The First Presidency just announced that, effective immediately, women can now serve missions at the age of 18. This puts the minimum age at which women can serve as equal to that of men. The announcement reiterates that for men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility, and for women, it is an optional opportunity. The First Presidency writes: "We recognize that for those young women who desire to serve a full-time mission, the choice of age to begin service will not be the same for everyone. We extend our love to the youth of the Church and commend them for their faithfulness."
I am grateful for this update, which allows women and men to serve at the same age. It follows the change mentioned previously that young people can receive their own endowment once they have graduated from high school. This is the next step in an evolving missionary program. And I believe it will have a widespread effect worldwide as far as missions are concerned. Others more qualified than I am can speak more to the perspective on the effect this could potentially have for the worldwide missionary program, so I will leave that to them to do so.
I invite you all to 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.
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The Church News has also covered this announcement. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteOne additional report speaks for itself. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News just reported on a first-of-its-kind art showcase in Canada. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAfter my last comment about the art showcase in Canada on Friday, the Church News published an apostolic ministry report, this article about the missionary age change for sister missionaries, another article about the Bells at Temple Square holiday concert, and the latest edition of "This Week on Social", which featured posts from the following general Chhurch leaders:
DeleteChurch President Dallin H. Oaks; Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, Gerrit W. Gong, Ulisses Soares, and Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.
My thanks once again to you all.
Also on Friday, the Newsroom shared this report on how the Church will honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Indepdence of the United States. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteWell here is an interesting article about today's groundbreaking in Brussels.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/1849652/first-belgian-mormon-temple-opens-in-brussels?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1763824454
Well, that report claimed that "President Nelson" presided at the groundbreaking, which is not possible, so at least that part of the report was erroneous.
DeleteHowever, I did watch the groundbreaking ceremony and can officially confirm that it occurred with Elder Gerard presiding.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to watch the groundbreaking in question. The Church Temples site had two other reports on it today that were accurate, and it has been moved into the construction queue on that page. It's nice to have confirmation from both you and the Church Temples site.
DeleteI did have a question for you about GA Seventy speakers in General Conference, based on the announcement discontinuing the Saturday Evening Session. Will we hear fewer GA Seventies speak as a result of that announcement? And if so, will the priority be given to new GA Seventies over veteran ones? I ask because, unless I am mistaken, Elder Teh mentioned in 2014 that GA Seventies speak every 6-7 years. And according to my records, the veteran GA Seventies who spoke longest ago did so during the April 2021 General Conference. So I would think with that in mind, if there are fewer GA Seventy speakers, the priority would likely be those who have not yet spoken at all. Does that sound like an accurate assessment? Thanks for any informaton you can give me. And thanks for taking time to comment. I always appreciate hearing from you.
I agree the priority would be those who have not spoken. They could also shorten the length of the talks to allow for more speakers per session.
ReplyDeleteHey, Scott! I agree on both points you made: The new GA Seventies would be given priority for this General Conference, and shorter talks are likely. That being said, I think that the shortened talks would primarily apply to the non-apostolic speakers. It is possible that the apostolic talks could be shortened in length as well (perhaps only by one or two minutes apiece) to allow more non-apostolic speakers, but that would seem to me to be the less likely prospect. Given what Elder Teh said in 2014 (that GA Seventies speak roughly every 6 to 7 years), the most likely window for the GA Seventies who last spoke in April 2021 to speak again would be in April or October 2027.
DeleteThe exceptions (I assume) would be those veteran GA Seventies who will be granted emeritus status before the next General Conference who have not spoken recently (in the last 2-3 years). At a glance, that includes Elders Erich W. Kopsichke (who last spoke in Octobr 2021) and Eduardo Gavarret (who last spoke in April 2022), but probably won't include Elders Peter F. Meurs & Craig C. Christensen (who last spoke in April 2023), Brook P. Hales (who last spoke in October 2024), and S. Mark Palmer & William K. Jackson, (who last spoke in April of this year).
Of the 16 new GA Seventies sustained in April 2025, 7 have not yet spoken, so I could easily see most or all of those 7 speaking with Elders Kopischke & Gavarret. I will be interested to see what happens there. Thanks, Scott. I always appreciate hearing from you.
On Saturday, the Church News posted the following reports: looking ahead to today's dedication of the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple; what banana bread teaches about individual offerings; a Church News video about the sister missionary age change; the text of the message that will be given by Brother Derrick Porter during tomorrow's episode of "Music & the Spoken Word"; a report about missionaries in Slovenia; and a new Church News documentary series covering the Church's global agricultural efforts. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteOn this Sabbath Day, the Church News has shared two new reports, which speak for themselves. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe latest edition of "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review" recaps the top 9 developments covered by the Church News this week, which includes the discontinuation of the Saturday Evening Session and the change in age for sister missionaries. The Church News has also provided reports on the Brussels Belgium Temple groundbreaking and the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple dedication, the latter of which was done by Elder Ulisses Soares as scheduled. The Newsroom has also reported on the temple groundbreaking, but has not yet reported on the temple dedication. That report may be released later today. And it's possible that the news of the groundbreaking and dedication may be the only temple news we will get this week, though I am hoping something additional is announced tomorrow during the 2:00 PM MST hour.
DeleteIt's worth noting that, as of right now, I am not as sure as I was earlier this year that the Church will have 300 operating temples by Saturday, April 6, 2030 (the bicentennial of the Church). That is because, if the current rate of dedications continues as it has, we will only get to 250 operating temples by around October of 2028. If construction moves forward more rapidly in the future than it currently is doing so, it might still be possible. I'm just less convinced it will happen than I was at the beginning of the second half of this year.
As to where things stand nomw, the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple is the 211th operating temple of the Church.If we subtract that number from 300, there would be 89 temples left to dedicate in the remaining 4.37 years, averaging out to 20-21 temples that would need to be dedicated each year between now and then. Since the Church has dedicated less than 15 per year in recent years, unless dedications pick up dramatically, the average needing to be dedicated will go up as the time winds down. So it seems that 300 by the April 2030 General Conference weekend will be a tall order to fill. Not that the Church absolutely couldn't and won't do so, because no one knows the future of temple construction. Just that right now, on paper, that doesn't currently feel like a reachable goal. And I need to be clear that the Church has not set such a goal. I hope it can be reached, and that the coming years see an uptick in temple dedications. But that has not yet happened, so we'll see what's ahead . My thanks once again to you all.
And the Newsroom now has a report on the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple dedication. Again, I'm not sure whether the groundbreaking and dedication news will be all we get for this week, but stay tuned here during the 2:00 PM MST hour tomorrow in Utah to see if anything else is announced. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News also shared what Church leaders have taught about D&C 135-136, which is the "Come, Follow Me" focus during the upcoming week. Additionally, the Newsroom shared this apostolic ministry update from earlier in the week. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAnd the main Newsroom shared this report about the last temple dedication in 2025. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteAside from the temple groundbreaking and dedication news, there have been additional updates in the latest general estimates for temples under construction or undergoing renovation, including matching construction status updates. Those updates have been noted for the Davao Philippines Temple (for which major construction has wrapped up and the temple awaits the announcements of its opening arrangements), along with the Yorba Linda California, Ephraim Utah and San Luis Potosi Mexico Temples (for which major construction is nearly completed). My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteIn the days leading up to Elder Soares dedicating the Bahia Blanca Argentina Temple this weekend, he was able to minister in Brazil, his home country. Meanwhile, the Church News looks back at the October 2025 General Conference with study and teaching resources for the talk by Sister Andrea Munoz Spannaus, the Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
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