Multipurpose Church News post

This post will highlight some of the major news items related to Church growth. Hang on to your hats! This will be a wild ride!

First, the Church has further updated the dress and grooming standards for missionaries. In mosquito-infested area where the Zika virus may be contracted, sister missionaries are now being allowed to wear slacks instead of skirts. Contrary to popular interpretation, these changes will not affect the fact that sister missionaries still need to wear skirts and dresses to Church, the temple, and during seasons when mosquitoes are not out in the air. That information can be found by clicking on this link, which will also list Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer of the Seventy's assignment as Assistant Executive Director of the Church Missionary Department, which I did not know before.

Second, Matthew Martinich has posted a major update on stakes and districts that have been created or discontinued within the past month. You can find that post by clicking on this link. Among those created are the first stakes in Benin and the Czech Republic, and additional stakes created in Argentina, Arizona, Australia, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Tennessee, Utah. A district has been reinstated in Ukraine, and a stake has been discontinued in Idaho, while a district has been discontinued in Papua New Guinea.

Third, more temples have had a new president announced, and I have analyzed how recently each temple has had a change in presidents. I have drawn up an improved list of temples that have received a new president and temples that may yet have a new president announced this year. Here's the list:

Temples getting a new president in 2016:

1.      Nashville Tennessee

2.      Fort Collins Colorado

3.      Star Valley Wyoming

4.      Hartford Connecticut

5.      Philadelphia Pennsylvania

6.      Columbia River Washington

7.      Chicago Illinois

8.      Mexico City Mexico

9.      Hong Kong China

10.  London England

11.  Manhattan New York

12.  Medford Oregon

13.  Dallas Texas

14.  Birmingham Alabama

15.  Seattle Washington

16.  Hamilton New Zealand

17.  Cochabamba Bolivia

18.  Gilbert Arizona

19.  Anchorage Alaska

20.  Curitiba Brazil

21.  Kyiv Ukraine

22.  Panama City Panama

Temples that may still get a new president this year:

1.      Aba Nigeria

2.      Campinas Brazil

3.      Ciudad Juarez Mexico

4.      Columbus Ohio

5.      Copenhagen Denmark

6.      Detroit Michigan

7.      Frankfurt Germany

8.      Fresno California

9.      Guadalajara Mexico

10.  Halifax Nova Scotia

11.  Johannesburg South Africa

12.  Lima Peru

13.  Melbourne Australia

14.  Memphis Tennessee

15.  Merida Mexico

16.  Monterey Mexico

17.  Montreal Quebec

18.  Nauvoo Illinois

19.  Nukualofa Tonga

20.  Perth Australia

21.  Provo Utah

22.  Quetzaltenango Guatemala

23.  Raleigh North Carolina

24.  Reno Nevada

25.  Rexburg Idaho

26.  St. George Utah Temple

27.  St. Paul Minnesota

28.  Santiago Chile

29.  Santo Domingo Dominican Republic

30.  Sapporo Japan (will be dedicated on August 21)

31.  Seoul Korea

32.  Spokane Washington

33.  Tampico Mexico

34.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple

35.  Twin Falls Idaho

36.  Winter Quarters Nebraska

Please let me know if I am in error on anything in this post. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to you all for your friendship and readership.

KSL Story: LDS Church condemns sexual assault; BYU Student Response Council Announced

KSL has been closely following developments related to the reported cases of sexual assault at BYU. The Church has been unequivocal about its condemnation of these heinous acts. In order to better deal with cases of sexual assault at BYU, a council has been formed from among the BYU leadership that will handle all facets of investigating such instances. I was happy to see the Church's response to this matter. Sexual assault is never okay, and my heart bleeds for those who have been affected by such things. I try to think how I would feel if I found out that someone I knew had that happen to them. I'd want to find those responsible and tear them apart with my bare hands. Some people are inclined to blame the victims, saying that they "brought those things upon themselves." It is far better for all concerned when this issue can be publicized and when steps can be taken to ensure this behavior does not go unpunished in anyone. You can find out more about this public response to this epidemic by following this link. Thanks for your readership and interest.

Missionary Dress Code updated to allow sun-protected gear

This just in: The Church has announced that, in an effort to ensure missionaries can be protected from the hot sun, especially during the summer, "simple and conservative sunglasses" and :wide-brimmed hats" may now be worn. This is the first time in Church history that I know of that has seen protective sunwear has been added to the missionary dress code. If I am in error on that point, please let me know. How wonderful it is to know that the Church is so concerned about protecting our missionaries from the elements. Have a great night!