Church News Update, including article introducing New General Authority Seventy Elder John C. Pingree Jr.

Here I am again with a Church News update. In a subsequent post later today, I will focus on temple presidents whose callings have been announced this week. For now, though, here are some other Church News items.

I noted in my previous post the changes to the Church's Scouting program, which were the focus of a Church News interview with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In additional apostolic news, this article contains a call to action regarding religious liberty that was issued by Elder Ronald A. Rasband to Latter-day Saints in Arizona and Nevada. It was a timely message that was great to read about. The Church News also focused an article on the statue being placed to honor Elder John A. Widtsoe, an apostle who was born in Norway and whose life is being honored by that statue. Click here for more on that.

Bonnie H. Cordon, called last month as the new First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, wrote an article about the important influence a child can have on his or her family's activity in the Church. She shared three classic examples on that subject. It was fun to read about that. Click here to read that inspiring message.

Speaking during the annual BYU Women's Conference, Young Women General President Bonnie L. Oscarson shared a message applicable to any Latter-day Saint: If each of us aligns our wills with that of Heavenly Father for us individually, we will be much happier in life. This article summarizes that address.

One week ago today, members of the Primary General Presidency (Sisters Joy D. Jones and Bonnie H. Cordon; as you might recall, Sister Jones's new Second Counselor, Christina B. Franco, is concluding her service with her husband as president and matron of the Argentina Resistencia Mission and will assume her new calling in July) spoke during Women's Conference on the vitally important role parents have to provide their young children with knowledge of the gospel. A summary of that excellent address can be found here.

On the night when May 5 became May 6, the Church lost a young missionary who was actively serving in Wisconsin. The causes of his sudden passing remain unknown. He had started his missionary service in November 2016. His family said they were stunned by his passing, but are grateful to know that he died doing what he loved, and that they are comforted by the knowledge that he is serving beyond the veil and that they will be able to see him again if they live worthy to do so. For more information on that story, click here.

In continuing the series of articles about newly sustained General Authorities and Officers, the Church this week put out an article about new General Authority John C. Pingree Jr. To learn more about him, click here.

Finally, a general note about Church news and developments: on the LDS Church Temples website, changes in Church units are noted prominently as they are reported. The latest reports of such changes can be found here. where you can see the number of units worldwide, then broken down into within the US (with Utah having its own subsection) and outside of it. That breakdown is followed by two lists: one reporting the creation or discontinuation of a stake or district, and, halfway down that same page, a breakdown of changes in individual Church units like branches, wards, and, where applicable, units transferred to or from other stakes, districts, and missions. Enjoy looking over that.

More to come in a few minutes. Thanks for your readership and support. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

LDS Church Discontinues its' Varsity and Venture Scouting Programs

Big news from the LDS Church today. Effective January 1, 2018, the Church will no longer sponsor nor provide direct support for Varsity and Venture Scouting Units. The directive has come down from the First Presidency that instead of such an extension of the scouting program, emphasis will instead be placed on activities for boys ages 14-18 that will best foster physical, emotional, spiritual and emotional well-being, and that it will be the responsibility of those who serve in local Young Men presidencies and quorum leadership of those ages, in connection with bishoprics and branch presidencies, to implement a new activity plan that will allow for that growth. This move also shifts direct responsibility for a scout's earning their Eagle to be self-motivated and work on their own to achieve that. If any scout ages 14-18 elects to do so, they are fully able to join with official local chapters of the BSA to have the external support and leadership they need. The hope is also that this move will encourage more Scouts to earn their Eagles prior to age 14.

Some have stated their view that the Church is doing this in reaction to the decision of the BSA to allow openly gay and transgender boys to join local scout troops, or in response to the BSA's consideration of allowing girls to participate in the Scouting program. The Church made it clear today that this is not the case. Church leaders have long deliberated the merits of continuing their involvement with and endorsement of the scouting program, and the Church stated a long time ago that Church leaders on every level would be studying the matter and doing the best they could to make a decision that works best for all concerned. This announcement suggests that this is what the Church has felt inspired to do on this matter.

As one who has earned my Eagle Scout award, I have to say that I personally applaud this decision. I spent my Cub Scout and Boy Scout years in Payson and American Fork Utah, where I worked with leaders that encouraged me to adhere to the standards of both the BSA and the Church. As a disabled young man, I gained courage to work towards my own Eagle Scout award not just because I felt it was expected of me, and not just because I felt it would be easy. Rather, I knew it would be worth my time to do so. And I had leaders all along the way that patiently mentored me, supported me, and encouraged me. It was not at all uncommon for other young men in my Scout troop to achieve the rank of Eagle by the age of 14.

I earned my Eagle the summer between my sophomore and junior years of High School, and it was mostly because I was motivated to do it myself, and because I had leaders who were willing to think outside the box and work around the limitations of my health conditions and disabilities. Many times, they petitioned the BSA to allow me to do alternate merit badges to qualify for my Eagle as many of the required ones were things I could not handle physically. The main reason I earned my Eagle was because I had that leader support and because I was driven to do it for myself. And I have never once regretted the fact that I am and always will be an Eagle Scout. Many of the things I learned in Scouting still bless my life today.

And so, to any Scout out there who reads my blog posts, I would say, don't let this policy change discourage you from becoming an Eagle Scout. As I had leaders that supported and motivated me to to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, so you will have such leaders yourself. This does not diminish or downgrade the importance and prestige associated with that honor. Rather, it is a reiteration of policies that have always been in place but are now being emphasized more: A scout is to do his duty to God and to his country not just because of the support of his local Church leaders or his troop, but because it is the Scouting way. And if someone like myself can become an Eagle Scout, the way will be open for you to do so as well, no matter how hard that might seem.

