Hello again, everyone! Just over a year ago, the Church laid to rest our beloved Church President, Thomas S. Monson. President Monson always seemed larger than life, a heroic individual who, even in his declining years and months, was still reaching out to the one to rescue them from the sorrows, ills, and transgressions in their lives, or anything else that was keeping distance between them and the Lord.
The stories about the way he ministered to the one could and do fill volumes. Through word and deed, he pointed those within the sound of his voice to a higher way of life, to live the gospel more fully, and urged all of us to reach out and rescue all those within the scope of our influence who are struggling in their own paths. President Monson demonstrated that attitude through engaging personal stories and the many poems and scriptural passages he amazingly committed to memory.
One such poem which he often quoted was "The Bridge Builder". In 2009, while I was taking the "Teachings of the Living Prophets" class at BYU, my classmates and I were assigned to individually memorize one scripture cited by President Monson, one of his many most-recognized quotes, and poems he shared over the pulpit. I chose to memorize "The Bridge Builder". As we get further into this New Year, I felt impressed to share that poem, and some thoughts about what it (and the opportunities afforded by each new year) means to me.
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream held no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build you this bridge at the eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
"Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
There followeth after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
"This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."
A new year has often been considered to be the optimal time to start something anew, to mend fences or broken bridges in relationships, to correct mistakes in our conduct and day-to-day living, and to look with hope towards the promise that, if we will do such things, each new year can and will be better than however many years have come before it. But more than that, we can and must reach out to rescue those within our circle of influence who have, for whatever reason, managed to get any aspect of their lives off-course.
Earlier today, the first Music & the Spoken Word broadcast for 2019 was a special one with a "New Year" theme. Lloyd Newell, who gives the "spoken word" portion of the program, shared this message this morning. Part of any transition we make in this life from one stage to another surely involves the process whereby we are presented with new territory in which to forge a path ahead, and the opportunity to cross various chasms and, where possible, turn around and build bridges for others who will, through no fault of their own, need to cross similar chasms in their own lives and situations.
Will we, as the ones who have gone before, make the path easier for those who will follow after us? It has well been said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. While serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (and Acting President of the Church during the apostolic interregnum following the death of Brigham Young), John Taylor was quoted as follows: "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty."
Therefore, if we fail to learn from the mistakes we and others before us have made, do not successfully cross the chasms in our own lives and build bridges for those who will follow after, do not take the time to ensure that each New Year can be such an opportunity to change ourselves for the better and to build bridges for those that will follow after us, we will definitely be accountable to the Lord on Judgement Day for those faults and failings.
That said, since there has only ever been One Man I know of who was absolutely perfect, and who never lost sight of His mission and purpose, who was willing to pay the price for our shortcomings, faults, failures, and flaws, if we have failed in these priorities before now, then this new year also presents an opportunity for each of us to correct course now, to resolve to do better, and to ensure that we do what He has sent us here to do.
While it is never an easy process to make such course corrections, He never said it would be easy: He only said it would be worth it. If we lay claim to the merits, mercy, compassion, understanding and opportunity to course correct, which is freely offered by Him through the gift of His atonement, then not only can we correct our course and resolve to do better in the year ahead, but we can also be successful in doing better in the future, and in preparing the paths we have already trod for those who will follow after, and who would, if not for our preparation, fallen by the wayside.
This is the opportunity that each New Year affords for us all. I pray that we will take that opportunity this year, and every New Year for the rest of our lives. If we can do so, we will then be able to stand blameless before our Father in Heaven and His Son, who makes it all possible. This is the New Year testimony which I offer on this Fast Sunday in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Showing posts with label Personal News/Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal News/Update. Show all posts
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Building Bridges--My New Year's Testimony 2019
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, January 4, 2019
Some Items of Business Relating to This Blog (Including Some Observations About Temples)
Hello again, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the new method I have been using to convey information (posting more minor developments in comments on existing threads, and focusing blog posts on the more major developments that are significant enough to merit new posts and additional analysis on my part). I also hope that any of you, whether long-time or newer readers of this blog, will continue to feel free to post comments to share feedback on any new content, or any older posts to share new information.
I am particularly hosting an open commenting period on my April 2019 General Conference predictions, and welcome any insights any of you have on the projected speaking order, potential changes in Church leadership, the estimated figures for the statistical report, and the list of potential locations which, given recent comments from Church leaders and the research I have done, is more extensive than it ever has been.
While I have tried to limit that list to one location per US state or nation, there are a few nations and one state (Utah) where multiple temples seem likely to be announced. Although the United States (except for the regions within the Mormon corridor) has been in a general state of stagnation, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church growth blog, has indicated that congregational growth in the United States improved in 2018 in comparison to 2017.
That statement may not indicate that the stagnant growth in the US is beginning to reverse itself, but there are certainly areas within the US where I feel more confident a temple could be built than I was this time last year. I have also recently referenced in my comments on this blog my opinion that the 19 temples announced last year were President Nelson's way of starting slowly to expand the number of temples.
In that regard, I was also reminded that 2018 saw the second-highest number of temples announced in a single year (which may be considered the highest number of temples for which a specific location was announced in a single year). So perhaps 2019 will see many more temples announced. But more than that: 9 of the 19 temples announced last year have since had a specific site either definitively or unofficially confirmed.
So the face of the Church's temple construction program is changing for sure, and part of that will almost certainly involve the announcement of dozens (if not scores) of temples. That is why my list of potential locations that could have a temple announced in April is more extensive than it has ever been. But another part of the changing face of temple construction might be that we will see temples move more quickly from announcement to groundbreaking.
In view of that consideration, I have taken time over the last hour or two to update my general estimated time-frames within which many of the announced temples could go on to have a groundbreaking, and part of that involved adjusting the order of some temples and moving up their estimates. I will be posting those changes within the next hour. In the meantime (with my apologies for rambling), any thoughts anyone has about my General Conference predictions, particularly the list of potential locations which might have a temple announced in April, would be particularly appreciated.
Getting back to the items of business for this blog, I wanted to also solicit feedback on the current layout of this blog. Because I could not "sound off" about subjects close to my heart without you who are willing to read and offer feedback on the content here, if there is anything not working for any of you, I would like to know about it. I have also been mulling over the merits of adding other features to this blog, so let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the layout that is not presently included.
I also know that in the past, some of you who regularly comment have mentioned I should be earning money for my blogging efforts. So I have been considering that as well. I currently have Adsense ads on this blog, but my earnings therefrom have never been too significant, even on the highest-earning days. That is one of the main reasons I have tweaked the layout of this blog so much recently. I was checking if different layout configurations would impact the earnings.
So one option for me would be to add a "donate" button here. I hesitate to do that, because that can get tricky, and I wouldn't want any of you to feel pressured to donate if you didn't want to. But at times, I do wonder if that would be a good option. My efforts, unlike other blogs that provide extensive analysis of different aspects of the gospel, have no private source of funding, and I am certainly not getting revenue out of this blog which would be equivalent to the hours of work I put into the content I post here. If I do wind up adding such a button, donations would be completely optional, and I would certainly never think any less of any of you who do not want to or are not able to donate.
But the more I thought about this, the more I realized that I wouldn't want to unilaterally make any of these changes if they would only prove to be a deterrent to earnest discussion of the topics covered on this blog. For that reason, I would likewise appreciate any thoughts any of you have on any of the changes I am considering for this blog. While I do enjoy "sounding off" about subjects so close to my heart, this blog has cultivated a community of several loyal readers, many of whom also comment regularly. So none of this is my personal prerogative to decide on. If the changes I am mulling over will not improve the overall experience for you, my readers, making them would be a non-starter for sure.
For that reason, if any of you have any comments on anything I have discussed here, I would welcome and appreciate the chance to hear your input, and that also goes for any previous content on this blog. The commenting period for any posts on this blog (except those for which I have specifically set a time-frame limit) is eternally open, as far as I am concerned. That does it for this post. 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.
I am particularly hosting an open commenting period on my April 2019 General Conference predictions, and welcome any insights any of you have on the projected speaking order, potential changes in Church leadership, the estimated figures for the statistical report, and the list of potential locations which, given recent comments from Church leaders and the research I have done, is more extensive than it ever has been.
While I have tried to limit that list to one location per US state or nation, there are a few nations and one state (Utah) where multiple temples seem likely to be announced. Although the United States (except for the regions within the Mormon corridor) has been in a general state of stagnation, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church growth blog, has indicated that congregational growth in the United States improved in 2018 in comparison to 2017.
That statement may not indicate that the stagnant growth in the US is beginning to reverse itself, but there are certainly areas within the US where I feel more confident a temple could be built than I was this time last year. I have also recently referenced in my comments on this blog my opinion that the 19 temples announced last year were President Nelson's way of starting slowly to expand the number of temples.
In that regard, I was also reminded that 2018 saw the second-highest number of temples announced in a single year (which may be considered the highest number of temples for which a specific location was announced in a single year). So perhaps 2019 will see many more temples announced. But more than that: 9 of the 19 temples announced last year have since had a specific site either definitively or unofficially confirmed.
So the face of the Church's temple construction program is changing for sure, and part of that will almost certainly involve the announcement of dozens (if not scores) of temples. That is why my list of potential locations that could have a temple announced in April is more extensive than it has ever been. But another part of the changing face of temple construction might be that we will see temples move more quickly from announcement to groundbreaking.
In view of that consideration, I have taken time over the last hour or two to update my general estimated time-frames within which many of the announced temples could go on to have a groundbreaking, and part of that involved adjusting the order of some temples and moving up their estimates. I will be posting those changes within the next hour. In the meantime (with my apologies for rambling), any thoughts anyone has about my General Conference predictions, particularly the list of potential locations which might have a temple announced in April, would be particularly appreciated.
