BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Issues Statement on Armed Conflict

Hello again, everyone! On the heels of my report last night about the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, the First Presidency has issued an official statement on the armed conflict currently underway by the government of Russia targeting Ukraine. The Church News app alerted me to this development. While the First Presidency was not under any obligation to weigh in on the matter, I am grateful for and comforted by their calming words at this time.

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. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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 TEMPLE NEWS: Rome Italy Open House Reservations; Bangkok Thailand Temple Site To Be Cleared

Hello again, everyone! I am posting in the late-night hours when Sunday October 14 will become Monday October 15 to share some breaking temple news. First of all, it was reported over this last weekend that preliminary reservations are beginning to be offered for the Rome Italy Temple Open House, which will start roughly 3.5 months from now. Although the Church's online reservation system will not officially offer reservations for this event for about the next two months, those interested can find more information here.

In the meantime, as some of you may recall, the Church announced the site information and artist's rendering for the Bangkok Thailand Temple earlier this year. As some of you may also remember, at the time that rendering was released, a statement was included from President Nelson to the effect that he didn't foresee any obstacles in getting the construction process started for that temple. With almost seven months having come and gone since that rendering was released, one building has remained on the temple site.

All of that is set to change in November. On the first day of that month, the final business in that building (one of the Church's distribution centers) will temporarily relocate to a nearby chapel before finding a permanent home. Once that happens, the completely vacated building can then be razed, at which point, a groundbreaking can be held and construction would be able to begin.

With that in mind, there is a possibility (however remote) that the groundbreaking ceremony could potentially occur at any point following the razing of that building. Before I knew about that one building left standing on the property, I had ventured my opinion that a groundbreaking for the Bangkok temple could occur within the month of November, which would coincide with the anniversary of that nation's dedication for the preaching of the gospel in 1962 by then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

It would be awesome if a groundbreaking could be held for this temple prior to the end of this year, which would, along with the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple groundbreaking (which has been confirmed for November 8) mark the start of construction for the two remaining temples originally announced in April 2015 by President Thomas S. Monson.

That said, I would not be upset to learn that the groundbreaking for this temple might be held in December, or in the early months of next year either. Anytime a temple can start construction, I appreciate being able to learn about it and share it here.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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.

Miscellaneous Interesting Tidbits Gleaned from Resources Recently Made Available

Hello again, everyone! Hope you all are well. I wanted to post right now with, as the title implies, various interesting tidbits gleaned from resources recently made available. Let's dive right into all of those details. First, as I mentioned in an earlier post, 3 of the 4 Church magazines published for September 2018 listed changes in magazine advisers, including that Elder Randall K. Bennett and Sister Becky Craven were now listed as advisers rather than assistant editors of the magazines. Those changes have now been additionally confirmed in the September 2018 Ensign, of which the PDF version was just recently made available.

Next, from Mormon Newsroom, we have 2 stories covering subjects which I have already mentioned in previous posts on this blog, but which are well worthy of reiteration, in addition to one new article. First, the articles covering subjects previously mentioned. Those relate to the ministry of our First Presidency members: namely, this article, shared from the Jamaica Mormon Newsroom and covering President Nelson's announced plans to visit the Caribbean Area of the Church this next weekend, and this one highlighting  President Oaks' remarks given to young married couples in several Californian stakes which covered several topics that some may consider somewhat controversial.

In the meantime, the new story from Mormon Newsroom to which I referred above is this article, which shares how Sister Reyna I. Aburto, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, and Sister Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, are travelling in the Central America Area. Their trip, which began on August 24 and will end on September 4, is one of the longest (if not the very longest) international trips taken by auxiliary leaders. They spent a good amount of time visiting survivors of the recent volcanic eruption which occurred in Guatemala, and they will also visit Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Before moving on to stories from the Church News, I wanted to report here that, atypical to what we have seen previously, as of this last day of August, there has been no announcement as of yet in terms of the schedule for Church-wide events which will be held next year. Last year, most of the 2018 events (except for the temple events which were scheduled later) had been announced on August 25.

