Tribute to President D. Todd Christofferson For His 81st Birthday

Hello again, everyone! In view of his birthday today, President D. Todd Christofferson is now 81 years old. So let's get right on into a birthday tribute to him: 

David Todd Christofferson was born on this day in 1945 in American Fork, Utah (a place I proudly claim as my hometown) to Paul Vickery and Jeanne Swenson Christofferson. He spent his formative years in Pleasant Grove and Lindon, and his family subsequently relocated to Somerset, New Jersey. While there, he participated in the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant, and, having been urged by his bishop to do so, he earnestly sought a personal testimony of the gospel. 

Although he felt for a while that his prayer at that time had not been answered, the witness he was seeking came about a month later. At around this same time, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery for it. While his father learned later that he had gathered his brothers to pray for their mom, it would be years later that President Christofferson learned about his father's personal sacrifices to supply what his wife needed to help her with the housework.

Young Todd Christofferson also stepped in to help his mom by making homemade bread for his family, after being taught how to do so by his grandmother. After graduating from high school, he studied for a year at BYU prior to serving full-time in the Argentina North Mission, where he had two mission presidents, Ronald V. Stone, and his future colleague in the Quorum of the Twelve, Richard G. Scott. Following the conclusion of his missionary service, he returned to BYU, and there he met Kathy Jacob, whom he married in May 1968. 

He earned his bachelor's degree from BYU, and went on to get a doctor of law degree from the School of Law at Duke University. During his years as a young attorney, he clerked for Judge John J. Sirica at the time the Watergate hearings were occurring. When his clerkship ended, he took active duty with the US Army for a year, after which he served in the Army reserves for 8 years, by which time he had achieved the rank of Captain. 

His professional career took his family to Washington DC, Nashville Tennesee, and Charlotte North Carolina. During that same period of time, he would serve as a bishop, stake president, and in the now-defunct calling of regional representative to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After being called as a general authority in April 1993 (at the same time as Elder Neil L. Andersen, alongside whom he now serves in the apostleship), he served in a variety of capacities (including as a member of area presidencies outside the US) until his call to the Presidency of the Seventy in August 1998. 

During his service in that presidency, he first served as the executive director for the Church's Family and Church History Department (which have since been split into two departments), where he worked to negotiate with Jewish religious leaders on the matter of performing temple ordinances for Holocaust victims, which in turn shaped the policy of Church members only being allowed to perform such ordinances for direct-line family members. 

In 2004, the First Presidency announced that the Presidency of the Seventy would be relieved of responsibility for the Church Departments and would instead oversee areas in the United States and Canada. Elder Christofferson was given responsibility for the North America Southeast Area of the Church from August 2004-August 2007, at which time he was reassigned to oversee the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. 

He continued that assignment for 8 months, then, as we know, he was the first apostle called by President Thomas S. Monson in April 2008. At the time of his release from the Presidency of the Seventy, which came in conjunction with his call as an apostle, he had become the second-most senior member thereof. During his first seven years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as noted, Elder Christofferson served alongside his former mission president, Richard G. Scott. 

Since his ordination as an apostle, Elder Christofferson has filled a wide variety of assignments, and he was serving as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve assigned to oversee the Church Public Affairs Committee when he was asked by President Nelson to introduce the new First Presidency in a worldwide broadcast on January 16, 2018. After President Nelson died last year, President Christofferson was called by new Church President Dallin H. Oaks to serve as his Second Counselor in the First Presidency. Given that the last two Solemn Assemblies have been led by the Second Counselor in the First Presidency, I am projecting that President Christofferson will lead the Solemn Assembly to sustain President Oaks in April. 

President Christofferson has given 42 addresses in General Conference so far, 1 of which was given in the conference following his call as a General Authority, with 5 others given during his near decade in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 36 as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Christofferson currently ranks as the junior and youngest member of the current First Presidency. He is now the sixth in overall apostolic seniority and the fifth oldest among all of the apostles.

I am grateful for the life and ministry of President Christofferson. I had a couple of choice opportunities to meet him. His niece and her family lived in my parents' ward, so when their newest baby was blessed, then-Elder Christofferson presided at our Sacrament Meeting. A few years later, our paths crossed again while I was a temple worker, and he was the speaker at our yearly devotional. As one who has had the opportunity to chat informally with him on these two occasions, I testify that his call as one of the Savior's special witnesses is divinely inspired.

I greatly appreciate the chance to share these thoughts with you. 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. 

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. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locationns and Preliminary Details Released for the Kahului Hawaii and Flagstaff Arizona Temples

Hello again, everyone! As I had anticipated, there was an official temple construction announcement today, in which the First Presidency officially confirmed the site locations and preliminary information for two temples in the United States: Kahului Hawaii and Flagstaff Airzona. Let's get right into the details for both temples:

The Kahului Hawaii Temple was originally announced by President Russell M. Nelson in October 2023. The single-story 19,000 square foot edifice will rise on a 7.6-acre site along Kuikahi Drive next to an existing meetinghouse at 1300 Maui Lani Parkway, Kahului, Hawaii. An ancillary building will also be constructed as part of this temple project.

