Elder Cook Speaks At Devotional Held During the New Mission Leadership Seminar

Hello again, everyone! After a pretty busy day, I wanted to share this report covering remarks given by Elder Quentin L. Cook at a devotional that was held during the New Mission Leadership Seminar last Sunday.

Elder Cook spoke about the 4 most important relationships that should mold the service of missionaries around the world: with their companions, with the people among whom they labor, with the mission president and matron, and, most importantly with the Lord. He also talked about how those relationships should be established, cultivated, and strengthened.

To illustrate this point, he referenced experiences he had during his own missionary service, which included time he spent as a companion of his future fellow apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and their service under two exceptional mission presidents. One of those two was Elder Marion D. Hanks.

If I may, I would like to offer a quick sidenote about Elder Hanks. As some of you may be aware, his service as a mission president was rendered while he simultaneously served in the now-defunct First Council of the Seventy. He would go on to serve in another now-defunct position of Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles prior to being called to the First Quorum of the Seventy, and had two distinct opportunities to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy.

Elder Hanks was well trusted by the First Presidency, and that trust is amply demonstrated by the fact that two missionaries that served under his leadership are now colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

At any rate, Elder Cook's advice to mission presidents about the 4 most important relationships a missionary should cultivate applies just as fully to us as members of the Church who desire to have a positive influence on all those with whom we come in contact.

For those of us who are married, our relationships with the Lord and with our companions should rightly be of the utmost importance to us, and all of us also need to love and sustain the general and local leaders of the Church in their labors and demonstrate love to those over whom we have stewardship, whether as a result of any formal or informal calling, or in our assignments to minister to our fellow Saints.

With that said, for what it's worth, this concludes my report and analysis of Elder Cook's remarks. There may be other articles worthy of our attention that have been published within the last 24 hours. I will perhaps take some time to focus on those later today (Wednesday June 27, 2018), and to pass those along within the next 12-18 hours or so.

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 Updates

Hello again, everyone! I am posting again now to share some additional Church news updates of which I have become aware just recently. We start on somewhat of a somber note, as the Church News has reported the death of another emeritus General Authority, Elder W. Mack Lawrence, who served as a General Authority Seventy from December 1990 until his death (he was released from general Church service in October 1996), passed away at age 91.

Some of you may remember my mentioning that, although it has been tradition for members of the First Quorum of the Seventy to be granted emeritus status at age 70 and for members of the Second Quorum to be released after roughly 5 years of service, it was reported in October 2015 that several former members of the Second Quorum had been sent letters from the First Presidency designating them as emeritus General Authorities as well, which is why the Church News referred to him as such in the article about his death.

Although he only served for around 5 or 6 years, he filled many assignments for the Church. He also gave two excellent addresses in General Conference during that time. Since I was very young during his service period, I have no personal recollections of seeing him or hearing him speak, but it sounds like he was a very remarkable man.

The Church News also shared this report about how the Gateway Arch renovation, which took $380 million to accomplish, underscores the vital role of Church history. And as the Tabernacle Choir continues their tour, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom joined them for a special sacrament service yesterday in San Francisco. More on that is shared here.

Again, I continue to monitor all Church and temple news and will do my level best to pass along such developments 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.

Elder Uchtdorf Identifies "Bullseye" For Which Every Missionary Should Aim

Hello again, everyone! While I was putting the previous two posts together, apparently another report came in about the 2018 New Mission Leadership Seminar. This article shares comments from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. As many of you may recall, shortly after the First Presidency was reorganized, Elder Uchtdorf received several key assignments, one of which was to chair the Missionary Executive Council.

As one in charge of worldwide missionary matters, Elder Uchtdorf focused his remarks on the bullseye for which every missionary should aim. That bullseye is created by the two commandments which the Savior identified as being the most important ones: Loving God and serving our fellow man. Elder Uchtdorf went on to discuss how missionaries can and should be doing that. It was a remarkable address, the summary of which is well worth your attention.

Again, I continue to monitor all Church and temple developments and will bring word of those 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 post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.