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Friday, July 6, 2018

BREAKING NEWS: Urdaneta Philippines Temple Site Being Cleared; Artist's Rendering and Groundbreaking May Soon Be Announced

Hello again, everyone! I have some breaking temple news to report. The LDS Church Temples Facebook page reported at around 1:00 PM today that site clearing activities were underway for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, and that an artist's rendering and groundbreaking date are anticipated to be officially released in the not-too-distant future. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Apparently at some point within this last week, all hurdles that have continued to hold up construction on this temple since its' October 2010 announcement were unexpectedly cleared. This may be for a couple of reasons. As I recently reported on this blog, Elder Christofferson was in the Philippines Area recently conducting Church business, some of which may have been related to the issues that were preventing progress on this temple. I have also noticed that the Philippines Area has recently been visited by several other apostles as well, which makes me think that this development is as a result of their ongoing attention to this matter.

But above and beyond that, President Nelson has repeatedly emphasized his administration's focus on the temple, and also, as I reported on this blog late last month, Sister Joy D. Jones was late to a recent speaking assignment at a devotional on the grounds of the Manti Utah Temple because her meeting with the Temple and Family History Executive Council unexpectedly lasted 3 hours.

Now that this development has been announced, I intend to move the Urdaneta Philippines Temple to nearly the top of my list of recently announced temples. I say "nearly the top" because until a site rendering is released and a groundbreaking is announced, the groundbreaking for the Bangkok Thailand Temple may be announced first. Either way, it seems more than likely that both will have a groundbreaking at some point before the end of this year, even if they are the only two temples to have groundbreakings in 2018. But this surprising development means that we could still see one or two others in addition as well.

I continue to monitor all temple developments and will pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. 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 (which will come in the next half hour or so and will be sharing the latest edition of my temple construction progress report), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church To Release Come Follow Me Curriculum for Adults, Children, and Home Study

Hello again, everyone! I am posting right now with a breaking news development. In an earlier post, I had referenced a visit made by members of the Sunday School and Young Men General Presidency to African nations, during which time, they referenced new curriculum that would be coming in 2019. Today, we got a look at what that will involve.

The Church announced today that it was replacing the typical Primary, adult Sunday School, and home curriculum resources with another "Come Follow Me" set of curriculum, which will place emphasis more on individual preparation and responsibility for learning than on sticking to a manual. You can read more about these developments here,

I also previously referenced that President Nelson, by virtue of his previous experience as a heart surgeon, has kept very much in touch with modern technology advances. We saw evidence of that when the August 2018 Area Leadership Assignments were announced several weeks in advance of when they typically had been, when we have seen the Church magazine content approved and published on the website much more quickly than they have been, and again today, when the Church released this document, which shows the 2019 Instructions for Curriculum. Those had typically not been released until mid-August or so each year.

This is an outstanding and welcome development. I continue to monitor all Church and temple updates and will do my best to bring those to you as I receive word of them. I should note that I became aware late last night of several new updates on temples, which I am anxious to pass along to you all, but because I have a doctor's appointment later today that will take most of the afternoon, the earliest I may be able to pass those along will be later this evening. Stay tuned for 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.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Report on Additional Addresses From the Seminar for New Mission Leadership

Hello again, everyone! After trying and failing to make the alterations I had in mind for this blog, we are back to the previous design. And I am back to report on two other addresses from the recent Seminar for New Mission Leadership. The addresses were given by two more members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, both of whom also serve on the Missionary Executive Council.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave an address with his wife, and they highlighted the importance of missionaries owning their personal and companionship gospel study. The Christoffersons also said that, in addition to applying to missionary companionships, married couples of the Church can benefit from studying the scriptures together. So mission presidents and their wives were urged on a personal level to set the example for their missionaries. You can read more of what the Christoffersons said here.

In the meantime, our Brazilian junior apostle, Elder Ulisses Soares, drew on the example of Brazil's winding Amazon river as an analogy for the membership of the Church. He explained that that river is created at the point where the Solimoes River, which starts in Peru, and the Negro River from the Amazon Basin, converge into a single body of water.

In similitude to the river, the membership of the Church is comprised of those who have been lifelong or multi-generational members who combine and converge in various ways and settings with those who may be newer to the Church. Just as the converged river could not succeed without its' two distinct bodies of water, so too do converts need the support of their lifelong member counterparts.

He also reemphasized what the Church has taught about what all converts need: A friend, a responsibility, and nourishing by the good word of God. As members work together to make converts feel welcome (which is an effort that, by extension, includes the vital role of missionaries), and as all members draw from the strengths of their fellow Saints, the Church will be strengthened as a complete body of our Heavenly Father's worldwide family. You can read more about what Elder Soares said in this article.

The reports of this year's seminar continue to come in, so I will be sure to keep passing those on to you as I receive word of them, and I also will be posting any other important Church and temple news as I become aware of those developments as well.

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.