Latest Apostolic Statistics: Part One--Updated Information for the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, Church President, and First Presidency

Hello again, everyone! It has been 8 weeks since I last posted an update on the latest apostolic statistics. Given the announcement last week that Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares were called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and that so much time has passed since I last posted on this subject, there have been a number of changes to note.

Before we begin discussing that information, I wanted to note, as I always do, that I recognize that not all who regularly read this blog might find this information as interesting as I do. So I will not in any way be bothered or offended if any of you choose to bypass this post, as there is always a lot of information in it. For those of you who are staying with me for this information, let’s dive right in to this subject.

First, I wanted to provide some thoughts about apostolic birthdays. As some of you might recall me mentioning earlier, before the deaths of President Monson and Elder Hales, we had 1 apostle born in January, 1 other the following month, 1 each in May and June, 5 more in August, 2 in September, 1 in October, 2 in November, and 1 in December.

Given the changes in Church leadership, while nothing has changed in terms of the number of apostles born in January, February, May, or June, (which are Elders Christofferson and Rasband, President Eyring, and Elder Bednar respectively) the number of current apostles born in August is down to 3 (Elders Stevenson and Andersen and President Oaks). 

We still have the two in September (Elder Cook and President Nelson) and November (Elders Uchtdorf and Renlund), but the calling of Elders Soares and Gong has meant that 2 apostles (Elder Soares and President Ballard) will celebrate their birthdays in October, while the remaining two (Elders Holland and Gong) will do so in December.

With Elder Christofferson marking his birthday on January 24, Elder Rasband follows with his birthday 13 days later, on February 6. Almost four months later, on the final day of May, President Eyring marks his birthday, and Elder Bednar marks his 15 days later in mid-June. 

Our three apostles born in August celebrate their birthdays on August 6, 9, and 12, respectively. Elder Cook marks his on September 8, with President Nelson having his birthday the next day. Elders Uchtdorf and Renlund are just a week apart in their birthdays, (on November 6 and 13 respectively). Rounding out the year, Elder Holland marks his 20 days after Elder Renlund on December 3, and Elder Gong marks his 2 days before Christmas.

It has been interesting to see how the lengths between these birthdays change as apostles pass away and new ones are appointed. And I am grateful to be able to track information such as this and pass it along to you. Just wanted to note that before I move on.

Having provided that background, let’s begin as we always do, by talking about President Oaks’ tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve. We will then turn our attention to President Nelson’s age and tenure status among the previous 16 Church Presidents. We will then conclude with a discussion about the current long- and decimal forms of the ages of our current apostles, and I will also address how other apostolic averages I have previously mentioned have either been raised or lowered based on the addition of the newest apostles.

I also probably should note that I recently had to recreate much of this data due to a crashed hard drive and getting a new computer, and part of recreating these documents involved double-checking data I had previously provided. I now believe that, if there were any errors in previous updates, those should be corrected in this one. If any of you see anything that doesn’t look right in this report, I always appreciate any corrections and clarifications. And, as always, all data presented here is current as of today.

We start with President Oaks’ current tenure length as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which will include exploring how soon he will move up on this list. With the 8 weeks that have passed since my last report, President Oaks has served for just short of 3 full months as Quorum President. The exact length of that service has spanned 2 months and 25 days, and he remains the 27th longest-serving Quorum President among the 28 that have served.

As noted in the previous update, he will be marking 2 additional tenure milestones before the end of this year, and will be marking 5 others in 2019. In terms of those he will observe in 2018, on Sunday September 16, he will become the 26th longest-serving Quorum President, with his tenure being longer than that of President David O. McKay. 

Just over a month later, on October 22, with his tenure length exceeding that of President Gordon B. Hinckley, he will become the 25th longest-serving Quorum President. Looking ahead to next year, he will mark other milestones in April, July (in which he will observe two milestones two days apart), November, and December. I will mention the specifics of those milestones closer to that time.

Moving on now to President Nelson, since he was ordained and set apart as Church president on the same day he set apart President Oaks as Quorum President, his tenure has spanned 2 months and 25 days as well. Nothing has changed since my last report regarding where he stands among the 16 other Church presidents in terms of his tenure length or age.

He will observe the first tenure length milestone of his presidency in roughly six months, on Thursday October 11. He will observe both another tenure-related and his first age-related milestone two days apart in July of 2019, with subsequent milestones more spread out in the years following that.

In order to prevent this post from being too lengthy, I will put the second part of this update in a new post, which will be posted in the next few minutes. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces 2018 Area Leadership Assignments; Reinstates Area Presidencies in North America

Hello again, everyone! For the first time (at least in my recent recollection), the Church announced changes in area leadership less than a week after General Conference. As some of you may be aware, such announcements have typically been published on the Church News website towards the end of April or in early May of each year.

