BREAKING NEWS: Hawaii Laie Mission Created; First President and Companion Called

Hello again, everyone! The Church made an unexpected annnouncement today. Rather than waiting for the typical time period (July), the Church has announced a new misswion, the Hawaii Laie Mission, which will become operational as the Church's 408th mission next month. Those details were also confirmed in the Church News, which also announced the first president and companion for that mission. Let's break down the details here.

As mentioned, the creation of the mission goes into effect next month, with the president and companion also beginning their service at that time. Missionaries in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission were advised that the mission would split just yesterday, marking another lightning fast move for the Church. The new mission includes the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitor's Center, the 3 young single adult stakes closest to the campus of BYU-Hawaii, and the Church's two outlier stakes in the nearby island of Oahu. The other stakes in Oahu and all other Hawaiian Islands.

The mission will allow closer contact with mission leaders for those serving at the Visitor's Center at the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and BYU-Hawaii. Steven J. Bassett, currently a ward Young Men's specialist, formerly served in a stake presidency, after having formerly served as a stake presidency counselor and in a couple of bishoprics. Sister Stephanie R. Bassett is a current ward missionary. Both have a long legacy of Church service to their credits. I am grateful for the unexpected development and testify that the creation of this mission was brought about by inspiration from the Lord, espeially regarding the timing of the creation of this mmission. I continue to monitor all Church News updates and temple developments and will bring you word thereof as those developments cross my radar.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Tribute to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on His 81st Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being December 3, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is observing his 80th 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 Elder Holland 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 Elder 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 Elder Holland's missionary companions was Quentin L. Cook, alongside whom he would later serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Of Elder 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 Elder Holland'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, 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 of last year, Matthew 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 appointment 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.

Elder Holland has given a total of 58 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, and for unknown reasons, that talk is not listed with the others in the first link I shared at the start of this paragraph. He gave the remaining 53 General Conference addresses as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

To me, it always seems as though the talks given by Elder 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. The last thing I want to mention about Elder Holland is that he is currently the second most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the fourth in seniority among all current apostles. 

He is also the fourth-oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and is the seventh-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 81st birthday just under one month ago, with Elder Cook having done the same two months prior to that.

Given his age and current apostolic seniority, some, myself included, have suggested that Elder Holland could one day serve as Church President. Right now, the only apostles senior to him are Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard. If President Nelson does indeed the lead the Church for the next decade or two, our current prophet may outlive a few more of the apostles junior to him. So it will be interesting to see what happens there. 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 and temple updates and will do my best to bring you all word on those developments as they occur. That does it for now. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Creates One New Mission for 2021; Announces New Mission Presidents for 2021

Hello again, everyone! The Church News today shared a major announcement from the First Presidency. Effective July 1, one new mission, to be named the Mozambique Beira Mission, will be created. That will bring the number of total missions in the Church to 408 as of that date. Although it has become somewhat customary in recent yearz for the Church to announce the creation of multiple new missions and the consolidation of several others, as 2021 continues to unfold, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have obviously impacted today's announcement. 

Aside from the newly-created mission, a total of 105 new mission leaders have been called to serve around the world. At a glance, that includes one current GA Seventy (Elder Juan Pablo Villar, who is currently serving in the South America South Area Presidency), a number of current and former area seventies, and Sister Lisa L. Harkness, the current First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency.  I have no doubts that Matthew Martinich, author of the Church Growth Blog, will have analysis on this development at some point within the next week or two. 

In the meantime, I myself am planning to post a more extensive analysis of the list of new mission presidents as soon as I can complete that. Added at approximately 11:15 AM:  I have completed my analysis of the new assignments that will go into effect in July of this year, and I have compiled notes on it. In summary,  the list of new leaders includes, as mentioned, Elder Villar and Sister Harkness, 10 current area seventies, and 2 or 3 former area seventies. So there are bound to be changes noted in General Conference as a result of at least some of these calls. Having said that, we now return you to your previously-published content.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I ud wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Looking Back on 2020 and Ahead to 2021.

Hello again, everyone! As 2020 draws closer to a conclusion, I have my year-end temple construction review ready for automatic publication during the final moments of this year. But in this post, I wanted to take a brief oportunity to note the Church News overview of the major developments covered in 2020. Aside from those developments, I myself on this blog have provided these scheduled updates this year, in addition to an untold number of breaking news developments which I could not have possibly anticipatede in advance. 

In a very direct and specific way, the prophecy uttered by President Nelson late last year has come to fruition. The work has indeed moved forward at an accelerated Even in the midst of a global pandemic and an untold number of other global crises, the voice of the Church and the consuel offered by the general leaders of the Church has remained constant, consisstent, and inspiring. As some of you may recall, I was skeptical when the potential effects of what would become the first major global pandemic in over 100 years were first mentioned to us here on the threads of this blog.

But the devastation caused by the pandemic, and by other natural disasters, pretty much speaks for itself. There have been very few parts of the world unaffected by it. And while many governments and religious leaders have struggled to adjust during the increased spread of COVID-19 around the world, the Church was able to quickly pivot whenever the need arose because of the adjustments that had been made in the years prior to that. Practically all normal functions of the Church have been impacted in some way, but the adjustments which were made as the need arose for them allowed much of the work of the Church to continue,  move forward, and even accelrate in so many miraculous ways.

Even though General Conferences held in April and October were virtual-only, the inspiration that attended those sssessions, even with then being held on a smaller scale, was inspiriing to see. In the meantime, numerous adjustments have enabled the Church to prepare long-term for the future. While a global pandemic raged, the Church held 21 temple groundbreakings, which led to multiple temples being under construction in Utah sapecifically, in the United States generally, and in a few South American nations, the Philippines, and Asia (although in the case of 10 of those 21 temples, full-scale construction is still pending as 2020 nears its' conclusion. 