For those who would like to read more on today's announcement, click here and here. If any of you, my readers, have any questions about my own experience or regarding these changes that you feel I might be able to answer as one who has been in the program and understands the reasoning, please don't hesitate to ask. More coming in a minute or two.

New Temple President Update

Hello again! I am posting to share an update about which temples have or might yet have a new president announced this year. The most interesting thing to me about some of the latest changes is that, for the first time since having to discontinue my own service as a temple worker about 5 years ago, I know the man that will be the new president of the Mount Timpanogos Temple later this year. He has served in mission and temple presidencies before, and was in my parents' ward during my growing-up years. Though I am not technically a member of that temple district anymore, it will always be my temple, and, knowing this man, I can attest to the inspired nature of his calling. He will do very well.

That said, here are the updates. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Operating Temples whose president was changed earlier this year:

1.      Calgary Alberta (president changed sometime during March for an undisclosed reason, likely because the previous president died or became incapacitated)

General Note #1: The president of the Tokyo Japan Temple died during his active service in late April of this year. The Church will no doubt be calling one of his counselors as the new president within the next few days to ensure that the work of the temple presidency can move forward uninterrupted.

New Temples whose presidents will begin serving later this year:

1.      Paris France (President announced in 2016; will begin formal service on May 21)

2.      Cedar City Utah (President  announced in March; will begin service on December 10)

3.      Tucson Arizona (President announced in March; will begin formal service on August 13)

4.      Meridian Idaho (President announced in April; will begin formal service in November 19)

General Note #2: The presidents of the Freiberg Germany Temple (closed for renovation in 2014 and rededicated last year) and Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (closed for renovation in 2015 and scheduled for rededication in June of this year) started serving in 2014, months before their closures. If not for that, both would be marking the completion of their third years of active service later this year. As it is, they only actively served for a few months maximum. Therefore, it is possible that the Church may retain him for a couple more years. I could see them calling a new president, but it doesn’t seem probable.

General Note #3: Other operating temples, as has already been announced, will be getting a new president later this year as well, and if those changes take place as they did during my six-year service in the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, the new presidents will start their service on the first Monday or Tuesday of November, which fall this year on the 6^th and 7^th. Those temples that will have a new president this year include the following:

1.      Apia Samoa

2.      Logan Utah

3.      Vernal Utah

4.      Toronto Ontario

5.      Snowflake Arizona

6.      Phoenix Arizona

7.      Salt Lake

8.      Bern Switzerland

9.      Quetzaltenango Guatemala

10.  Louisville Kentucky

11.  San Diego California

12.  Mount Timpanogos Utah

13.  Madrid Spain

14.  Bogota Colombia

15.  Edmonton Alberta

16.  Newport Beach California

17.  Adelaide Australia

18.  Kona Hawaii

19.  Caracas Venezuela

20.  Bismarck North Dakota

21.  Mesa Arizona

22.  Columbia South Carolina

23.  Ogden Utah

Temple presidents generally serve for around three years. With that in mind, I feel confident in predicti.ng that the following temples may also have a new president announced:

1.      Asuncion Paraguay

NOTE: The current president has served since 2014, which means that this year would mark time for a charge. But this temple will close for renovation in October, one month before usual changes are made. As a subsequent rededication of this temple is anticipated sometime in 2019, it is more than likely that the Church will hold off on naming a new president until that time.

2.      Baton Rouge Louisiana

3.      Buenos Aires Argentina

4.      NOTE: The current president has been serving since this temple’s rededication in 2012. As that is well beyond the standard 3 years of service, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be such a change this year.

5.      Fort Lauderdale Florida

6.      Guayaquil Ecuador

7.      Los Angeles California

8.      Lubbock Texas

9.      Manila Philippines

10.  Oakland California

NOTE: Though this temple president has served for three years this year, this temple will close for renovation in February of next year. With that in mind, I could see the Church calling a new president this year for a few months prior to that renovation, or holding off on calling anyone until after the renovation is completed sometime during 2019.

11.  San Salvador El Salvador

12.  Washington DC

NOTE: Though this temple president will have marked three years of service later this year, the temple will close for renovation next March. With that in mind, I could see the Church calling a new president this year for a few months prior to that renovation, or holding off on calling anyone until after the renovation is completed sometime during 2020.

Temples that will most likely be dedicated during the early or middle part of next year and might therefore have their first presidents announced at some point during the fall of this year (since the first president of the Paris France Temple had its’ first: president called during summer 2016):

1.      Rome Italy

2.      Kinshasa DR Congo

3.      Barranquilla Colombia

ADDITIONAL NOTES: The current president of the Jordan River Utah Temple has been serving in that capacity since 2014, which would have made his release possible this year, but as it has been undergoing renovations since 2016, he has had less than two years of active service. It is therefore highly probable that he will retain his presidency until sometime during 2020, which would be two years of additional active service following the rededication, for the total standard service period of three years. The current president of the Frankfurt Germany temple has a slightly different but similar situation, as he started serving in 2013, and had roughly two years of active service prior to that temple’s renovation closure in 2015. We could therefore see a change in that temple presidency sometime within the next two years or so. Time will tell. In both cases, the Church might always decide to make those changes sooner, but that seems unlikely. As far as I have been able to ascertain, every other temple president whose active service has been interrupted by a temple renovation has subsequently gone on to fill the remainder of his three-year term.