But it gets even more interesting. In this announcement of the changes, the First Presidency announced that areas in the US and Canada, which had been supervised by members of the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2004, will once again have full area presidencies, with a president and two counselors, all of which will be administered from Church headquarters. 

According to the news release and a quote from President M. Russell Ballard, the number of areas in the US and Canada will be reduced from 10 to 6, which will be defined as follows: Idaho/North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Northwest/West, and Utah. This also means that, for the areas that have been combined, the area seventies serving in the 5th and 6th Quorums of the Seventy will be in larger groups.

This is being done as the Church continues to find ways to reduce and simplify how the work of the Lord is being administered. And this move will free up members of the Presidency of the Seventy for other assignments, including assisting the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the work of administering the Church and for "other assignments", about which I am assuming we will learn more in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

For the benefit of all who are interested, I have assembled a list of the new assignments, which follows below. 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.

Changes in Area Leadership August 2018

Presidency of the Seventy:

All members will, as noted above, be released from their assignments to oversee the 10 (now 6) areas in the US and Canada.

Craig C. Christensen, Lynn G. Robbins, and Juan A. Uceda will, as noted in the April General Conference, be released from the Presidency, with Terence M. Vinson, Jose A. Teixeira, and Carlos A. Godoy sustained in their stead.

In view of those changes, the three newest members of the Presidency of the Seventy will be released as Presidents of the Africa West, South America South, and South America Northwest Areas respectively.

General Authority Seventies:

Jose L. Alonso will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Caribbean Area.

Wilford W. Andersen will continue to serve as the Senior Administrator of the Middle East/Africa North Area, but will also serve as President of the Idaho/North America Central Area.

Ian S. Ardern will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Pacific Area.

Mark A. Bragg will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the South America South Area.

Randall K. Bennett will serve as President of the North America Northeast Area.

Shayne M. Bowen will be released as President of the Philippines Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area.

Craig A. Cardon will be released as First Counselor in the Pacific Area.

Yoon Hwan Choi will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as President of the Asia North Area.

Craig C. Christensen will serve as President of the Utah Area.

Claudio R. M. Costa will serve as President of the North America Southeast Area.

Joaquin E. Costa will be released as Second Counselor in the Brazil Area.

LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. will serve as First Counselor in the Utah Area.

Benjamin De Hoyos will serve as President of the South America South Area,

Edward Dube will serve as Second Counselor in the Africa West Area.

David F. Evans will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Asia Area.

Enrique R. Falabella will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the South America Northwest Area.

Randy D. Funk will be released as President of the Asia Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the Utah Area.

Eduardo Gavarret will serve as Second Counselor in the Caribbean Area.

Kevin S. Hamilton will be released as President of the Africa Southeast Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Northeast Area.

Mathias Held will serve as Second Counselor in the South America Northwest Area.

David P. Homer will serve as Second Counselor in the Asia Area.

Allen D. Haynie will be released as First Counselor in the Philippines Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area.

Larry S. Kacher will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Africa West Area.

Jörg Klebingat will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Northwest/West Area.

Peter F. Meurs will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Asia Area.

Hugo Montoya will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the South America Northwest Area.

Marcus B. Nash will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Africa West Area.

K. Brett Nattress will serve as Second Counselor in the Pacific Area.

S. Gifford Nielsen will serve as First Counselor in the Idaho/North America Central Area.

Adrian Ochoa will be released as President of the Central America Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Southwest Area.

Allan F. Packer will be released as First Counselor in the South America South Area.

S. Mark Palmer will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Africa Southeast Area.

Adilson de Paula Parrella will serve as Second Counselor in the Brazil Area.

Kevin W. Pearson will serve as President of the North America Northwest/West Area.

Paul B. Pieper will be released as President of the Mexico Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Southwest Area.

John C. Pingree Jr. will serve as Second Counselor in the Mexico Area.

Rafael E. Pino will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Mexico Area.

Lynn G. Robbins will serve as President of the North America Southwest Area.

Evan A. Schmutz will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as President of the Philippines Area.

Joseph W. Sitati will serve as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area.

Vern P. Stanfill will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Southeast Area.

Brian K. Taylor will serve as Second Counselor in the Idaho/North America Central Area.

Michael J. Teh will be released as President of the Taiwan Taichung Mission and will serve as First Counselor in the Philippines Area.

Juan A. Uceda will serve as President of the Central America Area.

Arnulfo Valenzuela will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Mexico Area.

Takashi Wada will serve as Second Counselor in the Asia North Area.

Taniela B. Wakolo will serve as Second Counselor in the Philippines Area.

Scott D. Whiting will serve as First Counselor of the North America Northwest/West Area.