Getting back to the items of business for this blog, I wanted to also solicit feedback on the current layout of this blog. Because I could not "sound off" about subjects close to my heart without you who are willing to read and offer feedback on the content here, if there is anything not working for any of you, I would like to know about it. I have also been mulling over the merits of adding other features to this blog, so let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the layout that is not presently included.
I also know that in the past, some of you who regularly comment have mentioned I should be earning money for my blogging efforts. So I have been considering that as well. I currently have Adsense ads on this blog, but my earnings therefrom have never been too significant, even on the highest-earning days. That is one of the main reasons I have tweaked the layout of this blog so much recently. I was checking if different layout configurations would impact the earnings.
So one option for me would be to add a "donate" button here. I hesitate to do that, because that can get tricky, and I wouldn't want any of you to feel pressured to donate if you didn't want to. But at times, I do wonder if that would be a good option. My efforts, unlike other blogs that provide extensive analysis of different aspects of the gospel, have no private source of funding, and I am certainly not getting revenue out of this blog which would be equivalent to the hours of work I put into the content I post here. If I do wind up adding such a button, donations would be completely optional, and I would certainly never think any less of any of you who do not want to or are not able to donate.
But the more I thought about this, the more I realized that I wouldn't want to unilaterally make any of these changes if they would only prove to be a deterrent to earnest discussion of the topics covered on this blog. For that reason, I would likewise appreciate any thoughts any of you have on any of the changes I am considering for this blog. While I do enjoy "sounding off" about subjects so close to my heart, this blog has cultivated a community of several loyal readers, many of whom also comment regularly. So none of this is my personal prerogative to decide on. If the changes I am mulling over will not improve the overall experience for you, my readers, making them would be a non-starter for sure.
For that reason, if any of you have any comments on anything I have discussed here, I would welcome and appreciate the chance to hear your input, and that also goes for any previous content on this blog. The commenting period for any posts on this blog (except those for which I have specifically set a time-frame limit) is eternally open, as far as I am concerned. That does it for this post. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Happy New Year 2019!
Hello again, everyone, and Happy New Year 2019! I wanted to post right now to provide an overview of known projects which will be published on this blog throughout this year. In addition to ongoing updates on the ministry of our apostles, major Church news and temple developments, General Conference, scheduled Church events (including temple dedications, rededications or groundbreakings), and any other breaking news, I intend to do specific posts on or around the following days for the following reasons:
First half of 2018:
January 14: One-year anniversary of President Nelson's prophetic administration.
January 24: Elder Christofferson's 74th birthday.
January 27: First 2019 apostolic milestone update.
February 6: Elder Rasband's 68th birthday.
February 20: President Ballard's first 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
March 10: Second 2019 apostolic milestone update.
April 9: President Oaks' first 2019 Quorum President milestone.
April 21: Third apostolic milestone update.
May 15: President Ballard's second 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
May 31: President Eyring's 86th birthday.
June 2: Third 2019 apostolic milestone update.
June 15: Elder Bednar's 67th birthday.
Second half of 2019:
Preliminary note: Since the July milestones will, as detailed below, are so close together, I may do a single post marking all of them after they pass rather than on the day each is observed.
July 3: President Nelson's first (and only) 2019 Church President tenure milestone.
July 5: President Nelson's first ever (and only) Church President age milestone/first (and only) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
July 7: President Oaks' second 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 9: President Oaks' third 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 14: Fourth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
July 31: President Ballard's fourth (and final) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
August 6: Elder Stevenson's 64th birthday.
August 9: Elder Andersen's 68th birthday.
August 12: President Oaks' 87th birthday.
August 25: Fifth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
September 8: Elder Cook's 79th birthday.
September 9: President Nelson's 95th birthday. (Since this is a milestone birthday, there may be an official Church event in honor of this milestone).
October 2: Elder Soares' 61st birthday.
October 6: Sixth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
October 8: President Ballard's 91st birthday.
November 6: Elder Uchtdorf's 79th birthday.
November 13: Elder Renlund's 67th birthday.
November 15: President Oaks' fourth 2019 Quorum President milestone.
November 17: Seventh 2019 apostolic milestone update.
December 3: Elder Holland's 79th birthday.
December 14: President Oaks' fifth (and final) 2019 Quorum President milestone.
December 23: Elder Gong's 66th birthday.
December 29: Eighth (and final) 2019 apostolic milestone update.
As you can see, 2019 will be jam-packed just with these posts. If scheduled Church events (including temple groundbreakings, dedications and rededications) are taken into account, and we also add in General Conference coverage, breaking news, and any major Church news or temple developments, then 2019 will be quite a year for this blog and for me personally.
At the outset, if you will allow me to do so, I want to interject a personal note here. I could not provide ongoing coverage of everything I post about on this blog if it were not for my knowledge that such posts will be read and commented on in the way they have up to this point. In point of fact, without each of you, my readers, I would be doing nothing more than posting for my own benefit. Because I know there are readers who have come to trust my reports of such developments as they occur, I am continually motivated to do so. Thank you all for that.
I appreciate that the audience which this blog reaches is expanding. Within the last 24 hours, I have had readers from the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, an unknown region, Venezuela, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Turkmenistan. When my all-time views are considered, my audience also includes readers from Canada, Portugal, the Ukraine, and Spain. I know also that a number of those who read my blog come from Mexico and other countries in South America, Europe, and Africa, among other continents, which is very humbling to me. I hope the message of the content on this blog, though written in English, serves as an inspiration to all who read what I "sound off" about.
Likewise, thanks to all who contribute thoughtful feedback relating to the comments posted on this blog. I made a decision as the number of comments picked up here that I would do my best to provide a personal response to thank each individual for commenting, and to provide any additional insight or clarification as needed. By way of reminder to my newer readers, any comment I add is generally not meant to end the discussion. If I see any discussion headed in a direction with which I am not comfortable, I will mention that and steer it either back on track or to a good conclusion, but other than that, ongoing comments are always welcome and appreciated.
With renewed commitment to cover whatever lies ahead for the Church, and a promise that I will continue to do my best to bring word of those developments to you all as they occur, that does it for this post. Any and all comments continue to be, 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 for a happy, safe, healthy, and prosperous 2019, and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
First half of 2018:
January 14: One-year anniversary of President Nelson's prophetic administration.
January 24: Elder Christofferson's 74th birthday.
January 27: First 2019 apostolic milestone update.
February 6: Elder Rasband's 68th birthday.
February 20: President Ballard's first 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
March 10: Second 2019 apostolic milestone update.
April 9: President Oaks' first 2019 Quorum President milestone.
April 21: Third apostolic milestone update.
May 15: President Ballard's second 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
May 31: President Eyring's 86th birthday.
June 2: Third 2019 apostolic milestone update.
June 15: Elder Bednar's 67th birthday.
Second half of 2019:
Preliminary note: Since the July milestones will, as detailed below, are so close together, I may do a single post marking all of them after they pass rather than on the day each is observed.
July 3: President Nelson's first (and only) 2019 Church President tenure milestone.
July 5: President Nelson's first ever (and only) Church President age milestone/first (and only) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
July 7: President Oaks' second 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 9: President Oaks' third 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 14: Fourth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
July 31: President Ballard's fourth (and final) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
August 6: Elder Stevenson's 64th birthday.
August 9: Elder Andersen's 68th birthday.
August 12: President Oaks' 87th birthday.
August 25: Fifth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
September 8: Elder Cook's 79th birthday.
September 9: President Nelson's 95th birthday. (Since this is a milestone birthday, there may be an official Church event in honor of this milestone).
October 2: Elder Soares' 61st birthday.
October 6: Sixth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
October 8: President Ballard's 91st birthday.
November 6: Elder Uchtdorf's 79th birthday.
November 13: Elder Renlund's 67th birthday.
November 15: President Oaks' fourth 2019 Quorum President milestone.
November 17: Seventh 2019 apostolic milestone update.
December 3: Elder Holland's 79th birthday.
December 14: President Oaks' fifth (and final) 2019 Quorum President milestone.
December 23: Elder Gong's 66th birthday.
December 29: Eighth (and final) 2019 apostolic milestone update.
As you can see, 2019 will be jam-packed just with these posts. If scheduled Church events (including temple groundbreakings, dedications and rededications) are taken into account, and we also add in General Conference coverage, breaking news, and any major Church news or temple developments, then 2019 will be quite a year for this blog and for me personally.
At the outset, if you will allow me to do so, I want to interject a personal note here. I could not provide ongoing coverage of everything I post about on this blog if it were not for my knowledge that such posts will be read and commented on in the way they have up to this point. In point of fact, without each of you, my readers, I would be doing nothing more than posting for my own benefit. Because I know there are readers who have come to trust my reports of such developments as they occur, I am continually motivated to do so. Thank you all for that.
I appreciate that the audience which this blog reaches is expanding. Within the last 24 hours, I have had readers from the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, an unknown region, Venezuela, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Turkmenistan. When my all-time views are considered, my audience also includes readers from Canada, Portugal, the Ukraine, and Spain. I know also that a number of those who read my blog come from Mexico and other countries in South America, Europe, and Africa, among other continents, which is very humbling to me. I hope the message of the content on this blog, though written in English, serves as an inspiration to all who read what I "sound off" about.
Likewise, thanks to all who contribute thoughtful feedback relating to the comments posted on this blog. I made a decision as the number of comments picked up here that I would do my best to provide a personal response to thank each individual for commenting, and to provide any additional insight or clarification as needed. By way of reminder to my newer readers, any comment I add is generally not meant to end the discussion. If I see any discussion headed in a direction with which I am not comfortable, I will mention that and steer it either back on track or to a good conclusion, but other than that, ongoing comments are always welcome and appreciated.
