Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has released these additional answers to more frequently asked questions about the ministering announcement. There are several important clarifications on questions that have come up since the original material was released, and they are well worthy of your attention.
Most importantly, these questions clarify to which quorum individuals in some specific situations belong, the role of Elders' Quorum & Relief Society presidency members in supervising ministering efforts, and the fact that those who previously held positions in Elders' Quorums and Relief Societies in supervising home and visiting teaching are now discontinued, and that all ministering efforts are under the direct supervision of the Elders' Quorum and Relief Society Presidencies.
Additionally, the First Presidency has noted that this will be the last set of FAQs for which the answers will be posted online on the ministering website. Any other questions are being redirected to local Church leaders under the direction of the Spirit, which I think is a wise move. These changes are being implemented to enable all of us to minister under the direction of the Spirit, as the Savior did, and that cannot happen if every question ever asked has to be answered by the First Presidency.
With the originally released FAQs and the additional ones released today, all of us should have a very clear vision of what the work of ministering needs to look like. We are being given the opportunity to be guided by the spirit, both individually and with our ministering companions, in how best to meet the needs of those to whom we are asked to minister. What a wonderful opportunity!
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.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
First Presidency Releases Additional FAQs Regarding Ministering
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Monday, May 14, 2018
Some Musings About Future Temple Announcements
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to share some musings I have had about future temple announcements. This post on that subject will include thoughts & observations regarding the timing and frequency of those announcements, other insights about future locations, and an exploration of any other pertinent information that may apply. There's a lot to digest here, so let's get to it.
First of all, the subject of timing and frequency. As we are all no doubt aware, temples can be announced at any time at the discretion of the prophet or his counselors whom he authorizes to make such announcements in his stead. As you may recall, while many people had expressed their opinions that new temples would likely not be announced during President Nelson's first General Conference in April, since he had a lot to prepare for, there were a few (myself included) who asserted that temples could (and likely would) be announced. And the number of temples that were part of the first such announcement of President Nelson's presidency (7 total) were, according to many sources, the second-highest number of temples ever announced at one time.
It is not surprising that, for a prophet that made he clear that he "[wanted] to begin with the end in mind". many of the first major announcements of his administration have been temple-related. With that in mind, I have no doubt that President Nelson will continue to evaluate the need for temples, and will not hesitate to announce any at any time he feels impressed to do so. As we also know, he had originally intended to only announce six temples last month, but felt impressed to add one for India to the list the night before General Conference began.
As we also know, the Church currently has one temple that has had a groundbreaking but has not had full-scale construction begin, and the announcement of the 7 new temples last month brought the total number of announced temples to 19, one of which was announced in October 2010, but for which a groundbreaking has not yet taken place. So President Nelson could (and might) wait to announce other temples until a few more of those currently announced have progressed to the construction phase.
But there is an equal or greater possibility that he will do what he can to accelerate the process of getting the currently announced temples to their groundbreaking ceremony. I have 5-9 of those temples on which I am keeping my eye for news of a groundbreaking, perhaps within the next year or two. My point in mentioning this is that recent developments seem to indicate that President Nelson may not be concerned about a backlog existing, as was the case in 2014, when attention was devoted to decreasing that backlog.
In fact, regardless of what happens with temple groundbreakings, the number of those under construction will go from its' current 11 (which have had a groundbreaking) to 3 by the end of next year. And if, as I have heard, this year and next year are big ones for temple groundbreakings, then a backlog shouldn't be an issue.
We also have Elder Larry Y. Wilson's statement, which was made in late April last year. The executive director of the Temple Department noted at that time that 80 locations were on a list for a possible temple announcement within the 15 years following that statement. We, of course, do not know how many of the other 6 locations announced last month were on that list of 80, but we do know that President Nelson had not planned to announce a temple in India, until the Lord instructed him to do so on the night before General Conference began.
If we were to take a literal interpretation of Elder Wilson's statement, and assume that all of the 6 other locations were on that list, then that means that roughly 74 other locations remain on the list, and since a year has come and gone since that statement was made, the Church has just under 14 years of the time he mentioned to announce those 74, which works out to 5 per year, and that does not include the 7 announced last month.
