Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post right now with a preview of some topics I will be covering over the next several months on this blog. I will not be offering a potential timeline for when those topics will be covered, since the best-laid plans are often altered.
It goes without saying that I will continue to provide Church and temple news as I become aware of such reports. Additionally, I have plans in place to post at least once every month or two with an update on the latest apostolic statistics, which I feel is very important information.
The jury is still out on how extensively I will cover potential temple possibilities in the near future. With the success I saw in doing so previously, it is an attractive prospect and a very worthy subject that has wide interest. But the form and extent to which such coverage will occur largely depends on the amount of time I can devote to such posts and the future availability of information that would mold the information I share in that regard.
I will, of course, also be looking forward to passing along my predictions for each General Conference, including the potential speaking order, changes in Church leadership, and temple prospects. I also fully intend to continue to provide birthday tributes to our apostles on this blog as well.
There are likewise several projects I have in my personal files at the moment in various stages of completion which may also be the subject of future posts on this blog. And I am certain we will continue to see some breaking news developments, whether those are related to the ministry of our apostles, the death of a Church leader, or any major policy announcements.
I have previously shared my opinion that news and updates related to the day-to-day spreading of the gospel are being reported on a larger scale, to a much greater extent, and with much increased regularity. So I have no doubt that we will likely see many developments that deserve extensive coverage.
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I cannot put a time-frame or expected frequency on how and when these posts will be published here. But I can promise to continue to bring you the latest developments as I receive word of them. And in that regard, I wanted to note that Elder Patrick Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke last night at a Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults. Mormon Newsroom shared this report of the remarks he made, in which he urged millennials to "rise out of [and above] themselves."
That is a timely message. As I have observed a few times before, the one downside of modern technology is that so many who utilize it extensively do not take time for human interactions, or to focus on the more important things. The Church has for years urged all of us to maintain the important connections in our lives with family, friends, and others through personal communication.
One reason I imagine that the Church retired home and visiting teaching and has replaced it with ministering, which is intended to be more governed by general principles and adaptations as the Spirit directs. That accomplishes two things: it places more accountability on the ministering brothers and sisters for figuring out how best to minister to every individual to whom they are assigned to minister, and it encourages some form of personal contact, no matter what form that contact takes.
So we can see that Elder Kearon's message continues a theme that has been prevalent since the ministering announcement, that all of us can, should, and must do more to minister to those around us and to take time to put aside things that might drown out the voice of the Spirit. A timely message indeed.
I am committed to continuing to monitor all Church and temple news, and to bringing those updates to you all soon after learning of them. Whatever that might involve, you can count on it. 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.
On this blog, I, James Stokes, share insights and analysis covering the latest news and developments reported about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My specific emphasis and focus is on the ministry of our current apostles, General Conference, and up-to-date temple information. This site is neither officially owned, operated, or endorsed by the Church, and I, as the autthor thereof, am solely responsible for this content.
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Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Upcoming Topics That Will Be Covered On This Blog In the Near Future
Labels:
Apostolic Ministry & Travels,
Church Policies and Major Announcements,
General Church News,
General Conference,
Potential Future Temples

