Church President Russell M. Nelson Observes His 6th Anniversary as Prophet

Hello again, everyone! This Sabbath Day marks the 6th anniversary of the prophetic tenure of Church President Russell M. Nelson. Under his direction, the Church now has three global magazines, is awaiting the arrival of new hymnbooks and children's songbooks to also be used worldwide, has now seen the appointment of the first Asian-American, Latin American, and British-Irish/adult convert apostles, and has seen restructuring efforts affecting the Elders' and High Priests' Quorums, ward Young Men Presidencies, and stake Sunday School and Young Men Presidencies.

All but one of our current apostles (Elder Patrick Kearon) have individually presided at 2 or more temple dedications or rededications. And President Nelson has surpassed 15th Church President Gordon B. Hinckley as the oldest living prophet and the prophet to announce the most temples. The 153 temples announced around the world in the last five years have brought the total number of worldwide temples to 335.

Additionally, the Church is well on track to have 200 operating temples by sometime during the third or fourth quarter of this year, and the Church could almost certainly have 300 temples dedicated by the bicentennial anniversary of the Church (Saturday, April 6, 2030). President Nelson is not only the oldest living prophet but is the oldest living apostle as well.

The prophet's apostolic colleagues, his wife, and his children all say he is hard to keep up with and continue to report that he acts with the energy and vigor of someone 30-40 years younger than his now-99 years of age.  Some have stated that he might be near the end of his life several times. But just as the prophet has proven the world wrong in the January 2018 assessment that he was unlikely to change the Church, he continues to live and function well daily. 

Of course, as any good former physician would do, he followed the advice of his doctors and was absent from the October 2023 General Conference, though he was able to prerecord his remarks delivered during the final session. Later this year, President Nelson and his counselors will join the list of longest-serving First Presidencies of the Church, and several months after that, President Nelson will become the first ever centenarian prophet and apostle.

The last six years of inspired leadership from and through President Nelson has taught me so much. A long time ago, I began regularly praying that when any major Church announcement is made, I would know for myself that it has been inspired by the Lord. And the Lord has never disappointed me in that. Many of the adjustments and changes that have been made have always left me with the question, "Why hasn't this been done before?"

I am grateful for the opportunity I have almost daily to witness what is going on in the Church around the world because of our current beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. He is truly the man for our time. As we heed his prophetic counsel and seek to obtain confirmation from the Lord regarding it, I promise He will continue to testify to all of us that He does indeed direct His work, through His chosen prophet, seer, and revelatory and President of the Church in our day, President Russell M. Nelson.

I am grateful to have had the chance to reflect on the impact the prophet has had on the Church in the last 6 years. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Exterior Renderings Released for 3 Temples

Hello again, everyone! The big temple news for today, and the first major announcement affecting temple construction in 2024 was the release of 3 exterior renderings for temples that have had sites announced previously. The three renderings are for the Londrina and Riberao Preto Brazil Temples (both of which were jannounced in October 2022 and had their sites confirmed one month later), and the Bakersfield California Temple (which was announced in April 2023 and had its' site location confirmed in July 2023. 

I will let others more qualified than I am share anything they like in the comments about the features of these exterior renderings. I will just note here that I anticipate each of these temples might now be closer to a groundbreaking. But I also wanted to provide an update to my thoughts on the potential timing for temple dedications in the near term. 

Since Casper is a smaller temple, I anticipate a short open hoouse there, which probably means the Church could hold its' dedication before the end of June. There has reportedly been a delay in completing the Taylorsville Utah Temple landscaping due to a supply shortage and backlog, so I anticipate that temple will only be dedicated after the Salta Argentina and Coban Guatemala Temples. 

Those temples (Salta, Coban, and Taylorsville) will likely be at the top of the list for August and September, unless the First Presidency opts to dedicate any temples in July. There is a precedent for that, but whether they'd do it again remains uncertain. So that's why I say I anticipate that the bulk of temple dedications in 2024 will come in the last 5 months of this year. 

