BREAKING NEWS: Next Batch of New Hymns Released

Hello again, everyone! Per an email that I received from the Church last week, the next batch of new hymns is expected to be released today. I am not sure how many hymns that will be, or what they might be. But I look forward to finding that out for sure. But today, I am also undergoing gallbladder surgery. So my analysis of the newly-released hymns will be delayed until further notice. But I look forward to providing my thoughts on that announcement ASAP. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple Open House Begins; Groundbreaking Held for the Wichita Kansas Temple; Groundbreaking Scheduled for the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple

Hello again, everyone! The latest temple news was shared this afternoon. The Newsroom has covered the start of the public open house for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple, confirmed the groundbreaking for the Wichita Kansas Temple, and set the groundbreaking for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple. Since the first two updates speak for themselves, all that remains is to cover the groundbreaking for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple.

The groundbreaking will occur on Saturday, November 2, 2024, with Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, who serves as Second Counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency, presiding. Prior to today's announcement, the Tarawa Kiribati Temple was the temple for which its site had been confirmed for the longest period without a groundbreaking announcement being made. Given the fact that this groundbreaking was scheduled for just under two months from now, I think we will see other groundbreakings set to occur between now and then.

I also wanted to take a look at how this changes temple groundbreakings in 2023 vs. 2024. As you can see, there will be 12 groundbreakings (if nothing else is scheduled between now and then)  this year in roughly the same amount of time it took for the Church to have 8 groundbreakings last year. So that's significant.

I will just add here that I was a little surprised that there was no site announcement for the Tacoma Washington Temple as I had previously reported, so the information I received about that was clearly in error. I apologize if I misled anyone to believe something that didn't turn out to be true.  

Stay tuned here for updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

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

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING APOSTOLIC NEWS: President Nelson Becomes the First Prophetic and Apostolic Centenarian

Hello again, everyone! Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, makes history today as he becomes the first apostle and prophet to become a centenarian. As was recently announced, a broadcast commemorating this milestone will occur at 4:00 PM today. In the interim, let's talk about this wonderful man whom we sustain as the prophet, seer and revelator for the Church, and the only man currently authorized to exercise all priesthood keys. Russell Marion Nelson was born in Salt Lake City Utah to Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson on this day in 1924 (just a day before the birth of Boyd K. Packer, his future immediate predecessor to the Presidency of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).

Though he grew up in a loving family, his parents were not active in the Church. As a teenager, he went looking for books about the Church at Deseret Book. His parents allowed him and his siblings to be baptized when he was 16. President Nelson married his first wife, Dantzel, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have nine daughters and one son. When his wife unexpectedly died in 2005, he described having "inconsolable grief" for a time. He married Wendy Watson, a BYU professor, the following April.

He studied at LDS Business College and went on to obtain his BA and MD at the University of Utah. He simultaneously trained as a surgeon and did doctoral studies at the University of Utah. He was part of the research team that developed the heart-lung machine that was first used for an open-heart operation on a human being in 1951. He spent two years on medical duty for the US Army during the Korean War, then underwent another training period in Boston at the prestigious Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts General Hospital.

At one key point in his medical career, the University of Chicago was anxious to get him to come and teach at their school of medicine, so the president of that university asked Dallin H., Oaks, then a professor at the law school, to try and persuade him to come. Then-Brother Oaks did his best to convince then-Brother Nelson to accept the offer. But Church President David O. McKay advised Brother Nelson not to go, so he turned down that opportunity.

In 1955, he accepted a teaching opportunity at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he built his own heart-and-lung machine. Around a year later, he was on duty to perform the first pediatric cardiac operation. In 1960, he performed the first successful operative repair of a tricuspid heart valve. Being worried that a surgical procedure he had been asked to perform was too risky for anyone, he requested and received a blessing from then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball, who was one of his patients.

That surgery was a success, and he later used the same technique to operate on Elder Kimball himself, a risky procedure, which only moved forward following a pointed directive from President Harold B. Lee, who at that time was serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency. While performing that operation, Brother Nelson had the overwhelming feeling that President Kimball would one day be President of the Church.