The Church also took major steps to prepare for the future growth and expansion of the work, which involved greater utilization of technology at the general Church leadership level and in relation to global missionary work, and the announcement of the shift from 4 magazines (only 1 of which was specifically geared to members outside the United States) to 3 global magazines. And in preparation for a time when the needs of the Church, due to its' anticipated growth and expansion, will eventually require more area seventies serving worldwide to assist in that work, the Church created 4 new Quorums of the Seventy, marking the first time in nearly 15 years that new area seventies' Quorums were formed, and the first time that occurred for a reason other than geographical proximity or the size of the existing Quorums.

As the year winds to a close, the Church has been able to see a net increase in the number of stakes totaling at least 30, which is still an impressive 56% of the increase in the total number of stakes that occurred between the end of 2018 and the year-end figures from last year. In the meantime, likely because of the more complete embrace of technology in missionary work, many of the Church's missions have reported more overall success this year in finding and retaiining new coverts. And the growth seen this year is laying a clear foundation for what is anticipated to occur next year.

The way the Church has figured out a "new normal" relative to adjustments thave have been made up to this point could mean that the Church will keep many of those adjustments as the standard status quo going forward. And despite the wide-spread devastation caused this year, whether due to the pandemic, natural disasters, political, racial, societal, or systemic unrest, so many wonderful things have happened. The sheer number of new developments has had an impact on me personally due to the increased number of additional unanticipated reports I was able to provide on this blog throughout the year as those developments occurred.

This year alone, I began coverage on this blog with just over 1800 published posts. By mid-une, I'd hit the 1900th post milestone. And as of today, with one planned post left for the year (an overview of temple counstruction progress that has occurred throughout 2020), barring any additional unexpected breaking developments from the Church before the end of the year, 2020 will conclude with my having just under 2000 published posts here. 

With the current year set to end around 82-83 hours from now here in Utah, I am pleased in this post to also provide an advanced look ahead at the developments I can anticipate for next year, which are formally scheduled to occur as specified. But I fully anticipate having many currently-unknown breaking news updates to pass along as well. And I will do my level best to remain on top of all such developments in the days, weeks, month and year ahead.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Honoring Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on His 80th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being December 3, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is observing his 80th 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 Elder Holland 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 been could 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 Elder 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 Elder Holland's missionary companions was Quentin L. Cook, alongside whom he would later serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Of Elder 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 Elder Holland'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, 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 of this year, Matthew 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 appointment 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.

Elder Holland has given a total of 56 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, and for unknown reasons, that talk is not listed with the others in the first link I shared at the start of this paragraph. He gave the remaining 53 General Conference addresses as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

To me, it always seems as though the talks given by Elder 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. The last thing I want to mention about Elder Holland is that he is currently the second most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the fourth in seniority among all current apostles. 

He is also the fourth-oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and is the seventh-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 80th birthday just under one month ago, with Elder Cook having done the same two months prior to that.

Given his age and current apostolic seniority, some, myself included, have suggested that Elder Holland could one day serve as Church President. Right now, the only apostles senior to him are Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard. If President Nelson does indeed the lead the Church for the next decade or two, our current prophet may outlive a few more of the apostles junior to him. So it will be interesting to see what happens there. 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 and temple updates and will do my best to bring you all word on those developments as they occur  That does it for now. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

In Tribute to Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Who Observes His 80th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! With today being November 6, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is celebrating his 80th birthday. Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf was born to Karl Albert and Hildegard Else Opelt Uchtdorf on this day in 1940 in the city of Ostrava, which, at that time, was known as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but is now identified as the Czech Republic. With his family twice becoming refugees, he grew up in Germany, where his family joined the Church in 1947. 

Due to developing an early interest in airplane flying, he studied engineering, business administration, and international management, after which he joined the German Air Force in 1959, where he trained to be a fighter pilot. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot, working as an airline captain from 1970-1996. He held many responsible executive positions with German Airlines. He reported feeling discouraged about having to learn English, but has also described how he was able to do so.

He married Harriet Reich (whom he had met when the missionaries brought her and her family to Church while he was a young man) on December 14, 1962 ,and they both have different recollections of the details whereby they actually got together). They raised two children and now have several grandchildren, along with a few great-grandchildren. He served as a stake president before his call as a General Authority. During that time, he gave an instrumental interview to the press in which he tackled tough topics related to his faith as the Frankfurt Germany Temple prepared to open. 

He was subsequently sustained as a General Authority on April 2, 1994, and was initially assigned to the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Roughly two years later, on April 6, 1996, he was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 15, 2002 and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 2, 2004 and ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004 (becoming the eleventhth apostle born outside the United States).

On February 3, 2008, he was set apart as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency to President Thomas S. Monson. Although 12 men born outside the United States have served as apostles, he became only the sixth apostle born outside the United States to be called to serve in the First Presidency. At the time of his call to the First Presidency, he was the thirteenth in apostolic seniority. During the period of almost a decade in which he served alongside President Monson and First Counselor President Henry B. Eyring, the deaths of six apostles senior to him meant he had become the seventh in apostolic seniority. 

And with the death of President Monson occurring just three months after the death of Elder Robert D. Hales, the First Presidency was dissolved.The new Church President, Russell M. Nelson, chose as his counselors his seatmate Elder Dallin H. Oaks and President Eyring. As a result, Elder Uchtdorf returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When he departed that Quorum to serve in the First Presidency, he had been the tenth most senior member of that Quorum, and he returned to it as the third in seniority, with only Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ahead of him. 

In recognition of his administrative capacities and capabilities, his assignments as a recently-reassigned Quorum member were those that had previously been held by the three who had been the most senior members of the Quorum prior to that time (Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard). Elder Uchtdorf has spoken frequently about ways in which Church members should consider themselves called to action. I enjoy hearing what he has to say in his General Conference addresses every six months.