Juan Pablo Villar will serve as Second Counselor in the South America South Area.

Claudio D. Zivic will be released as First Counselor in the Caribbean Area.

Some Thoughts on Announced Temples

Hello again, everyone! I recently took another look at the 19 temples that have not yet progressed beyond an announcement, and I found some interesting information and updates from a variety of sources. So I thought it would be worthwhile to post now and pass along that updated information. In this update, I will focus on those 19 in order of their potential likelihood for a groundbreaking in the near future. So let's get started.

We begin in Bangkok Thailand. With the site confirmed and an artist's rendering released a couple of weeks ago (on March 19), some have speculated that President Nelson could break ground for this temple while he is visiting that city, which will be on April 20, but unless something is officially announced before he departs for the trip, a groundbreaking for that temple might only occur later this year.

Next, we turn to Urdaneta Philippines. As I previously noted, the biggest obstacles delaying a groundbreaking for that temple were obtaining government approval and announcing an official site. Since a site was confirmed earlier this year, a groundbreaking for this temple may occur soon as well, especially if the process of obtaining government approval can in any way be expedited.

We move on now to the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple. Although we are still waiting for a site to be confirmed by the Church, we do know that, shortly after this temple was announced in 2016, the contractor had stated that a year of preplanning would be needed before a groundbreaking would be held. If, as reported, that year began last March, this temple might have a groundbreaking sooner rather than later.

Moving on to Brasilia Brazil, as we know, a site was confirmed for that temple soon after it was announced last April. Some have quite rightly observed that although a site has been confirmed, and although that site has been inspected by Church engineers (which occurred last June), it may be a while yet before that temple has a groundbreaking. It will be interesting to see what happens there.

For the second temple announced in Manila Philippines, its' location was also confirmed not long after its' announcement. It is anticipated that an official name could be announced for this temple at any point in the near future. Depending on how quickly things happen for this temple. its' groundbreaking may or may not be announced in the near future.

We next move on to Pocatello Idaho. As many of you may be aware, several sites have been the subject of speculation, but we do have increasing evidence of the most likely location. Since this temple is within the "Mormon corridor", a groundbreaking might be just a matter of time, especially if a site confirmation occurs anytime soon.

I am pleased to next bring you some news that (to me) was unexpected but welcome. I received word today that designs are underway for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, although we are still waiting on an official site announcement. Temples in Utah have been known to get their construction underway fairly quickly after they are announced, and that is particularly true of temples being built in Utah County. So that is another one I am watching with great interest, as it will split the district of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, where I previously served, and to which I can attest to that temple's high attendance level.

It is also interesting to note that the Church apparently acquired a certain parcel of land in Layton Utah just two days before that temple was announced. Although nothing hasbeen officially confirmed as of yet, if the Church does confirm at any point that the site they procured will be where the temple is built, a groundbreaking could be held in very short order.

In addition to the other six temples announced last weekend, we have 5 others that were announced in the last few years of President Monson's administration that we have not discussed yet (Abidjan Ivory Coast, Quito Ecuador, Harare Zimbabwe, Belem Brazil, and Nairobi Kenya).

Of those 5, this is what I know or have heard: Since we have seen progress made on the Bangkok Thailand Temple recently, as noted above. and since we unexpectedly had the groundbreaking for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple last year, the other temple announced during the April 2015 General Conference is the one for the city of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. I have heard that growth has been sufficient enough in the Ivory Coast that a second and third temple for that nation could occur in short order. And if work gets underway on some (if not all) of the others I mentioned above later this year, it is not a stretch to believe that could occur for this temple as well, especially if any obstacles preventing it are cleared.

For the temple in the Ecuadoran capital city of Quito, while we don't have news as of yet, the time that occurred between the announcement and groundbreaking for Ecuador's first temple in Guayaquil (which was a lengthy 14 years) is not anticipated to take that long for this temple. We don't know any more right now than we did when it was announced two years ago, but that could change. The same holds true for the temple in Belem Brazil.

That brings us to the last two of the 5 I mentioned above. As I previously stated in an earlier post, I had heard in passing that the members in Harare Zimbabwe and Nairobi Kenya have recently been made aware of the site locations for those temples, even though that has not yet been confirmed by the Church. There have been passing rumors that, depending on what happens between now and then, President Nelson could break ground for both temples during his tour in both cities, which would put the groundbreaking for Nairobi Kenya on August 16, and the groundbreaking for Harare Zimbabwe the following day.

While I hope we will be abble to see groundbreakings for the Bangkok Thailand, Harare Zimbabwe, and Nairobi Kenya Temples while President Nelson visits there, I will not be surprised if one or all of those cities wind up having to wait for that to occur. I continue to monitor all developments on this front and will pass those along to you as I receive them.

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.