With renewed commitment to cover whatever lies ahead for the Church, and a promise that I will continue to do my best to bring word of those developments to you all as they occur, that does it for this post. Any and all comments continue to be, 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 for a happy, safe, healthy, and prosperous 2019, and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
A General Apology and Reminder
Hello again, everyone! Within the last month or so, there has been somewhat of a decrease in terms of comments on recent posts. So, whether or not any of you feel that I need to, I wanted to post a general apology, reminder, and clarification on the subject of comments on this blog. Previous posts have seen good back-and-forth dialogue, between the readers of this blog and myself. I worry at times that some of you who have recently started reading this blog might misunderstand my motivations behind comments I add to those discussions.
In general, I am happy to let such dialogue continue, especially when wonderful insights are shared here. But at times, I do wonder if replies I have shared here are making me come across as a know-it-all who is more interested in asserting his own views than embracing corrections, clarifications, or any other input. I have never believed myself to know more about the subjects I cover and about the gospel than any or all of you do.
That said, I often come away from such conversations very inspired regarding the topics covered, and I hope the same is true for all of you. I made a resolve when my blog began to be more widely-read and recognized that I would do my best to reply to every comment by way of thanks for it or to acknowledge, inquire, or add further insights into comments which have been shared.
I also have worried more frequently of late that some of you may see such replies from me as an attempt on my part to end the dialogue on the topics covered in posts or comments published here. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am very much a people person, and hope that my comments here add insight, depth, or further context into what is posted or commented on.
While I recognize my own fallibility and imperfection, often, in relation to questions asked here, if I have one thing in my favor, it is that I know how to find necessary resources to provide the insights in my comments. And it happens more often than not that something said here does correct, clarify, or expand on what I have noted when putting together new posts. I greatly appreciate the chance to dialogue with all of you, and hope that the content which I post proves as interesting and illuminating as do the comments from you all.
If any of you feel that I have been abrupt, rude, discourteous, or disagreeable in my replies to your comments, I sincerely apologize. I am doing my level best to share accurate information in the things I post here, and because I am so far from perfect (which I freely acknowledge without hesitation), there have definitely been recent times where many of you will post such corrections, clarifications, or questions that successfully demonstrate errors I have made, and I am grateful for that too.
I would feel awful if I ever found out that any of my readers stopped visiting or commenting because of anything I said in response to their feedback. I hope that any of you will continue to feel free to contribute to the ongoing dialogue of anything discussed here. My hope in centering the focus of this blog around recently-reported Church news and temple developments was, is, and will continue to be to provide a safe place where such topics, along with accompanying comments from myself and each of you, can serve to uplift, encourage, and inspire us all, and allow a welcome reprieve from the craziness of the world today.
As that craziness continues and gets worse (which is a sign of the times that the Second Coming of the Savior is drawing ever closer), each of us will need to be extra inspired in our efforts to prepare for that, and to deal with the ramifications of a world which is rapidly changing and where political and public discourse becomes increasingly more uncivil. I have always believed we can have disagreements without becoming disagreeable, and I hope that that attitude has been reflected in both my posts and the comments I add to discussions here. As long as that continues to be the case for me and for each of you, then my efforts to stay on top of the latest developments will have paid off in the most important ways possible.
In addition to continuing to monitor Church news and temple developments, I am still very much committed to the projects I mentioned in a previous post, all of which I hope to take care of before the end of this year. I hope that many of you are looking forward to that upcoming content. I appreciate all of you and your ongoing efforts to add inspirational insights into topics covered here.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments conform to the established guidelines on the comment form. 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 general, I am happy to let such dialogue continue, especially when wonderful insights are shared here. But at times, I do wonder if replies I have shared here are making me come across as a know-it-all who is more interested in asserting his own views than embracing corrections, clarifications, or any other input. I have never believed myself to know more about the subjects I cover and about the gospel than any or all of you do.
That said, I often come away from such conversations very inspired regarding the topics covered, and I hope the same is true for all of you. I made a resolve when my blog began to be more widely-read and recognized that I would do my best to reply to every comment by way of thanks for it or to acknowledge, inquire, or add further insights into comments which have been shared.
I also have worried more frequently of late that some of you may see such replies from me as an attempt on my part to end the dialogue on the topics covered in posts or comments published here. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am very much a people person, and hope that my comments here add insight, depth, or further context into what is posted or commented on.
While I recognize my own fallibility and imperfection, often, in relation to questions asked here, if I have one thing in my favor, it is that I know how to find necessary resources to provide the insights in my comments. And it happens more often than not that something said here does correct, clarify, or expand on what I have noted when putting together new posts. I greatly appreciate the chance to dialogue with all of you, and hope that the content which I post proves as interesting and illuminating as do the comments from you all.
If any of you feel that I have been abrupt, rude, discourteous, or disagreeable in my replies to your comments, I sincerely apologize. I am doing my level best to share accurate information in the things I post here, and because I am so far from perfect (which I freely acknowledge without hesitation), there have definitely been recent times where many of you will post such corrections, clarifications, or questions that successfully demonstrate errors I have made, and I am grateful for that too.
I would feel awful if I ever found out that any of my readers stopped visiting or commenting because of anything I said in response to their feedback. I hope that any of you will continue to feel free to contribute to the ongoing dialogue of anything discussed here. My hope in centering the focus of this blog around recently-reported Church news and temple developments was, is, and will continue to be to provide a safe place where such topics, along with accompanying comments from myself and each of you, can serve to uplift, encourage, and inspire us all, and allow a welcome reprieve from the craziness of the world today.
As that craziness continues and gets worse (which is a sign of the times that the Second Coming of the Savior is drawing ever closer), each of us will need to be extra inspired in our efforts to prepare for that, and to deal with the ramifications of a world which is rapidly changing and where political and public discourse becomes increasingly more uncivil. I have always believed we can have disagreements without becoming disagreeable, and I hope that that attitude has been reflected in both my posts and the comments I add to discussions here. As long as that continues to be the case for me and for each of you, then my efforts to stay on top of the latest developments will have paid off in the most important ways possible.
In addition to continuing to monitor Church news and temple developments, I am still very much committed to the projects I mentioned in a previous post, all of which I hope to take care of before the end of this year. I hope that many of you are looking forward to that upcoming content. I appreciate all of you and your ongoing efforts to add inspirational insights into topics covered here.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments conform to the established guidelines on the comment form. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Personal Update/Upcoming Projects For This Blog & Church Events
Hello again, everyone! It has been 12 days since my last post, and I feel I owe all of you an explanation. In the late night hours when Saturday November 18 became Sunday November 19, I became violently ill. For a while, I resisted my wife's insistence that we take me to the emergency room, but after reevaluating my symptoms and motivations, I agreed with her assessment, and we headed out.
A few hours later, while at the ER, we discovered I had a couple of kidney stones. After some very rapid investigations and doctor consultations, we were able to get the worst of that problem dealt with, though I will have to go back in at some point to finalize that process. Over the following 8-9 days, I initially was in recuperation, but then became ill again. After some additional tests, we learned that my appendix had become enlarged, and were told that, while there was no imminent danger of additional problems from that condition, getting it removed would likely be beneficial.
And so my wife and I discussed what was to be done. At first, I remained a little stubborn and didn't want to go through with it. But after the two of us had a prayer together, my wife ran home to take care of some errands. Left alone with my thoughts, I received a very strong and direct rebuke from the Lord, which was so clear it could not be mistaken as anything else: I needed to have the procedure done. First thing yesterday morning, I was wheeled into the OR where we got that taken care of. My progress was steady enough that the doctors arranged for my release to go home in the mid-to-latter part of the evening. I have been recuperating at home ever since.
With that explanation given, I wanted to apologize for a few things, whether or not anyone else feels I need to do so. First, with my condition being what it was, I did not have the health or physical capacity to track/report on Church news and temple developments within this period of time. Second, while I did see the latest comments added to this blog, I was unable to reply to them before now (though I did try repeatedly to do so while my in-hospital recuperation continued).
Third, since i couldn't get replies posted to the comments recently added to this blog, I was likewise unable to post this personal update within the last week or so. And finally, with my having spent the last 10 days in the hospital, I have lots of updates to make to some of the personal files I keep (most notably those related to apostolic milestones and temple construction. What that means for this blog over the next little while is that it may be a minimum week or two (but possibly longer) before I will be able to get back to the meticulous, minute reports on day-to-day Church news and temple developments which have been typically found on this blog throughout the last year.
That said, I will be sure to bring all major developments to you (including any and all breaking Church news and major temple developments, in addition to the latest apostolic milestones). Among those specific projects I have in mind for the immediate and near future will be the birthday tributes for Elders Jeffrey R. Holland (who is set to observe his 78th birthday on December 3) and Gerrit W. Gong (who will celebrate his 65th birthday on December 23).
The week before Elder Gong's birthday (December 16, which will coincide with my own birthday), it is my hope to bring you the final apostolic statistical update for this year. But my top priority after updating the files I referenced earlier will be fulfilling my promise to finalize and publish my April 2019 General Conference predictions. The main hold-up on those is the work that remains in annotating the important information supporting the candidates on my list of locations which could have a temple announced next April.
But hopefully ax I continue to heal from my most recent health adventure, those things will quickly be able to be put together and published here on my blog, and, as noted, if all goes well, I would anticipate being able to resume the more complete reports of Church news and temple developments sometime within the next month or two. In the meantime, for those who want to track the developments which I won't be able to report on during this time, you can find them via the Church News website, the Church of Jesus Christ Temples page, the News & Events page on the Church's official website, and, of course, the Church's official Newsroom.