And for the Flagstaff Arizona Temple,, originally announced by President Nelson in his last General Conference as Church President (April 2025), a 10.43-acre site at the southwest corner of Butler Avenue and South Fourth Street in Flagstaff, Arizona, will be home to the single-story edifice of approximately 18,850 square feet, and will also include an adjacent ancillary building.

In view of today's announcement, there are now only 12 US temples awaiting official information, and the number of temples for which no information has been officially confirmed now sinks down to 56. That number is getting smaller all the time. The data on the document to which I linked abovespeaks for itself. Just a couple more thoughts about today's announcement, if you will indulge me therein:

I had thought that, with 3 temples completed and awaiting the announcement of their opening arrangements, at least one of them might have a dedication announced in the near term. But clearly, that did not happen this week. Maybe that will be the case next week. I still think that at least one more temple dedication might be scheduled to occur in the first halfof 2026, but I guess we'll have to see. 

I will also be interested in finding out whether any temple dedications will be set to occur in July. If memory serves me correctly, during the temple-building boom of the late 1990s-early 2000s, having a few dedications in July was the status quo for a while. Could we see some July dedications in 2026? Only time will tell. Unless any other dedications are announced within the next month, the Brethren may opt to wait until August to begin building up the queue of temple dedications again.

And for groundbreakings? What can we expect? I've got a few temples in my crosshairs for which I hope a groundbreaking announcement will be made and the ceremony held in the near term. I likewise hope we will see some movement in the queue of temples for which groundbreakings have been held, but for which full-scale construction is pending. In any case, there is a lot to which we can look forward in the coming weeks and months, and I'm sure this prolific season of temple building will continue, even if it is slower than I currently am predicting and projecting.

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. 

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. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for Yorba Linda California Temple; Groundbreaking Arrangements Announced for Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple; Site Locations Confirmed and Preliminary Information Released for the Beira Mozambique and Spanish Fork Utah Temples

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially confirmed the opening arrangements for the Yorba Linda California Temple, groundbreaking arrangements for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple, and the preliminary details for the Beira Mozambique and Spanish Fork Utah Temples. There's a lot to get to, so let's dive right in!

A media day for the Yorba Linda California Temple will be held on Monday, April 27, 2026, with invited guests touring the temple for the next two days. A public open house will be held from Thursday, April 30, through Saturday, May 23, 2026. The temple dedication will follow on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM, with a rebroadcast of those services at 2:00 PM. 

The dedication will be carried to all units in the temple district. A presiding apostle has not yet been announced, but I am sure any apostle with ties to the area the temple will serve will be the one assigned to dedicate that temple. Who that might be is less certain. As soon as a presiding apostle is assigned, I will note that on this blog in a subsequent comment.

The time frame announced for these arrangements took me by surprise a bit. I was anticipating that the next temple dedication announced would only occur in July or August at the earliest, so it also gives me hope that other temple dedications may be set to occur in June as well. Incidentally, this is the same date previously announced for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple dedication, so the Church could easily double- or even triple-up on other Sundays in June. So it's back to the drawing board as far as those estimates are concerned, and I hope I'm wrong on those estimates as well.

As for the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple, groundbreaking services will take place on Saturday, March 14, 2025, with Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, Central America Area president, presiding. The temple dedication follows its announcement in October 2022, with the site location confirmed in mid-March 2023, and the release of its exterior rendering 14 months later. This will be the third groundbreaking this year, and will be occurring at around the same time as the third temple groundbreaking last year.  

That brings us to the new information about the temples in Mozzambique and Utah. Mozambique's first temple, planned to be approximately 10,000 square feet (which could mean it will be a modular temple), and with plans including patron housing and arrival facilities, will rise on a 2.5-acre site located at Avenida 24 de Julho, Beira, Mozambique. This announcement follows the temple's April 2021 announcement by then-Church President Russell M. Nelson.

And Utah's newest temple will rise on a 8.7-acre site at the corner of 100 South and 2550 East in Spanish Fork, Utah. The multistory temple of 80,000 square feet will be accompanied by an ancillary building. As confirmed by the Church Temples site, design work for that temple is already underway, and groundwater and soil samples have been evaluated as well. With that in mind, hopefully this temple will have an exterior rendering and groundbreaking announced in the near term. This announcement follows the temple announcement by President Nelson in April last year.

In view of these announcements, there are now 58 temples for which the confirmation of any official information is pending. I am grateful for today's announcements, and hope to see more temple news next Tuesday (since next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day here in the United States). I also hope we will see the new apostle announced on Thursday or Friday of this week. I will be covering all such updates if/when/as they occur.