Throughout his 26 years as a general authority, and his now-16 years as a special witness of the Savior, (including almost a decade of service in the First Presidency), he has now given 72 addresses in General Conference. Of those, 2 were given prior to his apostolic call, though the Church's list for some reason omits the first address he gave as a new General Authority Seventy.  He also gave 7 addresses between the time of his call to the apostleship and his subsequent call to the First Preidency. He then gave 57 more addresses in General Conference during the near-decade in the First Presidency, and has given 6 more addresses since resuming his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Uchtdorf is a man of great personal warmth and charm, and we are blessed indeed to have him among the Special Witnesses of Christ at this time. He has always struck a very warm and welcoming tone in his public discourses, and his current assignments are a clear testament to the great faith the Brethren have in him. In addition to being the third-most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he is also the third-oldest, behind only President Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook. He is also the seventh-most-senior apostle overall, and the sixth-oldest of the 15 apostles overall. I am grateful for the life and ministry of this charismatic servant of the Lord, and appreciate the opportunity I had to offer this post in tribute to his 80th birthday today.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in all that you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church to Begin Cautious Reassignment of Missionaries.Outside Their Home Natioms

Note: This post was originally published at 9:58 AM MST, and given massive updates that were completed at around 2:20 PM MST.

Hello again, everyone! A few moments ago, Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff issued an official statement on behalf of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, noting that leaders will begin what he described as a limited, deliberate, and cautiously-coordinated effort to start reassigning some missionaries to fields of labor outside their home nations. The Church News provided some additional information and context.

In the statement, Brother Woodruff also expressed gratitutde for the way in which current missionaries (and, by extension, those preparing to depart for the mission field) have responded to what has happened in so many cases, with required quarantines and other precautions being taken to get missionaries to a new field of labor, and also for the way in which so many young missionaries have embraced greater use of technology to meet their obligations to share the gospel throughout the world.

As previously acknowledged by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council of the Church, one impact of COVID-19 on missionary service is that it has changed the way the Church looks at missionary efforts. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, and its' wide-spread impact throghout the world, it was easier for the Church to uphold the status-quo perception, ideas, and practices relating to how missionary work was conducted on a global scale. 

But with COVID-19 changing so much in relation to the Church's day-to-day operations, out-of-the-box solutions had to be sought for and implemented. As a result, with the changes that have been necessary during this COVID-19 pandemic are expected to be part of the "new normal" in missionary work in the days ahead.  And the process of making any necessary adjustments will continue to unfold following consultation between leaders at Church headquarters, area presidencies worldwide, and, through that process, conveyed to mission presidents and to current and prospective missionaries and their families. 

With most missionaries having opted to resume their service in their home nations as quickly as they could following their quarantines, the process of reshuffling missionaries or adjusting assignments may take time to sort out. Today's statement also noted that missionaries would be contacted by the offices of the missions to which they will be assigned, whereby those missionaries will receive information about their travel itineraries, including scheduling and arrangements that will play into their arrival in the field, and that missionaries who have received that information can then convey it to their families. 

At this point, the Church is urging missionaries and their families to be patient with the process, and is further discouraging missionaries and their family members from unnecessarily reaching out to the Church Travel Office, embassies, or consuls about their travel plans or documents. because the Church is carefully planning all of that on their end. By patiently allowing the Church to handle coordination in that respect, missionaries and their families will save themselves a lot of hassle, stress, and worry.

It is also worth noting that COVID-19 conditions are still in flux throughout much of the world. As a result, the Church is carefully weighing every aspect of returning to any semblance of normalcy in every step along the way to whatever the long-term :"new normal" may look like. The statement also notes that the Church's foremost concern in the process of making adjustments to assignments will be the safety of the missionaries worldwide, the satfety of their companions and mission leaders, and the safety of all those with whom any missionary or missionary companionship will interact.

So there will be a lot to consider here in that respect, especially since the Church has so much to evaluate with respect to COVID-19. President Nelson has repeatedly reemphasized that the health, safety, and well-being of Church members and friends of other faiths around the world will remain the Church's utmost concern. Given the fact that we just recently received word that it may be a while before any of the Church's temples in phase 2 transition into phase 3, it's apparent that the reassignment of Church missionaries, the reopening of temples, and the resumption of Church meetings is something that the Church is not inclined to rush a return to normalcy.

And that's consistent with the scriptural directive given by the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 10:4. It is wonderful to see that the Church is determined to not run faster or labor harder than the prevalent worldly conditions as a result of COVID-19 will allow.  It's far easier to take a slow and steady approach in all such matters than it is to rush any of it and potentially be in a situation where the Church and the actions it takes become part of the problem rather than contributing to the resolution of the COVID-19 problems.

In any case, I fully believe that the decisions made at every level in the Church are inspired by the Lord. We have particularly seen the inspired leadership of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in the measured approach taken to weigh the issues at hand and to respond accordingly. It is wonderful to see that unfolding the way it has. And in between the updates that the Church continues to provide in that respect, I do continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to pass along word of those to you all as I become aware of such things.

With the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple set to occur at 6:30 PM local time, that is now just 15 minute away from now, so you can count on my covering that here once such coverage is available. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Changes in Area Leadership Assignments; Other Assignment Changes for General Authorities at Church Headquarters

Hello again, everyone! Some additional breaking news was just shared that is unrelated to temples or any other recent announcements. As reported by the Church News, some changes have been made in area leadership assignments, with the assignments of other General Authority Seventies also changed in the announcement as follows:

First, the Church News has confirmed all area leadership changes previously shared by ScottS in his comment on that subject in the threads of a previous post, so we now have another official Church source stating that, with Bishop L. Todd Budge's new assignment in the Presiding Bishopric, Elder James R. Rasband replaces Bishop Budge as First Counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency, while Elder John A. McCune in turn succeeds Elder James R. Rasband as Second Counselor in that Area Presidency.

And since Elder McCune has been serving as Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area, he has also been replaced in that assignnment as previously detailed by ScottS in his aforementioned comment, with Elder Kelly R. Johnson now filling that role. Elder Johnson had previously been serving as an area assistant for that area, so it was a fairly logical shift.

