Possible Change in Job Status and Wages

Hello, all! I know I said I would try to do another general update sometime this weekend, but time got away from me. There was, however, one item of personal news I couldn't wait to post. Early last week at work, I was told that one of our TLs (Team Leaders) would be leaving ROI and that the management was asking those interested to apply for the open position. Everyone I talked to said that they thought I'd make a great TL, so I decided to apply. On Wednesday night, I touched up my resume and printed it out, along with my letters of recommendation and a cover letter to our managers in which I highlighted some of the reasons I would make a good TL,  and I handed it in on Friday.

Getting the TL position would mean a possible change in schedule so I might once again have evenings to enjoy with Amy and for other events. It would mean a substantial pay raise. Everyone I told at work was excited for me and said that they hoped I would get it and that they thought I'd be great at it. I even told the woman I might be replacing about it (she's leaving for a better job), and she said she was excited for me, that she thought I'd do great as a TL, and that her team would love to have a guy like me heading them up.

As I was as headed out of work on Friday, I told another TL who has become a good friend. She is having some issues giving up her smoking habit, so I gave her a bit of a pep talk about the importance of getting rid of that habit, especially for herself and her recently born baby. She thanked me for my concern and told me that I would have her full support if I was selected as a team leader. Friday was the deadline to apply, and I imagine all candidates for the job (there are only a few of us, including a friend who has been on floor support before, which is the training position to become a TL) will be interviewed sometime this week and a determination made regarding the position soon after that.

Most of the people on my team have expressed their support to this other guy, but I have plenty of support from those that might be on my team as well as most of the currently serving TLs. It will be interesting to see what happens with that. I took today to fast that I might be able to get the position if it's the Lord's will, and I also fasted that my friend, the supervisor who is trying to give up  smoking, might receive the help she needs to kick the habit once and for all.

I seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I go through this process. I know that the worst that can happen is that I don't get the position, but I need all the help I can get. Even if I don't get the position, I will likely be asking for a raise in the near future. I believe I am the lowest paid employee @ ROI Solutions, and several people have told me that that's not right, and that I need to challenge that, stick up for myself, and request that I earn on average at least as much as most of the other ROI employees. So, even if I can't become a TL at this time, I hope I can get a pay raise.

That's all for now, as the hour is late. Please stay tuned for a report about how this will be resolved, hopefully by the end of the week. I appreciate all of you who read my blog, and I hope life is going well for each of you. Until I write again, all the best!

Clarification of My View and the Church's View on the Issue of Same-Gender Attraction

I was recently reminded by this article of the importance of ensuring that, when anything is stated or claimed in the public domain, all members of the Church must be certain that any views expressed in the public domain, such as blog posts like this, should ensure that Church doctrine is accurately relayed. To that end, I have included the link above to address and clarify my earlier expressed view of the Church's stance on same gender attraction. I have found another news release by the Church that further addresses this point. You will find it here. The more of this interview I read, the more convinced I became that I needed to use a link to it to clarify not only my stated position, but how the Church feels about this subject, and how they addressed many of the common questions about the Church's stance on same-gender attraction. This will not be the first time I have had to clarify something I said, and it probably won't be the last. To paraphrase a line from the original version of That Darn Cat!, "[I] have a most attractive way of putting [my] foot in [my] mouth." Now all that remains is for me to apologize if I have misrepresented the Church in my stated opinion, and to assert that both links above sum up my feelings and the Church's stance perfectly. Thank you for your understanding.

Big Temple News

Hello, dear readers. I have two major news items relating to temples that I want to share with you today. In a blog post written on Tuesday, June 16, I shared the Church's announcement of the Concepcion Chile Temple Groundbreaking. The Church shared an item in their Newsroom on that yesterday (Friday), additionally announcing that the Tucson Arizona Temple would have its groundbreaking on October 17 as well, also at 10:00 am. Here's the interesting thing about that: It will be 10:00 am in Chile when it is 7:00 am Utah time. And when it is 10:00 am in Tucson, Arizona, it will be 9:00 am Utah time. This will make the 3rd and 4th temples that have had ground broken this year. The designs for the new temples are very unique. I invite all who are interested to check out the news release for the designs. You will find the news release by following this link. Enjoy! Construction for each of the two new temples is expected to last 2 1/2-3 years.