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. 

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. 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.

UPDATED: Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, November 23, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 18 Church Presidents (including our current prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 30 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including our new Quorum President, Henry B. Eyring). 

The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency not even making that list for the next 6 years), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) The clock on the current group reset when President Holland died and will reset again whenever the new apostle is appointed in his stead.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 14 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

This is the first update for 2026, and, with these updates being published every 7 weeks, the next one will be provided here on Sunday, March 1. Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. 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.

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. 

BREAKING NEWS: 2026 Mission Leadership Assignments Announced; Temple Square Mission Will Be Dissolved; All Sister Missionaries in Utah Missions Will Serve at Temple Square

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the Church announced mission leaders and companions for 188 missions, the dissolution of the Temple Square Mission, effective in July of this year, and that all sister missionaries assigned to Utah missions will, as assigned by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, be assigned to serve for periods of designated times on Temple Square. There's a lot to get into, so let's dive in!

First, the list of new mission leaders is pretty self-explanatory. I am still analyzing the assignments in question to ascertain whether any current general authorities or area seventies are being assigned this year (which may necessitate a release for the area seventies, but that's not guaranteed). I will have that further analysis posted in the comments below as soon as I can make it happen.

The Church is also changing its approach to missionary service on Temple Square. The Temple Square Mission will be discontinued, and all sisters currently assigned to the Temple Square Mission will be reassigned to one of the surrounding missions (Utah Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City East, Utah Salt Lake City West, Utah Salt Lake City South, Utah Layton, Utah Ogden, and Utah Saratoga Springs Missions). And sister missionaries from those surrounding missions will, as assigned by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, have the opportunity to serve at Temple Square. 

This adjustment will allow more sisters the opportunity to serve at Temple Square, and will also allow those missionaries who had exclusively been assigned to Temple Square the opportunity to proselyte. And it will allow the Church to have more missionaries on Temple Square at peak busy times, such as General Conference weekend and especially as the Church prepares to welcome the world to Temple Square during the 6-month open house celebration next year.

The coverage of this announcement also indicates at least one change that has occurred at Church headquarters: Elder Ronald A. Rasband now replaces Elder Quentin L. Cook as the chairman of the Missionary Executive Council. This is the first of many changes made to Church headquarters assignments of the apostles following President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's appointment yesterday as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

I am grateful for these adjustments, and I testify that they are inspired. 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. 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. 

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.

BREAKING APOSTOLIC NEWS: Changes in the Leadership of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Announced

Hello again, everyone! As a result of the December 27, 2025, death of President Jeffrey R. Holland, who had been serving as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Henry B. Eyring, who is also serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency, became de de facto President of the Quorum of the TwelveApostles, with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf assuming a role as the de facto Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

I had both felt and asserted that, a short time after President Holland was laid to rest, Church President Dallin H. Oaks would act quickly to make these changes official. So I am pleased to report that I was correct: those changes in question were recently confirmed. President Oaks set apart President Eyring and now-President Uchtdorf in their new responsibilities earlier today.

With the new Quorum leadership in place, I also strongly suspect that President Oaks will act to fill the resulting vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the near term. I offered my predictions for what might happen in that regard on my YouTube channel, so feel free to check out that video.And of course, whenever the new apostle is named, I will provide my own analysis on that here and on my YouTube channel.

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. 

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. 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.

UPDATED: Final 2025 Temple Construction Progress Review

Hello again, everyone! As the final moments of 2025 turn into the first moments of 2026, it is my honor to now provide a final overview of temple construction progress during this momentous year. For reference, this Newsroom report shares the rundown of most temple-related announcements made this year, though for some reason, it omits the mention of the announcement of the Portland Maine Temple and of the most recent First Presidency tour of the Salt Lake Temple. The Church News has also covered temple news throughout the year.

As for myself, I have continued to track temple construction on my end throughout the year. This document shows temple dedications & rededictions in 2025, with this documents showing a side-by-side comparison of temple groundbreakings in 2024 vs. 2025, and this one shows the same data for 2025 vs. 2026. This document shows current apostles' temple dedications & rededications during President Nelson's prophetic tenure, and this one shows the same data during President Oaks' prophetic tenure. And this one shows thea nnounced temples for which no information has been officially confirmed yet .

Pertaining to the actual progression of the temple construction queue, this document shows where things stood as 2025 began, this one shows wheret things stood a few days before the April 2025 General Conference, this one shows progress at the mid-point of this year, this one shows where things stood a few days prior to the October 2025 General Conference, and this one showing where things stand as 2025 is becoming 2026.

There is a lot more data to get through this year, but I hope the extra documents are helpful. There are others I could have included, but these are sufficient for my purposes today. As these documents and sources reflect, a lot has happened with the temple construction queue in 2025, and we are almost certain to see a significant increase of such developments in 2026.  