There is also a precedent from last year to schedule 2 or more dedications for the same day, so we could see that occur this year as well. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Final 2023 Temple Construction Progress Report

Hello again, everyone! As the final minutes of 2023 come to a close, we take a look back at the major progress made on temple construction in 2023. The highlights included 11 dedications and 2 rededications, 8 temple groundbreakings, and numerous site announcements and exterior renderings. There was also tremendous progress on temples in various phases of construction and renovation.

As a matter of review, here is what the temple construction program looked like as 2023 began, on the Saturday of the April 2023 General Conference, at the end of the first half of 2023, at the conclusion of the October 2023 General Conference weekend, and at the end of 2023. There has been tremendous progress in temple construction this year, and I've been privileged to track, report, and pass along all the updates.

As 2024 begins, my hope is for another year of double-digit dedications, double-digit groundbreakings, and many more updates in terms of site announcements, exterior renderings, and general progress updates. I have no doubt we've got significantly substantial updates coming down the pike, and I look forward to seeing that unfold and covering it all for you here.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong Observes His 70th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back two days before Christmas to post a birthday tribute to Elder Gerrit W. Gong, who is celebrating his 70th today. His is the last apostolic birthday to occur this year. The first apostle to observe his birthday in 2024 will be Elder D. Todd Christofferson, marking his 79th 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 14 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 12 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines and Birmingham England Temples

Hello again, everyone! Minutes ago, the First Presidency confirmed the site locations for 2 more temples: the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple (originally announced in April 2018) and the Birmingham England Temple (originally announced in April 2022). Let's get into the details:  The Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple will rise on a 4.9-acre site at Lot 2163-c and Lot 2163-d Rosario Limketkai Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis.  

The two-story temple is estimated to be an edifice of approximately 18,449 square feet. An adjacent ancillary building will include patron housing, a distribution center, and a patron arrival center. As I mentioned previously, a candidate temple site is being cleared, so I assume it is the same site that was confirmed today. If so, we will likely see a groundbreaking annoouncement sooner rather than later. 

As for the Birmingham England Temple, the single-story edifice of 10,800 square feet will include both patron housing and a patron arrival center. The temple will rise on a 2.7-acre site at 185-187 Penns Lane, Sutton, Coldfield, Birmingham, England, with the other buildings adjacent to that. Project leaders will work with the government to secure the necessary approvals.

As a result of today's updates, here are the updated sections of my temple construction progress report, with today's updates set to be included in my final temple construction update for 2023. And 48 of the 96 announced temples have not had official information confirmed. I was somewhat surprised that no other temple dedications were announced today, but maybe the Church is holding off on that for the rest of the year.

It's also worth noting that, with Christmas Day next Monday and New Year's Day the Monday after that, I don't know if this will be the final major temple construction update for 2023 or if the Church will switch the announcement day to Tuesday for the next couple of weeks. Whatever might happen in that regard, I will be sure to provide analysis on any other announcements that are made in 2023.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Open House and Dedication Dates Announced for Layton Utah, Puebla Mexico, and Urdaneta Philippines Temples; Groundbreaking Announced for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple; and Site Location Confirmed for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a stunning single announcement, the First Presidency has released details for the open houses and dedication dates of the Layton Utah, Puebla Mexico, and Urdaneta Philippines Temples. That alone would be impressive enough, but they also announced a groundbreaking for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple and the site location and preliminary information for the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple. There's a lot to break down here, so let's jump right in:

We start with the open houses and dedications. I'll go by date of dedication. The open house for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple will kick off with a media day on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, followed by VIP tours Wendesday and Thursday, March 13 and 14, 2024. The public open house will run between Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 30 (excluding the Sundays of March 17 and 24). President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, will dedicate the Urdaneta Philippines Temple on Sunday, April 28, 2024 in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM PHT.

Moving on now to the Puebla Mexico Temple, a media day will be held on Monday, March 25, 2024, followed by VIP tours on Tuesday, March 26-Thursday, March 28, 2024. The public open house for that temple will run between Friday, March 29 and Saturday, April 20, with the exceptions of March 31 and April 6-7 and 14, 2024. The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 19, 2024, in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM CST by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

For the Layton Utah Temple, a media day is planned for Monday, April 15, 2024, with VIP tours available Tuesday, April 16-Thursday, April 18, 2024. The public open house will follow between Friday, April 19 and Saturday, June 1, except for the Sundays of April 21 and 28 and May 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2024. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate that temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in two sessions that will be held at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM MDT.

