Hello again, everyone! Mormon Newsroom shared this report on the dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple. President Henry B. Eyring presided at the first two sessions, and will also likely oversee the third and final one, which will begin in about 20 minutes.
Also in attendance were Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (who chairs the Temple and Family History Executive Council); General Authority Seventies Elder Timothy J. Dyches (an Assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department) and Mervyn B. Arnold (who is serving in undisclosed assignments at Church headquarters); Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary General President, who serves on the Temple and Family History Executive Council; and Bishop Dean M. Davies, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.
With this temple now having been rededicated, normal operations will resume on Tuesday May 22. I continue to monitor all temple developments and will pass those along to you all as I receive them. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Additional note (included at around 5:45 PM): The LDS Church News website provided additional context for today's rededication. Not only did President Eyring draw inspiration for the rededicatory prayer he wrote from the original prayer written by President Spencer W. Kimball and read by President Marion G. Romney, but I had somehow forgotten that President Kimball's wife was President Eyring's aunt, and that President Marion G. Romney was his father's first cousin.
So President Eyring's assignment to preside at this rededication was likely more a result of the double-layered familial connection to those involved in the first dedication than it was about President Nelson recognizing that President Eyring has had more experience in presiding at temple dedications. This assignment was personal for President Eyring, and it was a nice touch to see that recognized. Just wanted to add that. Thanks again to you all.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Jordan River Utah Temple 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.
Latest Apostolic Statistics: Part Two--Updated Ages & Other Important Information
Hello again, everyone! Having set the stage in the first part of this apostolic age update, we now move on to talk specifics regarding the ages of our apostles, the average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the 15 apostles as a group, current and future nonagenarians, and any other pertinent information. So let’s get right into all of that.
We start with the First Presidency. President Nelson is now 93 years, 8 months, and 11 days old, with a decimal age of 93.69 years. President Oaks is 85 years, 9 months, and 8 days old, with a decimal age of 85.77 years. President Eyring, who, as noted in the previous post, will observe his birthday in just 11 days, is now 84 years, 11 months, and 20 days old, putting his decimal age at 84.97 years.
The three have a combined 264.43 years of life experience, which puts their average age at 88.14 years as of today. As previously noted, President Oaks is the closest of the three to that average, as his age is 2.37 years below it. The ages of President Nelson and President Eyring respectively fall above and below that average.
We move on now to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Before I go into specifics on these 12 men, I wanted to note that, although I have previously listed this information in groups of four apostles, I decided that, starting with today’s update, and since the First Presidency has three members, it would make more sense to list this data in groups of three apostles each.
That said, President Ballard is 89 years, 6 months, and 12 days old as of today, with a decimal age of 89.61 years. Elder Holland is now 77 years, 5 months, and 17 days old, or 77.46 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf’s long-form age is 77 years, 6 months, and 14 days, which is 77.53 decimal years.
With Elder Bednar’s birthday being just under a month away, his long-form age is 65 years, 11 months, and 5 days old, or 65.93 years. The oldest but least-senior of our three apostles born in 1940 is Elder Cook, who has a long-form age of 77 years, 8 months, and 12 days, which is 77.70 years. For Elder Christofferson, he is 73 years, 2 months, and 15 days old, making his decimal age 73.20 years.
His seatmate, Elder Andersen, is now 66 years, 9 months, and 11 days old, making his decimal age 66.78 years. Elder Rasband, who, as previously noted, is just over six months older than Elder Andersen, has a long-form age of 67 years, 3 months, and 14 days, which is 67.28 decimal years. Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who, as noted previously, is now the second-youngest apostle, is currently 62 years, 9 months, and 14 days old, with a decimal age of 62.79.
Rounding out things with the final three Quorum members, Elder Renlund’s long-form age now stands at 65 years, 6 months, and 7 days old, which makes his decimal age 65.52 years. Elder Gong, who is just around 13 months younger than Elder Renlund, now has a long-form age of 64 years, 4 months, and 27 days, which is 64.41 years. Elder Soares, who is our only apostle currently under the age of 60, is exactly 59 years, 7 months, and 18 days old, which is 59.63 decimal years.