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.

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. 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.

BREAKING APOSTOLIC NEWS: President Jeffrey R. Holland Passes Away at the Age of 85

 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. 

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. 

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.

Tribute to Elder Gerrit W. Gong, In Honor of His 72nd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back two days before Christmas to post a birthday tribute to Elder Gerrit W. Gong, who is marking his 72nd birthday today. His is the last apostolic birthday to occur this year. The first apostle to observe his birthday in 2026 will be President D. Todd Christofferson, marking his 81st birthday on January 24. Let's now turn our attention to today's tribute to Elder Gong.Gerrit Walter Gong was born in Redwood City, California, on this day in 1953, to Walter and Jean Char Gong. While he was given his father's name for his middle name, his first name was given in honor of and out of respect to Gerrit de Jong, whose family hosted his mother while she studied at BYU-Provo.

After graduating from high school in Palo Alto, California, young Gerrit served as a missionary for the Church in Taiwan. He earned a bachelor's degree at BYU, then continued his education at Oxford University, where, as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a master's degree and a doctoral degree in philosophy. 

He first met Susan Lindsay, the woman he would later marry, while giving presentations at the MTC focused on the culture of Taiwan, to groups of missionaries assigned to serve in that nation (Sister Lindsay, at that time, was preparing to serve her mission in Taiwan). At some point following her return from missionary service, while he was on summer break from Oxford, the two began dating. 

After Gerrit returned to Oxford, he and Susan (a BYU student) continued their courtship long-distance The couple was married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 2, 1980, and raised 4 sons. They spent most of their married lives in Virginia and Maryland. Brother Gong became a special assistant to the US Secretary of State in 1985. He subsequently became a professor at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University.

He continued his career as a special assistant in the US State Department and as a special assistant to the US embassy in China. In 1989, he served as China Chair and Asia Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was also invited to participate in multiple education summits, in addition to serving on the United States Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. 

Toward the end of his professional career, he served as an Assistant to the President of BYU for Planning and Assessment. As impressive as his career may have been, the far more significant things he accomplished were in the course of Church service over several decades, during which he was a bishop, stake president, and area seventy. 

During his latter assignment, he accompanied the presiding authority to my parent's Stake Conference. As he spoke, I was impressed by his warmth, knowledge of the scriptures, and ability to teach from them. While I may not remember any specifics of what he said, the power of the Spirit which I felt when he was speaking was unmistakable.

After that conference, I had the opportunity to greet and chat with him informally. What I had seen at the pulpit while he spoke was even more apparent in his interactions with me and other members of my parent's stake. This is a man who feels and teaches by the Spirit. During the April 2010 General Conference, Elder Gong was among those called to serve as General Authority Seventies. 

He filled various assignments at Church headquarters for the first year or so after his call. From August 2011-August 2013, he served in the Asia Area Presidency as a counselor. In 2013, he was called as president of that same area. As a result of Elder Ronald A. Rasband's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the October 2015 General Conference, Elder Gong was called to the Presidency of the Seventy on October 6, 2015. 

He transitioned out of his role as Asia Area President and into that new assignment effective January 4, 2016. During his two years of active service in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had responsibility for overseeing the work of the Church in the North America Northeast Area. He also served on the Church Board of Education and Boards of Trustees, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Boards. Following the October 2017 and January 2018 deaths of Elder Robert D. Hales and Church President Thomas S. Monson, new Church President Russell M. Nelson called both Elder Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares to serve as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The two made history as the first Asian-American and Latin-American apostles of the Church. They were sustained as such on March 31, 2018, and both were ordained to the apostleship the following Thursday (April 5, 2018).

Consistent with the general practice of the Church, and for the first time since the October 2015 appointments of Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund, with the two apostles called, sustained, and ordained on the same day, Elder Gong, who is older, became the senior apostle to Elder Soares. In June 2018, Elders Gong and Soares met with media representatives for the first time as new apostles, at which time Elder Gong reported that he had been asked to chair the Scriptures Committee. 

His additional assignments included serving on the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, the Leadership and Training Committee, and the Outreach Committee. He also had apostolic oversight for the Asia and Asia North Areas. He is now serving on the Temple & Family History Executive Council.

Elder Gong has given a total of 16 addresses in General Conference thus far, which includes 1 as a General Authority Seventy, 1 other as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 14 since beginning his service in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Due to his potential exposure to COVID-19 (for which he tested positive a few days later), he had pre-recorded his remarks in the days leading up to the October 2020 General Conference. 

Having successfully completed his quarantine, he was able to preside at the groundbreaking for the Taylorsville Utah Temple later that month. And after a yearlong delay, Elder Gong presided at the dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple in October 2021. As an apostle of Asia descent, he was sent in June 2022 to rededicate the Hong Kong China Temple. 