Also upcoming this weekend will be the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, which is anticipate to include 3-4 speakers, one each from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and one or two others from among the other general authorities and general officers of the Church. President Nelson has shown a willingness to deviate from typical patterns when the Lord prompts him to do so, so something similar may occur this Sunday. Then, a week after that, Church leaders are set to dedicate the Barranquilla Colombia Temple.
I mentioned earlier that Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund would be the featured speakers for the first Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults next year (which will be held on Sunday January 13). But the Church has also since noted that Elder Ronald A. Rasband, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will be the featured speaker at the annual "Evening with a General Authority", which, as some of you may be aware, is the broadcast for seminary and institute instructors and their spouses. Less than one month later, on March 2, RootsTech, which is a Church-sponsored organization supporting family history, will hold their annual Discovery Day.
April General Conference will be held over the weekend of Saturday April 6-Sunday April 7. Then on May 2-3, BYU will hold its' annual Women's Conference, which will feature speakers from among the general leadership of the Church. The following Sunday, on May 5, Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy will be the featured speaker for the Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults. The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will present their annual Pioneer Day Concert on July 20.
The final Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults in 2019 is set for September 8, with the speaker to be announced within the next few months. October General Conference will occur during the weekend of October 5-6. And the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional for 2019 will be held on Sunday December 8. This list of upcoming events does not include scheduled temple events, which will be detailed in full on the next version of my temple construction progress report which I also hope to post at some point within the next week (if not sooner).
Thank you all for bearing with me through my recent ordeal, and even moreso as I continue to recover therefrom. I do continue to monitor any and all major Church news and temple developments as I can, and will bring word of the most significant updates to you ASAP. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments align with the purposes and goals of this blog.
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.
A few hours later, while at the ER, we discovered I had a couple of kidney stones. After some very rapid investigations and doctor consultations, we were able to get the worst of that problem dealt with, though I will have to go back in at some point to finalize that process. Over the following 8-9 days, I initially was in recuperation, but then became ill again. After some additional tests, we learned that my appendix had become enlarged, and were told that, while there was no imminent danger of additional problems from that condition, getting it removed would likely be beneficial.
And so my wife and I discussed what was to be done. At first, I remained a little stubborn and didn't want to go through with it. But after the two of us had a prayer together, my wife ran home to take care of some errands. Left alone with my thoughts, I received a very strong and direct rebuke from the Lord, which was so clear it could not be mistaken as anything else: I needed to have the procedure done. First thing yesterday morning, I was wheeled into the OR where we got that taken care of. My progress was steady enough that the doctors arranged for my release to go home in the mid-to-latter part of the evening. I have been recuperating at home ever since.
With that explanation given, I wanted to apologize for a few things, whether or not anyone else feels I need to do so. First, with my condition being what it was, I did not have the health or physical capacity to track/report on Church news and temple developments within this period of time. Second, while I did see the latest comments added to this blog, I was unable to reply to them before now (though I did try repeatedly to do so while my in-hospital recuperation continued).
Third, since i couldn't get replies posted to the comments recently added to this blog, I was likewise unable to post this personal update within the last week or so. And finally, with my having spent the last 10 days in the hospital, I have lots of updates to make to some of the personal files I keep (most notably those related to apostolic milestones and temple construction. What that means for this blog over the next little while is that it may be a minimum week or two (but possibly longer) before I will be able to get back to the meticulous, minute reports on day-to-day Church news and temple developments which have been typically found on this blog throughout the last year.
That said, I will be sure to bring all major developments to you (including any and all breaking Church news and major temple developments, in addition to the latest apostolic milestones). Among those specific projects I have in mind for the immediate and near future will be the birthday tributes for Elders Jeffrey R. Holland (who is set to observe his 78th birthday on December 3) and Gerrit W. Gong (who will celebrate his 65th birthday on December 23).
The week before Elder Gong's birthday (December 16, which will coincide with my own birthday), it is my hope to bring you the final apostolic statistical update for this year. But my top priority after updating the files I referenced earlier will be fulfilling my promise to finalize and publish my April 2019 General Conference predictions. The main hold-up on those is the work that remains in annotating the important information supporting the candidates on my list of locations which could have a temple announced next April.
But hopefully ax I continue to heal from my most recent health adventure, those things will quickly be able to be put together and published here on my blog, and, as noted, if all goes well, I would anticipate being able to resume the more complete reports of Church news and temple developments sometime within the next month or two. In the meantime, for those who want to track the developments which I won't be able to report on during this time, you can find them via the Church News website, the Church of Jesus Christ Temples page, the News & Events page on the Church's official website, and, of course, the Church's official Newsroom.
Also upcoming this weekend will be the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, which is anticipate to include 3-4 speakers, one each from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and one or two others from among the other general authorities and general officers of the Church. President Nelson has shown a willingness to deviate from typical patterns when the Lord prompts him to do so, so something similar may occur this Sunday. Then, a week after that, Church leaders are set to dedicate the Barranquilla Colombia Temple.
I mentioned earlier that Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund would be the featured speakers for the first Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults next year (which will be held on Sunday January 13). But the Church has also since noted that Elder Ronald A. Rasband, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will be the featured speaker at the annual "Evening with a General Authority", which, as some of you may be aware, is the broadcast for seminary and institute instructors and their spouses. Less than one month later, on March 2, RootsTech, which is a Church-sponsored organization supporting family history, will hold their annual Discovery Day.
April General Conference will be held over the weekend of Saturday April 6-Sunday April 7. Then on May 2-3, BYU will hold its' annual Women's Conference, which will feature speakers from among the general leadership of the Church. The following Sunday, on May 5, Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy will be the featured speaker for the Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults. The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will present their annual Pioneer Day Concert on July 20.
The final Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults in 2019 is set for September 8, with the speaker to be announced within the next few months. October General Conference will occur during the weekend of October 5-6. And the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional for 2019 will be held on Sunday December 8. This list of upcoming events does not include scheduled temple events, which will be detailed in full on the next version of my temple construction progress report which I also hope to post at some point within the next week (if not sooner).
Thank you all for bearing with me through my recent ordeal, and even moreso as I continue to recover therefrom. I do continue to monitor any and all major Church news and temple developments as I can, and will bring word of the most significant updates to you ASAP. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments align with the purposes and goals of this blog.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
VIP/Media Tours Underway for Barranquilla Colombia Temple; Open House Set to Begin on Saturday
Hello again, everyone! With the Barranquilla Colombia Temple open house set to begin this Saturday, today marked the beginning of the VIP/Media Tours for that temple. The Newsroom subpage on the Church's official website shared an overview of that event, and highlighted some of the temple's features and details about what people can expect during the open house.
Having noted that, I wanted to mention here a minor item of personal business. I have continued to make additional tweaks/adjustments to the layout, look and feel of this blog. The latest adjustments have involved my expanding the margins of the blog itself. Hopefully everything is easy for you all to find, but if any of you have any questions regarding what you are looking for, or if you have any feedback on the new look and feel of this blog, please don't hesitate to let me know.
I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all 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 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.
Having noted that, I wanted to mention here a minor item of personal business. I have continued to make additional tweaks/adjustments to the layout, look and feel of this blog. The latest adjustments have involved my expanding the margins of the blog itself. Hopefully everything is easy for you all to find, but if any of you have any questions regarding what you are looking for, or if you have any feedback on the new look and feel of this blog, please don't hesitate to let me know.
I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all 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 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Further Changes On the Design and Layout of This Blog
Hello again, everyone! This will just be a quick post to note that I have continued to make periodic tweaks to the look, layout, and configuration of this blog. The layout as it now stands will hopefully provide a better experience for all of you who read it. A comment on content I posted several hours ago alerted me to some issues with some of the things I had tried to adjust, and hopefully I have fixed that issue, and no further tweaks will be necessary for the next little while.
That said, if any of you have any feedback for me on what is working and what isn't in relation to this new look and feel, I'd especially appreciate hearing from you. I am constantly gratified to know that my thoughts, such as they are, regarding things I feel impressed to "sound off" about are contributing, in some small way, to the ongoing discussion of Church news and temple developments.
I do continue to monitor all such things on an ongoing basis, and will, to the best of my ability, keep passing word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
That said, if any of you have any feedback for me on what is working and what isn't in relation to this new look and feel, I'd especially appreciate hearing from you. I am constantly gratified to know that my thoughts, such as they are, regarding things I feel impressed to "sound off" about are contributing, in some small way, to the ongoing discussion of Church news and temple developments.
I do continue to monitor all such things on an ongoing basis, and will, to the best of my ability, keep passing word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Template Changes for This Blog
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post here and now with a bit of personal business related to this blog. A few moments ago, I found out that, due to an update of the template I had been using here, the background for this blog was showing up as black, with no other color or design. I have therefore changed the background yet again as a result. I invite any of you who would like to do so to share your thoughts on the new template I am using, and particularly whether it works well for any of you on any of the devices you are using to access this blog.
I apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause, but it was sadly unavoidably necessary. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. In point of fact, I was working on a post about recent new temple information which has come to my attention. Look for that within the next hour or less.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
I apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause, but it was sadly unavoidably necessary. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. In point of fact, I was working on a post about recent new temple information which has come to my attention. Look for that within the next hour or less.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Elder Gerrit W. Gong Speaks at BYU-Provo Devotional; Highlights Importance of Life-Long Learning
Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, roughly one month after his call to the apostleship, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Susan were asked to substitute for Church President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, when the latter were unable to speak at the BYU Women's Conference in May of this year due to a scheduling conflict. Elder Gong, who had been in the administration of BYU prior to his call as a general authority in April 2010, returned to that campus earlier today to speak at the weekly devotional.
