I wanted to use this post to weigh in on some important posts done by Matthew Martinich, the blogger of the LDS Church Growth blog.
This one discusses potential new missions that may be announced and created next year. There follows in the comments an excellent and instructive series of comments regarding the growth in the Church resulting from the creation of new church units.
This one was supposed to highlight the creation of new stakes recently in Arizona, Brazil and Utah, along with the creation of a new district in the Ivory Coast. For some reason, and for the first time in all the time I've followed Matt's blog, the information about the new Utah stake was not included in that post. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I only mention this next part reluctantly. Since the new stake was in St. George, the birth city of my father, and since I was curious about the new stake that was referenced, I dug as deeply as I could. It occurred to me after a few minutes that I could find the information on Rick Satterfield's excellent LDS Church Temples site by looking under the St. George Temple District. There I found the information on the wards in that stake, and I reported my findings in my next comment on that post. Matt initially promised to include the information in the post later last week, but he must have decided against doing so.
As Matt noted in an earlier post this month, the Church is well on track to have created 100 stakes this year. That's the most stake creations in a single year within the past decade. And as has been noted on Matt's blog itself, only nine more stakes need to be created in the four weeks between now and then. With about 3 weeks to get those stakes created (no stakes are likely to be created on Christmas Day), only 3 per week is the magic number to reach that milestone.
Church growth is significant, of that there is no doubt. And we are blessed to live in a time when the growth of the Church can be found at the click of a button. Matt's strength seems to be noting overall Church growth. With Rick's excellent site, you can easily learn of the latest Church units created, and especially the latest in temple news. I hope this blog is one that can also be looked to for the latest news, whatever it is, about the LDS Church. If that can be my lifelong labor of love, and if I can make a difference for just one person by blogging about such things, I will count myself most lucky.
Thanks for reading and (if you feel so inclined), giving me your feedback on my posts. It always helps to hear about people who follow this blog and to have their insights into what I have to report. Thanks to you all.
On this blog, I, James Stokes, share insights and analysis covering the latest news and developments reported about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My specific emphasis and focus is on the ministry of our current apostles, General Conference, and up-to-date temple information. This site is neither officially owned, operated, or endorsed by the Church, and I, as the autthor thereof, am solely responsible for this content.
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Monday, November 28, 2016
Important posts by Matthew Martinich
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.
Apostolic Age Averages
With the next apostolic birthday on Saturday (Elder Holland will be 76), this second post shares the latest apostolic age averages.
These averages are current as of yesterday.
With the updates I made to my tables, I am pleased to report that the average age of the First Presidency is 82.94. That average is getting closer to the age of President Eyring. President Eyring is 83.94 years old, while President Monson is 89.21 and President Uchtdorf is 76.06.
The average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.49. President Nelson is 92.22 years old. Elder Oaks is 84.29, while Elder Ballard is 88.14. Elder Hales, younger than Elder Oaks by just twelve days, is 84.26.
Elder Holland, with his birthday just days away, is 75.98. Elder Bednar, the oldest and most senior of our 3 youngest apostles, is 64.45. Elder Coo, the oldest and least senior of the three apostles born in 1940, is 76.22. Elder Christofferson is 71.84 years old.
Elder Andersen is 65.80. Elder Rasband is just over six months older than Elder Andersen and is 65.81. Elder Stevenson is the very youngest at 61.30. The next youngest and least senior Elder Renlund is 64.04.
With these average ages, the easy calculation of the average age of the group of 15 apostle is 76.18.
Hope this information is helpful and informative to you. Thanks for your readership and for any and all feedback that may be provided.
These averages are current as of yesterday.
With the updates I made to my tables, I am pleased to report that the average age of the First Presidency is 82.94. That average is getting closer to the age of President Eyring. President Eyring is 83.94 years old, while President Monson is 89.21 and President Uchtdorf is 76.06.
The average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.49. President Nelson is 92.22 years old. Elder Oaks is 84.29, while Elder Ballard is 88.14. Elder Hales, younger than Elder Oaks by just twelve days, is 84.26.
Elder Holland, with his birthday just days away, is 75.98. Elder Bednar, the oldest and most senior of our 3 youngest apostles, is 64.45. Elder Coo, the oldest and least senior of the three apostles born in 1940, is 76.22. Elder Christofferson is 71.84 years old.
Elder Andersen is 65.80. Elder Rasband is just over six months older than Elder Andersen and is 65.81. Elder Stevenson is the very youngest at 61.30. The next youngest and least senior Elder Renlund is 64.04.
With these average ages, the easy calculation of the average age of the group of 15 apostle is 76.18.
Hope this information is helpful and informative to you. Thanks for your readership and for any and all feedback that may be provided.
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.
Temple Construction Progress Update
This will be the first in a series of four posts created one after another today because Church News and Events have warranted it. This first post is to inform you of important developments in temple construction progress.
Here is my latest report. As always, any and all comments are appreciated.
Here is my latest report. As always, any and all comments are appreciated.
Temple Construction Progress Report
(current as of 11/28/16)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled
for dedication; 10 under construction; 1 groundbreaking scheduled; 1
scheduled for rededication; 2
undergoing renovation; 11 announced; (NOTE: Up to 2 additional temples may soon have a
groundbreaking announced).
Dedication scheduled:
156. Paris
France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates
announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Installing interior and exterior light fixtures; interior work and
landscaping progressing; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Installing sprinkler
systems and planting bushes; installing window frames and art glass; completion
anticipated sometime in late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Pouring concrete parking lot; adding landscaping structures; completion
anticipated sometime in late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
161. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Cupola assembly attached to steeple framework; paving main entrance; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
162. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Building
the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.
163.
Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring the foundations; connecting to city
utilities; installing sewage lines; landscaping entrance mounds; completion
anticipated sometime in 2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.
165.
Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Concrete forms surrounding main floor exterior walls; completion
anticipated sometime in 2019.
166. Lisbon Portugal Temple:
Pouring meetinghouse footings; clearing temple site; completion
anticipated sometime in 2019.
Groundbreaking scheduled:
167.
Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Plans approved September 12, 2016; groundbreaking
scheduled for Saturday December 3, 2016 @ noon (11 am
MST).
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for
Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in late
2017.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime in 2018.
Announced:
168. Arequipa Peru
Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.
169. Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Temple: Construction preparation phase; plans approved by local government;
groundbreaking pending.
170. Urdaneta
Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site
announcement.
171. Port-au-Prince
Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Bangkok Thailand
Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Abidjan Ivory
Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Quito Ecuador Temple:
Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
175. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil
Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los
Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a
scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as
dedication or groundbreaking dates.
Italicized numbers and
text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in
which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval,
and groundbreaking.
Red text denotes
changes from the last posted temple progress update.
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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