I am grateful to have been able to honor Elder Gong on this, his 69th birthday. Because of my previously-referenced personal interaction with him, I can testify that the Lord has prepared him for his present assignment, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other 14 apostles. I continue to monitor all Church News and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you as I become aware thereof.

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. If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Bacolod Philippines Temple; Name Change Announced the the San Jose California Temple; Preliminary Infrastructure Work Will Begin on the Fairview Texas Temple

 Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has announced updates on three temples: the opening arrangements for the Bacolod Philippines Temple, a namecahange for the San Jose California Temple, (which will now be known as the Sunnyvale California Temple), and that preliminary infrastructure work is set to getunderway soon on the Fairview Texas Temple. The latter two updates are self-explnatory, so let me get into the details about the Bacolod Philippines Temple dedication,then share some concluding observations about the other two temples.

I was stunned by the announced opening arrangements for the Bacolod Philippines Temple because, prior to today's announcement, that temple was only expected to have major construction wrap up in the early months of next year. As a result, not only did this announcemnent surprise me, but I was further stunned by the timing involved: the media day will be held on Monday, April 13, with invited guests touring the temple for a couple of days after that. The public open house will run from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, May 2, excluding the Sundays of April 19 and 26.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will then preside at the dedication of that temple on Sunday, May 31, 2026, in a single session at 10:00 AM (with a rebroadcast planned at 2:00 PM). Both the dedicatory session and the rebroadcast will be carried to all units in the Bacolod Philippines Temple dstrict. This is a stunning announcement, and the Bacolod Philippines Temple dedication will follow that of the Davao Philippines Temple by just 4 weeks. So the Church now has 3 temple dedications in May,

Another thing that surprised me is that this dedication was announced before the first temple leaders were announced for this temple.  And if a temple that, up through yesterday, was anticipated to be completed in early next year can have a May dedication set, then that suggests that other temple dedications could happen sooner than I expect. As of yesterday, I had put my personal estimate for this tmeple's dedication as unlikely tto occuruntil sometime in 2027, so my estimates and projections were way off, and I will have to rethink some things as a result. This will be the third Philippines Temple dedicated next year, which  is another good sign.

We move on now to some thoughts about the other two updates mentioned. The former San Jose California Temple is being built in the city of Sunnyvale, so the name change makes sense. And for the Fairview Texas Temple, as I noted in this comment earlier today, the plans are currently before the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation,  so the fact that approvals are being sought for preliminary infrastructure work is encouraging, given the efforts of the neighborhood group of residents that continues to try and stop construction from moving forward. 

As I noted in previous posts and YouTube videos, there is nationwide group of  opponents to temple construction here in the United States that aims to hinder, delay, or stop construction of temples here in the United States, and that group seems to spur on the comparatively small groups of locals opposed to such projects. We see the fruitsthereof in relationtothe Coy Wyoming, HeberValley Utah, and Fairview TexasTemples at minimum, and there may be other temples impacted by the overarching work of the nationwisde group,

But as we know, the Prophet Joseph Smith state that no unhallowe hand can stop the work from progressing, and there are thankfully apparently more supporters than opponents of these projects on a local level, so hopefully that makes a difference. I repeat President Nelson 's plea for all of us to pray for the temples in any phase ofdevelopment, so thatwork make commence and continue and finish. We have the promise of the Lord that each temple dedicated thwarts the opposition of the advlersary and limits his power, so I hope that we will seriously pray for the temples in any phase of development.

I am somewhat isappointed thatwe didn't get any groundbreakings, site location confirmations, or exterior renderings this week, but i am grateful for the unexpected news of the Bacolod Philippines Temple dedication, and I look forward to seeing how many other temple dedications the Church may be able to squeeze in before the end of the first half of next year. If the current scheduling is any indicator, we are sure to see timelines shift dramatically in the days ahead.

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. 

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. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Announces New Temple Will Be Built in Portland, Maine

Hello again, everyone! At a Christmas devotional for the Portland Maine Stake this evening, Elder Allen D. Haynie, United States Northeast Area President, read the following statement from the First Presidency: 

"We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Portland, Maine. The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and thank God for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants, and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord."

The First Presidency

This is the first temple to be announced under new Church President Dallin H. Oaks, and confirms what President Oaks said in his talk in October: "We will now move forward in providing the ordinances of the temple to members of the Church throughout the world, including when and where to announce the construction of new temples."

I had postulated that this would allow members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to announce new temples with the approval of the First Presidency in the course of their global ministry, so it makes sense that area presidencies would have similar authorizations to read official statements like this. The number of temples worldwide now sits at 383, with others to come in time, I'm sure.