Each of these dedications will be broadcast to the stakes in their respective temple districts. I am a little surprised we didn't also get an announcement about the Taylorsville Utah Temple, but hopefully that will come down the pike next week. I am also a little surprised at the timing for each of these dedications, which are more spread out than I thought they would be. This again suggests that the second half of 2024 will see a high number of temple dedications. My gut instinct is to say that Taylorsville Utah and Casper Wyoming may be the only other temples likely to be dedicated in the first half of 2024.

We now move on to the groundbreaking for the Knoxville Tennesee Temple. It is set to occur on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Elder Shayne M. Bowen, a General Authority Seventy currently serving as First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area Presidency, will preside thereat. This more or less confirms my theory that no other temple groundbreakings will occur this year.

And that brings me to the Antananarivo Madagascar Temple. A single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet will rise on a 9.8-acre site at Fokontany Andranoro, Ambohibao, Antehiroka, Andranomena, Madagascar. Patron housing and arrival facilities will accompany the construction of the temple. Based on the size and on the fact that Madagascar is an isolated island, I think the Church might opt to utilize the modular components for that temple, which would be easier to bring to the island nation than building materials would be. As we know, that temple was announced by President Nelson in October 2021.

This brings the number of announced temples for which no information has offically been confirmed yet down to 50. I am grateful for this massive announcement today and to be able to pass it along to you all here.I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: April 2024 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! With Friday's announcement of Elder Patrick Kearon's apostolic call, I had to go back to the drawing board on my General Conference predictions. Because his call has already been announced, there is no need for President Nelson to announce it in the opening session of General Conference. And although it sounds like his recovery is progressing, I had forgotten to make allowances for the prophet's condition (even if he is recovered from his back injury by then, he will probably still need to be seated during any remarks he gives). 

So those two factors led me to alter my previously-offered predictions. Consequently, I have made adjustments to my projected speaker lineup and my predictions for changes in general Church leadership. I also made some minor adjustments to my projections for the figures in the statistical report for 2023, based on updated numbers for stakes and non-sensitive districts, as provided by the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site. 

For your reference, I have included a few notes in each of those documents with any pertinent details that led to specific factors in what I am projecting. I did my best to keep those notes to a minimum. If there are any questions about the latest adjustments, I am happy to field those here. The commenting period for these latest predictions remains active until Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 10:00 PM MDT.

I have every reason to believe this will not be the final draft of these predictions. Since Elder Kearon's call was announced last week, I am assuming the Church will also officially confirm that Elder Carl B. Cook has succeeded him as Senior President of the Seventy and that the newest member of the Presidency of the Seventy will also be announced within this next week. Stay tuned for coverage on all of that, and on the latest temple news, which I anticipate will be announced during the 2:00 PM MST hour tomorrow.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Elder Patrick Kearon Called to Fill the Vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! I had shared my opinion that President Nelson wouldn't wait to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I was right. This morning, the Church announced that Elder Patrick Kearon, who had been serving as the Senior President of the Seventy, was ordained an apostle yesterday and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At 62 years old, he takes his place as the currently youngest apostle in the Church.

Born on July 18, 1961 in the United Kingdom, he was raised there and in the Middle East. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. He is an adult convert to the Church. He has served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2010 (called in the same General Conference as his now apostolic colleague Elder Gerrit W. Gong). He has served in the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2017, and as Senior President since August 2020. He married Jennifer Carole Hulme on January 12, 1991, in the Oakland California Temple. They are the parents of four children, one of whom is deceased.

I am very pleased by this news. Elder Kearon hopped on a plane today and flew to Hawaii, where he will give his first public address as an apostle during the BYU-Hawaii commencement. At some point in the next month or two, I anticipate he will meet with the press. And of course, he will speak to us during the April 2024 General Conference. This leaves a vacancy in the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Carl B. Cook now becomes the de facto Senior President of the Seventy. I expect that the vacancy will be filled before General Conference as well. 