He addressed the importance of lifelong learning, taking a unique approach in covering that topic by asking his audience to imagine themselves in the future, and how they would feel at that time about their BYU experience in which they are currently engaged. It is a timely message in a way. It has often been said that "hindsight is 20/20", meaning that looking at past experiences through the lens of where it has brought us now helps us see clearly what we may have overlooked or failed to realize during that same period of time.
In moments where we cannot see the hand of the Lord directing the major details of our lives, we may find ourselves wondering what the purpose behind such experiences might be. And for a while, perhaps none of that makes sense in the moment. We may feel neglected, forsaken, and abandoned in challenging or trying times where nothing makes sense and when it feels very much like nothing will get better, or that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
But as Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminded priesthood bearers in April 2006, we need to develop the capability the Lord has perfected, to see the end from the beginning in any situation in which we find ourselves. When we retain in remembrance the ultimate purpose of our lives: to live so we can one day return to our Father in Heaven, and to do so knowing we have each fought our individual battles well and are "returning with honor", that can always put any mortal experience, whatever it might be, into its' proper perspective.
We are, after all, eternal beings going through a mortal experience, rather than mortal beings going through an eternal experience. The Lord has taught me that repeatedly through various ways and means throughout my life. There have been several experiences in my more than 30 years of life that, in the moment, I would have preferred not to have, but for which, looking back on them now, with the benefit of hindsight, have shaped me into who I am now.
The Church News summary of Elder Gong's address was a timely message for me personally. As I may have referenced previously, in early spring of last year, my health took a nosedive from which I am still attempting to recover. And within that same period of time, if and when things have changed, it has usually just been to a different kind of worse rather than any sort of improvement. The same goes for the health situation of my sweet wife, with the only differences being that in her case, it has dragged on more than twice as long, and that we are still trying to find the root cause for her ongoing health challenges.
So right now, I have had nearly two years of yet another experience that doesn't seem to make much sense right now, but which I can only hope will make sense at some point in the future. If previous examples in my life are any indication, that will be true in this case. So I can, from experience, say that keeping an eternal perspective is hard in the midst of severe and lengthy periods of those kinds of tests, but that there is always a light of the end of the tunnel. Even when we cannot see more than one step ahead in the paths of our lives, sometimes, all we need to do is to keep trudging ahead as best we can. Is it difficult? Absolutely. He didn't say it would be easy: He only said it would be worth it.
And, if we allow Him to do so, not only can He strengthen our backs to bear our burdens, or lighten the loads we bear, but He can and will carry us through such periods of time. One of the hardest things to do in such times when everything feels out of our control is to surrender whatever control we have left completely to His hands. But He alone knows how best to uphold, strengthen, and succor us in such times, so if we cut Him out of giving us the help we need, going through hardship will only be that much more difficult.
I hope all of us can take that message to heart. It is an important one to understand. We may not know the reasons for anything we might experience, but we don't necessarily have to. We just need to understand that He does know, and that He can and will help us through such things, if we allow Him to do so. I leave these thoughts, my testimony of their truth, and my love and blessing with all of you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
He addressed the importance of lifelong learning, taking a unique approach in covering that topic by asking his audience to imagine themselves in the future, and how they would feel at that time about their BYU experience in which they are currently engaged. It is a timely message in a way. It has often been said that "hindsight is 20/20", meaning that looking at past experiences through the lens of where it has brought us now helps us see clearly what we may have overlooked or failed to realize during that same period of time.
In moments where we cannot see the hand of the Lord directing the major details of our lives, we may find ourselves wondering what the purpose behind such experiences might be. And for a while, perhaps none of that makes sense in the moment. We may feel neglected, forsaken, and abandoned in challenging or trying times where nothing makes sense and when it feels very much like nothing will get better, or that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
But as Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminded priesthood bearers in April 2006, we need to develop the capability the Lord has perfected, to see the end from the beginning in any situation in which we find ourselves. When we retain in remembrance the ultimate purpose of our lives: to live so we can one day return to our Father in Heaven, and to do so knowing we have each fought our individual battles well and are "returning with honor", that can always put any mortal experience, whatever it might be, into its' proper perspective.
We are, after all, eternal beings going through a mortal experience, rather than mortal beings going through an eternal experience. The Lord has taught me that repeatedly through various ways and means throughout my life. There have been several experiences in my more than 30 years of life that, in the moment, I would have preferred not to have, but for which, looking back on them now, with the benefit of hindsight, have shaped me into who I am now.
The Church News summary of Elder Gong's address was a timely message for me personally. As I may have referenced previously, in early spring of last year, my health took a nosedive from which I am still attempting to recover. And within that same period of time, if and when things have changed, it has usually just been to a different kind of worse rather than any sort of improvement. The same goes for the health situation of my sweet wife, with the only differences being that in her case, it has dragged on more than twice as long, and that we are still trying to find the root cause for her ongoing health challenges.
So right now, I have had nearly two years of yet another experience that doesn't seem to make much sense right now, but which I can only hope will make sense at some point in the future. If previous examples in my life are any indication, that will be true in this case. So I can, from experience, say that keeping an eternal perspective is hard in the midst of severe and lengthy periods of those kinds of tests, but that there is always a light of the end of the tunnel. Even when we cannot see more than one step ahead in the paths of our lives, sometimes, all we need to do is to keep trudging ahead as best we can. Is it difficult? Absolutely. He didn't say it would be easy: He only said it would be worth it.
And, if we allow Him to do so, not only can He strengthen our backs to bear our burdens, or lighten the loads we bear, but He can and will carry us through such periods of time. One of the hardest things to do in such times when everything feels out of our control is to surrender whatever control we have left completely to His hands. But He alone knows how best to uphold, strengthen, and succor us in such times, so if we cut Him out of giving us the help we need, going through hardship will only be that much more difficult.
I hope all of us can take that message to heart. It is an important one to understand. We may not know the reasons for anything we might experience, but we don't necessarily have to. We just need to understand that He does know, and that He can and will help us through such things, if we allow Him to do so. I leave these thoughts, my testimony of their truth, and my love and blessing with all of you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Some Thoughts About September 11, 2001
Hello again, everyone! While there have been several Church news stories which I feel deserve a mention on this blog, I wanted to pause for a moment and provide some thoughts about what occurred here in the United States on September 11, 2001, now 17 years ago.
Days before the terrorist attacks that would cause widespread devastation and significant loss of life, the September 2001 Ensign was delivered to my family's mailbox. I remember following my customary practice of opening it up as soon as I could to read the First Presidency message and get a sense of what I could share from it with those I home taught.
Typical of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet at that time, his message was one of optimism, hope, and faith, as he talked about living with and finding comfort from the courage of our convictions, and about how living what we believe, even in times of great trials & tribulation. His message truly was prophetic.
A few days later, when the terrorists hijacked several planes attempting (and in some cases succeeding) in trying to crash them into several national buildings, viewing their actions as a sacred mission, those of us witnessing this tragedy were devastated. But as I recalled the words of President Hinckley's timely message, the words I had read in the Book of Mormon a few days earlier came strongly to my mind:
"And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—
"And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded."
We know from the words of prophets and apostles that, although any land in which the Church is strong can obtain the same promise, the passage above refers directly and specifically to the United States. This gave me reassurance to know that the Lord would preserve the United States, and I found the strength to carry on.
3 days after the attacks occurred, the leaders of the Church held a special service in the Tabernacle. An excellent summation of that service was provided earlier today by retired Church news editor Gerry Avant. It was an event never to be forgotten. But there was more to all of this than that for me.
I had been asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting on September 9, 2011. When ward leaders learned that a family in the ward would be moving out that week, they asked if I would mind speaking the following week instead. Since that family had covered the topic on which I was originally asked to speak, I asked if it would be all right if I covered another topic, and my bishop at the time graciously accommodated my request.
I spoke on the comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost, and in my remarks, I shared the passage of scripture that had reassured me in the aftermath of the attacks, in addition to some thoughts from President Hinckley's First Presidency message that month. Many people thanked me afterward for those remarks, but the Lord led me to those resources, so I could not take credit for what I said.
As the days went by, many of us also found assurance in the words of the President of the United States, who at that time was George W. Bush. He correctly pointed out that our enemies (those who perpetuated the attacks) were a group of radical Islamic terrorists, not our Muslim brothers and sisters. Eventually, in trying to appropriately respond to this incident, the United States was thrust into a war on terror, which continues to some degree today.
The one thing that impressed me in all of this was that both our national leaders and the leaders of our Church stepped up in a big way to provide comfort, reassurance, and a fair and balanced perspective on all of this. Though the nation would not recover overnight, the promise that the Lord was aware of this nation and its' leaders, and the calming messages provided by both those leaders and to all of us individually as we sought for it was something I will never forget.
I hope these thoughts have been helpful to at least some of you. 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.
Days before the terrorist attacks that would cause widespread devastation and significant loss of life, the September 2001 Ensign was delivered to my family's mailbox. I remember following my customary practice of opening it up as soon as I could to read the First Presidency message and get a sense of what I could share from it with those I home taught.
Typical of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet at that time, his message was one of optimism, hope, and faith, as he talked about living with and finding comfort from the courage of our convictions, and about how living what we believe, even in times of great trials & tribulation. His message truly was prophetic.
A few days later, when the terrorists hijacked several planes attempting (and in some cases succeeding) in trying to crash them into several national buildings, viewing their actions as a sacred mission, those of us witnessing this tragedy were devastated. But as I recalled the words of President Hinckley's timely message, the words I had read in the Book of Mormon a few days earlier came strongly to my mind:
"And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—
"And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded."