The current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have a combined 847.96 years, which averages out to 70.66 years. As I mentioned in my last update, 5 of those 12 are older than the average, while the other 7 are all younger than the average. And, as I mentioned before, Elders Christofferson is the youngest of those 5 oldest, and Elder Rasband is the oldest of the 7 youngest.
In adding the combined life experience of all 15 apostles, we get a total of 1,112.39 years, which an average age of 74.16 years. I may have been in error last time when I posted information about the apostles closest to that average. It appears that 7 of the apostles are older than that average, and 8 are younger, with Elder Holland being the youngest of the oldest, and Elder Christofferson being the oldest of the youngest.
We now move on to the nonagenarians. President Nelson remains the 7th oldest apostle, and he will move up on the list 13.5 months or so from now. President Ballard will join that list in around 4.5 months. Since the birthdays of Elder Soares and President Ballard occur less than a week apart in October, that means that Elder Soares is 30 years younger than President Ballard, his 90th birthday is around 30 years and 4.5 months away.
I continue to track all of this information, and will do my level best to pass updates on to you regularly. As I mentioned in my previous post, my hope is to post on this subject once every month or two. 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.
We start with the First Presidency. President Nelson is now 93 years, 8 months, and 11 days old, with a decimal age of 93.69 years. President Oaks is 85 years, 9 months, and 8 days old, with a decimal age of 85.77 years. President Eyring, who, as noted in the previous post, will observe his birthday in just 11 days, is now 84 years, 11 months, and 20 days old, putting his decimal age at 84.97 years.
The three have a combined 264.43 years of life experience, which puts their average age at 88.14 years as of today. As previously noted, President Oaks is the closest of the three to that average, as his age is 2.37 years below it. The ages of President Nelson and President Eyring respectively fall above and below that average.
We move on now to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Before I go into specifics on these 12 men, I wanted to note that, although I have previously listed this information in groups of four apostles, I decided that, starting with today’s update, and since the First Presidency has three members, it would make more sense to list this data in groups of three apostles each.
That said, President Ballard is 89 years, 6 months, and 12 days old as of today, with a decimal age of 89.61 years. Elder Holland is now 77 years, 5 months, and 17 days old, or 77.46 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf’s long-form age is 77 years, 6 months, and 14 days, which is 77.53 decimal years.
With Elder Bednar’s birthday being just under a month away, his long-form age is 65 years, 11 months, and 5 days old, or 65.93 years. The oldest but least-senior of our three apostles born in 1940 is Elder Cook, who has a long-form age of 77 years, 8 months, and 12 days, which is 77.70 years. For Elder Christofferson, he is 73 years, 2 months, and 15 days old, making his decimal age 73.20 years.
His seatmate, Elder Andersen, is now 66 years, 9 months, and 11 days old, making his decimal age 66.78 years. Elder Rasband, who, as previously noted, is just over six months older than Elder Andersen, has a long-form age of 67 years, 3 months, and 14 days, which is 67.28 decimal years. Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who, as noted previously, is now the second-youngest apostle, is currently 62 years, 9 months, and 14 days old, with a decimal age of 62.79.
Rounding out things with the final three Quorum members, Elder Renlund’s long-form age now stands at 65 years, 6 months, and 7 days old, which makes his decimal age 65.52 years. Elder Gong, who is just around 13 months younger than Elder Renlund, now has a long-form age of 64 years, 4 months, and 27 days, which is 64.41 years. Elder Soares, who is our only apostle currently under the age of 60, is exactly 59 years, 7 months, and 18 days old, which is 59.63 decimal years.
The current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have a combined 847.96 years, which averages out to 70.66 years. As I mentioned in my last update, 5 of those 12 are older than the average, while the other 7 are all younger than the average. And, as I mentioned before, Elders Christofferson is the youngest of those 5 oldest, and Elder Rasband is the oldest of the 7 youngest.
In adding the combined life experience of all 15 apostles, we get a total of 1,112.39 years, which an average age of 74.16 years. I may have been in error last time when I posted information about the apostles closest to that average. It appears that 7 of the apostles are older than that average, and 8 are younger, with Elder Holland being the youngest of the oldest, and Elder Christofferson being the oldest of the youngest.