As a result of that operation's success, Church members were blessed to enjoy the counsel and ministry of President Kimball for almost another decade and a half. The doctor-patient relationship he experienced with President Kimball enabled Brother Nelson to write a letter of assurance about President Kimball's health when the latter was called as Church President. President Nelson has served in many positions on different hospital boards and has received several awards for his pioneering work. He likewise had many service opportunities in the Church. He served as a stake president for over six years, during which time he served alongside another future fellow apostle, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

In mid-1970, Ernest L. Wilkinson, then president of BYU, submitted his resignation, which went into effect early the following year. As Neal A. Maxwell, Commissioner of Church Education, searched for a replacement, Brother Nelson was one of the candidates considered for the position, which was in due course filled by Brother Nelson's future apostolic seatmate, Dallin H. Oaks.

In the meantime, Brother Nelson was called in June of 1971 as the Sunday School General President (during which time, Brother Wirthlin would again serve alongside him.) Brother Nelson would go on to also serve in the now-defunct calling of regional representative, during which time, having been present when President Kimball suggested that some of them should learn Mandarin Chinese, he took on that task in obedience to the prophet's counsel.

In April 1984, with the advice and consent of President Spencer W. Kimball, President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, called Brother Nelson to fill one of two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Then-Brother Oaks was called to fill the other vacancy, and the two have sat side-by-side in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since that time.

In the natural course of life between then-Elder Nelson's apostolic call (announced on April 7, 1984) and early July 2015, the Church had lost 4 Chrch Presidents and all of the apostles senior to then-Church President Thomas S. Monson, in addition to all apostles junior to President Monson but senior to Elder Nelson. The last of those was President Boyd K. Packer, whose passing on July 3, 2015 led to Elder Nelson becoming the de facto President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was officially set apart in that capacity 12 days later, on Wednesday July 15, 2015, by Church President Thomas S. Monson, who had by that time begun to decrease his involvement in the day-to-day administration of the Church.

When the Church released an official statement in mid-May 2017, which noted that President Monson would no longer be taking an active role in leading the Church, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Nelson filled a vital role in assisting President Monson's counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in taking care of the day-to-day administration of the Church.

When President Monson passed away on January 2. 2018, President Nelson directed the affairs of the Church as the senior apostle (and the de facto Acting President of the Church) for 12 days before his ordination and setting apart as Church President.

Following his ordination, he met individually with each of the other 12 apostles to get their input on who should serve as his counselors and who should be called to fill the resulting 2 vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Once that process was complete, he selected as his counselors his seatmate, Elder Oaks, and Elder Eyring, who had served as a counselor to both Presidents Monson and Gordon B. Hinckley, as his First and Second Counselors, respectively, in the First Presidency. As a result of that reorganization, Elder Uchtdorf again took his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During the broadcast and subsequent press conference when the new First Presidency was introduced to the world on Tuesday January 16, President Nelson paid tribute to his predecessor's counselors and mentioned that both were willing to now serve where they were most needed. The responsibilities assigned to Elder Uchtdorf were those previously held by the senior three apostles of the Church, Presidents Nelson and Oaks, and the new Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, M. Russell Ballard.

Even prior to serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, or subsequently as President of the Church, President Nelson took great care of his fellow Brethren in the apostleship.

Many of you will recall how, in the midst of an address about charity, the pure love of Christ, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin began shaking uncontrollably, In a silent demonstration of what his colleague was teaching, Elder Nelson stood by and supported Elder Wirthlin until he closed his address, then gently helped him back to his seat. Not long after Elder Richard G. Scott underwent a needed surgical procedure, he was surprised to learn that President Nelson had stood inside the operating room observing the procedure in its entirety.

And, of course, as recounted during the funeral of Elder Robert D. Hales, following the Sunday Morning Session of the October 2017 General Conference, President Nelson felt impressed skip his lunch break and go immediately to the hospital to visit Elder Robert D. Hales, who passed away within a few minutes after President Nelson arrived.