We know from the words of prophets and apostles that, although any land in which the Church is strong can obtain the same promise, the passage above refers directly and specifically to the United States. This gave me reassurance to know that the Lord would preserve the United States, and I found the strength to carry on.
3 days after the attacks occurred, the leaders of the Church held a special service in the Tabernacle. An excellent summation of that service was provided earlier today by retired Church news editor Gerry Avant. It was an event never to be forgotten. But there was more to all of this than that for me.
I had been asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting on September 9, 2011. When ward leaders learned that a family in the ward would be moving out that week, they asked if I would mind speaking the following week instead. Since that family had covered the topic on which I was originally asked to speak, I asked if it would be all right if I covered another topic, and my bishop at the time graciously accommodated my request.
I spoke on the comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost, and in my remarks, I shared the passage of scripture that had reassured me in the aftermath of the attacks, in addition to some thoughts from President Hinckley's First Presidency message that month. Many people thanked me afterward for those remarks, but the Lord led me to those resources, so I could not take credit for what I said.
As the days went by, many of us also found assurance in the words of the President of the United States, who at that time was George W. Bush. He correctly pointed out that our enemies (those who perpetuated the attacks) were a group of radical Islamic terrorists, not our Muslim brothers and sisters. Eventually, in trying to appropriately respond to this incident, the United States was thrust into a war on terror, which continues to some degree today.
The one thing that impressed me in all of this was that both our national leaders and the leaders of our Church stepped up in a big way to provide comfort, reassurance, and a fair and balanced perspective on all of this. Though the nation would not recover overnight, the promise that the Lord was aware of this nation and its' leaders, and the calming messages provided by both those leaders and to all of us individually as we sought for it was something I will never forget.
I hope these thoughts have been helpful to at least some of you. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Further Blog Layout Tweaks Underway
Hello again, everyone! I would like to take care of an item of personal business. As I continue to monitor the latest Church and temple news, the process of my analysis of how to make this blog more profitable for me will result in ongoing test changes to the layout here.
I keep running into a problem where a probable fix presents itself as a good idea, only for me to find that it turns out to not pan out, which in turn leads to my having to do further tweaks. I appreciate your patience with me as that process continues. In the meantime, if any of you have any feedback for me in terms of your experience with what is working in regards to these test changes and what may not be, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
In the meantime, just a general reminder: For the next 6.5 weeks or so (until sometime around September 23-25), an open commenting period will be effective for this post in which I share my completely updated list of locations around the world which, in my opinion, are most likely to have a temple announced during the October 2018 General Conference. I would appreciate your feedback on that so that I can make any tweaks that might be needed before General Conference rolls around.
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.
I keep running into a problem where a probable fix presents itself as a good idea, only for me to find that it turns out to not pan out, which in turn leads to my having to do further tweaks. I appreciate your patience with me as that process continues. In the meantime, if any of you have any feedback for me in terms of your experience with what is working in regards to these test changes and what may not be, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
In the meantime, just a general reminder: For the next 6.5 weeks or so (until sometime around September 23-25), an open commenting period will be effective for this post in which I share my completely updated list of locations around the world which, in my opinion, are most likely to have a temple announced during the October 2018 General Conference. I would appreciate your feedback on that so that I can make any tweaks that might be needed before General Conference rolls around.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
An Interesting Anomaly Related to the Ages of Our Apostles
Hello again, everyone! I just wanted to post right now about an interesting anomaly related to the ages of our apostles. There have been a couple of times recently when, due to the number of days involved, an apostle has reached his next full decimal year a day before his birthday. This happened most recently with Elder Gary E. Stevenson's decimal age.
As I mentioned, he will be observing his 63rd birthday on Monday. Therefore, as of tomorrow, his decimal age will be calculated as 62.997. If that is rounded to the nearest hundredth, that works out to 63.00 decimal years, although he will not be observing his birthday until Monday.
And it is also worth noting that the 3 August apostolic birthdays (which I referenced in a post on this blog on August 1 of this year) will all have been observed within the week following Elder Stevenson's birthday.
I had toyed with the idea of passing along the latest apostolic statistics tomorrow, the last report of that nature I did was on July 1. And since I have also passed the self-imposed deadline within which I had committed to posting the updated list of the most likely temple prospects which may be announced in October, that will be my priority within the next week or so, which I hope to publish sooner rather than later.
With that in mind, and with the acknowledgement that, within the next week, I will also be passing along birthday posts for the three apostles, then a report on the latest apostolic statistics will then likely be deferred until the 19th (or the week prior, if I can make that happen on the same day I do the birthday tribute post for President Oaks).
In addition, I continue to monitor all Church and temple news and will continue to do my level best to bring word of those developments to you as I receive them. Stay tuned for all of that new content in the days ahead.
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 for e-mail updates. 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.
As I mentioned, he will be observing his 63rd birthday on Monday. Therefore, as of tomorrow, his decimal age will be calculated as 62.997. If that is rounded to the nearest hundredth, that works out to 63.00 decimal years, although he will not be observing his birthday until Monday.
And it is also worth noting that the 3 August apostolic birthdays (which I referenced in a post on this blog on August 1 of this year) will all have been observed within the week following Elder Stevenson's birthday.
I had toyed with the idea of passing along the latest apostolic statistics tomorrow, the last report of that nature I did was on July 1. And since I have also passed the self-imposed deadline within which I had committed to posting the updated list of the most likely temple prospects which may be announced in October, that will be my priority within the next week or so, which I hope to publish sooner rather than later.
With that in mind, and with the acknowledgement that, within the next week, I will also be passing along birthday posts for the three apostles, then a report on the latest apostolic statistics will then likely be deferred until the 19th (or the week prior, if I can make that happen on the same day I do the birthday tribute post for President Oaks).
In addition, I continue to monitor all Church and temple news and will continue to do my level best to bring word of those developments to you as I receive them. Stay tuned for all of that new content in the days ahead.
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 for e-mail updates. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Ongoing Blog Developments Underway
Hello again, everyone! With somewhat of a lull today in terms of Church news and temple developments, I wanted to highlight and underscore an item of personal business. As many of you may be aware, I have recently been looking into ways to improve the look and feel of this blog, in addition to testing ways to earn more revenue from my blogging efforts. As a consequence, during this period of tests and tweaks, the layout of this blog may continue to change periodically as I work on implementing those suggestions I have found on how to do all of that. I appreciate your ongoing patience with me as I continue to attempt to work all of that out.
Additionally, I should also note that I certainly hope to be able to revisit my series of posts on near-future temple prospects that might possibly be announced during the next General Conference at some point within the next two and a half months. But my ability to do so will depend on the availability of the information I need to put those posts together. I am doing the best I can to assemble information from other sources for that purpose, but it is somewhat of a slow process.
With all of that said, I also wanted to express my gratitude to each of you, my readers, who have contributed to the ongoing dialogue about subjects covered on this blog. It is my hope that this blog can continue to be one of many sources that will be trusted for accurate and up-to-date information on all important Church news and temple developments. I do continue to monitor all of that on an ongoing basis and will do my best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of such things.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of updated contents and comments on this blog, please feel free to subscribe. 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.
Additionally, I should also note that I certainly hope to be able to revisit my series of posts on near-future temple prospects that might possibly be announced during the next General Conference at some point within the next two and a half months. But my ability to do so will depend on the availability of the information I need to put those posts together. I am doing the best I can to assemble information from other sources for that purpose, but it is somewhat of a slow process.
With all of that said, I also wanted to express my gratitude to each of you, my readers, who have contributed to the ongoing dialogue about subjects covered on this blog. It is my hope that this blog can continue to be one of many sources that will be trusted for accurate and up-to-date information on all important Church news and temple developments. I do continue to monitor all of that on an ongoing basis and will do my best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of such things.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of updated contents and comments on this blog, please feel free to subscribe. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
First Presidency Calls First Presidents for Two New Temples
Hello again, everyone! On this beautiful Sabbath Day, I am pleased to bring you news that the First Presidency has called the first presidents for two new temples, namely, the Kinshasa DR Congo and Concepcion Chile Temples.
A few things stood out to me about this development. First and foremost, if the Brethren have called the first temple president for Kinshasa, then it may be closer to its' completion than many, myself included, may have thought. That said, it is also not uncommon for the Church to call temple presidents in advance. Earlier this year, we saw a new president called for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, which is currently being renovated.
But above and beyond that, the first presidents of both of these temples actually served as mission presidents in both of those cities, so they would certainly be familiar with the regions in which they will serve, and I would also imagine that they will be welcomed back and embraced by the people of those nations.
With these new presidents announced, the number of new temple presidents called during this year now rises to 59. Additionally, there are 4 other temples that are or could be set for dedication in the near future for which we may also see the first presidents called (namely Barranquilla Colombia and Rome Italy, which have had a dedication announced, in addition to Fortaleza Brazil and Port-au-Prince Haiti, which are anticipated to be dedicated within the first 6-8 months of 2019).
There are also, as I have previously noted, two currently operating temples on my list that may additionally have a new president announced, with those two being Veracruz Mexico and Washington D. C. As I have previously observed, with the D. C. Temple being closed for renovation currently, the Church may opt to wait on calling a new president until its' renovation concludes in mid-to-late 2020.
That said, as I have also noted previously, the First Presidency did announce earlier this year that a new president has been called for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, which, as most of you are likely aware, is currently stalled in its' renovation process, so I cannot safely rule out the prospect that the D. C. temple may have a new president announced this year.
