shared by Brother Derrick Porter during tomorrow's 5,001st episode of "Music & the Spoken Word". My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe African Newsroom and the Church News have each provided one new report apiece. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News also covered the development reported by the African Newsroom. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteI can't believe I almost missed this: in the lead up to Utah's celebration of Pioneer Day (which will occur on July 24, commemorating the 178th anniversary of the early Saints' arrival to the Salt Lake Valley), the Church News website has created a section specifically covering articles about Pioneers. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Sabbath Day, the Church News has reported what I previously shared from the Newsroom, that a recent celebration in Portugal marked the 50th year of the establishment of the Church in that nation. Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was present for the celebration, due to his former service as president of the Portugal Porto Mission. The latest edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review" shares the top 9 developments reported in the Church News this week. And with our "Come, Follow Me" study focusing on D&C 81-83 this week, read what Church leaders have said about those sections. And the Newsroom has shared a final report on the recent ministry of Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to the Philippines. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has shared another report specific to pioneers. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe youth in the Corvallis Oregon Stake recently hosted an "exceptional Olympics" inclusive event for those in their community with disabilities. This event followed recent efforts by the Church to increase awareness of and inclusiveness towards disabled individuals. As someone with physical disabilities myself, I greatly appreciate inspired leaders and my fellow Aaronic Priesthood Quorum members who spared no effort to include me in weekly activities and even camps. So I am grateful that the Church is providing more resources and guidelines on how to do that now. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News just shared this infographic showing Church growth in South America during the 100 years that the Church has been there. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd a construction status update was reported today on the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteOn this Monday, the Church News has shared one new report thus far. As I stated last week, given that there are no other temple open houses starting in the near term, I think we will see regular announcements of major temple construction updates every Monday until the next temple dedication (for the Farmington New Mexico Temple, on August 17, which may "count" as the update for that week). I hope to be able to officially launch my new YouTube channel today, and the major temple news from today may be covered there first, if I can get that to work. But the updates will also continue to be carried here, even if the written reports are delayed in deference to the YouTube channel version. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Newsroom has shared two new updates, the first of which was reported a few days ago by the Church News, and the second of which comes from the Canadian Newsroom. It occurred to me that since this week marks Pioneer Day in Utah, there might not be a major temple construction announcement today, but I don't see why a state holiday on Thursday would impact a Monday announcement, and there are certainly several updates that could be announced. Stay tuned here for that coverage as I can make it happen. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteI previously stated that starting my YouTube channel would take precedence today over reporting today's update here. I wish to amend that statement: Due to unforeseen circumstances, my first YouTube video will not be released on that channel until later today. So today's announcement will be covered here first, with my first YouTube video launched either later today or later this week. My thanks once again to you all.
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