But for the first time of which I'm aware, the First Presidency also provided information today about additional assignments that have been given to other General Authority Seventies. Announced today was the assignment of Elder William K. Jackson as an Asssistant Exeuctive Director of the Church's Missionary Department.

I had previously mentioned that the Church had confirmed that Elder Brent H. Nielson, the newest member of the Presidency of the Seventy, had been succeeded as Executive Director of the Church's Missionary Department by Elder Marcus B. Nash, so it's not altogether surprsing that additional assistants have been called for that department, given how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impacting missionary work.

Meanwhile, in addition to their other assignments, Elder Adrian Ochoa will serve as serve as a Priesthood Advisor for Welfare and Self-Reliance Services and as a member of the JustServe Steering Committee, with Elder Lynn G. Robbins now serving as as a member of the Welfare and Self-Reliance Executive Committee. In light of these announcements, I hope that is an indication that the Church will be trying to be more transparent about the assignments in which each of its' leaders are serving.

I continue to monitor all such news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Tribute to Elder Ulisses Soares, Who Is Marking His 62nd Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! On this, the day before General Conference, I am pleased to bring you all a post honoring Elder Ulisses Soares, who is observing his 62nd birthday today. As I've mentioned previously, Elder Soares has a most unique life story and background, and I am grateful to share some thoughts about him with you all today. He was born on this day in 1958 in Sao Paulo Brazil to Apparecido Soares and Mercedes Carecho Soares. He has European and Amerindian ancestry. When an aunt joined the Church, that was how the Soares' family first learned of the gospel. His parents, after being taught by the missionaries, were baptized when young Ulisses was five years old. 

Regarding his experience with worshipping in the Church during his growing-up years, his small branch would meet in a tiny rental place that was located above a bakery. He served a full-time mission in Rio de Janeiro, Upon his return, he connected with Rosana Fernandes Morgado, who had served in the same mission at around the same time, but whom he had not met until after they both had returned. The two were married in the Sao Paulo Temple, and together they raised three children. His academic experience involved studying at the  Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, from which, in 1985, he would receive a bachelor's degree in economics and accounting. He then continued his studies at the National Institute of Postgraduate Study, where he earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration. He spent his professional career working for several multi-national companies (one of which was Pirelli Tire Company) as an accountant and an auditor. Donald L. Clark, who at that time was serving as director of temporal affairs for the Church in Brazil, convinced him to take a job with the Church as a senior auditor.

When Brother Clark was asked to serve as a mission president, Brother Soares took over for him as director of temporal affairs. He went on to fill a special assignment for the Church's Presiding Bishopric. Within the Church, Elder Soares has served as an elder's quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, stake high councilman, and as a regional welfare agent. When the São Paulo Brazil Cotia Stake was created in 1995, Elder Soares was called as the first president thereof. 5 years later, he served a three-year term as president of the Porto Portugal Mission. Less than two years after his return (during the April 2005 General Conference), he was called as a General Authority Seventy.

As a General Authority Seventy, he served as First Counselor in the Brazil South Area.from 2005-2007, as First Counselor in the Brazil Area from 2007-2009, and as President of that area from 2009-2011. He served from August 2011-January 2013 as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, at which point he was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, with responsibility for the North America Southeast Area  Then, in November 2015, Elder Soares was reassigned to oversee the Idaho and North America Central Areas of the Church. He still had oversight of both of those areas in 2018.

On March 31, 2018, Elder Soares was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he was ordained an apostle on Thursday April 5, 2018. He thus became both the first Latter-day Saint apostle from Brazil and the first one from Latin America. Elder Soares has had many opportunities to grow into his new assignment. In the last 1.5 decades in which has has served as a general authority, he has given a total of 10 General Conference addresses, with the first 2 given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 more as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 5 given since his 2018 call to the apostleship. He will, of course, be speaking to us again in General Conference tomorrow or Sunday, which will mark his sixth address as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his eleventh overall.

I gratefully and wholeheartedly sustain him and all the other prophets, seers, and revelators in their roles and responsibilities as special witnesses of Christ, and am grateful to have been able to provide this birthday tribute to him today. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to bring you all word of the major developments as I learn thereof. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

In Honor of Elder Quentin L. Cook's 80th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early morning hours of September 8 to share some thoughts about Elder Quentin L. Cook in honor of his 79th birthday today. Let's dive right into that subject. Quentin LaMar Cook was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook on this day in 1940 in Logan, Utah.His ancestry includes his great-great-grandfather, Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was one of the original apostles of the Church and who was instrumental in bringing the gospel to England and supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith at key moments when apostates made efforts to replace Brother Joseph as the Lord's mouthpiece. Young Quentin was a middle child, having an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in a very gospel-centered home, although his father eventually lost interest in Church activity.At age 15, he had a discussion with his brother Joe that changed his life. Joe was unsure whether to continue with his medical school studies, or to delay that in order to serve a mission, with their father favoring the former. During that conversation, they determined that either the gospel was true or it wasn't, and that if it was, serving a mission would be the best use of Joe's time. Joe’s decision to go resulted in young Quentin eventually accepting his own call to serve in the British Mission.

One of his two mission presidents was Elder Marion D. Hanks, who simultaneously served as a general authority. At one point during his mission, his companion was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Though the two didn't know it at the time, both would go on to serve as General Authority Seventies and as colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Of his service in the mission field, Elder Cook noted the following in relation to Elder Holland: "Sometimes we receive revelation even when we do not know the Lord’s purposes. Shortly before Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was called to be an Apostle in June of 1994, I had a beautiful revelatory experience that he would be called. I was a regional representative and could see no reason I would be given that knowledge. But we were companions as young missionaries in England in the early 1960s, and I had a great love for him. I considered the experience a tender mercy for me. In recent years, I have wondered if the Lord was preparing me to be junior in the Twelve to an incredible missionary companion who was my junior companion when we were young missionaries. I sometimes warn young missionaries to be kind to their junior companions because they never know when they might be their senior companion."

