President Nelson Signs Mission Calls as Acting Church President/More Resources Released Regarding President Monson's Passing

This will be a wide-ranging post. As I have previous observed, the time between President Monson's death (on January 2) and the earliest date when the First Presidency might be reorganized (January 14) is, at 12 days, the longest such period in recent years. Not since the 9-day period between the death of 14th Church President Howard W. Hunter has there been such an extended length of time between the death of one prophet and the ordination of another.

Because there has been such a lengthy gap in this instance, Mormon Newsroom has released this article to report that President Nelson, as the presiding apostle and the acting Church President, has signed 1,150 letters that will go out to young men & women and senior couples as their official call. President Nelson observed that this was being done so that those missionaries would not have to wait another week to get their assignments. That was great to hear about.

Mormon Newsroom also released this article sharing tributes to President Monson's service in view of his passing. Those statements were issued by world and national leaders and leaders of other religious denominations.

The Church News & Events page also published this article to announce the closure of major Church buildings and welfare facilities all day Friday to allow those who work in such locations to fully focus on honoring President Monson and paying tribute to his life, and this article in which Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf shared more thoughts & reflections on President Monson's passing, and in which the response of several Church members worldwide in light of his death were also shared.

And finally, those who manage the blog associated with the Church's official website, after getting her permission to do so, published again some reflections Ann M. Dibb, President Monson's daughter, had previously released about her father's legacy of service and faith, and particularly highlighted the support of his wife Frances. You can find that blog post here, and it is well worth reading.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Progress Noted on the Concepcion Chile Temple/Musings Regarding Completion Time-frame for Temples

Hello again, everyone! I am posting again this evening to note a status update on the Concepcion Chile Temple. While the process of adding stone cladding to the temple's exterior continues, focus has shifted to installing lamp posts and planting trees on the temple grounds. As I have noted recently, the completion estimate for this temple recently shifted from late 2018 (which had meant that completion was anticipated during the fourth quarter of this year, or between the beginning of October and the end of December) to the latter half of this year (which means the range of that time-frame has been expanded to between the beginning of July and the end of December). That said, it seems most likely that this temple could have its dedication in either August or September.

Additionally, we know that the renovation of the Frankfurt Germany Temple is anticipated in late 2018, and that could occur after the October General Conference. We also know Barranquilla Colombia Temple will be dedicated prior to the end of the year, and that seems most likely to happen in mid-November, though if progress on it or other temples is halted sufficiently, that would push that back into either the last month of this year or even into the early months of 2019.

Speaking of the last month of this year, I am hopeful we could see the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple during that time. But there is an equally likely possibility that that temple could have its construction completed before the end of this year and that its dedication would be held officially in the early part of next year. Looking ahead to next year, we also see the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple completion anticipated in the early part of next year, with that of the Durban South Africa and Port-au-Prince Haiti anticipated likely within the first six months of 2019.

The first half of next year will also involve the rededications of the Memphis Tennessee, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, and Asuncion Paraguay Temples. Then in the middle of next year (likely between June & September), the dedication of the Lisbon Portugal Temple and the rededication for the Raleigh North Carolina Temple is anticipated. The final four months of next year is anticipated to include the rededication of the Baton Rouge Louisiana and Oakland California Temples, and the dedication of the new temples in Fortaleza Brazil and, barring anything unexpected, the one in Arequipa Peru to round out the year.

Then, looking ahead to 2020, we have the Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Winnipeg Manitoba Temples that will be dedicated and the planned rededications of the Tokyo Japan, Mesa Arizona, and Washington DC Temples. It goes without saying that any temples that will have a groundbreaking during the next two years will likely also have their dedications in 2020, 2021, or 2022, and I am hopeful that many of the currently announced temples fall into that category.

That does it for this temple update. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for hte privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless each one of you in everything you do.

Some Observations About Recent Times When Two (or more) New Apostles Were Appointed

Hello again, everyone! I have not had much to blog about today, but I am posting now with some observations about times when two or more new apostles were appointed, and how that changed the way General Conference looked.

As many of you may recall, the Church noted prior to the October 2015 General Conference that there had not been three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1906. So let's start there. The appointment of three new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles became necessary in April 1906 due to the resignation of John W. Taylor (son of 3rd Church President John Taylor) and Matthias F. Cowley (from whose family line Matthew Cowley would later be called as an apostle as well) in late October 1905.