The Church additionally announced that, on February 15, 2016, the Jordan River Utah temple will close for extensive renovation that is expected to last until late in 2017 or early in 2018. The renovation may involve a complete overhaul of the temple, including perhaps a change in the design. The Jordan River Utah temple was dedicated in November 1981 and has the distinction of being the one and only temple of the Church that was dedicated by President Marion G. Romney, who served for over 13 1/2 years as a member of the First Presidency and was, at the time of his death in 1988, serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

With these exciting announcements in temple news, the status of temples has changed greatly. Below is my analyzation of temple progress. Enjoy!

26. Mexico City Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday September 13, 2015.
86. Montreal Quebec Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday November 22, 2015.
91. Suva Fiji Temple: Scheduled to be rededicated Sunday February 21, 2016.
33. Freiberg Germany Temple: Anticipated to be completed in mid-2016.
8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2016.
41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Scheduled for renovation beginning September 7, 2015.
20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Scheduled for renovation beginning February 15, 2016

Under Construction:
148. Indianapolis Indiana Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 23, 2015.
149. Tijuana Mexico Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday December 13, 2015.
150. Provo City Center Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday March 20, 2016.
151. Rome Italy Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
156. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.
152. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
153. Sapporo Japan Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
157. Paris France Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.
158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2017.
159. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2017.
154. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Projected to be completed in 2018.

Announced:
160. Cedar City Utah Temple: Preparing site for groundbreaking ceremony; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday August 8, 2015.
161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking ceremony; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday October 17, 2015.
162. Tucson Arizona Temple: Preparing for groundbreaking ceremony; groundbreaking scheduled for Saturday October 17, 2015.
166. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple and site designs complete; groundbreaking pending.
163. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Planning and approval phase; land purchase finalized; groundbreaking pending.
169. Arequipa Peru Temple: Planning and approval phase; final piece of land for temple site acquired; groundbreaking pending.
165. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
168. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
164. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.
167. Durban South Africa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
171. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

To make the upcoming events easier to understand, here is my list of all announced upcoming temple events in chronological order, along with what the overall status of temples will be with each change. Hope you enjoy this list as well!

Upcoming Temple Events:

2015
1. Saturday August 8—Cedar City Utah Temple Groundbreaking (147 operating, 13 under construction, 13 announced, 5 undergoing renovation)
2. Sunday August 23—Indianapolis Indiana Temple Dedication (148 operating, 12 under construction, 13 announced, 5 undergoing renovation)
3. Monday September 7—Frankfurt Germany Temple Renovation begins (148 operating, 12 under construction, 13 announced, 6 undergoing renovation)
4. Sunday September 13—Mexico City Mexico Temple Rededication (148 operating, 12 under construction, 13 announced, 5 undergoing renovation)
5 & 6. Saturday October 17—Concepcion Chile (7 AM our time) and Tucson Arizona (9 AM our time) Temple Groundbreakings (148 operating, 14 under construction, 11 announced, 5 undergoing renovation)
7. Sunday November 22—Montreal Quebec Temple Rededication (148 operating, 14 under construction, 11 announced, 4 undergoing renovation)
8. Sunday December 13—Tijuana Mexico Temple Dedication (149 operating, 13 under construction, 11 announced, 4 undergoing renovation)

2016:
1. Monday February 15, 2016—Jordan River Temple Renovation begins (149 operating, 13 under construction, 11 announced, 5 undergoing renovation)
2. Sunday February 21—Suva Fiji Temple Rededication (149 operating, 13 under construction, 11 announced, 4 undergoing renovation)
3. Sunday March 20—Provo City Center Temple Dedication (150 operating, 12 under construction, 11 announced, 4 undergoing renovation)

Hope both lists made sense. As evidenced by both lists, the Cedar City temple groundbreaking is tomorrow. I am very excited about all these temple-related events and couldn't wait to share them with you all. Hope you all are well and that you enjoyed this post. You can be sure I will post again as soon as I can after additional Church-related news becomes available. And I will also be posting another update on our personal lives sometime this weekend or as soon as I can, so stay tuned for that. Best wishes!