The fact that we are going into September with no announcement about the 2019 scheduled events seems significant, but I am assuming that the reason that announcement has been delayed is because President Nelson is visiting the Caribbean Area this weekend, and because the United States will observe Labor Day on Monday. But I will be looking out for that information and will pass it along to you all as i become aware of it.

Our focus now shits to the Church News, where two articles share some information about our junior apostle, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve. As I previously reported, Elder Soares recently returned home to Brazil for the first time since his call to the apostleship. This article highlights more fully some of the connections he has with the people of that nation, and how they in turn responded to the news of his call, hearing him speak to them as a "special witness" of the Savior, and  witnessing him invoke an apostolic blessing upon them.

In the meantime, the other article which referenced Elder Soares' recent ministry efforts was the next installment in the Church News series "This Week on Social", which shares things about which various Church leaders have posted on social media websites. In addition to the comments from Elder Soares, other posts featured thoughts from his apostolic seatmate Elder Gerrit W. Gong, along with another post from Elder Neil L. Andersen (who shared a clip of the talk he gave during the April 2005 General Conference entitled "Beware of the Evil Behind the Smiling Eyes").

As a sidenote, that talk was given just four months before he began serving in the Presidency of the Seventy, in which Presidency he would continue to serve until his own call to the apostleship in April 2009). His warning is as apropos and relevant today as it was when it was given. And a post from Elder Quentin L. Cook highlighted the new narrative history of the Church entitled Saints, which, as noted above, will be discussed more fully in the final Face-to-Face event for Young Adults this year. And the final post from an apostle which was shared in that article was from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who shared some thoughts about repentance.

The final social media post shared in that article was the only one not featuring a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. That post was published by Sister Michelle D. Craig, the First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. And I was particularly intrigued by something she specifically said, namely: "I rediscovered a story in the Old Testament a few months ago while preparing for a talk." Now, while she could have been referring to an address she has given or will yet give during a meeting with Church members, the wording of that statement seems more indicative that she will be speaking in the next General Conference.

If that turns out to be the case, then it is more likely than not that she will be giving that "talk" in General Conference in October. As I previously noted, I have predicted she will be speaking during the Women's Session. Some may contend that, if she is referring to an address she has prepared/is preparing for General Conference, she may be speaking during one of the other four general sessions.. But there is a big reason why I think otherwise:

Although there may have been one or two exceptions in recent years (mainly relating to the Women's Session), it has usually been tradition for a new president of any of the Church's five auxiliaries to speak during a general session before either of the two counselors in that presidency do so. Since the Young Women General Presidency was just changed last conference, it can be assumed that Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, the new General President, will speak during any of the four general sessions. If that turns out to be the case, the only other possibility is that Sister Craig is the representative from the Young Women General Presidency who will be speaking during the Women's Session.

Around 9 hours ago, the Church News updated this article which first announced President Nelson's plans to visit the Caribbean Area this weekend. Meanwhile, this article shares a video which highlights experiences from members of the Church in Europe who recently participated in a challenge to read the entire Book of Mormon over a 21-day period.

And in two other stories highlighting remarkable lay members of the Church, the "survival stories" of members battling rare diseases are shared, along with this account detailing the 35-day trek Church members took through the Australian Alps to raise $10,000 for children living in indigenous regions of the world.

Finally tonight, the Church News continues to share stories highlighting ongoing developments related to "FamilySearch". This article details how those with a FamilySearch account can see whether they have any ancestors who lived in Nauvoo. All of these developments are most exciting. I enjoyed reading about them and hope you enjoyed my coverage of them in this post. I continue to monitor any Church news or temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them.

On a personal note, I just wanted to clarify something that may be misunderstood in the ongoing discussion of the most likely prospective locations that might have a temple announced next October. In case I was not specific on this point, the locations I shared a few days ago are those for which (in my opinion) a temple may be announced in General Conference in around a month.

While I am convinced that there are many locations not on my current list that are very worthy of having the honor of such an announcement in the near future, until the extent of President Nelson's plans to expand the number of temples is known (which may not be detailed more fully until next General Conference or the one after that), I felt a need to focus my personal list on those locations which (in my opinion) have the highest probability for an announcement during the upcoming General Conference.

