Church News Report on LDS Teens Trekking to the Jordan River Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! The Church News shared this report earlier today, which highlights how the youth of the Jordan River Utah Temple District trekked from their local chapels or stake centers to the Jordan River Utah Temple. This was done to allow all youth to prepare for the rededication of that temple, which is set to occur one week from tomorrow.

The article notes that, for those organizing the events around the rededication, the difficulty was in determining how to enable all youth to participate. Participation in the cultural celebration was restricted to a certain number of youth from every stake in the district, so this walk was one of many ways in which leaders determined that all youth could feel as if they are participating in some way in the rededication events.

I will be carrying full coverage of the rededicatory events on this blog next weekend. In the meantime, it is worth reiterating a few points. First, as I have noted previously, this rededication will mark perhaps the last time that a cultural celebration will be held the night before a temple is dedicated or rededicated.

Although nothing official has been announced to indicate that cultural celebrations are being discontinued for such events, for the recently announced dedications of the Concepcion Chile, Barranquilla Colombia, and Rome Italy Temples, a youth devotional is set to be held during the time that has traditionally been reserved for those celebrations.

Additionally, since this is the first major temple event that will be held during President Nelson's prophetic administration, I am anticipating that he will be presiding over at least one or two of the three sessions. And since this is a temple in the Salt Lake Valley, I would anticipate that several Church leaders will be in attendance over the course of the three sessions.

I continue to monitor all temple news and developments and will pass those along to you all as I receive word 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.

Vandal Strikes the St. George Utah Temple, Suspending Operations for a Few Hours

Hello again, everyone! The Church News has passed along this article, which details how, in the early hours of this morning, a vandal struck the St. George Utah Temple. The damage appears to be relatively minor, and normal operations resumed after a few hours. But the most interesting thing is that some of the temple workers were able to keep him there until police arrived without using much physical force or restraint.

While it is sad to hear of the vandalism occurring, I am grateful that those temple workers who were on duty at the time handled this situation so well. The article cites passages of the dedicatory and rededicatory prayers given for that temple, particularly those that are indirectly related to this incident. Just wanted to pass that along.

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.

Additional Church News Reported: Part Two--Other Significant Church News

Hello again, everyone! I am back as promised, with the second half of the update I started with my last post. Having shared the updates on the ministry of our apostles, we now turn to the other major stories from the Church News and from Mormon Newsroom. Let's get going on all of that.

LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church, has recently evaluated the refugee situation in Rome Italy, and this report highlights those needs, what is being done about them, and more about the continued assistance needed for the situation as well.

The Church News has also shared this text and video summary of President Nelson's worldwide ministry tour by the numbers. For all female members of the Church and friends of other faiths who feel inferior in any way about the fact that they are "just a mom", the Church News shared this article with a video and text that demonstrates mothers are so much more than that.

Next, those of us who were alive prior to July 2004 no doubt remember Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as an apostle and a wonderful wordsmith. He had a way of combining phrases that left all within the sound of his voice with an indelible impression. The Church News shared this look back at one such address which was given prior to his call as an apostle.

And from Mormon Newsroom, we have this report of an additional statement released by the First Presidency about Utah's marijuana initiative that may be on the ballot. I gather from reading it that many people raised objections about the Church objecting to the initiative, citing the argument that the Brethren are not qualified to voice an opinion on that, since few (if any) of them have worked with doctors who see the measure as important.

To quell those concerns, the Church reached out to a well-respected law firm for their input on that subject, and the result was that the law firm in question cited more specific reasons from a legal standpoint why the measure in its' current form is problematic. Their analysis in response to that request is featured with the release above.

In all honesty, I don't see why anyone takes issue with the Brethren weighing in on such matters. As I have stated before, when the Church feels a need or receives a request to comment on such subjects, official statements on the matter are only released after all the impacts of such measures have been studied, which has included, where needed, consultation with outside experts on those subjects.

And to me, this suggests a lack of understanding on that process from those who raise such objections. It is true that there are some issues that may be outside of the knowledge the Brethren have gained through their experiences. But in such cases, the potential impact of those issues on all people is considered, which often involves outside consultation with those who see a legal, ethical, or moral reason that will justify the Church needing to comment.

If those we sustain as such are truly prophets, seers, and revelators, and I testify that that is the case, then when the Brethren issue statements on such issues, it behooves us as members to give heed to whatever counsel they give. For me, that means that, as a Utah citizen, if this issue makes it to our ballot in November, it is my duty to vote no on that measure.

It has been said by some that when the Lord (and by extension, those He has called to be prophets, seers, and revelators) speaks, the debate should be over. All of us will surely be held accountable before the Lord for any failure on our part to respond to such counsel when it is given. I hope that all of us will remember that.

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.

Additional content posted at 7:40 PM:  Not long after I published this post, the Church News released this article sharing content posted on Facebook by several Church leaders. Particularly intriguing to me was the fact that the article passed along summaries of recent posts by Elders Gong and Soares.

Apparently, those posts marked the first time these leaders have added content to Facebook since responding publicly on that site to their apostolic calls. There were also posts from other apostles and general Church leaders regarding their ongoing worldwide ministry efforts. This latest article, like all of the others in this post and the previous one, are well worthy of your attention, and I can without hesitation give my endorsement to them. I continue to monitor all Church news, including temple developments, and will do my best to keep bringing you all word of those as I become aware of them. Thanks agian.