We now move on to the nonagenarians. President Nelson remains the 7th oldest apostle, and he will move up on the list 13.5 months or so from now. President Ballard will join that list in around 4.5 months. Since the birthdays of Elder Soares and President Ballard occur less than a week apart in October, that means that Elder Soares is 30 years younger than President Ballard, his 90th birthday is around 30 years and 4.5 months away.
I continue to track all of this information, and will do my level best to pass updates on to you regularly. As I mentioned in my previous post, my hope is to post on this subject once every month or two. 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.
Latest Apostolic Statistics: Part One--Updated Information for the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, Church President, and Apostolic Tenures
Hello again, everyone! While I have no desire to detract
attention from the big news of the day, which is the Jordan River Utah Temple
rededication, it has been 6 weeks since I last posted an update on the latest apostolic
statistics. And although I do not want to distract focus from the coverage of
the Jordan River Utah Temple rededication that was held today, I have felt it
advisable to post these statistics right now. I will continue to post such
updates every month or two.
As always, before we begin discussing that information, I
wanted to note that I know that some of you might not find this information
interesting. For that reason, I will not be at all offended if any of you
choose to bypass this post, as there is a lot of information to unpack. For
those of you who are staying with me for this information, let’s dive right in
to this subject. It is more likely than not that I will split the data I will
be providing into two posts, as I have in the last little while.
I wanted to provide some updated observations regarding
apostolic birthdays. In 1.5 weeks, or 11 days (on May 31), President Eyring
will be observing his 85th birthday. And just over two weeks
(exactly 15 days) after that, Elder Bednar will mark his 66th
birthday. The next apostolic birthday will not occur for almost 7.5 weeks
(exactly 52 days) following that time.
I also wanted to note that I have recently expanded yet
again the amount of data I track, as such information puts the ongoing
statistics into a more complete and proper context. That said, as I also always
say, if any of you see anything that doesn’t look right in this report, I would
appreciate any corrections and clarifications. As I also always note, all data
contained herein is current as of today (May 20, 2018).
This update will also continue in the same order as
previous updates. We will start with some data about the Presidents of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, then turn our attention to the Presidents of the
Church. After discussing those things, the first post will end, and the second
(to be published shortly after the first) will then highlight all of the latest
data about all 15 of our apostles.
To start, let’s address President Oaks’ current tenure
length as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which will include
exploring how soon he will move up on this list. The length of his service has
currently spanned 4 months and 6 days. As noted in previous updates, he will be
marking 2 additional tenure milestones before the end of this year, and will be
marking 5 others in 2019.
In terms of those he will observe in 2018, on Sunday
September 16, he will become the 26th longest-serving Quorum
President, with his tenure being longer than that of President David O. McKay.
Just over a month later, on October 22, with his tenure length exceeding that
of President Gordon B. Hinckley, he will become the 25th
longest-serving Quorum President. Looking ahead to next year, he will mark
other milestones in April, July (in which he will observe two milestones two
days apart), November, and December. I will mention the specifics of those
milestones closer to that time.
Moving on now to President Nelson, since he was ordained
and set apart as Church president on the same day he set apart President Oaks
as Quorum President, his tenure has spanned 4 months and 6 days as well.
Nothing has changed since my last report regarding where he stands among the 16
other Church presidents in terms of his tenure length or age.
He will observe the first tenure length milestone of his presidency
in just under 5 months, on Thursday October 11 (when the length of his service
will be longer than that of President Howard W. Hunter). He will observe both
another tenure-related and his first age-related milestone two days apart in
July of 2019, with subsequent milestones more spread out in the years following
that. I will be detailing those more specifically closer to the time when they
will be reached.
Before closing out this portion of the update, I wanted
to add some information about the longest continuously-serving First
Presidencies, Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, and, for the first time ever,
some additional information about the groups of ordained apostles that have
served together for the longest periods of time.
As I may have mentioned in the last update I did, our
current First Presidency (Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, and Henry B.
Eyring) will not join the list of the longest continuously-serving First
Presidencies until Sunday April 1, 2024. Many have said that President Nelson
could (and likely will) serve for several years, so it will be interesting to
see what happens there.
By comparison, the current members of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles will not have to wait as long for the milestone that will put
them on the list of the longest-serving Quorums. Once they reach the 3-year
mark of service together (which will occur on March 31, 2021), they will join
that list, and they will move up on it fairly quickly after that.