Will any other temples be announced between now and the April 2026 General Conference? That's above my paygrade to know, but I conjecture that this could and likely will happen again. In view of this announcement, will anything else be announced tomorrow at 2:00 PM MST? I conjecture that will occur, since there is still a backlog of announced temples, and this just adds to it. But it also occurs to me to wonder how soon other updates will be announced for this first temple in Maine.

I had conjectured that, if temples were announcedoutside of General Conference, those announcements might come as temples are further along in the planning phase. So we could also potentially see a site location confirmed, rendering released, or groundbreaking set for this temple or any others in the near term. It's also worth noting that this is, to the best of my knowledge, the first temple since the Hinckley era to be announced in December.

Either way, this is wonderful news. 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. 

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. 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Set for the João Pessoa Brazil Temple; Exterior Rendering Released for the Jakarta Indoneisa Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced the groundbreaking for the João Pessoa Brazil Temple, and released the exterior rendering for the Jakarta Indonesia Temple. We start with the groundbreaking information: Elder Joni L. Koch, president of the Brazil Area, will preside at the Saturday, January 24, 2026, groundbreaking for Brazil's newest temple. 

That groundbreaking will take place on the same date as the previously announced groundbreaking for the Jacksonville Florida Temple, but since João Pessoa time is one to two hours ahead of Jacksonville, João Pessoa now replaces Jacksonville as the first temple groundbreaking for 2026. The groundbreaking announcement follows the temple's announcement in October 2023 by President Nelson, with the site confirmation following just over a month later, and the exterior rendering released in July 2024.

And with both the João Pessoa Brazil and Jacksonville Florida Temples' groundbreakings set to occur on January 24, the second groundbreaking of the year will betaking place more than a month earlier in 2026 than the second groundbreaking in 2025 (which took place on March 1). So that already sets 2026 ahead of 2025 in terms of scheduled groundbreakings, and others could soon follow. I am grateful we got this groundbreaking announcement today, even though it wasn't what I expected.

As mentioned above, we also got the rendering for the Jakarta Indonesia Temple. The release of the rendering  follows the April 2023 announcement of that temple and the March 2024 release of its exterior rendering. While the rendering speaks for itself, it seems worthwhile to note that Indoesia's first temple is being built up rather than out, which is a common theme for Asia temples. 

It's also worth noting that, as with the Yigo Guaam Temple, the Jakarta Indonesia Temple is rising in an area that is projected to be submerged in water in 50-100 years. But as with the Yigo temple, the construction of this temple iscoming by inspiration from the Lord, who can temper those elements as He sees fit. As one of my seminary teachers observed: "Who was right, Noah, or the weatherman?" The Church will go forward with constructing this temple, for which I'm grateful. 

I was a little surprised we didn't get another temple dedication announced today, so I will have to factor that into my projected estimates for temple events in the near term. I was also somewhat surprised that we didn't get any announcement for other temples that have not had any details announced thus far. Hopefully such announcements come down the pike next week, as it will be the last week for major temple construction announcements before the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

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. 

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. 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.

In Tribute to President Jeffrey R. Holland, For His 85th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being December 3, President Jeffrey R. Holland is observing his 85th birthday. I know that the Lord is no respector of persons, and doesn't play favorites, but on a personal level, I wanted to reiterate again that he is my favorite apostle. I have a couple of familial connections to him. My dad was born and raised in St. George, and his father (Dean Stokes), was Elder Holland's home teaching companion when "young Jeff" was an Aaronic Priesthood holder. According to my dad, his father often expressed his wonder that a boy like Elder Holland had become an apostle of the Lord. I know that at times, it may seem that some members of the Church, to varying degrees, have put the leading Brethren of the Church on a pedestal, but I am reminded in accounts, such as that which was shared by my grandfather, that these men may have been foreordained to the apostleship, but they are no different than any other member of the Church; the Lord just ordered their lives based on their personal choices in such a way that when such calls came to them, they were qualified through years of service in the Church and living what they believe. That is important for all of us to remember.

My mom is a freelance proofreader, and in the early days of her marriage to my dad, she worked on many projects for the Church Educational System. Since that occurred at the time when then-Brother Holland was the Commissioner of the CES, he was essentially my mom's "boss." And she speaks warmly of the experiences she had working with him on such projects. Personal connections aside, I wanted to share a brief biographical sketch of Elder Holland.

Jeffrey Roy Holland was born in St. George, Utah to Frank D. and Alice Bentley Holland on December 3, 1940. He served a full-time mission in the British Isles. His mission president was Marion D. Hanks, (who at that time was a member of the now-defunct First Council of the Seventy and later served in the First Quorum and Presidency of the Seventy). One of young Jeff Holland's missionary companions was Quentin L. Cook, alongside whom he would later serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Of now-President Holland, Elder Cook has remarked that it is interesting to him that he, as the previously-senior missionary companion to Elder Holland, is now the junior apostle to his former junior companion. Following the concusion of Jeff's missionary service, he attended BYU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in religious education. Additionally, shortly after his release from missionary service, he married his high school sweetheart, Patricia Terry, in 1963. They are the parents of a daughter and two sons.