Elder Cook returned from his mission with a strong testimony of the Savior and a resolve to associate with people who love the Savior, both within and outside of the Church. He married his high school sweetheart Mary Gaddie in the Logan Utah Temple on November 30, 1962. Their posterity includes three children and numerous grandchildren. He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in political science and from Stanford University with a juris doctorate degree. As a managing partner in San Francisco Bay area law firm, he specialized in business law. He later became president and chief executive officer of California Healthcare System, and vice chairman of Sutter Health Systems. His church service has included being a bishop, stake president’s counselor (during a period of time when his brother Joe was president of that same stake), stake president, regional representative, and area authority. While he was in the stake presidency, he was instilled with a love of people from all nations when he had responsibility for Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations.

He was named a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6, 1996, and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 1998. He served as a member of area presidencies in the Philippines, the Pacific, and North America, and he also served executive director of the Church Missionary Department during the period of time that "Preach My Gospel" was developed and instituted as the standard guidebook for missionaries, and was subsequently called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2007. Nine days after that, the death of President James E. Faust, who had been serving as Second Counselor to Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, would wind up having an unexpected impact on Elder Cook's life. As the October General Conference rolled around, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring was called as President Hinckley's new Second Counselor, which created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 6, 2007, Elder Cook was sustained to fill that vacancy, and he was ordained an apostle five days later.

Elder Cook has spoken 28 times in General Conference: twice as a General Authority Seventy and 26 additional times in the almost-13 years since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for his service as a special witness of Christ, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other apostles. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Tribute to Elder Neil L. Andersen, Who Marks His 69th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 9, Elder Neil L. Andersen is celebrating his 69h birthday today. So I wanted to post and share some highlights of his life and ministry in the Church. Let's get right into all of that. Neil Linden Andersen was born in Logan, Utah on this day in 1951 to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen. His family relocated to Pocatello when he was five to run a dairy farm. He served a full-time mission in France, then obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, eventually earning his MBA from Harvard, also in economics. During his time at BYU, he met and married his wife, Kathy Sue Anderson, and together they raised four children. He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president (assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission) from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.

Through the next couple of decades as a Seventy, he served in a wide variety of Church assignments, including as executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West ,Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he also served as the area president). In 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy, where he was assigned to preside over the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007). By the time his stewardship switched to the North Am erica Southwest Area (2007-2009), he had gone from being the second-least senior member of that Presidency to being the third-most-senior member. In 2008, with Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in April) and the release of Senior President Elder Earl C. Tingey (in August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference), Elder Andersen then became the Senior President of the Seventy, a role in which he would only serve for around 8 months.

With the December 2008 death of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. An interesting bit of trivia is the fact that Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband were all seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy as of August 2007, and they would all go on to be apostolic seatmates, with their apostolic calls occurring in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015 respectively. Since Elder Andersen's original call as a General Authority Seventy in April 1993, he has given a total of 28 addresses in General Conference (3 of which he gave as a General Authority Seventy, with 2 others given while he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 23 since his call to the QuorIum of the Twelve Apostles).

Elder Andersen continues to serve as the seventh in both senirotiy and chronological birth order among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ranks tenth among the 15 total apostles in both seniority and birth chronology. I gladly sustain him and each of his 14 apostolic colleagues as prophets, seers, and revelators, and am grateful to have been able to publish this tribute in honor of his birthday today. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Updates 15 Chapters of General Church Handbook

Hello again, everyone! On this last day of July, both the Newsroom and Church News have noted updates to 15 more chapters of the Church's General Handbook for all members, which included major updates to 5 of those 15 chapters. With these latest adjustments and updates, 16 of the 38 total chapters in the Handbook have received major overhauls in their content.

As some of you might recall, earlier this year, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve authorized the publication of the new single-volume handbook, which is being made available to all through the Gospel Library section of the Church website.Since that revised single-volume general handbook was first made available, the process of updating it has been somewhat ongoing to varying degrees as changes have been rendered necessary.  This post will provide a brief overview of those changes. In the section about stake leadership, clarification has been provided on how stake leaders should work with civic and community leaders on issues impacting their congregations, and how area seventies may invite stake leaders to assist on the coordinating councils that the Church has established within each of its geographical areas.

Next, for both the Elders' Quorum and Relief Society sections, content has been organized to emphasize the role of those organizations' presidencies in congregational efforts relating to salvation and exaltation. As previously noted, more responsibilities once held by the bishop are being delegated to the presidencies of these two organizations to enable bishops to spend more time with the youth. Among other changes, this means that the two presidencies in each congregation will take responsibility for missionary efforts and temple and family history work in their congregations. Additionally, Elders' Quorum and Relief Society presidents may now call coordinators for service and activities.

As a result, the calling of compassionate service leader in each Relief Society has been renamed "service coordinator", with that adjustment intended to further unify coordination between the Elders' Quorum and Relief Society in each congregation. Also, what was formerly known as "additional Relief Society meetings" will now become "Relief Society activities", and direction has been given for the stake presidents to take responsibility for calling and coordinating with the stake Relief Society president, rather than delegating those responsibilities to either of his counselors.  For the Primary, minor changes have been noted, with new sections for singing time and nursery. An expanded purpose for Primary, and clarification on Primary day camps have also been provided.

Meanwhile, other major changes have been noted for the Sunday School in each congregation, where the calling of counselors and a secretary in the Sunday School presidency will now be optional and based on the needs and size of each congregation. The Church has discontinued the practice of calling Sunday School class presidents, and teacher council meetings, which have solely focused on teacher improvement methods for organizational teachers in each congregation, have been expanded to include guidance for parents teaching their children in their homes.

And authorization has been given for the organization of a class specifically for new Church members and those returning to Church activity, those learning about the Church, and others as determined by the bishop, with the curriculum for that class being Come Follow Me. Additionally, adaptations that may not apply to some congregations has been placed into a separate section in the Sunday School chapter. The Church has also announced that meetinghouse libraries will be renamed "resource centers" with the calling previously styled "ward librarian" now known as "ward resource center specialists."