Once President Nelson's plans are detailed more fully and we have more of an idea of the number of temples that might be announced in the future to best facilitate those plans, I am more than ready to expand my list to include any other location favored by others which seem for the moment to be more distant prospects. I apologize if that was not clear enough in what I have said previously.

With that in mind, any comments which any of you have on the latest version of that list (including if I have been overly optimistic in my consideration of any of those locations or if there are any I have missed which have a higher likelihood of being announced in October than I might currently believe) would be most welcome and appreciated, as would any or all comments on any other post I have done on this blog.

That does it for this post. Thank you for t he 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.

Church News Updates

Hello again, everyone! The Church News website has provided several new articles which cover significant topics such as the ongoing ministry of our Church leaders and recount how the Church has made significant progress in several areas of the world. So let's jump right in to our discussion of those stories, all of which are well worthy of your attention.

We begin with the next article in the six-part series on the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This article shares comments from the apostles on their divine mandate to be ministers rather than administrators, which takes them around the globe.

Just a general comment on that article. I recently shared my response to a question that was asked in advance of the September Face-to-Face Event at which Elder Quentin L. Cook and two representatives of the Church History Department will be addressing such questions. Just to recap what I said there,  it is no longer practical for the apostles to serve full-time missions (though the full-time missionaries whose calls are directed by inspiration given to members of that Quorum extend the influence of the apostles).

Additionally, I noted that, while one of their many roles is to administer the affairs of the Church, their primary roles involve a worldwide ministry in which they lift and encourage members and missionaries of the Church whom they encounter in their travels. And that agrees perfectly with what the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve were quoted as saying in the latest article in that series.

They have taught us as members to never let administering a Church program become more important than a person to be loved, saved, and ministered to, and they are living examples of how to make that work. An earlier article quoted one Quorum member who, shortly after his ordination to the apostleship, was advised by a senior apostle to always add at least half an hour to everything he did, as the members of the Church are always anxious to greet and chat with the apostles when they visit any congregation.

I have had several opportunities to observe the visiting Brethren put this into practice, so I know that ministering to Church members is (as it should be) a high focus that may be second only to their mandated obligation to testify of the Savior wherever they are sent. It is wonderful to see that in action.

Moving on now, the Church News also continued its' series "This Week on Social". Among the topics covered this week were Elder Renlund's family vacation to Iceland and a Christmas thank-you in July. You can read more about that here.

The Church News additionally shared this article in their "History Revisited" series, which continued to cover Elder Holland's recent opportunity to return to his native St. George and rededicate the Tabernacle there.

In terms of news about other Church leaders, Elder Kevin W. Pearson, who serves on both the Communication Services and Strengthening Church Members Committees, became the first General Authority of the Church to speak during the recently-held FairMormon Conference. Among the many important topics covered during that conference was the fact that women have had a far greater influence on the Church than many people realize, and that the contributions of such women should rightly be talked about and considered in their proper historical context. You can read more about that here

It was great to hear that this was a major focus of that conference. So many people have voiced their discontent with the fact that women have not had a more significant role in the Church, and therefore do not seem to be aware of the breadth and extent to which the influence of such women has been felt in molding so much of Church history as we know it today. You can read more on this story here. And this article covers Elder Pearson's particular remarks, which touched on how Latter-day Saints can use outlets such as social media or Youtube to be "voices of truth."

And finally this evening, I wanted to share this article, which highlights the friendship that has existed since the 1960's between the Church and the Colombian government. That article included quotes from Elder Enrique R. Falabella, who on August 1 of this year transitioned from being the First Counselor in the South America Northwest Area to being the Area President.

It is that existing friendship between Colombia and the Church which has enabled the Church to progress so well in the country, including the dedication of the temple in Bogota during the temple-building boom of the late 1990s-early 2000s. And we have since seen a second temple announced and constructed in the city of Barranquilla within that nation.

I have recently shared my feelings that a third temple for Colombia may soon be announced, and that such a temple could potentially likely rise in either Medellin or Cali. It may be just a matter of time before that occurs, and I can see a day very soon where temples will be dedicated in both cities. Right now, the two seem to be pretty evenly matched in terms of which might potentially get a temple first, but I will continue to watch for anything that would point to one or the other being more imminently likely.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple-related developments and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I receive them. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to do so, 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.