Their oldest son, Matthew, served as the President of Utah Valley University and as president of the North Carolina Raliegh Mission. During General Conference in April 2020, Matthew S. Holland was sustained as a General Authority Seventy, marking the first time a fahter-and-son duo have served together as general authorities since the July 2015 death of President Boyd K. Packer. Once Elder Holland earned his bachelor's and master's degrees, he went on to earn a doctorate degree in American studies from Yale. He then became a professor at BYU, serving as Dean of the College of Religion. He served as Commissioner of Church Education from 1976-1980. In 1980, President Dallin H. Oaks, who was then serving as President of BYU-Provo, announced his intention to move on to other opportunities. Commissioner Holland was put in charge of the committee to find the new BYU President. 

Two days later, he was stunned when the First Presidency appointed him to that assignment. He had reportedly been favored for the position by President N. Eldon Tanner, who was then serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency, and was the protege of then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who at that time was the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles asssigned to the Church Board of Education. Elder Holland would go on to serve as president of BYU for 9 years himself, until his April 1, 1989 call as a General Authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. 

Prior to his call to general Church service, Elder Holland also served as a bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, and regional representative. After the First Presidency was reorganized following the death of President Ezra Taft Benson, President Howard W. Hunter took immediate action to fill the apostolic vacancy. In the space of a few short hours on Thursday June 23, President Hunter issued a call to the apostleship to Elder Holland, gave him his apostolic charge, set apart and ordained him to that calling, and had him join the other 14 apostles in their weekly meeting at the temple. That action was sustained by Church membership during the Solemn Assembly that was held exactly 100 days later.

As we know, then-Elder Holland experienced significant health challenges earlier in 2023 that reportedly almost ended his life and kept him from speaking in both General Conferences in 2023. Prior to that hospitalization,Elder Holland also experienced the death of his sweet wife.

As we also know, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,died on Sunday November 12, with Elder Holland set appart to succeed him in that assignment 3 days later.

President Holland has given a total of 64 addresses in General Conference.  Of those, 3 were prior to his apostolic call. The first time he spoke during General Conference was in April 1983, while he was serving as the President of Brigham Young University. He spoke alongside his son during that session. He gave two other talks following his 1989 call as a General Authority Seventy, and the remaining 61 General Conference addresses as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

To me, it always seems as though the talks given by President Holland are specifically focused on something I have been dealing with personally at the time. As a consequence, listening to him speak every six months is one of my favorite things about General Conference weekends, and I keenly felt his absence from the two General Conferences in 2023. The last thing I want to mention about Elder Holland is that he is currently the most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the second in seniority among all current apostles. 

He is also the third-oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and is the ifth-oldest among all living apostles. Interestingly enough, although he is the most senior of the three apostles born in 1940 (with Elders Uchtdorf and Cook being the other two), he is the youngest of the three. His apostolic seatmate, Elder Uchtdorf,  obsrved his 85th birthday just under one month ago, with Elder Cook having done the same two months prior to that.

I am grateful for the life and ministry of President Holland, for the miraculous preservation of his life, and for the chance I had to write this post in his honor today. 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. 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.

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Davao Philippines Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency announced the opening arrangements for the Davao Philippines Temple, the only major temple construction update announced today. Here are the relevant details: A media day will be held on Monday, March 23, 2026, with invited guests touring the temple over the next two days. 

The public is invited to tour that temple between Thursday, March 26, and Friday, April 10 (with the exception of the Sundays of March 29 and April 5. General Conference in the Philippines will air April 11-12, which is why tours will still take place on Saturday April 4. Following the conclusion of the public open house, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the May 3, 2026, single-session dedication (with that session being broadcast live at 10:00 AM to all units that will be served by the Davao Philippines Temple district). 

The dedicatory service will be rebroadcast to those same units the same day at 2:00 PM in the Philippines. While the announcement of this dedication is not surprising, the dedication date certainly is. That will be the same date as the previously announced dedication of the Lindon Utah Temple. And, because the time in Davao Philippines is 15 hours ahead of Utah time, the Davao dedication will take place 15 hours before the Lindon dedication, even though both are occurring on the same date.

Today's tremendous announcement gives me hope that we will see more temple dedications to round out the first half of next year than I had originally hoped or predicted. To be completely honest, I was half-expecting the Yorba Linda California Temple dedication to be announced today, but I am grateful for today's unpexted announcement either way. This temple dedication has been added to my document tracking current apostles' temple dedications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

As I said, today's announcement gives me hope that other temple dedications will occur sooner than I thought or have projected. The latest announcement reminds me that it is a given that the Lord's ways and thoughts are higher than mine. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get an announcement about any other temples today, but I think we will see other major temple construction announcements over the next two weeks to close out the year.