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Details Announced for the Renamed Temple in Prosper Texas

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially announced the next major temple construction update. Contrary to what I had supposed, no temple dedications were announced, nor were any new groundbreakings set. Today's announcement is related solely to the temple announced in October 2022 as the Prosper Texas Temple. According to today's announcement, that temple will now be known as the McKinney Texas Temple. 

The location of the temple and preliminary information about it has also been confirmed. An 8.16-acre site adjacent to and east of the existing chapel at 651 Stacey Road will serve as the location of the multi-story temple, which is anticipated to be roughly 44,000 square feet in area. As a result of this announcement, the number of temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet now stands at 51.

I am grateful for today's announcement. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

President Jeffrey R. Holland Observes His 83rd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being December 3, President Jeffrey R. Holland is observing his 83rd 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 one of my favorite apostles. 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 his 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, one of whom, Matthew, has 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 this year that reportedly almost ended his life and kept him from speaking in both General Conferences this year. 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 60 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 57 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 have keenly felt his absence from the two General Conferences this year. 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 third in seniority among all current apostles. 

He is also the third-oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and is the sixth-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 83rd 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 Elder Holland, and for the chance I had to write this post in his honor today. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Locations Confirmed for the Toluca Mexico and João Pessoa Brazil Temples; Exterior Rendering Released for the Barcelona Spain Temple

Hello again, everyone! More breaking temple news was reported a short time ago. The First Presidency has confirmed locations and preliminary details for the Toluca Mexico and João Pessoa Brazil Temples and has released the official exterior rendering for the Barcelona Spain Temple. Let's get into those details:

The Toluca Mexico Temple was announced in April 2022 as one of four temples to be built in the greater Mexico City Mexico area. A 4.87-acre site at Calle Guadalupe Victoria corner Uruapan, Col. Las Jaras, Metepec, State of Mexico, 52166 will be the home of the single-story temple of 19,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, the João Pessoa Brazil Temple was just announced last month in General Conference. A 3.9-ace site at Rua Paulino Pinto and Avenida Ministro José Américo de Almeida in the Cabo Branco neighborhood will serve as the location for the temple, which is anticipated to be roughly 18,850 square feet. No indication as to whether it will be one or two stories, but I assume that will be clarified later.

On January 9 of this year, the site location and preliminary details were released for the Barcelona Spain Temple. With the release of the exterior rendering for that temple today, it now joins the list of temples for which a groundbreaking might soon be set. Since I was not expecting this additional announcement, I still have a lot to sort out. I will share any further analysis with you all ASAP, including updates on temples with groundbreaking announcements pending, those awaiting an exterior rendering and groundbreaking, and all other announced temples, and where things stand with temples announced by President Nelson.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Open House and Rededication Announced for Manti Utah Temple; President Jeffrey R. Holland Will Rededicate the St. George Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has announced opening arrangements for the Manti Utah Temple. A media day will be held on Monday, March 11, with VIP tours held March 11-13. The public open house will run from Thursday, March 14-Friday, April 3, excluding the Sundays of March 17, 24, and 31. The temple will be rededicated on Sunday, April 21, 2024, and will be broadcast to all units in the Manti Utah Temple district. Additional details, including who will preside at the rededication, will be released at a later date.

The Church additionally announced today that President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will preside at the rededication of the St. George Utah Temple on December 10, 2023. I had suspected he would be involved if he was able to do so, so it's nice to have that officially confirmed. This announcement has me hopeful that President Holland might also be present for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple dedication, even though President Eyring has been assigned to preside at that event.

I'm a little surprised that we got the announcement about Manti so soon, and that it will be rededicated in April. The fact that we got this announcement while several completed temples are still awaiting theirs may suggest that getting Manti back up and running was a higher priority. This also means that mid-April may be the earliest the next temple dedication will be scheduled.

I am grateful for this update. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: President Jeffrey R. Holland Set Apart as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! Breaking news was just shared by the Church a short time ago. Yesterday (Wednesday January 15), President Russell M. Nelson officially set apart Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The announcement was made by the Newsroom and the Church News. So it is officially President Holland now, and he will be sustained in that capacity during the April 2024 General Conference. This is the news I expected, but it is coming sooner than I expected. 