Sharing My Answer to a Recent Question

Hello again, everyone! I need to get on my soapbox for a minute. As some of you may know, the Church has been doing more Face-to-Face events for youth and Young Adults. We recently learned that the September 9 Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults would combine with another Face-to-Face event for Young Adults, and would feature Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with two representatives from the Church History Department. Set to originate from Nauvoo Illinois, the devotional and Face-to-Face event will showcase a new narrative history of the Church, which is anticipated to be a four-volume set and will be published in coming years.

Now we come to the reason I am getting up on my soapbox. I personally have a problem with one of the question that one young adult asked in preparation for that event. The question posed was why the members of the Quorum of the Twelve no longer serve as missionaries as they did in the early days of the Church.

To me, the question suggests both a misunderstanding of the current evolution of the missionary program, to say nothing of modern Church procedures and the ministry of the apostles. As often as these Brethren can, they are committed to being out among the people of the Church, to finding out what their needs and concerns are, and to using that information to mold the opinions they offer on Church doctrine and policy.

From 2002-2005, we had three members of the Quorum of the Twelve assigned to serve as Area Presidenfots in Chile (Elder Holland) and the Philippines (then-Elder Oaks; both assignments lasting 2 years between 2002-2004) and Europe (Elder L. Tom Perry, for one year). This gave them the chance to observe first-hand day-to-day needs and issues in those areas, which molded their ability to contribute to discussions on policy matters specific to those areas. Also, the Church News recently shared this article, which I have previously mentioned on this blog, about how the ministry of the apostles and the missionaries of the Church have a connection in their worldwide ministry.

With that background in mind, here is the problem I have with that question: First, it used to be very common for the apostles to be missionaries in the early days of the Church, but that was simply because the Church is not as global as it is now. Second, although the apostles were commonly sent out on missions for the first 40-50 years or so of Church history, it was not uncommon for these Brethren to have to leave their families to serve in that way. Recognizing the toll this had taken on the early Brethren, in a revelation to Brigham Young (what we now know as Section 126), this is what the Lord said to him at that time:

"Dear and well-beloved brother, Brigham Young, verily thus saith the Lord unto you: My servant Brigham, it is no more required at your hand to leave your family as in times past, for your offering is acceptable to me.

"I have seen your labor and toil in journeyings for my name.

"I therefore command you to send my word abroad, and take especial care of your family from this time, henceforth and forever. Amen."

So the new direction to the President of the Quorum at that time (which extends to the apostles today) is to send the word abroad (which implies that should be done through the ministry of others), and to take especial care of their families (which would be harder to do if they were involved in full-time missionary work).

That does not, of course, excuse these Brethren from their duty to share their apostolic witness with the world, but when we combine the words of this revelation with what the article cited above shared about the connected and shared role the apostles and the missionaries have, it should be plain that the apostles sending the missionaries (by being inspired about which missionaries should serve in which areas of the world), the extension of a mission call is the Brethren's best way to follow the mandate of sending the word abroad.

But it also comes back to the fact that, with the Church being so much more global now than it was in the early days of the Church when apostles were more easily able to serve long-term as missionaries, if the apostles were to devote more time to doing more missionary work themselves, there would be little or no opportunities to do much else, including seeing to the day-to-day administration of the Church.

This is the same reason that, as I have noted a few times before, apostles could, during the presidency of Spencer W. Kimball, meet personally with those opposing a vote to sustain any general Church leader, but why that would not be possible now. The Church has moved much more fully in the direction of placing more trust and responsibility on local leaders, who at this time, would be better suited to understanding why a local member of their congregation might have a problem sustaining anyone.

The apostles are divinely mandated to share their witness of the Savior with the world, which does involve extensive traveling. But due to the increasingly global nature of the Church, if the apostles took more time than they now do to serve missions, or to meet with those who dissent a sustained proposal, their ability to administer the affairs of the global Church, and to make all the decisions and go through the deliberations pertaining thereunto would be greatly hampered, which in turn would slow to a halt the Church's ability to remain global.