President Nelson has demonstrated a keen intellect, a willingness to seek for and follow revelation from the Lord, and an undeviating loyalty and full commitment to his family, his Church, and his apostolic colleagues. We have seen him respond swiftly to such revelation, and perhaps the greatest details of the revelation he continues to receive regularly are yet-to-be revealed in the upcoming General Conference.

I have always been impressed and touched by President Nelson's remarks. He has given 112 addresses thus far in General Conference, including 65 following his call to the apostleship, 5 given while he served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and 42 so far which he has given since becoming President of the Church. By all accounts, although he is still in recovery from his back injury, he continues to think, move, and act with the health, vigor, and energy of one several decades younger than his current 100 years. Something Sister Nelson has repeated in public comments is that she is highly suspicious of his birth certificate, because he is anything but a typical centenarian.

Leading up to this monumental milestone, the Church News provided extensive coverage on the prophet's life and ministry. It is its' own section near the bottom of the Church News homepage. I had hoped to link to that particular section, but apparently I am not able to do so.

I am grateful for the chance to have paid this birthday tribute to President Nelson. He and all of the other apostles have my unequivocal and everlasting support and sustaining vote. I know for myself that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God, that he will not lead us astray, that he speaks for and on the behalf of he Lord and that we will be blessed by the Lord as we follow the counsel given by His chosen mouthpiece.

I continue to monitor all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

UPDATED: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on Sunday, July 21, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents, in addition to updated information on the tenure lengths for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

The first document likewise notes information on the tenure length rankings for three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (with the current First Presidency now moving up on that list), in addition to the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), and an overview of when each of those current groups will move up on the list. As previously noted, the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and apostolic group will not join that list until 2027, assuming no other apostles pass away between now and then.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the same data for the combined First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 3 of the current 15 apostles being on that list), and a final table showing the remaining time between today and when each of the other 12 apostles will become nonagenarians and join that list. Please note that, although his 100th birthday is not until tomorrow, President Nelson's decimal age is already 100.00, rounded up to the nearest hundredth.

With these apostolic data updates coming every 7 weeks, the next update will be posted here on the morning of Sunday, October 27. Hopefully, this post is of interest to you all. Again, I offer an open invitation to ask anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. I continue to monitor all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now.

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Honoring Elder Quentin L. Cook on His 84th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share some thoughts about Elder Quentin L. Cook in honor of his 84th birthday today. Let's dive right into that subject. Quentin LaMar Cook was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook on this day in 1940 in Logan, Utah. His ancestry includes his great-great-grandfather, Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was one of the original apostles of the Church and who was instrumental in bringing the gospel to England and supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith at key moments when apostates made efforts to replace Brother Joseph as the Lord's mouthpiece.

Young Quentin was a middle child, having an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in a very gospel-centered home, although his father eventually lost interest in Church activity .At age 15, he had a discussion with his brother Joe that changed his life. Joe was unsure whether to continue with his medical school studies, or to delay that in order to serve a mission, with their father favoring the former. During that conversation, they determined that either the gospel was true or it wasn't, and that if it was, serving a mission would be the best use of Joe's time. Joe’s decision to go resulted in young Quentin eventually accepting his own call to serve in the British Mission.

One of his two mission presidents was Elder Marion D. Hanks, who simultaneously served as a general authority. At one point during his mission, his companion was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Though the two didn't know it at the time, both would go on to serve as General Authority Seventies and as colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Cook later noted the following in relation to Elder Holland:

"Sometimes we receive revelation even when we do not know the Lord’s purposes. Shortly before Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was called to be an Apostle in June of 1994, I had a beautiful revelatory experience that he would be called. I was a regional representative and could see no reason I would be given that knowledge. But we were companions as young missionaries in England in the early 1960s, and I had a great love for him. I considered the experience a tender mercy for me. In recent years, I have wondered if the Lord was preparing me to be junior in the Twelve to an incredible missionary companion who was my junior companion when we were young missionaries. I sometimes warn young missionaries to be kind to their junior companions because they never know when they might be their senior companion."