I assume the new Acting President will be introduced as such if he speaks during the funeral services tomorrow for his predecessor. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar.  In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.  

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: April 2024 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! Following President Ballard's death, I have once again updated my predictions for the April 2024 General Conference. The updates have been made to the projected speaker lineup and my projections for changes in general Church leadership. I will provide a brief overview of what I've changed. First, I think that President Nelson will personally present the new apostle. 

There is precedent for that. President Hinckley presented three of his four apostolic picks at the top of the Saturday Morning Session. President Monson similarly presented Elder Andersen in the same way. So that presentation and any other opening message from the prophet will likely open the next General Conference. I also took into consideration the fact that the first two new apostles called by President Nelson were the first two speakers in the final session, so I think that the new apostle will give brief remarks to open that same session this time around. 

If President Nelson does present the new apostle personally in the first session, it seems probable that his main address will be delivered to close the conference (at which point he will announce new temples), and that he thus won't also speak to conclude the Sunday Morning Session. So I have put President Oaks as the concluding speaker for that session. That in turn will allow two other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to speak during the final session.

With 3 apostles each speaking during the Saturday Afternoon, Sunday Morning, and Sunday Afternoon Sessions, and with my projection that President Holland will speak in the Saturday Evening Session, that means that the remaining two members of the Quorum of the Twelve will speak in the opening session. As far as the changes to general Church leadership are concerned, if the Church does call someone from within the ranks of the current general Church leadership, that in turn will affect whatever other changes may need to be made.

If the Church does stick to tradition and appoint a direct descendent of Hyrum Smith, as I noted previously, the top candidate in my view would be Brother Jan E. Newman, currently the Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency. That wouldn't impact anything else but the Sunday School General Presidency, who will be released in August anyway, no other organizations will be impacted. But if President Nelson sticks to the current General Authorities to select the new apostle, then any impacted group would be subject to additional changes.

We know that, starting last year, the Church sustained in advance changes that would be effective on August 1. So if the new apostle is a current member of the Presidency of the Seventy, 1 GA Seventy will be called effective immediately to replace him, and 2 others will be named to begin their service on August 1 (replacing Elders Brent H. Nielson and Paul V. Johnson, who will be granted emeritus status on that date).

Likewise, if the new apostle is a GA Seventy, that GA Seventy will be released effective immediately, with the advanced presentation of the 8 GA Seventies who will be released and granted emeritus status on August 1. Similarly, if a current member of the Presiding Bishopric is called to the apostleship, there will be a change there. The other changes I anticipate in general Church leadership speak for themselves. And there are no changes noted in my estimates for the statistical report data.

Anyways, just wanted to provide that context to my documents. I also continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: President M. Russell Ballard Passes Away at the Age of 95

Hello again, everyone Sad (but not unexpected) news to report today: President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, passed away late last night at the age of 95. Funeral arrangements are pending. The Newsroom and Church News articles to which I linked above speak very well of his life and accomplishments. That is a better tribute than I could give him. With President Ballard's passing, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland becomes the de facto Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and will likely be set apart in that capacity in the coming days.

President Ballard was the only current apostle who was a direct-line descendent of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Church will likely be looking to fill this vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve with another direct-line descendent of Joseph or Hyrum Smith. Right now, to my knowledge, the only  direct-line descendent of Joseph or Hyrum Smith in the general leadership of the Church is Brother Jan E. Newman, Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency. There may be others of whom I'm not aware.

Either way, this means we will be getting a new apostle at some point either before or during the April 2024 General Conference. I will have some major work to do to update several documents in the coming days, including yet another revision of my General Conference predictions. This will also impact the report I prepared of the latest apostolic milestones that will be published on Sunday.

