Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! There have been several additional Church News stories published within the last 12-24 hours that I have felt may be of interest to some of you. So this post will pass those developments along to you all.

The first piece of news I wanted to pass along relates to updates that have been added to the latest edition of Preach My Gospel. As some of you may recall, that volume was originally published in 2004, and since that time, several Church leaders have given additional insights into effective missionary work that have been included in the new edition of that volume.

The Church News section on lds.org has also shared this article highlighting the opening concert held during the Tabernacle Choir's "Classic Coast Tour"/Turning now to articles from the LDS Church News website, there are quite a few to discuss. In a word where there are many voices competing for our attention on a day-to-day basis, at times, it may be easy for some of us to doubt ourselves and the strength and depth of our faith. The Church News shared three responses about how to deal with those feelings when they come.

BYU holds a "Religious Freedom Annual Review" every year. This year, the keynote address was given by Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Seventy, who, as some of you may know, is a descendant of William Clayton, an early Saint and pioneer who wrote the hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints"/

Elder Clayton particularly touched on the importance of our faith in our identities, and discussed why Latter-day Saints have the responsibility to protect religious freedom for those of all faiths. There has also been an article published about the Saints in Rome Italy who are anxiously awaiting the opening of the temple in their city, an event that has been 45 years in the making.

Turning our attention now to the ministry of apostles past and present, Gerry Avant continues her series of articles taking a retroactive look back at her experiences and memories of Church News she has covered over her long and prestigious career. She wrote about how an unexpected comment from President Hinckley during the dedication of the Mexico City Mexico Temple not only changed the spirit of those sessions, but also served to verify that the veil between this world and the spirit world is at times very thin.

And finally, the "Inside the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles" series continued this week with statements and experiences cited from every member of the Quorum which demonstrates what it's like to be a prophet, seer, and revelator, not just to Church members, but to the world as a whole.

I hope that many of you have found this analysis of these developments helpful. 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.

New Presidents Called for Two More Temples

Hello again, everyone! Earlier today, the Church News noted the call of two more temple presidents, who will begin serving later this year in the Asuncion Paraguay and Cordoba Argentina Temples. I was particularly surprised that a new president has been called for the Asuncion temple, since that one is currently closed for renovations that, as far as I have been able to ascertain, have not yet formally begun.

This brings the number of temples which have had a new president announced to a total of 56, and I have 2 or 3 others remaining on my list of those temples for which a new president may be announced, not including the temples that are now scheduled for dedication, or that may soon have a dedication announced.

Regarding those new temples, I should also note that, given that the first new temple dedication this year will be occurring in around 4 months, I am hoping we will shortly hear the first presidents announced for the Concepcion Chile, Barranquilla Colombia, and Rome Italy Temples. But depending on the progress (or the lack thereof) on the Kinshasa DR Congo, Fortaleza Brazil, and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples, any of them may have a new president announced as well.

I am again posting an updated list of temples for which a new president has been or may be announced, 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 pot, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

New presidents have been called for the following temples:

1.      Manaus Brazil

2.      Boise Idaho

3.      Denver Colorado

4.      The Hague Netherlands

5.      Oquirrh Mountain Utah

6.      Helsinki Finland

7.      The Gila Valley Arizona

8.      Brigham City Utah

9.      Stockholm Sweden

10.  Palmyra New York

11.  Accra Ghana

12.  Papeete Tahiti

13.  Sao Paulo Brazil

14.  San Jose Costa Rica

15.  Albuquerque New Mexico

16.  Provo City Center

17.  Recife Brazil

18.  Cardston Alberta

19.  Payson Utah

20.  Porto Alegre Brazil

21.  Brisbane Australia

22.  Kansas City Missouri

23.  Oaxaca Mexico

24.  Regina Saskatchewan

25.  Cebu City Philippines

26.  Boston Massachusetts

27.  Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Mexico

28.  Billings Montana

29.  Houston Texas

30.  Sydney Australia

31.  Guatemala City Guatemala

32.  Hermosillo Sonora Mexico

33.  Montevideo Uruguay

34.  Indianapolis Indiana

35.  Laie Hawaii Temple (the new president of this temple is the older brother of General Authority Seventy Elder Donald L. Hallstrom)

36.  Las Vegas Nevada

37.  Atlanta Georgia

38.  Buenos Aires Argentina

39.  Redlands California

40.  Draper Utah

41.  Tijuana Mexico

42.  Sacramento California

43.  Monticello Utah

44.  Bountiful Utah

45.  Freiberg Germany

46.  Oakland California

47.  Villahermosa Mexico

48.  Manti Utah

49.  Suva Fiji

50.  Vancouver British Columbia

51.  Tegucigalpa Honduras

52.  Fukuoka Japan

53.  St. Louis Missouri

54.  Trujillo Peru

55.  Asuncion Paraguay (not anticipated)

56.  Cordoba Argentina

The first presidents will likely be announced for the following new temples:

1.      Concepcion Chile

2.      Barranquilla Colombia

3.      Rome Italy

4.      Kinshasa DR Congo

5.      Fortaleza Brazil

6.      Port-au-Prince Haiti

New presidents may also be announced for the following temples:

1.      Taipei Taiwan

2.      Veracruz Mexico

3.      Washington D. C. Temple (Note: The Church may opt to wait on calling a new president for this temple until 2020 when it is rededicated)

Church News Updates

Hello again, everyone! There have been a few new articles published on the Church News website and on Mormon Newsroom which I wanted to pass along. So let's get right into those. First, the Church News continued its' series of articles on the new leaders called during the April General Conference. Mot recently, an article was published about Elder Takashi Wada, and it was interesting to learn more about him and the path that led to his current assignment.

The Church News and Mormon Newsroom's blog both provided similar information about how the volume featuring discourses by Latter-day Saint women has now been made available in Spanish and Portuguese, which, after English, are the second and third most common languages spoken by Church members worldwide. And the translations of that volume are the first non-English volume published under the trademark Church Historian's press. This is yet another example of how the Church has expanded on a global scale.

I continue to monitor all Church and temple news and will do my level best to continue bringing word of those developments to you all 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 pot, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.