And I remain convinced that more temple dedications, groundbreakings, exterior renderings, and site location confirmations are in the works for the near term. With the two other weeks we have before the Christmas/New Year's observances, hopefully major momentum can round out the year. 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. 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. 

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.

 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Opening Arrangements Announced for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple; Location and Rendering Released for the Yuma Arizona Temple

Hello again, everyone! This afternoon, the First Presidency officially announced opening arrangements for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple and released the location and rendering for the Yuma Arizona Temple. Let's dive right into the relevant details:

The media day for the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple will be held on Monday, April 20. 2026. with invited guests touring the temple over the next two days. Public tours will follow from Thursday, April 23 though Saturday, May 9, 2026, excluding the Sundays of April 26 and May 3. The dedication will follow on Sunday, June 7, 2026, with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presiding. The single-session dedication will be held at 10:00 AM, but will be rebroadcast at 2:00 PM. with both the dedication and rebroadcast shown in all congregations in the temple district.

This is just about when I had estimated the temple dedication would be, so it's nice to have that confirmed. And Elder Uchtdorf may have apostolic oversight for the Church's North America West Area, so it makes sense that he will preside over this temple dedication. I have updated that assignment on my document tracking temple dedications and rededications during President Oaks' prophetic tenure.

What I will be interested to see is, if any other completed temples are dedicated before August of next year. There has been precedent for temple dedications to occur in July (the typical recess month for the apostles), but there is also precedent for no temple dedications in July, so it could go either way. I will be interested to see what happens in that regard.

We biw turn to the information about the Yuma Arizona Temple. Originally announced by President Nelson in April 2024, an almost 7-acre site at the corner of East 36th Street and South 8 East Avenue, in Yuma, Arizona, will be home to the single-story temple of roughly 18,500 square feet and an ancillary building. The exterior renddering speaks for itself, but if any of you have any thoughts about it, I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below

This brings the number of temples with no official information confirmed down to 59, and hopefully that number will shrink more in the weeks between now and the April 2026 General Conference. I am grateful for today's announcements, and am glad to have been able to provide this analysis thereof here. 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. 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. 

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.

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, October 5, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 18 Church Presidents (including our new porphet,President Dallin H. Oaks), in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 29 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including our newest Quorum President, Jeffrey R.Holland).The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency not even making that list for the next 6 years), the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) The clock on the current group reset when President Nelson died, then reset again when the First Presidency was reconstituted, and it will reset a third time once the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is filled, whenever that may be.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 2 of the current 14 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list.

This is the last such update for 2025.THe first update for 2026 will come your way on Sunday, January 11, 2026.

Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to ask anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here.

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.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Women Can Now Serve Missions at the Age of 18

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. 

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. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Changes in Mexico & United States Area Presidencies

Hello again, everyone! Effective immediately, the Church has announced changes in its Mexico & United States Area Presidencies. Let's break down the details: Bishop Sean Douglas, the new Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, has been released as Mexico Area President. Elder Jose L. Alonso has been released as the President of the United States Northwest Area. Elder Michael A. Dunn has been released as Assistant Executive Director in the Church Communication Department and as a member of the Church Communication and International Coordinating Committees.

Elder Moises Villanueva, who had been serving as the First Counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency, will now serve as the Area President. Elder Jose L. Alonso will be his new First Counselor, and Elder Brik V. Eyre continues his service as Second Counselor. In the United States Southwest Area Presidency, Elder Michael A. Dunn, the former First Counselor, will now serve as the Area President. Former Second Counselor Jonathan S. Schmitt will now serve as First Counselor, and Elder Steven C. Barlow has been called as the new Second Counselor in that area presidency.

Information on who has succeeded Elder Dunn in his former department and committee assignments remains unavailable. But it is good to at least have these changes identified. 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. 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.

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.

Initial Predictions for the April 2026 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned in my previous post, I had already done a rough draft of my initial predictions for the April 2026 General Conference before today's announcement discontinuing the Saturday Evening Session of General Conference. 

That announcement took me back to the drawing board as far as those predictions were concerned. I am pleased to now present my revised initial predictions for the April 2026 General Conference. As per my usual custom, I have my projected speaker lineup, my predictions regarding changes in general Church leadership (which also includes my projected data for the 2025 statistical report), and my masterlist of possible locations in which temples could be announced.

With reference to the last document, I would not be surprised to either just see a few new temples announced or for the current hiatus on temple announcements to continue until the queue of announced temples is significantly smaller, although I am hoping by the time this General Conference rolls around that the queue will be much smaller than it is right now. This masterlist is being included in these predictions just in case there are new temples announced.

The rest of the predictions speak for themselves, I think. If any of you have any questions, I welcome the opportunity to address them in the comments section below. 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. 

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