I anticipate there will be much more coverage on this throughout this week. I will continue to monitor that coverage and will pass it along here. In the meantime, if any of you have any thoughts you'd like to share with me on this announcement, I hope you will feel free to "sound off" yourselves in the comments below. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Information Confirmed for the Viña del Mar Chile Temple; Rendering Released for Grand Rapids Michigan Temple

Hello again, everyone! According to a new First Presidency announcement, the site location and preliminary information have been released for the Viña del Mar Chile Temple, while an exterior rendering has been released for the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple. Here are the details: 

The Viña del Mar Chile Temple was just announced last month in General Conference by President Nelson. Chile's newest temple will be built between 3rd North Street and 4th North Street near 4 ½ West in Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Chile. A 1.87-acre site will serve as the home for a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet. 

Meanwhile, the site for the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple was released one year ago. It is a 20,000 square foot edifice, so not as small as the modular temples (with their 10,000 square foot plan), but not as big as the standard 30,000 square foot design being utilized for other temples in the United States. 

With this announcement, the Grand Rapids Michigan Temple joins a list of temples for which a groundbreaking announcement is pending (that total now rises to 14), while the Viña del Mar Chile Temple joins a list of temples for which the release of an exterior rendering and a groundbreaking announcement are pending (that total stand pat at 28 temples, in view of today's announcements).

Also, as a result of today's announcement, of the 97 announced temples, 1 (Kaohsiung Taiwan) has a groundbreaking scheduled, 14 have a groundbreaking announcement pending, another 28 have site locations and preliminary information confirmed, and we are awaiting official details on the remaining 54.

Once again, I was surprised that no temple opening arrangements were announced and that no other groundbreakings have been scheduled. However, with the Puebla Mexico Temple, I haven't been able to ascertain that it's been furnished, and that's the next temple most likely to have a dedication announced. So I may be rethinking my estimates for temple events in 2024 yet again.

I am grateful to have learned of this report and to be able to pass it along to you all here. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Europe East Area Renamed Eurasian Area

Hello again, everyone! In a comment yesterday, I had mentioned that the Europe East Area had been renamed the Eurasian Area. A new report on Elder Quentin L. Cook's ministry to Europe officially confirms that. The report also states that he met with Russian leaders. I am hoping that part of that meeting included dialogue about the temple the Church hopes to build in Russia. If so, hopefully we might be able to hear news on that temple sooner rather than later. He also visited locations in the Europe Central and Europe North Areas.

I am glad we finally have confirmation on this change. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Will Create 36 New Missions in 2024

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has made a stunning announcement this morning. In order to accommodate an ever-growing missionary force, effective July 1 of next year, 36 new missions will be created. The total number of missions will thus rise to 450, the highest it has ever been in the Church. While I'm sure Matthew Martinich will cover this himself on the Church Growth Blog, and I will defer to him for better analysis of this stunning development, I wanted to break down the details:

Each new mission will be created from an existing mission. Each of the following Church areas will see the addition of the following missions:

Africa Central

Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa South

Democratic Republic of the Congo Kolwezi

Kenya Nairobi East

Africa South

Madagascar Antananarivo North

Africa West

Ghana Accra North

Ghana Takoradi

Nigeria Calabar

Nigeria Port Harcourt North

Sierra Leone Bo

Asia

Cambodia Phnom Penh East

Thailand Bangkok East

Asia North

Japan Sendai

Brazil

Brazil Manaus South

Caribbean

Dominican Republic Santo Domingo North

Europe Central

Germany Hamburg

Europe North

Portugal Porto

México

México Mexicali

México Puebla East

North America Central

Montana Missoula

North America Southeast

Florida Tallahassee

South Carolina Charleston

North America Southwest

Nevada Henderson

Texas Dallas South

Texas El Paso

North America West

California Modesto

Philippines

Philippines Dumaguete

Philippines General Santos

Philippines Tuguegarao

South America Northwest

Bolivia Cochabamba South

Ecuador Quito West

Perú Lima Northeast

South America South

Argentina Tucumán

Chile La Serena

Utah

Utah Salt Lake City East

Utah Saratoga Springs

Utah Spanish Fork

I will just add a note here that the creation of new missions may also point to a major realignment in area boundaries in August of next year, and that I anticipate some of these locations with new missions might soon have temples announced (if temples are not already announced there). The missionary force is increasing in direct response to President Nelson's call for more missionaries, and it is good to see this development.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for Fort Worth Texas Temple; Site Locations and Preliminary Details Confirmed for 3 Temples in Europe and the United States

