President Eyring Teaches How to Be Confident Rather Than Self-Doubtful

Hello again, everyone! The Church News continues to report on the addresses given during the Seminar for New Mission Leadership.. Just about an hour ago, this report was published summarizing President Eyring's counsel to those new leaders. His message was on a subject he has covered before, how to be confident instead of self-doubting in assignments and situations that seem beyond an individual.

He spoke of his personal experiences receiving Church callings for which he felt inadequate and, to a certain degree, unworthy. He again highlighted an experience he shared before about how President James E. Faust had called him into his office shortly after then-Elder Eyring's call to the apostleship. He could see that the new apostle was struggling with the magnitude of his new role. Elder Eyring anticipated that the veteran apostle would offer him advice to get through those feelings. But President Faust instead offered this powerful lesson: "Don't ask me. Ask him."

Now-President Eyring went on to talk about how he now occupies the office in which that visit with President Faust occurred. He then noted that at times since that meeting in April 1995, and particularly as he has been called to continue his service in the First Presidency under a third president of the Church, he has kept President Faust's counsel in mind.

He went on to describe his understanding of how those called to preside over missions or serve as Church missionaries may face the same feelings on inadequacy. And he offered some suggestions in terms of how all Church members, in whatever their calling may be, can refocus their attention away from wanting their service to be acceptable to those under whose direction they are called to serve to instead being more concerned about whether that service is acceptable to the Lord.

He pointed out that, of all opinions, our standing with the Lord should be the most important. And he urged mission presidents to encourage their missionaries to serve under the Lord's direction, endorsement, blessing, and approval.

It is a very timely message. In a world dominated by the idea that we need to focus first on pleasing others and ourselves by what we do, we are prone to forget that the Lord's opinion should be the one that matters most. Only He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts, and at the day of judgement, we will not be asked about what we did to be acceptable to our fellow man, but what we did to be accepted of Him, which includes rendering service to those among whom we share our earthly sojourn.

May we all remember the importance of that message. That does it for this post. If you liked what you read here and would like to, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed about new content on this blog. 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.

Exploring Additional Temple Prospects for the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! With the recent discussions that have taken place in previous threads on this blog (which relate to how President Nelson's legacy as a temple-building Church president may outshine and overshadow that of President Hinckley), I have felt impressed to take a look at other potential locations which were not originally on my list for the near future, but which may need to be added in light of that new information.

I should also note that, unlike the locations currently on my list for a potential announcement in October, I am not yet going to add any contextual reasoning behind the inclusion of these sites for the moment, but that if any or all of these prospects do wind up on the list for October's General Conference, I will then be adding my rationale behind their inclusion.

A list of those prospects follows below, again organized first by the area of the Church under which those cities fall, then by potential likelihood within that area. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do. That does it for this post. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed on new content as it is posted, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Africa Southeast: Kampala Uganda; Maputo Mozambique; Lubumbashi DR Congo; Cape Town South Africa

Africa West: Monrovia Liberia

Asia: Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Asia North: Kobe/Osaka/Nagoya Japan

Brazil: Florianopolis Brazil

Europe: Edinburgh Scotland; Vienna Austria

North America Central: Wichita Kansas; Green Bay Wisconsin; Council Bluffs Iowa

North America Northeast: Augusta Maine; Morristown/East Brunswick New Jersey; Concord New Hampshire; Montpelier Vermont

North America Southeast: Jacksonville Florida

Pacific: Tarawa Kiribati; Pago Pago American Samoa

Additional Temple Progress Reported

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to report that, within the last hour, two important temple developments have been reported. We first turn to an update on the renovation process for the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple. A new photograph posted to the LDS Church Temples Facebook page shows that the framing on the temple's exterior has continued to make steady progress.

As I mentioned on this blog earlier this year, the general estimate for that temple's completion was pushed back from mid-2019 to mid-to-late 2019. With that in mind, despite this reported progress, I do not currently see any reason to believe that this temple will be rededicated any sooner than between October and December of next year. But if and when my thoughts change in that regard, I will pass that information along.

And just around half an hour ago, that same page reported a development related to the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. At the site where that is being built, a new photograph shows that preliminary work is underway on the meetinghouse that will be near the temple. As I mentioned previously, when the groundbreaking was held for the Winnipeg temple in December 2016, the Church indicated that the construction process was anticipated to take around 20 months or so.

With that process only having formally begun within the last six weeks, I have offered my estimate (which I will stand by until I see a reason to change it) that if all goes well, construction could conclude for this temple in February or March 2020, with a dedication following in April or May of the same year. Again, if I see any reason to alter that estimate in the future, I will be sure to do so.

I continue to monitor all temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you as I receive them. That does it for this post. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. 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.