That said, one other major obligations the apostles hold is to unlock the doors of nations to the preaching of the gospel, and in every prayer of dedication relating to such events of which I have read, special mention is made of the missionaries that will serve and the members who will come into the Church in that nation, which means that the prayer of dedication serves as both an extension of their apostolic mandate to take the gospel to the world, in addition to providing the Lord's blessing on the missionaries that current and future apostles will send to such lands.

I apologize if the way I approach such questions come across as insensitive of the individuals who ask them. But what would be practical for a Church that is only present in a handful of nations no longer becomes feasible or wise when the membership of the Church and its' day-to-day administration is on a more global scale.

That said, I recognize that I do not speak for Elder Cook (to whom this question was addressed) or for any of the Brethren, for that matter. They speak for the Lord, while I only ever speak for myself. If that question is one that Elder Cook elects to answer, his answer will likely be given with far more understanding of the one asking the question, the question itself, and how best to answer it.

I appreciate the chance to address this personally, but again, I speak only for myself, and the analysis of the question I provided here may not be in accord with the answer that might be officially provided. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to do so, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. 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.

Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! While I do not wish to overshadow the temple developments I reported earlier today, I did want to note that some additional Church news stories have been reported. Let's get right into what those are and why they are significant.

Joseph Fielding Smith, as most of you are probably aware, was the 10th President of the Church in this dispensation. Today would have marked the 142nd birthday of that prophet, and the Church News published this article highlighting his accomplishments. Among the interesting mentions are the fact that he was one of the Church presidents that was acquainted with all of his predecessors (except for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young) and all of his prophetic successors down to President Thomas S. Monson. There were a lot of other, very interesting facts in that article. and it is well worthy of your attention.

Next, more news from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with the organization reporting that their annual Pioneer Day Concert will feature a a Broadway-themed program. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the featured guests for the concerts will be Matthew Morrison and Laura Michelle Kelly, both of whom are Broadway stars who were recently featured in a production of "Finding Neverland". The other guest of the Choir for the concert will be Oscar "Andy" Hammerstein III, grandson of the legendary Oscar Hammerstein II, who teamed up with Richard Rogers to put together some of the greatest musicals of all time. You can find the Church News's most recent report leading up to this year's concert here.

And today marked another significant Church history milestone: the first Church missionaries sent to England in this dispensation arrived in England on this day in 1837. At a time when the gospel message was not widely circulated, and during a period of time when the Saints in Kirtland were struck with a crisis that shook the very foundations of the young Church, the Prophet Joseph Smith responded to an impression from the Lord to send Heber C. Kimball (one of his staunchest defenders) and fellow apostle Orson Hyde to preach the gospel to the people of England.

Accompanying the senior leaders on that first mission to the British Isles were individuals that had converted to the Church through the mission of Parley P. Pratt to Canada. The success that these Brethren found with the people of England saved the Church both by virtue of the faith of the converts they baptized and also by the sheer volume of people whose hearts were touched as a result of their efforts, many of whom crossed the ocean to join with the Saints as they subsequently moved to Missouri, then to Illinois, and across the plains here to Utah.. You can read a more complete account of that landmark mission and its' success here.

I continue to monitor all ongoing Church news and temple developments, and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to do so, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. 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.

Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! A few more important Church news stories have come to my attention in the last half hour or so, and I couldn't wait to share those with you all. First, the News & Events page on the Church's official website shares these highlights of a presentation given by Elder and Sister Dale G. and Ruth L. Renlund at the Seminar for New Mission Leadership. They focused that presentation on the what, why, and how of developing Christlike attributes. That article is well worthy of your attention.

Turning now to the Church News, this article shares more details about the video featuring Elder Soares which I shared in my previous post. Meanwhile, missionaries serving in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission recently marched in the Monument Hill Kiwanis Parade, which marked the first time they were invited to participate. You can find more on that in this report. 

And finally, the Church News continued their series entitled: "This Week on Social". In this week's edition, messages from Church leaders highlight and underscore God's love for all of His children, and shared counsel regarding the ongoing implementation of the Church's "ministering" program.

It is interesting to see Church news being reported and published on a larger scale than we have seen previously. I continue to monitor all such developments and will do my level best to continue to bring those to you all here as I learn of them.

That does it for this post. If you enjoyed what you read here, please fee free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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.