And interestingly enough, the currently-serving First
Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will actually observe two
milestones as an apostolic group before the current Quorum of the Twelve
reaches their first milestone. But those milestones are still almost three
years away. I will discuss more specific milestones for each of these groups
closer to the time in which they will reach them.
With that said, I want to conclude this portion of the
update. 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 (which should be the second one on this subject and will be published
here within the next few minutes), 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.
Mesa Arizona Temple Closes for Renovation
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post now to note that I have confirmed that the Mesa Arizona Temple has officially closed for renovation. As I mentioned earlier, this is the second renovation for this temple, which was the 7th one dedicated during this dispensation that is still operating today.
With the knowledge that this temple has been renovated previously, I have felt safe in assuming and asserting that its' rededication (which is anticipated to occur sometime during 2020) will fall somewhere in between the rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple (which is a smaller one from the Kimball era) and the Washington D. C. Temple (which is larger and is just barely having its' first renovation done).
The one unknown in that regard is the status of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple. As many of you might recall my mentioning previously, there has still not been any confirmation that the renovation process has formally begun for that temple. While I hope to find out soon that it has, unless a miracle occurs, the rededication of that temple might be pushed back from sometime during 2019 to either the early or even middle part of 2020.
To the best of my ability, I continue to monitor all temple developments, and I will be sure to pass those along to you as I become aware 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.
With the knowledge that this temple has been renovated previously, I have felt safe in assuming and asserting that its' rededication (which is anticipated to occur sometime during 2020) will fall somewhere in between the rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple (which is a smaller one from the Kimball era) and the Washington D. C. Temple (which is larger and is just barely having its' first renovation done).
The one unknown in that regard is the status of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple. As many of you might recall my mentioning previously, there has still not been any confirmation that the renovation process has formally begun for that temple. While I hope to find out soon that it has, unless a miracle occurs, the rededication of that temple might be pushed back from sometime during 2019 to either the early or even middle part of 2020.
To the best of my ability, I continue to monitor all temple developments, and I will be sure to pass those along to you as I become aware 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, May 19, 2018
Cultural Celebration Held for Jordan River Utah Temple
Hello again, everyone! Tonight, the Church held the cultural celebration for the Jordan River Utah Temple. President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, presided at the event. It makes sense that President Nelson asked President Eyring to be there, since he has had experience presiding over such events.
What I am not sure of is whether that means that President Eyring will also dedicate the temple tomorrow. I noted earlier my feeling that President Nelson would likely preside at this event since it is the first major temple event of his administration. But if President Nelson felt inclined to defer to President Eyring in view of his having had more time in the First Presidency, that would not surprise me either. You can find the Church News summary of that cultural celebration here.
I wanted to offer some additional thoughts not directly related to this rededication. We have seen President Nelson delegating things very early in his presidency. President Ballard presided at the private rededication of the Houston Texas Temple last month at the request of President Nelson, and, of the five general conference sessions held last month, he only conducted the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference.
It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in terms of whether President Eyring or someone else might preside over the rededication of this temple, and what might occur with the dedications of the Concepcion Chile and Barranquilla Colombia Temples later this year. I continue to monitor all such developments and will do my best to post those here as I become aware of any news in that regard.
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.
What I am not sure of is whether that means that President Eyring will also dedicate the temple tomorrow. I noted earlier my feeling that President Nelson would likely preside at this event since it is the first major temple event of his administration. But if President Nelson felt inclined to defer to President Eyring in view of his having had more time in the First Presidency, that would not surprise me either. You can find the Church News summary of that cultural celebration here.
I wanted to offer some additional thoughts not directly related to this rededication. We have seen President Nelson delegating things very early in his presidency. President Ballard presided at the private rededication of the Houston Texas Temple last month at the request of President Nelson, and, of the five general conference sessions held last month, he only conducted the Sunday Morning Session of General Conference.
It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in terms of whether President Eyring or someone else might preside over the rededication of this temple, and what might occur with the dedications of the Concepcion Chile and Barranquilla Colombia Temples later this year. I continue to monitor all such developments and will do my best to post those here as I become aware of any news in that regard.
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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