Elder Cook returned from his mission with a strong testimony of the Savior and a resolve to associate with people who love the Savior, both within and outside of the Church. He married his high school sweetheart Mary Gaddie in the Logan Utah Temple on November 30, 1962. Their posterity includes three children and numerous grandchildren.

He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in political science and from Stanford University with a juris doctorate degree.As a managing partner in a San Francisco Bay area law firm, he specialized in business law. He later became president and chief executive officer of California Healthcare System, and vice chairman of Sutter Health Systems. His church service has included being a bishop, stake president’s counselor (during a period of time when his brother Joe was president of that same stake), stake president, regional representative, and area authority. While he was in the stake presidency, he was instilled with a love of people from all nations when he had responsibility for Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations.

He was named a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6, 1996, and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 1998. He served as a member of area presidencies in the Philippines, the Pacific, and North America, and he also served executive director of the Church Missionary Department during the period of time that "Preach My Gospel" was developed and instituted as the standard guidebook for missionaries, and was subsequently called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2007.

Nine days after that, the death of President James E. Faust, who had been serving as Second Counselor to Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, would wind up having an unexpected impact on Elder Cook's life. As the October General Conference rolled around, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring was called as President Hinckley's new Second Counselor, which created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 6, 2007, Elder Cook was sustained to fill that vacancy, and he was ordained an apostle five days later.

Elder Cook has spoken 36 times in General Conference: twice as a General Authority Seventy and 32 additional times in the almost-17 years since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for his service as a special witness of Christ, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other apostles.

I wanted to note here that, later today (September 8), I will also be publishing the latest current apostolic data update. Then tomorrow, I will publish a post in honor of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who will then be the first prophetic and apostolic centenarian.

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

If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Updates Provided on Cagayan de Oro Philippines, Vancouver Washington, and Tallahassee Florida Temples

Hello again, everyone! As I was reminded in this comment on Saturday, Monday's Labor Day observance in the United States meant Church headquarters was closed. Therefore, the usual Monday major temple construction announcement was pushed to today. The First Presidency today confirmed that the groundbreaking for the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple took place as scheduled on Saturday.

Further, they released a rendering for the Vancouver Washington Temple, The first update speaks for itself. If any of you reading this update know more about temple architecture and design than I do, please feel free to make any comments you like about this newest rendering. It reminds me a lot of the Burley Idaho and Temples. I will restrict my own comments on that rendering to that observation.

Finally, a change was announced to the previously scheduled dedication of the Tallahassee Florida Temple. While the open house and dedication dates remain the same, the dedication will now consist of a single session at 10:00 AM EST rather than two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM EST. As I mentioned in my original report on the Tallahassee Florida Temple's dedicatory arrangements, the dedication in question comes on the same day as the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. 

While the previously announced arrangements wouldn't have allowed Elder Kearon to attend or speak at that devotional, the new arrangements might. Something I will definitely take into consideration when making my predictions for that devotional later this year. So, the only really "new" news was the updated arrangements for the Tallahassee dedication and the exterior rendering for Vancouver.

Since the finishing touches are still being added to the Antofagasta Chile Temple, I assume the earliest the temple could be dedicated is February or March of next year. I was also somewhat disappointed by the lack of temple groundbreaking announcements, more exterior renderings released, or site locations confirmed. Hopefully, those will come next week. I will also correct what I said elsewhere about there likely not being such an announcement next week since the Church will, at minimum, cover the media day for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple.

Stay tuned here for all updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites, as I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all ASAP after I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Casper Wyoming Temple Open House Commences; Dedication Arrangements Updated (2,400th Blog Post)

Hello again, everyone! On this Monday, the open house for the Casper Wyoming Temple has commenced. Elder Randall K. Bennett, North America Central Area President, Elder James R. Rasband, Assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department, and Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson were on hand to welcome guests.

Ordinarily, that update would not require a new post and a comment on my previous post would suffice. But with this media day being held, the dedication arrangements for the Casper Wyoming Temple have been updated. Previously scheduled to occur on October 13 in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM MDT, the dedication will now occur in one session at 10:00 AM MDT on Sunday, November 24. 