For the chapter on Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, a minor update in a new section discusses class options. Meanwhile, the chapter on Teaching the Gospel has consolidated the information about responsibilities of leaders under a new heading, which has been simply entitled, "Leaders' Responsibilities". and a new section focuses on "Home-Centered Gospel Learning and Teaching". Information focusing on the "Teaching the Gospel" course has been replaced by a section covering teacher council meetings. And Primary leaders have been given more flexibility on arranging for their teachers to attend teacher council meetings.

In the section covering "Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings", the Brethren have offered guidance that, when necessary, counselors in a stake, mission, or branch presidency, or bishopric may give approval for some ordinances and blessings in the Church, when they are authorized by the stake, mission, or branch president or bishop to do so in their stead. Minor updates have also been made to the chapters on Preparing and Recommending Missionaries and Temple Recommends, respectively. And for meetings in the Church, a section has been added to explain the coordinating council meetings, including how the councils themselves are formed, who attends the meetings, and the purpose of such meetings. And the Church has updated the chart of callings that is included in a Handbook.

Updated guidelines have also been provided in the sections covering Repentance and Church Membership Councils and Physical Facilities. And the section on Church Polcies and Guidelines has been updated to clarify instruction on unwed parents in the Church, a preface to policies on moral issues, birth control, donating or selling sperm or eggs, fertility treatments, the occult, sex education, suicide, surrogate motherhood, and the usage of medical marijuana. I am grateful to have been able to learn about and share these updates with you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep passing those along as I learn about them. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Some Thoughts About Church Growth (or the Lack Thereof) in Certain Areas

Hello again, everyone! Although I anticipate that breaking news will be provided at some point tomorrow morning on the reopening of more temples under phase 1 (which allows husband and wife live sealings with limited in-person attendance), and although it seems more likely than not that the Church could share a couple other breaking developments relating to temples, I had something else I wanted to mention on this blog at this time. 

Before I get into that topic today, I also wanted to note that I'm specifically anticipating the announcement of at least 2 temple groundbreakings, and maybe also the new announcement of 1 or more temple sites and/or the release of one or more additional temple renderings. and that additional developments may be reported on one or two other fronts as well, what I wanted to focus a new post on today couldn't wait at all.  

Over the last few months since the April 2020 General Conference was held, as a result of the Church subsequently releasing quite a bit more in the way of nation-by-nation statistics that were updated as of year-end 2019, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church Growth blog, has been in the process of overhauling the content he provides in his "Reaching the Nations" profiles through cumorah.com. 
Through his blog, he has shared links to many of those updated profiles. And with that focus (and the ensuing comments in the associated threads thereof) in mind, I wanted to post some thoughts from me here about Church growth (or the lack thereof) in certain areas. Some of the most recent posts shared by Matt with the updated profiles focus on nations within Europe, Asia, and South America. In many of those recent threads, problems related to Church growth across those continents were detailed.

Those issues have principally been noted in the Europe, Europe East, Asia, Asia North, and South America South Area (with the possible exception of the nation of Argentina). In the early 2000s, the Church sent out 3 apostles (including then-Elder Oaks to the Philippines and Elder Holland to Chile from 2002-2004, and Elder Perry to Central Europe from 2004-2005). The apostles sent to those areas specifically focused on Church growth issues in those regions and provided a more personal touch towards fixing and/or reversing those issues.

Between 2002 and now, the Church has called 10 new apostles (Elders Uchtdorf, Bednar, Cook, Christofferson, Andersen, Rasband, Stevenson, Renlund, Gong, and Soares). Of those 10, five have connections to Europe (with Elder Uchtdorf being a native German, and Elders Bednar, Cook and Andersen having served in European missions, while Elder Soares has been a mission president in Portugal), two have connections to Asia (with Elders Stevenson and Gong both having served missions in Asian ntions, and both having served in Asia Area presidencies, while Elder Stevenson has also served as president of a mission in Asia), and 3 or 4 have served missions, in area presidencies, or as mission presidents in South American nations (namely Elders Christofferson, Andersen, Soares, and perhaps also Elder Rasband).

So I have a couple of theories here. First, many of the latest comments on the Church Growth blog have suggested something that I believe will absolutely be true, that COVID-19 conditions may ultimately lead the Church to see greater success in nations currently experiencing struggles with growth-related issues. I definitely hope that will be the case, and could see it happening. At the same time, however, a part of me wonders whether President Nelson, whose right-hand man President Oaks had the experience of previously presiding over an international area of the Church, may choose at some point in the near future to send one or more apostles out to any of these struggling areas and to take oversight thereof for a period of one to two years.

It may not happen, especially since the apostles have been utilized more frequently of late in performing duties typically done by the president of the Church or his counselors. But on the other hand, having such apostles in such areas would enable them to personally oversee some of those assignments while serving for a time as presidents of those areas.. And the apostles have been commanded in scripture to "send" the word and their representatives abroad rather than filling long-term assignments abroad themselves. There's a lot to consider about this scenario that may or may not occur again in the near future, just as it had been utilized in the early 2000s.

I will be interested to see if the current conditions impacting the growth of the Church on the Asian, European, and South American continents resolve themselves following the elimination of COVID-19 as a factor, and whether or not the Church needs to take action on any of these issues at that time. I also continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates, and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church to Hold Condensed Online-Only Training for New 2020 Mission Leadership

Hello again, everyone! More breaking news has been reported by the Church News within the last few minutes. As a result of COVID-19 conditions worldwide, the 2020 Seminar for all new mission leaders who will begin their service on July 1 of this year will be conducted entirely online and with a condensed schedule. The seminar, usually spanning 3-4 days towards the end of June, will be held this weekend.

