Church News publishes new articles in celebration of Pioneer Day

In keeping with the Pioneer Day theme which has characterized quite a few of my posts in the last week or so, I wanted to note that the Church News featured three articles about the day's events. This article gives an overview of the parade, which ran for two hours this morning, and for which, as noted in an earlier post on this blog, President Uchtdorf served as the Grand Marshal. This article summarizes remarks made by Elder Kevin R. Duncan at the Church's annual Pioneer Day Sunrise Service. For those who might recall this, Elder Duncan had been serving as the president of the Central America Area, and we learned through both the Church News and the August 2017 Ensign that Elder Duncan was going to be released from his service in that capacity and would be reassigned to Church headquarters as of August 1. His participation in this event, held 8 days before his release went into effect, signals that the transition of that assignment is complete. I will add another blog post a few minutes after this one is posted to share my observations about such assignment transitions. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, this article describes how Primary children and community members celebrated the theme of the main parade: "Visions of New Horizons" as they marched in or observed the youth parade, which is also held each year in Utah. Click here for more on that.

That's it for this post. I will, as noted above, be publishing another post in the next few minutes discussing the things I have observed about assignment transitions in certain Church callings. In the meantime, hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for the privilege of your time.

Slight Progress Noted on the Cedar City Utah Temple

Hello, all! I just wanted to note a minor development that was reported today on the Cedar City Utah Temple. While the last posted version of my temple construction progress report only reflected that art glass was being installed on that temple, I found out today that sod is being laid on the temple grounds. As I said, a fairly minor change, but it is a definite sign that this temple is well on its way to completion, which is good, as the open house for that temple gets underway in just under four months. Since July generally sees less significant temple progress, I am anticipating that next week, we will begin hearing more regular updates on that progress. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, thanks for the privilege of your time. Any comments are welcome and always appreciated. Thanks again.

Elder Holland Details Reasons for and Benefits of New Activity Program for Teachers and Priests

Aside from being one of my favorite apostles (as his talks always ring true with what I am going through), Elder Jeffrey R. Holland now fills a dual role as an apostle of the Church and as a member of the National Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America. And as one who has struck a careful balance between the two positions (though if and when it comes down to it, his apostolic call takes precedence), Elder Holland spoke recently at a sacrament meeting held in conjunction with a Scouting Jamboree held in West Virginia. In that address, he praised the virtues of Scouting and reiterated the Church's commitment to providing Scouting opportunities for those young men aged 11-13.

But he also spoke more in depth regarding the reasoning behind and the benefits the Church is hoping for from the newly established guidelines about the activity program for priests and teachers. I fully understood and was on board with the new program and understanding why it is necessary. But the words Elder Holland spoke in this regard may prove reassuring and comforting for any others who may be in doubt about that. To read what he said, click here.

Within the next week or so, the annual July recess of the General Authorities will come to an end. August will mark the Church leadership returning to full-time work on the relevant issues. One thing is certain: whatever develops, you can read about it here on this blog.

For now, thank you for the privilege of your time and for your interest. Any thoughts are welcome. Hope you all are well. I will post again soon. Until then, I wish every one of you all the best.

P. S. The Church News and Events page featured this article from the Young Men General Presidency in which they describe more about how this program is anticipated to work. Enjoy! Thanks again!