No reason was given for the adjustment to the dedication arrangements. But what this means is that the dedications of the Salvador Brazil and Deseret Peak Utah Temples will actually precede the dedication of the Casper Wyoming Temple. And this also means that the Deseret Peak Utah Temple will be the 200th dedicated temple of the Church rather than the Salvador Brazil Temple.

Since the open house commencement was reported during this 10:00 AM hour, I fully expect and believe that an additional major temple construction announcement will be made as usual during the 2:00 PM hour. I will have another breaking news report on that announcement as soon as possible after it is made. 

I also continue to monitor any and all other Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. With that in mind, while this post was being prepared for publication, the Church News also covered this update.

That does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below.

If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Information Released for the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a comment I posted earlier today, I noted the open house commencing for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple and theorized that it would not be the only major temple construction announcement today. As it happens, I was correct. The First Presidency has confirmed the site location and preliminary information for the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple. Let's get right into the details:

As you might recall, the Tulsa Oklahoma Temple was announced by President Nelson last October. Unless I am mistaken, Tulsa is the first US temple originally announced at that time to have a site confirmed. At the northwest corner of a 25.7-acre site at 51st St. and 136th E Avenue, Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, the Church plans to build a single-story temple of approximately 29,600 square feet.

As a result of this update, the Church now has 105 announced temples, 5 of which have groundbreakings scheduled (with 3 of those groundbreakings set to take place this weekend). Of the remaining 100, sites have been confirmed for 54 others (with renderings having been released for 22 of those 54), and the remaining 46 lack official information.

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

Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

President Dallin H. Oaks Celebrates His 92nd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 12, it's time to pay tribute to the third (and last) apostle who has his birthday this month. President Dallin H. Oaks is celebrating his 91st birthday. Let's take a look at key highlights from his life. Dallin Harris Oaks was born on this day in 1932 to Dr. Lloyd E. and Stella Harris Oaks in Provo, Utah. Included in his mother's ancestry is Martin Harris, who, as we know, was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. 

President Oaks' first name was given in honor of the last name of an artist with whom his mother had worked (as the model) for a statue in Springville Utah. His father was an ophthalmologist, and he died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis. Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave young Dallin some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken.

After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor. In the meantime, young Dallin attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer.

Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games. At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. 

He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later. He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis. He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that same period of time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. 

Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter resulted in lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. He also served on the foundational board of a Mormon thought periodical. He was also chairman of the university's disciplinary committee. He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. 

He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court. He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade.

However, a surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled prior to the April 1984 General Conference. Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference. Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained.

President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."

Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained, having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3. He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 39 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998.

Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since. In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile. With the death of President Thomas S. Monson in January 2018, Elder Oaks became the second most senior apostle.;

President Nelson, in becoming the new Church president, felt impressed to call his apostolic seat-mate, Elder Oaks, to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency. He was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018. President Oaks has given a total of 97 addresses in General Conference, the first of which was given during his service as BYU-Provo President. Interestingly enough, that address from the early 1970s is somehow not listed in the Church's repository webpage of his General Conference addresses). He gave 68 additional addresses in General Conference as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the remaining 27 (so far) as a member of the First Presidency. He currently ranks as both the second most senior member and the second oldest member of the First Presidency, while he is the second in overall apostolic seniority, and the second-oldest apostle who is currently serving.

I am honored to have been able to pay tribute to him as he observes this milestone. I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, have indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks thereof.

That does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly-added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church To Hold a Special Broadcast for President Nelson's 100th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! The Church just reported breaking news a short time ago. In a letter dated today, President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, announced a September 9, 4:00 PM MDT broadcast program for President Nelson's 100th birthday. It will be held on the same day as his actual birthday, which is awesome

Since that is being held awards the end of a typical work schedule, I assume that the broadcast will be available for viewing after the fact. The broadcast details can be found in the appropriate articles, which I will allow to speak for themselves. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

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