Case Study: Will President Nelson's "Old Friend of China" Status Help the Gospel spread there?

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may recall, President Nelson was a regional representative when he heard the 12th Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, talk about how vital it was that some leaders present learn Chinese.

Taking this invitation as a prophetic directive to him personally, President Nelson did learn Chinese, which helped to greatly expand the reputation of the Church and of President Nelson in the eyes of prominent Chinese leaders and citizens. Later on, as an apostle, President Nelson was given the designated title "Friend of China" because they were so impressed with him.

As some of you may also know, around 15 or so years ago, there was a popular Mormon myth going around that certain individuals had been called to serve 3-year missions in China, which was shortly after debunked. As a teen who knew a lot about the Church, I was one who at times found myself facing the question of this myth's truth from many people who knew I would know the answer.

And I recall distinctly that not long after that, the Church officially noted that this "development" was a myth, and reiterated the fact that, until it was the Lord's will and would be allowed by the government, no such  efforts would be made.

Just over two months ago, the "old friend of China" became our Church president. which brings up an interesting question: Would the fact that President Nelson is the senior apostle now potentially result in the Church's ability to expand into China? Naturally, that would depend on when the Lord willed it to be so, if the current Chinese government would recognize our prophet as a friend of China, and if negotiations with the Chinese government yielded that result.

But it is intriguing to think about. As a new apostle in 1984 or '85, he was given permission to perform one last heart surgery on a Chinese opera star, for which he had been specially requested. I honestly don't know how much opportunity he might have had to continue to foster relations with the Chinese. With that said, I can definitely see how his new calling as Church president might be the tipping point to allow a change in how the Church is viewed by China. I will for sure be keeping my eyes open for any news on that.

The fact that one of the stops while he is in Asia will be in Hong Kong indicates to me that he may be in a unique position to enable progress that we have not seen in this regard up to now. I'm sure we all remember how, shortly after President Monson's call to the First Presidency, he went with an apostle (I believe that was then-Elder Nelson, if memory serves) to talk to German leaders about the prospect of missionary work and even a temple behind the Iron Curtain.

President Monson's requests in this regard were granted because those leaders saw that he had been a true friend to the people of Germany, and they believed that if he felt strongly about such a subject, that was enough for them to grant his request. Perhaps with President Nelson now the top Church leader, the walls that have kept the Church from making real progress in that nation might be similarly broken down.

It would not in any way surprise me to learn that this is one of many reasons why President Nelson is now the Church president. If I have learned anything about the Church, it is that the Lord knows what He is doing in leadership transitions, and that at the right time, with the right people involved, such barriers to the spread of the gospel in various nations have been broken down. My prayer is that this will prove true for China now.

But that's just my take on this matter, which I wanted to share with you all. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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.

Elder Renlund Dedicates Barbados for the Preaching of the Gospel During a Caribbean Area Review

Hello again, everyone! Elder Dale G. Renlund has a supervisory role over the Caribbean Area of the Church. The Church News has shared in this report that, as part of conducting the annual review for that area, Elder Renlund dedicated Barbados for the preaching of the gospel.

The island nation had been informally included in a dedicatory prayer in 1988, but the First Presidency felt that a dedicatory prayer specifically for that nation would be appropriate, and so they sent Elder Renlund to take care of that.

Aside from the above link to this article, I will not be attempting to provide any type of in-depth or extensive analysis on this exciting development. But it is almost certain that Matthew Martinich, a well-respect Church growth expert who has a blog devoted to that subject, will (if he has not done so already) post such an analysis in the coming days.

The article detailing this area review may or may not have mentioned this, but I am sure Elder Renlund's visit included a chance to visit the site of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple as well. Regarding that temple, I had reported the formal beginning of construction efforts there roughly one month after its' groundbreaking.

As I have also previously noted, construction of that temple was only anticipated to take around 12-18 months, and it is currently anticipated that that temple will be the third new one to be dedicated next year.

So we can see that the Church is progressing well in the Caribbean Area. I look forward to learning more, along with all of you, regarding how the dedication of Barbados affects the spreading of the gospel in that nation. And you can rest assured that whatever Church and temple news might come to my attention will be passed on to you all as soon as I can make that happen.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. 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.