This continues the Church's efforts to be good neighbors who earnestly consider the health of those over whom they have stewardship.The seminar usually includes a high degree of participation from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to all who serve on the Missionary Executive Council (that includes Elders Uchtdorf, Christofferson, Andersen, and Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, at least one member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and at least 2-3 general officers of the Church (at last notified check, that included Sisters Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, and Cristina B. Franco, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency).

By definition, those GA Seventies serving in the Missionary Department are there as well. Ordinarily, that includes Elder Brent H. Nielson, who has served as Executive Director of that Department for the last several years, and those who serve as Assistant Executive Directors, which, at last check, included Elders W. Mark Bassett, Craig C. Chirstensen, Weatherford T. Clayton, James B. Martino, and S. Gifford Nielsen.

But Elder Nielson has been called to the Presidency of the Seventy, so unless he is assigned to continue serving on the Missionary Executive Council in that new role, he has been or will be released as the Executive Director of that Department. Of the Assistant Executive Directors listed above, only Elders Bassett and Clayton are not currently serving as president of any area of the Church. And of the two, it seems more likely to me that Elder Clayton will succeed Elder Nielson as the Executive Director of that Department. But time will tell in that respect.

I am grateful that the Church is continuing to roll with the punches when it comes to the COVID-19 adjustments that have become necessary in consideration of the health of Church members worldwide.And it is also wonderful that modern technology can make it possible for the Church to provide virtual training.

It's likely that the October 2020 General Conference Leadership sessions will go forward as planned, but be provided through virtual methods to eliminate the need for in-person attendance. Still no word on specific arrangements/additional changes for that General Conference, but it will be interesting to see what happens with all such developments. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of all such things along as I become aware of those developments.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Exceptions Approved for Male Missionary Attire

Hello again, everyone! Some of you might recall that in December 2018, the First Presidency had approved some attire exceptions for young sister missionaries, where climate, culture, or tradition made it a logical move. At the time that change was announced, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf had remarked that such changes were part of the history of the Church, as previous adjustments had been made when practical, feasuble, or neccessary. He also indicated at that time that further adjustments would come in the future as necessary. Fast forward to today: In another First Presidency announcement, as corroborated by both the Newsroom and the Church News, and as again contextualized through comments from Elder Uchtdorf, adjustments were announced for male missionary attire, where approved by area presidencies. Although minor adjustments have been made to missionary attire for young males where cultural, climate, or political situations have necessitated that, the latest adjustments are meant to present general acceptable options the area presidency can consider for the young men serving in their areas. These changes include an allowance for the wearing of white or blue dress shirts with or without ties. This does not change the standard that, in most areas where there is no need for them, continues to be a white shirt and tie, with or without a suit jacket. That attire continues to apply specifically when young elders participate in mission conferences at any level, for attendance at baptisms, in temple worship, and during the weekly worship services. And only after very careful consideration would these exceptions be used. As seen recently with new editions of the scriptures, and changes in missionary contact regulations, it is neither recommended or required that current missionaries granted the exception to the standard missionary dress purchase new clothes right away based on these changes. Instead, as wear and tear occur in current attire, the new clothes can be rotated in. The coverage of this announcement also provides an overview of other changes to missionary attire made by area since 2010. Further contextual comments from Elder Uchtdorf describe this change as an opening, rather than a downgrade or diminishing of the long-standing practices related to male missionary attire. He also noted that the hope is that these exceptions may, in some cases, extend and expand opportunities for community outreach and for missionaries to connect and interact with individuals and families.

On a personal note, I have some experience with a non-standard missionary dress scenario. Although I obviously wore a white shirt when engaged in my six years of service as a temple worker. when it came to my Welfare Services missionary labors, a butto-up shirt of any style was the standard. It makes snese that missionary dress standards continue to be adjusted as necessary or advisable. As with other new changes which have been announced.Toccurred to me that it is amazing that, in the midst of managing the impacts of a global pandemic, including a phased reopening of temples, announcements continue to be made about weekly worship services, temple events, General Conference, and so many other aspects related to the work. The laser-sharp focus on the most important matters relating to the work continues to amaze, astound, and astonish me. We are truly seeing, as President Nelson noted two years ago in Rome Italy, that the work is moving at an accelerated pace, and that unfolding revelation continues to further that work in all facets relating thereunto. For my part, to the very best of my ability, I will keep monitoring all such developments and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Tweaks Guidelines for the April 2020 General Conference, Missionary Training, and Other Larger Gatherings

Hello again, everyone! Around half an hour ago, I received a breaking news alert on my phone from the Church News, wherein a new article indicated that 3 changes are being implemented effective immediately by the First Presidency in the wake of the ongoing worldwide spread of COVID-19. Those changes were further detailed in 3 official news releases published on the Newsroom website at around the same time. Let's look at those one-by-one. The first change will impact the April 2020 General Conference. With all five sessions thereof originating from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City (which should put rumors to rest about the conference being held in other locations), attendance at the Conference Center will be limited to participants only, including General Authorities and General Officers of the Church, the choirs that will be performing thereat, and the technicians and specialists required to help trasmit and translate the conference. The second announcement relates to missionary work. In order to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, all missionaries who would otherwise have been trained in the MTCs in Provo Utah and Preston England will instead be trained remotely before flying out from their nations of residence to their fields of labor. This change also applies to missionaries from areas where there are a high number of cases of COVID-19. And the final adjustment will pertain to large gatherings of Church members in the following specific areas of the Church: Asia, Asia North, Europe, Europe East, and the 6 areas in the United States and Canada. In those areas of the Church all stake or large leadership gatherings  that would otherwise have been held are postponed out of an abundance of caution regarding the potential spread of COVID-19. For each of the other  11 (soon to be 12) areas of the Church, members and leaders are being counseled to follow directions received from the area presidencies.  In the meantime, for weekly worship servicesand and other meetings or activities that would have been held, local leaders will be tasked with making decisions on that on a case-by-case basis, as a result of what is determined through the lines of authority. The interesting thing that struck me about all of these announcements (aside from the fact that these three major developments were reported simultaneously) is that each of the letters outlining these changes were published in full via the official Newsroom of the Church. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that 3 letters have been simultaneously sent out and reported via the Newsroom website, rather than merely showing up in members' e-mail inboxes or on the Church's repository website for official communications. Aside from that analysis of these developments, I want to acknwoledge that it is wonderful to see Church leaders making these adjustments due to the changing asse\ssments and recommendations about COVID-19 from health and government officials.