Their resignation came in protest of the Church (then led by Joseph F. Smith) reemphasizing the importance of the manifesto, originally issued by Wilford Woodruff, although a second manifesto to validate and clarify the intent behind the first was issued under President Smith. So that left two vacancies in the Quorum. The following February, another member of the Quorum Marriner W. Merrill, passed away. Since the other two vacancies had not yet been filled, that left the Quorum with 9 members, which resulted in the April appointment of George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay.

The next time two apostles were ordained on the same day was when the 1943 deaths of Sylvester Q. Cannon and Rudger Clawson left two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve. As some of you may know, Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson, who would both serve as Presidents of the Church, were appointed to fill those vacancies during the October Conference of that year.

Then, in January 1983, the death of Mark E. Petersen left a vacancy in the Quorum that was not filled for over a year, by which time fellow apostle LeGrand Richards had also passed away (with the deaths of the two, oddly enough, coming exactly a year apart, as both occurred on January 11).

To fill those vacancies, the Church in April 1984 sustained Russell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks, although the latter was not able to be formally ordained and assume his new role until more than a month later. For that reason, while then-Elder Nelson gave his response to the call in the conference in which the two were sustained, Elder Oaks would have to wait until the following October to do so.

The Church did not see more than one vacancy in the apostleship again until Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight passed away 10 days apart in July 2004 (with the passing of the former on July 21 coinciding with his 23rd anniversary as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. and the latter passing away on July 31).

As we all remember, Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar were called to fill the resulting vacancies. Another 11 years would pass before the next time when more than one apostle was called at the same time.

By that time (in 2015), we had seen the deaths of Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott (on May 30 and September 22 respectively), and also the death of Quorum President Boyd K. Packer (on July 3). So the Church called 3 apostles at the same time for the first time since 1906, and those 3, as we know, were Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund.

For both the October 2004 & 2015 General Conferences, the Church did things a little differently in General Conference. Typically, as I have previously noted, we see 2 apostles each speak in the Saturday & Sunday Morning Sessions, 4 during Saturday Afternoon, 1 during the Priesthood Session, and the final 3 during the Sunday Afternoon Session.

But for the two conferences above, while we saw 2  members of the Quorum of the Twelve each speak during the Saturday Morning and Sunday Afternoon Sessions, there were 3 in the Saturday Afternoon Session, 1 more in the Priesthood Session, and the remaining 4 during the Sunday Morning Session, which meant that the entire Sunday Morning Session of the October 2004 General Conference comprised of talks from apostles, the two new members, two other veteran apostles (Elders Nelson and Hales) and two First Presidency members (Presidents Monson and Hinckley).

By slight contrast,  by the time the October 2015 General Conference had rolled around, the three newest apostles opted to do short addresses (speaking for 5-7 minutes each), and President Monson also gave very brief remarks. The remaining time went to the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (President Nelson), President Henry B. Eyring, and General Authority Seventies Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer & Claudio R. M. Costa.

So in addition to what I have posted about how the General Conference layout changes with a new Church president having his call sustained in a Solemn Assembly, we also will have a situation where the new Church President (President Nelson) will have his first opportunity to address the Church as a whole. Since he is in much better health than his predecessor, I would anticipate that the pattern for apostolic speaking that held for the October 2004 and October 2015 General Conferences will be true here, and also that the layout of the Sunday Morning Session will likely look more like it did for the former conference than it wound up being for the October 2015 General Conference.

One interesting thing struck me: President Nelson has been (or will be) involved in all three of those Sunday Morning Sessions that were exceptions to the general rule. He was the veteran apostle that was asked to speak after Elders Uchtdorf and Bednar's first addresses in October 2004, and after new apostles Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund gave their first talks in October 2015, he had his first opportunity to address the Church as the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And now, as President of the Church, he will likely be the last speaker in the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2018 General Conference.

As I have previously noted, I have adjusted my predictions according to what I have felt most likely will happen. But if the reorganization of the First Presidency does not follow in either the timing or the manner that I think it will, that will change the layout of those predictions yet again.

Thanks for wading through these thoughts. That does it for this post. Any and all comments, are as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.