For any who are interested (including new readers who may not have seen this earlier), I am again posting my complete list of temples that have had or may potentially have a new president announced. If any of you have any questions on that list, please feel free to let me know.
Before I share that list below, I also wanted to briefly mention an item of business in relation to this blog. As some of you may have noticed, I recently added to this blog an option for those who are interested to subscribe to this blog and have new content sent to you as it is published here. While I know many of you regularly check this blog for new content, there will be from now on a standing invitation to anyone who wants to subscribe to do so. And if none of you are interested in doing so, that is perfectly all right as well.
That said, I will paste the list below. So as not to disturb its' narrative flow, I will end here as I always do. 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.
A few things stood out to me about this development. First and foremost, if the Brethren have called the first temple president for Kinshasa, then it may be closer to its' completion than many, myself included, may have thought. That said, it is also not uncommon for the Church to call temple presidents in advance. Earlier this year, we saw a new president called for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, which is currently being renovated.
But above and beyond that, the first presidents of both of these temples actually served as mission presidents in both of those cities, so they would certainly be familiar with the regions in which they will serve, and I would also imagine that they will be welcomed back and embraced by the people of those nations.
With these new presidents announced, the number of new temple presidents called during this year now rises to 59. Additionally, there are 4 other temples that are or could be set for dedication in the near future for which we may also see the first presidents called (namely Barranquilla Colombia and Rome Italy, which have had a dedication announced, in addition to Fortaleza Brazil and Port-au-Prince Haiti, which are anticipated to be dedicated within the first 6-8 months of 2019).
There are also, as I have previously noted, two currently operating temples on my list that may additionally have a new president announced, with those two being Veracruz Mexico and Washington D. C. As I have previously observed, with the D. C. Temple being closed for renovation currently, the Church may opt to wait on calling a new president until its' renovation concludes in mid-to-late 2020.
That said, as I have also noted previously, the First Presidency did announce earlier this year that a new president has been called for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, which, as most of you are likely aware, is currently stalled in its' renovation process, so I cannot safely rule out the prospect that the D. C. temple may have a new president announced this year.
For any who are interested (including new readers who may not have seen this earlier), I am again posting my complete list of temples that have had or may potentially have a new president announced. If any of you have any questions on that list, please feel free to let me know.
Before I share that list below, I also wanted to briefly mention an item of business in relation to this blog. As some of you may have noticed, I recently added to this blog an option for those who are interested to subscribe to this blog and have new content sent to you as it is published here. While I know many of you regularly check this blog for new content, there will be from now on a standing invitation to anyone who wants to subscribe to do so. And if none of you are interested in doing so, that is perfectly all right as well.
That said, I will paste the list below. So as not to disturb its' narrative flow, I will end here as I always do. 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.
New presidents have been called for the following
temples:
1.
Manaus Brazil
2.
Boise Idaho
3.
Denver Colorado
4.
The Hague Netherlands
5.
Oquirrh Mountain Utah
6.
Helsinki Finland
7.
The Gila Valley Arizona
8.
Brigham City Utah
9.
Stockholm Sweden
10. Palmyra
New York
11. Accra
Ghana
12. Papeete
Tahiti
13. Sao
Paulo Brazil
14. San
Jose Costa Rica
15. Albuquerque
New Mexico
16. Provo
City Center
17. Recife
Brazil
18. Cardston
Alberta
19. Payson
Utah
20. Porto
Alegre Brazil
21. Brisbane
Australia
22. Kansas
City Missouri
23. Oaxaca
Mexico
24. Regina
Saskatchewan
25. Cebu
City Philippines
26. Boston
Massachusetts
27. Colonia
Juarez Chihuahua Mexico
28. Billings
Montana
29. Houston
Texas
30. Sydney
Australia
31. Guatemala
City Guatemala
32. Hermosillo
Sonora Mexico
33. Montevideo
Uruguay
34. Indianapolis
Indiana
35. Laie
Hawaii Temple (the new president of this temple is the older brother of General
Authority Seventy Elder Donald L. Hallstrom)
36. Las
Vegas Nevada
37. Atlanta
Georgia
38. Buenos
Aires Argentina
39. Redlands
California
40. Draper
Utah
41. Tijuana
Mexico
42. Sacramento
California
43. Monticello
Utah
44. Bountiful
Utah
45. Freiberg
Germany
46. Oakland
California
47. Villahermosa
Mexico
48. Manti
Utah
49. Suva
Fiji
50. Vancouver
British Columbia
51. Tegucigalpa
Honduras
52. Fukuoka
Japan
53. St.
Louis Missouri
54. Trujillo
Peru
55. Asuncion
Paraguay (not anticipated)
56. Cordoba
Argentina
57. Taipei
Taiwan
58. Kinshasa
DR Congo (first president)
59. Concepcion
Chile (first president)
The first presidents will likely be announced for the
following new temples:
1.
Barranquilla Colombia
2.
Rome Italy
3.
Fortaleza Brazil
4.
Port-au-Prince Haiti
New presidents may also be announced for the following temples:
1.
Veracruz Mexico
2.
Washington D. C. Temple (Note: The Church may
opt to wait on calling a new president for this temple until 2020 when it is
rededicated)
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Guidelines Added for Comments on This Blog
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to mention a personal update here now. I have taken some time today to put together a form that will be available to view when comments are made to any of the posts on this blog. That form will, I hope, set the tone for and encourage the kind of feedback which will allow us all to more fully uplift and inspire one another as we exchange thoughts on the subjects covered on this blog. Let me know if you see anything in the wording of that form that may need to be tweaked.
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.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Altered Blog Layout
Hello again, everyone! While I have no desire to detract from the focus of my readers in the United States (as today is the anniversary of our nation's independence from England), I wanted to just quickly post to note that I am testing another new blog layout. I have been working periodically on finding ways to make this blog more user-friendly, so I'd like to know if that is working better.
And in the interests of being fully transparent, part of the reason for these changes is because I have also been looking into ways to improve my earnings from this blog. This new layout was one of a few suggestions I have looked into that I am hoping will help in that process.
As always, I continue to monitor all news and developments relating to the Church, General Conference, and temples worldwide, and I do my best to continue to bring those to you as I receive word of 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. 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.
And in the interests of being fully transparent, part of the reason for these changes is because I have also been looking into ways to improve my earnings from this blog. This new layout was one of a few suggestions I have looked into that I am hoping will help in that process.
As always, I continue to monitor all news and developments relating to the Church, General Conference, and temples worldwide, and I do my best to continue to bring those to you as I receive word of 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. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Additional Temple Updates Provided
Hello again, everyone! As some of you may be aware, although the LDS Church Temples site is still undergoing a restoration and redesign process, updates have continued to be published periodically on the site's Facebook page. So I am pleased to be able to pass these updates along to you all now.
First, I wanted to note that there are now 11.81 years remaining between today's date and April 6, 2030, when the Church will celebrate its' bicentennial anniversary. Although there has been no change in terms of the number of temples which, on average, would need to be dedicated between today and that day in order for the Church to have 200 in operation by that time, I hope that this update may be of interest to some of you.
That said, let's talk about the updates I mentioned. To commemorate the start of the season within which the Mormon Miracle Pageant will be held in Manti, two articles have been shared, and you can find links to those on the aforementioned Facebook page. Next, I wanted to note that scaffolding has come down from the exterior of the Concepcion Chile Temple.
Additionally, on that same Facebook page referenced above, you can view a panoramic video for the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which was shot to show how it looked at night. And the final update I have found is that, although the extent of the progress is unclear, recent photographs, which were also posted on Facebook, show that work on the Fortaleza Brazil Temple continues at a steady pace.
It is worth noting here that, although I have taken more time in recent days to keep tabs on the aforementioned Facebook page so I can pass these temple updates along to you all, I have been giving myself an extended break from Facebook as part of my efforts to deal with some significant health issues I have been working to resolve. Some of those issues have included anxiety and depression, which I am working through to the best of my ability.
But long before President Nelson issued a challenge to youth worldwide to "take a break from fake" by participating in a seven-day "social media fast", I made the determination to cut back substantially on the amount of time I spend on Facebook. As a consequence, I have only been logging on to Facebook once or twice a month, if it has even been that frequently, and generally only long enough to pass along links to these blog posts. So if any of you have connected with me through Facebook and have wondered why I have not been on there recently, that is the reason.
I have found, however, that keeping tabs on Church and temple news and sharing those developments to the extent that I can has helped me in dealing with the anxiety, depression, and other health challenges. And I have certainly experienced more difficult things previously. So I am well enough for the moment, if not as well as I would like to be. And I will do my level best to continue to bring you all word of Church news and temple developments as I am able to learn more about 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. 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.
First, I wanted to note that there are now 11.81 years remaining between today's date and April 6, 2030, when the Church will celebrate its' bicentennial anniversary. Although there has been no change in terms of the number of temples which, on average, would need to be dedicated between today and that day in order for the Church to have 200 in operation by that time, I hope that this update may be of interest to some of you.
That said, let's talk about the updates I mentioned. To commemorate the start of the season within which the Mormon Miracle Pageant will be held in Manti, two articles have been shared, and you can find links to those on the aforementioned Facebook page. Next, I wanted to note that scaffolding has come down from the exterior of the Concepcion Chile Temple.
Additionally, on that same Facebook page referenced above, you can view a panoramic video for the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which was shot to show how it looked at night. And the final update I have found is that, although the extent of the progress is unclear, recent photographs, which were also posted on Facebook, show that work on the Fortaleza Brazil Temple continues at a steady pace.