These official announcements also all serve as corrections and clarifications to anything I have previously shared on this subject, since the determinations of the leading quorums of the Church as inspired by the Lord trump my own wisdom and analysis at any time.t These appear to be very common-sense adjustments allowing the utilization of technology to a greater degree to further the work of the Lord in the midst of the ongoing global scope and increasing threat posed by COVID-19.  That said, it is also important to note that, according to recommendations made by several doctors familiar with infectious diseases, there is no call at this time for widespread panic or mass hysteria in response to the virus. As long as proper precautions are being taken on all of the right fronts, and as long as Church members are prepared for how COVID-19 might impact individuals, families, and congregations, and as long as health officials indicate this is the case, there is no need at this time to be unduly concerned or troubled. Any further adjustments will be made based on recommednations from health officials and political and religious leaders at various levels. To quote the immortal words of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the enterally optimistic prophet, "Everything will work out." And above all else, the Lord is mindful of His people all over the world, and knows how best to assist all of us in preparing for and responding to the virus in all such cases.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church to Open 8 New Missions in July 2020

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may recall, a few days into January of this year, the Church announced changes in missions (both consolidations and newly-created ones) that would go into effect six months later (in July). I remarked at that time that Church leaders were well ahead of hte curve from what had occurred in recent years. Today, I am pleased to share an official announcement from the First Presidency which indicates that 8 new missions will go into operation in July of next year. The missions will be based in the following locations: Recife Brazil; Yaounde Cameroon; Guayaquil Ecuador; Addis Abbaba Ethiopa; Beira Mozambique; Dar es Salaam Tanzainia; and Austin and Dallas Texas. i am grateful to have learned about this development to to have been able to pass word of it along to you all here. It looks like Matthew Martinich has already provided a more thorough analysis about this on his blog, which I'd refer you to for further information and context.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

President M. Russell Ballard Observes His 91st Birthday

Hello again, everyone! After the report of two breaking Church news developments earlier today, I wanted to post now a tribute to President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is observing his 91st birthday today. Among the total of 19 nonagenarian, President M. Russell Ballard currently ranks 14th, and he will next move up on that list in March of next year. That said, let's get to some biographical details.

Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. was born in Salt Lake City Utah to Melvin Russell Sr. & Geraldine Smith Ballard, on this day in 1928. Both his paternal & maternal grandfathers (Melvin J. Ballard & Hyrum M. Smith) were apostles, and Elder Ballard is thus a direct descendant of the early leaders of the Church (Hyrum M. was the son of Joseph F., who was the son of Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith).

As I previously mentioned, the Church has, by tradition, had at least one apostle currently serving who has ancestral ties to the Smith family. It is further interesting to note that Bruce R. McConkie, who was the last apostle indirectly related to the Smith family (being the son-in-law of Joseph Fielding Smith, who was the son of Joseph F. who was the son of Hyrum, who was the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith), was the apostle whose death resulted in the apostolic vacancy that necessitated Elder Ballard's call.

He served as a missionary in England, as has been noted in previous blog posts. Upon his return, he served in the US Army Reserves, where he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. As a result of obtaining his secondary education from the University of Utah, he met a young lady named Barbara Bowen, whom he married on August 8, 1951 in the Salt Lake Temple. As I reported last year, she died on October 1, 2018, and was laid to rest one year ago today.

They became the parents of 7 children, and one of their daughters, Brynn, married Peter Huntsman, whose mother, Karen Haight Huntsman, is the daughter of Elder David B. Haight, one of Elder Ballard's apostolic colleagues. It is interesting to see that additional relationship Elder Ballard has to other LDS apostles. Brother Ballard worked professionally in auto sales. His Church service included serving as a counselor to his mission president, as a bishop twice, and as president of the Canada Toronto Mission. He completed the final year of that assignment as a General Authority Seventy, having received that call in April 1976.

Less than four years later, on February 20, 1980, he was called to the Presidency of the Seventy. Both before and as a result of that assignment, he swrved in a wide variety of capacities. Particularly, the Church had established an International Mission in the late 1970s, and in 1985 then-Elder M. Russsell Ballard ws called to serve as president of that mission, overseeing the isolated congregations within it from Church headquarters. During his roughly 5 years and 7 months or so in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had moved up in that Presidency from being the junior member thereof to the third most senior member.

In the October 1985 General Conference, as a result of the death of Elder Bruce R. McConkie a couple of weeks after giving his powerful final testimony, M. Russell Ballard was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Now-President Ballard is known and respected for the emphasis he has placed on missionary work in his apostolic ministry. Since October 1985, he has moved from the position of the junior apostle to now being the third in apostolic seniority. In his 43 years as a general authority (which has seen his apostolic ministry span exactly 34 years this month), he has given 78 addresses in General Conference (all but 7 of which he gave prior to his apostolic call), which includes the one he gave during this last General Conference, for which the transcript will be available later this week). All of these addresses are well worthy of review.

And, as we know, the death of President Thomas S. Monson on January 2 of last year resulted in the First Presidency being reorganized on January 14, with President Russell M. Nelson choosing his apostolic seatmate and the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Dallin H. Oaks, as his First Counselor. Consequently, President M. Russell Ballard was set apart as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve. He thus is tasked, with the approval of the First Presidency, with giving the other 11 members of that Quorum their various assignments around the world and at Church headquarters.  I am grateful for the life and apostolic ministry of President M. Russell Ballard, and on this, his 91st birthday, testify of the divine inspiration that attended both his apostolic call and the way and timing by which he has moved up in ranks of apostolic seniority and among all apostolic nonagenarians.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.