Hello again, every9one! As confirmed by both the Newsroom and the Church News, President Jeffrey R. Holland, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has passed away. According to the reports, he died at about 3:45 AM this morning. I paid tribute to him earlier this month for his 85th birthday, and will let that tribute speak for itself. The Church News posted this video in his honor. I would just like to note in addition that, although funeral arrangements are still pending, he will likely be laid to rest within the next week.
As the result of President Holland's passing, President Eyring is now the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the next in line of apostolic succession) and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is now the Acting Quorum President and will be granted again the title "President Uchtdorf". This will also be President Oaks' second apostolic vacancy to fill before his Solemn Assembly sustaining takes place in April. I expect he will act quickly to fill this vacancy as he did a month ago in appointing Elder Caussé.
As far as who might be appointed to fill the vacancy in question, my top predictions are either Eduward Dube of the Presidency of the Seventy, or Elder Michael John U. Teh, a GA Seventy. I expect that will occur in the next month, if not sooner. But I will, of course, support and sustain whomever is called. In any case, Church leadership is going to look a lot different in April.
Aside from that, the already linked tributes, and those that will subsequently be posted in the coming days, there's not much else I can add. I now have several documents to update. Stay tuned here for my end-of-the-year temple construction update, which will be posted on New Year's Eve. I also 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.
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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.
A special editionof the Church News podcast, hosted by Sarah Jane Weaver, Deseret News editor and exectuive editor of the Church News, pays tribute to President Holland. Based on that podcast, I assume President Holland's death was anticipated. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeletePresident Oaks and President Holland reminisced about their ties to BYU-Provo. This report shares their reflections on that. The Church News also shared 16 videos of President Holland. And the Christmas devotional marked President Holland's final public address. My thanks once again to you all.
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