It is worth noting here that, although I have taken more time in recent days to keep tabs on the aforementioned Facebook page so I can pass these temple updates along to you all, I have been giving myself an extended break from Facebook as part of my efforts to deal with some significant health issues I have been working to resolve. Some of those issues have included anxiety and depression, which I am working through to the best of my ability.
But long before President Nelson issued a challenge to youth worldwide to "take a break from fake" by participating in a seven-day "social media fast", I made the determination to cut back substantially on the amount of time I spend on Facebook. As a consequence, I have only been logging on to Facebook once or twice a month, if it has even been that frequently, and generally only long enough to pass along links to these blog posts. So if any of you have connected with me through Facebook and have wondered why I have not been on there recently, that is the reason.
I have found, however, that keeping tabs on Church and temple news and sharing those developments to the extent that I can has helped me in dealing with the anxiety, depression, and other health challenges. And I have certainly experienced more difficult things previously. So I am well enough for the moment, if not as well as I would like to be. And I will do my level best to continue to bring you all word of Church news and temple developments as I am able to learn more about 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. 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
New Blog Layout
Hello again, everyone! This is a personal post to share some news and to pass along plans for content that will be coming over the next four months. Over the last couple of months, I have been toying with the idea of tweaking the layout of this blog to try and make it more user-friendly, and to make particularly relevant content easier to find. Today I was able to make those adjustments. To me personally, those tweaks do make the sidebars easier to follow, and this new arrangement should allow all of my readers to more easily find content that is of interest to them. But that is just my opinion. I am inviting your feedback on these changes, and look forward to your thoughts, which are always welcome and appreciated.
I also wanted to just put this out there as well: Because I am still looking for ways to expand this blog's readership and audience (though I am continually impressed with how quickly the numbers of those reading these posts has gone up lately), there may be individuals who are newcomers to this blog. For that reason, I wanted to reiterate something I have said previously: Because of current health challenges that prevent me from working at the moment (which I hope will change in the next few months, or possibly sooner), blogging is one of many ways I fill my time.
So I do keep fairly close tabs on developments here on my blog, with particular attention to those comments that are being made. Since I have previously had experience moderating online discussions, my general practice has been to personally reply to every comment made on this blog. But I do worry that my doing so may be misunderstood. With that in mind, I wanted to just again let all of you know that I do appreciate any comments made on this blog.
Since I do personally reply to most comments made here, I hope that everyone understands that I do not mean to cut off future comments on these posts. If someone has provided insightful feedback here, I want to show my appreciation for those thoughts, and I also want to take time to address questions and corrections, and to clarify anything I have said that I have worried may be misunderstood.
So if any of you see one (or more) comments from me personally on these threads, I hope you all know that I am not trying to end feedback on the posts. If there are things I need to clarify, amend, or correct, I want to make sure that takes place. If anyone has felt that one or more comments from me in response to other comments made on the posts here are meant to either end the dialogue on these posts, or are meant to discourage future comments on them, that was never my intention, and if that is the case for any one of you, I sincerely apologize.
My hope is that, as people read the posts here and the conversations that take place in the comments (both by me and by others here), that "all may be edified and rejoice together." I also wanted to announce that, within the next month or two, as time, circumstances, and available information allows me to do so, I will likely be gathering data to begin a second round of posts on the most likely near-future temple prospects for each of the Church's geographical areas.
While I welcome any comments on any post at any time from anyone, for the posts about temple prospects, the intent will be to have an open commenting period for the next 3.5 months or so, which I hope will allow ample time for discussion of my thoughts (and your comments in response) on the most likely prospects for temples that may be announced in the October General Conference.
That is the intent, but if I am unable to track down information on the sizes of current temple districts, or other pertinent information that may factor into those discussions, that will be a challenge to work around when the timing is right. Stay tuned for more on that as I figure all of that out. I cannot say for certain, but if all goes well, I will hope to start on that series within the next couple of weeks or so.
That does it for this post. As mentioned above, and as always, any and all comments are 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.
I also wanted to just put this out there as well: Because I am still looking for ways to expand this blog's readership and audience (though I am continually impressed with how quickly the numbers of those reading these posts has gone up lately), there may be individuals who are newcomers to this blog. For that reason, I wanted to reiterate something I have said previously: Because of current health challenges that prevent me from working at the moment (which I hope will change in the next few months, or possibly sooner), blogging is one of many ways I fill my time.
So I do keep fairly close tabs on developments here on my blog, with particular attention to those comments that are being made. Since I have previously had experience moderating online discussions, my general practice has been to personally reply to every comment made on this blog. But I do worry that my doing so may be misunderstood. With that in mind, I wanted to just again let all of you know that I do appreciate any comments made on this blog.
Since I do personally reply to most comments made here, I hope that everyone understands that I do not mean to cut off future comments on these posts. If someone has provided insightful feedback here, I want to show my appreciation for those thoughts, and I also want to take time to address questions and corrections, and to clarify anything I have said that I have worried may be misunderstood.
So if any of you see one (or more) comments from me personally on these threads, I hope you all know that I am not trying to end feedback on the posts. If there are things I need to clarify, amend, or correct, I want to make sure that takes place. If anyone has felt that one or more comments from me in response to other comments made on the posts here are meant to either end the dialogue on these posts, or are meant to discourage future comments on them, that was never my intention, and if that is the case for any one of you, I sincerely apologize.
My hope is that, as people read the posts here and the conversations that take place in the comments (both by me and by others here), that "all may be edified and rejoice together." I also wanted to announce that, within the next month or two, as time, circumstances, and available information allows me to do so, I will likely be gathering data to begin a second round of posts on the most likely near-future temple prospects for each of the Church's geographical areas.
While I welcome any comments on any post at any time from anyone, for the posts about temple prospects, the intent will be to have an open commenting period for the next 3.5 months or so, which I hope will allow ample time for discussion of my thoughts (and your comments in response) on the most likely prospects for temples that may be announced in the October General Conference.
That is the intent, but if I am unable to track down information on the sizes of current temple districts, or other pertinent information that may factor into those discussions, that will be a challenge to work around when the timing is right. Stay tuned for more on that as I figure all of that out. I cannot say for certain, but if all goes well, I will hope to start on that series within the next couple of weeks or so.
That does it for this post. As mentioned above, and as always, any and all comments are 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Apology and Personal Update
Hello again, everyone! As this post title indicates, I have felt a need to share a personal update and to issue a general apology. I want to first explain some personal circumstances I have had to which I have previously alluded, but the details of which I have not shared here.
The best way I can describe things is to note that, in November, I had learned that my insurance would no longer cover one of my major medications, and the four months since then have involved my doctor approving a slight increase in another of my medications to compensate for this loss, only for my wife and I to find out that my insurance needed additional information from both my doctor and myself before they would cover the increase of the other medication.
So within the last four months, in addition to the general illnesses with which my wife and I are still struggling, I have had to spend a lot of time every week for at least three days per week doing everything of which I could think to get this situation figured out.
When not trying to settle that fiasco, I have continued to use my enthusiasm for Church and temple news to pass along the updates I have done within that same time. And I have also worked as I can on looking into increasing the number of views and comments on this blog and the amount I am able to earn from it. As part of that process, I have focused some efforts into increasing my blog's visibility in Google search results within the nations from which most of my page views come.
That brings me to my reason for wanting to apologize. I have been very gratified to see the number of views and comments increase on my blog during this time, in addition to seeing an increase, however slight, in my blog earnings as a result of my efforts to expand the reach of my blog.
But I am ashamed to realize that there have been a number of times within the last few months while all of this has been going on that my frustrations over the stress of this situation may have boiled over into my response to comments made here, and for that, I apologize to you all.
I am very much grateful to all who have been gracious enough to comment up to now, and I hope you will all continue to let me know your thoughts going forward. The conversations here make my day more often than not, and I appreciate the ongoing dialogue regarding those things about which I have "sounded off".
But I worry that I don't do as well as I should in showing the genuine appreciation I have for such insights, and I would like to commit here and now to doing that to a larger and more full extent going forward. Together with you, I hope to continue to celebrate all the wonderful Church and temple news that will occur for several years to come.
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.
The best way I can describe things is to note that, in November, I had learned that my insurance would no longer cover one of my major medications, and the four months since then have involved my doctor approving a slight increase in another of my medications to compensate for this loss, only for my wife and I to find out that my insurance needed additional information from both my doctor and myself before they would cover the increase of the other medication.
So within the last four months, in addition to the general illnesses with which my wife and I are still struggling, I have had to spend a lot of time every week for at least three days per week doing everything of which I could think to get this situation figured out.
When not trying to settle that fiasco, I have continued to use my enthusiasm for Church and temple news to pass along the updates I have done within that same time. And I have also worked as I can on looking into increasing the number of views and comments on this blog and the amount I am able to earn from it. As part of that process, I have focused some efforts into increasing my blog's visibility in Google search results within the nations from which most of my page views come.
That brings me to my reason for wanting to apologize. I have been very gratified to see the number of views and comments increase on my blog during this time, in addition to seeing an increase, however slight, in my blog earnings as a result of my efforts to expand the reach of my blog.
But I am ashamed to realize that there have been a number of times within the last few months while all of this has been going on that my frustrations over the stress of this situation may have boiled over into my response to comments made here, and for that, I apologize to you all.
I am very much grateful to all who have been gracious enough to comment up to now, and I hope you will all continue to let me know your thoughts going forward. The conversations here make my day more often than not, and I appreciate the ongoing dialogue regarding those things about which I have "sounded off".
But I worry that I don't do as well as I should in showing the genuine appreciation I have for such insights, and I would like to commit here and now to doing that to a larger and more full extent going forward. Together with you, I hope to continue to celebrate all the wonderful Church and temple news that will occur for several years to come.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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