President Monson will not be attending or speaking at General Conference

Hello, everyone! I have some sad news today. As many of you may recall, I had been keeping my eye out for news on how President Monson and Elder Hales are doing health-wise, in the hopes that I could find out whether or not they would speak or even be in attendance at General Conference this Saturday and the weekend after that. Though I kept checking the Church news sites I get most of my information from, I did not get any closer to an answer for my questions than I was when I first asked them. Then, about 12 hours or so ago, a comment was posted to my blog. The person making the comment said that Elder Renlund had presided at his/her stake conference last Sunday, and that when he was asked about President Monson, Elder Renlund replied that, because of his age and health, he would not even be in attendance at any of the sessions. So, it appears that we now know definitively that President Monson will not be in attendance. I will be posting later about what could be done as a result of President Monson not being able to participate. For now, thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you in all that you do.

Arequipa Peru Temple Reaches Another Construction Milestone

Hello again, everyone! In what will be my last post of the day, I wanted to note that more progress has been reported on the construction of the Arequipa Peru Temple. The walls of the second floor of that temple are now being poured. I have been amazed at how steadily progress has been noted on this temple. If that continues, I may need to revise my estimate for its completion for late 2019. For now, it does still feel like this temple could have another 14-16 months of construction, which would, at minimum, mean that a dedication would still only be held in March 2020. I was excited to learn of this development and am glad that I could share it with you. It has seemed to me as though there has been some degree of temple news every day for the last several weeks, and if that continues, the overall status of most, if not all, temples currently under construction or even announced, will likely look much different by the end of this month, and even more so by the end of this year. For my part, I promise to do my best to keep all of you updated on everything as I hear of it. For now, thank you for the privilege of your time. Comments are always welcome and appreciated. Until my next post, I wish you all the best.

Additional Apostolic Ministry Update

Hello again, everyone! I am doing this additional blog post because more apostolic news has come in. As with the previous report, I am excited to share these items with you. It is great to see how the apostles are both individually & collectively fulfilling their mission to be witnesses & representatives of the Savior worldwide. Let's talk about the latest reported developments.

In a BYU-Hawaii Devotional address earlier today, our youngest apostle, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, spoke to students about their opportunities to enjoy the blessings of having a bishop in each of their wards, maintaining both a gospel perspective & spiritual balance, and remembering that the Lord will always help His children. To read the Church News summary of that address, click here.

The other two stories which were reported by the Church News focused on how President Eyring ministered in two vastly different settings. This article describes how he shared a message of hope, love and appreciation with the people of Florida & the many "Mormon Helping Hands" who came to the area to help with cleanup & relief efforts. He visited Florida this last weekend.

After spending the weekend in Florida, he then headed to Idaho, where he today represented the Church Board of Education in inaugurating his son, Henry Johnson Eyring, as the 17th president of BYU-Idaho. The inauguration, as I may have previously mentioned, coincided with his son's 54th birthday. Also in attendance were Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, himself a former president of BYU-Provo, who, as also noted in an earlier post, is currently serving as a member of the Church Board of Education & Boards of Trustees, who also chairs the Executive Committee of the Board, and 2 other apostles (Elders David A. Bednar (who was the president of Ricks College when it was transitioned to become BYU-Idaho) and Dale G. Renlund), Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, General Authority Seventy, and general auxiliary presidents Jean B. Bingham (Relief Society), Bonnie L. Oscarson (Young Women) & Stephen W. Owen (Young Men), all of whom serve on the Church Board of Education. With the exception of President Eyring, whose wife is having health issues that limit her ability to appear in public, each board member was accompanied by his or her spouse. The only board members absent were Presidents Thomas S. Monson & Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse.

In reference to Elder Oaks, I wanted to add this thought: some have said it is slightly nepotistic for President Eyring's son to fill this position. However, what most people don't realize or recognize is that it is the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Elder Oaks in this case, who makes the initial decision about who should serve as a president of any of the Church-owned schools. It's true that the First Presidency has final approval for whatever decision is made, but it was Elder Oaks who recommended Henry J. for this position. Just wanted to note that, which I may not have done before.

In addition to President Eyring and Elder Oaks, Elder Kim B. Clark, the current CES administrator and another former BYU-Idaho President (who also contributes to the decision of who should serve as presidents of Church universities. President Henry B. Eyring gave his son a six-part charge. This too was nostalgic because Henry B. had received a similar charge from his father, Henry Eyring, as he (Henry B.) was inaugurated president of Ricks College. Other former presidents of Ricks College and BYU-Idaho were in attendance as well.

As previously mentioned, Elder Kim B. Clark, the 15th president of BYU-Idaho, also spoke. For the Church News summary on this inaugural event, click here.

Well, this update was more detailed than I originally meant it to be. Thank you for both your kind attention and the privilege of your time. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated. Until my next post, I wish you all the best.