A Mother's Day Tribute

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to take this opportunity to post a Mother's Day tribute. The Lord has repeatedly emphasized the high importance of women. There is a reason that the last of the Lord's creations at the beginning of this world was a woman. This was His crowning achievement in that process, and it is my opinion that He saved the best for last because He knew we would all need the influence of righteous women.

The scriptures and numerous talks in General Conference have contained numerous accounts of the influence of righteous women through all dispensations of the world. We read in the Book of Mormon of the sons of Ammon, who volunteered to help defend the Nephite lands, since their fathers had promised never to use their weapons of war. The sons of Ammon had the courage to fight because they had been taught by their mothers that God would deliver them, and "[they did] not doubt [their] mothers knew it."

The influence of righteous women cannot be overstated. President Gordon B. Hinckley gave this address six months after his wife passed away, which focused on a tribute to the women in our lives. In my own life, I have been blessed to be influenced by so many wonderful women.

Among those women, just to name a few, are my mother (who, as I have noted previously, raised my siblings and me to be who we now are, and who took special care of me as a result of my health issues) to my mother-in-law (whom I have yet to meet, but to whom goes most of the credit for the way all of her children, especially my sweet wife Amy, have turned out) to sisters and sisters-in-law who have also sacrificed much for their families, to the women I have worked with through Church callings and in my missionary and temple service, and to all other women that have, in their own ways, influenced me at various points in my life.

Church leaders have repeatedly emphasized that the influence of a righteous and good woman on those with whom she comes in contact cannot be overstated. The women in each of our lives freely put aside their own wants, hopes, dreams, and desires in favor of giving all they can to the betterment of those within the scope of their influence.

The Lord, through scripture and the words of His Church leaders, has not only emphasized how important women are, but has also warned us as men about what will happen if we mistreat the women in our lives, or if we knowingly make them unhappy. As I noted at the beginning of this post, the fact that the Lord's final creation was a woman should be a clear indicator of the importance of such women in our lives.

It is my prayer that all of us, especially the men, will recognize the truth of these things, and treat the women in our lives accordingly. The crowning creation of the Lord should rightly be honored and revered, on this Mother's Day and always. That it may be so for all of us is my paryer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone Passes Away at Age 87

Hello again, everyone! Less than an hour ago, the Church News reported that Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, an emeritus General Authority, passed away earlier today at the age of 87. For those not aware of who he is, he had served in the Presiding Bishopric for four years (1972-1976), and then served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy for 25 years (1976-2001), and he was granted emeritus status in October 2001.

During his time in the First Quorum of the Seventy, among other assignments, he served for five years as the Young Men General President. He also had experiences serving as a mission president and temple president. During his tenure as a mission president, one of the missionaries who served under him was our current Young Men General President Stephen W. Owen.

The Church News shared this tribute to his life. During his almost 30-year ministry as a general authority, he served in variety of important assignments, and he had 18 opportunities to give addresses during General Conference. You can review any of those addresses (which covered a variety of subjects), here.

Funeral arrangements are pending. I will keep you posted with more details on this 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.

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.