Friday, May 4, 2018
Two Additional Articles Posted on Mormon Newsroom
Hello again, everyone! Earlier today, I noticed that Mormon Newsroom had published two additional articles that I wanted to share with you all. I was not able to do so before now because my wife and I spent most of our afternoon and evening going to and from Salt Lake City for a doctor's appointment. But those two newest articles are worthy of mention, so I wanted to discuss them now.
Before doing so, I did want to mention something interesting which I have noticed. We have seen a lot of major Church news released since President Monson's passing four months ago. But it has been amazing and inspiring for me to realize that a greater number of those news articles have been published in the last four months on Mormon Newsroom than has previously been the case.
Mormon Newsroom has always had extensive coverage of the major Church news stories. But since January, the number of those stories published first on Mormon Newsroom instead of any other source have increased substantially.
A couple of examples of that have been the fact that Mormon Newsroom was the first source to publish the changes in area leadership (not to mention the fact that the first report of those changes came several weeks earlier this year than has been the case previously) and that more extensive coverage has also been devoted to the ministry of our current apostles and other Church leaders.
In short, there have been a greater number of news items first published on Mormon Newsroom in the last few months than has been the case in any other previous three-month period. That is the case for two reasons: First, there have been many more developments having an impact on the whole Church within that time than we have previously seen, and second, President Nelson mentioned during the January 16 temple broadcast and press conference that the Church was working towards greater transparency. It has been amazing to see that unfold.
Sorry for that lengthy commentary. That said, now let's turn our attention to the two items which I referenced at the beginning of this post. First, as some of you might recall, several months ago, the Church reported that the First Presidency had sent out surveys to all currently-serving missionaries to gague the conditions impacting safety and security in each area of the world. Mormon Newsroom provided this update, which highlights what the Church has done and plans to do in the near future in response to the results of those surveys.
As some of you might also recall, President and Sister Nelson had been slated to speak at the final session of the BYU-Provo Women's Conference, but had to cancel those plans due to a scheduling conflict. At President Nelson's request, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, newly sustained as an apostle last month, and his wife Susan filled that assignment in their stead. Mormon Newsroom shared a summary of the remarks they offered, along with a summary of the talks given by Sisters Sharon Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto, the counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency.
It has been customary for the entire Relief Society General presidency to address the Women's Conference every year, but in view of Sister Jean B. Bingham being in Washington D. C. over the last few days to participate in the National Day of Prayer, she was not able to join her counselors in speaking during the Women's Conference this year.
Both articles are well worthy of your attention, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them to you all. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will, to the best of my ability, bring you word of ongoing developments on either front as I learn of 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.
Before doing so, I did want to mention something interesting which I have noticed. We have seen a lot of major Church news released since President Monson's passing four months ago. But it has been amazing and inspiring for me to realize that a greater number of those news articles have been published in the last four months on Mormon Newsroom than has previously been the case.
Mormon Newsroom has always had extensive coverage of the major Church news stories. But since January, the number of those stories published first on Mormon Newsroom instead of any other source have increased substantially.
A couple of examples of that have been the fact that Mormon Newsroom was the first source to publish the changes in area leadership (not to mention the fact that the first report of those changes came several weeks earlier this year than has been the case previously) and that more extensive coverage has also been devoted to the ministry of our current apostles and other Church leaders.
In short, there have been a greater number of news items first published on Mormon Newsroom in the last few months than has been the case in any other previous three-month period. That is the case for two reasons: First, there have been many more developments having an impact on the whole Church within that time than we have previously seen, and second, President Nelson mentioned during the January 16 temple broadcast and press conference that the Church was working towards greater transparency. It has been amazing to see that unfold.
Sorry for that lengthy commentary. That said, now let's turn our attention to the two items which I referenced at the beginning of this post. First, as some of you might recall, several months ago, the Church reported that the First Presidency had sent out surveys to all currently-serving missionaries to gague the conditions impacting safety and security in each area of the world. Mormon Newsroom provided this update, which highlights what the Church has done and plans to do in the near future in response to the results of those surveys.
As some of you might also recall, President and Sister Nelson had been slated to speak at the final session of the BYU-Provo Women's Conference, but had to cancel those plans due to a scheduling conflict. At President Nelson's request, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, newly sustained as an apostle last month, and his wife Susan filled that assignment in their stead. Mormon Newsroom shared a summary of the remarks they offered, along with a summary of the talks given by Sisters Sharon Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto, the counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency.
It has been customary for the entire Relief Society General presidency to address the Women's Conference every year, but in view of Sister Jean B. Bingham being in Washington D. C. over the last few days to participate in the National Day of Prayer, she was not able to join her counselors in speaking during the Women's Conference this year.
Both articles are well worthy of your attention, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them to you all. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will, to the best of my ability, bring you word of ongoing developments on either front as I learn of 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.

Thursday, May 3, 2018
Additional News Stories Reported on Mormon Newsroom
Hello again, everyone! Mormon Newsroom has published two additional news stories that are worth mentioning on this blog. In the first one, a report is given of how Relief Society General President Sister Jean B. Bingham participated in the National Day of Prayer that was observed at the White House. The full text of the prayer she offered can be found here.
The other story relates to the ministry of one member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As most of you might recall, following his return to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was given several assignments, one of which was to assume oversight of the Church's Europe and Europe East areas. In a previous post, I referenced how Elder and Sister Uchtdorf had visited the Rome Italy Temple site during a recent trip to Europe. Mormon Newsroom shared this report regarding some thoughts Elder Uchtdorf shared with the Saints in Russia during his trip, and with the Mormon Newsroom staff following his return about the temple that has been announced for Russia.
Both articles are well worth your time, and I commend them to you all. 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.
The other story relates to the ministry of one member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As most of you might recall, following his return to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was given several assignments, one of which was to assume oversight of the Church's Europe and Europe East areas. In a previous post, I referenced how Elder and Sister Uchtdorf had visited the Rome Italy Temple site during a recent trip to Europe. Mormon Newsroom shared this report regarding some thoughts Elder Uchtdorf shared with the Saints in Russia during his trip, and with the Mormon Newsroom staff following his return about the temple that has been announced for Russia.
Both articles are well worth your time, and I commend them to you all. 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Ministry & Travels,
Estimated Time-frames for Future Temple Events,
General Church News

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