For that reason, I stand by my assertion that we might see a few announced every six months, with one or two possibly announced in between each April, October, and subsequent April. As for the timing, we saw with locations like India and Russia that the Lord inspired temple announcements in both nations well in advance of when many, myself included, had believed was possible. With that in mind, I imagine we will see temples announced in many anticipated locations, but also in a few unexpected locations
And that thought leads me into an exploration of the final point I wanted to cover, that of the most likely future temple locations. Of the 19 that have not progressed beyond an announcement, 3 are to be constructed in the Philippines; 2 others will be built in Asia, 4 others will be built in the US (3 of which are within the Mormon Corridor), 3 more will be in Africa, 1 will rise in Eastern Europe, and the remaining 6 will be built throughout Latin America.
Those numbers suggest to me that we are likely to see several more built in Latin America and on the African continent, while we are also likely to see others rise in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, but perhaps not to the same extent or with the same frequency. I would also anticipate a few others here and there throughout Asia.. I will continue to offer my thoughts about more specific locations as time and circumstances allow in the future.
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.
First of all, the subject of timing and frequency. As we are all no doubt aware, temples can be announced at any time at the discretion of the prophet or his counselors whom he authorizes to make such announcements in his stead. As you may recall, while many people had expressed their opinions that new temples would likely not be announced during President Nelson's first General Conference in April, since he had a lot to prepare for, there were a few (myself included) who asserted that temples could (and likely would) be announced. And the number of temples that were part of the first such announcement of President Nelson's presidency (7 total) were, according to many sources, the second-highest number of temples ever announced at one time.
It is not surprising that, for a prophet that made he clear that he "[wanted] to begin with the end in mind". many of the first major announcements of his administration have been temple-related. With that in mind, I have no doubt that President Nelson will continue to evaluate the need for temples, and will not hesitate to announce any at any time he feels impressed to do so. As we also know, he had originally intended to only announce six temples last month, but felt impressed to add one for India to the list the night before General Conference began.
As we also know, the Church currently has one temple that has had a groundbreaking but has not had full-scale construction begin, and the announcement of the 7 new temples last month brought the total number of announced temples to 19, one of which was announced in October 2010, but for which a groundbreaking has not yet taken place. So President Nelson could (and might) wait to announce other temples until a few more of those currently announced have progressed to the construction phase.
But there is an equal or greater possibility that he will do what he can to accelerate the process of getting the currently announced temples to their groundbreaking ceremony. I have 5-9 of those temples on which I am keeping my eye for news of a groundbreaking, perhaps within the next year or two. My point in mentioning this is that recent developments seem to indicate that President Nelson may not be concerned about a backlog existing, as was the case in 2014, when attention was devoted to decreasing that backlog.
In fact, regardless of what happens with temple groundbreakings, the number of those under construction will go from its' current 11 (which have had a groundbreaking) to 3 by the end of next year. And if, as I have heard, this year and next year are big ones for temple groundbreakings, then a backlog shouldn't be an issue.
We also have Elder Larry Y. Wilson's statement, which was made in late April last year. The executive director of the Temple Department noted at that time that 80 locations were on a list for a possible temple announcement within the 15 years following that statement. We, of course, do not know how many of the other 6 locations announced last month were on that list of 80, but we do know that President Nelson had not planned to announce a temple in India, until the Lord instructed him to do so on the night before General Conference began.
If we were to take a literal interpretation of Elder Wilson's statement, and assume that all of the 6 other locations were on that list, then that means that roughly 74 other locations remain on the list, and since a year has come and gone since that statement was made, the Church has just under 14 years of the time he mentioned to announce those 74, which works out to 5 per year, and that does not include the 7 announced last month.
For that reason, I stand by my assertion that we might see a few announced every six months, with one or two possibly announced in between each April, October, and subsequent April. As for the timing, we saw with locations like India and Russia that the Lord inspired temple announcements in both nations well in advance of when many, myself included, had believed was possible. With that in mind, I imagine we will see temples announced in many anticipated locations, but also in a few unexpected locations
And that thought leads me into an exploration of the final point I wanted to cover, that of the most likely future temple locations. Of the 19 that have not progressed beyond an announcement, 3 are to be constructed in the Philippines; 2 others will be built in Asia, 4 others will be built in the US (3 of which are within the Mormon Corridor), 3 more will be in Africa, 1 will rise in Eastern Europe, and the remaining 6 will be built throughout Latin America.
Those numbers suggest to me that we are likely to see several more built in Latin America and on the African continent, while we are also likely to see others rise in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, but perhaps not to the same extent or with the same frequency. I would also anticipate a few others here and there throughout Asia.. I will continue to offer my thoughts about more specific locations as time and circumstances allow in the future.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
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.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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