Hello again, everyone! New reports from the Newsroom have confirmed the groundbreaking for the Fort Worth Texas and have confirmed locations and preliminary information for the Vienna Austria, Harrisburg Pennsylvania, and Winchester Virginia Temples. While the first report speaks for itself, let's break down the details of the second:

The Vienna Austria Temple, first announced in April 2021, will rise on a 0.80-acre site at Silbergasse 2, Vienna, Austria. The edifice is planned to be a roughly 15,300-square-foot multi-story temple. I was particularly intrigued by the announcement that it will be built up rather than out. As I may have mentioned in the past, my sweet wife served in what was then the Germany-Austria mission. She only spent a day in Austria itself, so she's not too familiar with where this temple will be. But she was happy to hear of this announcement nonetheless.

The Harrisburg Pennsylvania and Winchester Virginia Temples were both announced in April of this year by President Nelson. In Pennsylvania's capital city, a single-story 20,000-square-foot edifice will rise on a 5.36-acre site at 605 Rutherford Road in Harrisburg. Virginia's second temple will be a single-story 30,000-square-foot temple built on an 11.27-acre site at 200 Merriman's Lane in Winchester.

As a result of today's announcement, of the 97 announced temples, 55 have not had any official information confirmed yet. Hopefully, that number goes down further before the end of the year. It's also worth noting that I'm not sure why no temple dedications were included in today's announcement. I also was hoping for additional groundbreakings. But 3 temple sites, including one for a temple announced more than two years ago, is nothing to be disappointed about.

I am grateful for today's announcement. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces Schedule for 2024 Churchwide Events

Hello again, everyone! The Church has announced the schedule for the 2024 Churchwide Events. Here are the relevant dates:

January 28: Worldwide Event for Youth: “I Am a Disciple of Jesus Christ”

February 4: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

February 29–March 2: RootsTech Family History Conference and Family Discovery Session

April 6–7: April 2024 General Conference

May 5: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

October 5–6: October 2024 General Conference

October 27: Worldwide Event for Youth

November 3: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

December 8: First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional

A few surprises: The Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults have typically been held in January, May, and August (the beginning of each third of the year). This year, they will be in February, May, and November. Likewise, although the First Presidency's Christmas Devotionals are typically held on the first Sunday in December, next year, it will be on the second Sunday, which may mean that new temples could be dedicated on the first and third Sundays of next year. The schedule otherwise speaks for itself.

Other noteworthy events are scheduled as follows:

January 26: Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcast

March 1: Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction

March 9: Friend to Friend for Children

March 31: Easter Sunday

June 18: CES Religious Educators Conference

June 20–23: Seminar for New Mission Leaders

July 19–20: Tabernacle Choir Summer Concert

August 10: Youth Music and Arts Festival

September 14: Friend to Friend for Children

November TBD: Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcast

November TBD:  Luz de Las Naciones

November 16: Church Music Festival from Temple Square

December 12–14: Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert at Temple Square

December 25: Christmas Day

Interestingly, there are two Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcasts scheduled next year, whereas there has typically been only one. There is also a CES Religious Educator's Conference, which I assume may allow several general Church leaders to provide training and counsel to seminary and institute instructors. 

I'm also fascinated that the Church has scheduled both a Youth Music and Arts Festival and a Church Music Festival, which I assume will be for all Church members. Although it was not specified, I assume that on Easter Sunday and the Sunday before Christmas, it will be Sacrament Meeting only. And I think we could potentially see a couple other Churchwide broadcasts as well. 

Looking ahead to 2024, I also wanted to put out a fun teaser of my own plans ahead for 2024. I have compiled a 2024 schedule showing content I will focus on in the new year. We will have several more apostolic milestones next year, as the current First Presidency will join the list of the longest-serviung First Presidencies and observe several milestones related to their tenure, unless there are forthcoming changes in the First Presidency that would prevent that.

So there will be a lot to look forward to in the next 14 months.  I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.