President Nelson in the Dominican Republic

Hello again, everyone! On this Labor Day 2018, I am posting for a very significant reason. Although technically, President Nelson visited the Saints in the Dominican Republic on Saturday before visiting the Saints in Puerto Rico yesterday, the Church News did not publish an account of his remarks from the first visit until earlier today.

In this article, the devotional held in the Dominican Republic (which was also broadcast by satellite to other islands in the Caribbean Area, is highlighted. And that article specifically mentioned that the remarks President Nelson gave at that devotional are believed to mark the first time a Church president has spoken to a congregation in their native language. It was nice to have that confirmed.

I also wanted to post a correction and clarification to something I reported earlier. When I originally detailed President Nelson's plans to visit the Caribbean, I was almost certain I had read that his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, was coming along on the trip this weekend. But the article above specifically noted that Sister Nelson opted to stay home for this trip. I apologize for the misinformation I unintentionally provided.

In the meantime, as President Nelson follows in the tradition previously set by President Hinckley of just stopping between trips long enough to rest briefly and to pick up a new apostolic companion for the next destination, it makes sense that at times, the wife of the Church president would opt to sit out at least a few of those trips. While President Nelson reportedly has great energy (and continues to appear as though he is 20-30 years younger than his actual age of almost 94), the rigors of constant travel might take their toll on both his apostolic companion and on his wife.

I have not heard that this was the reason, but I make what seems to be a logical assumption. It is interesting to me that President Nelson would plan a weekend trip to the Caribbean Area around a month before General Conference, especially since he noted during his recent Canadian trips that his staff felt those would be brief stops he could make to continue his worldwide ministry tour while that would not interfere with his preparation for General Conference.

Anyways, getting back to the article cited earlier in this post, President Nelson's remarks, along with another address (in English) from Elder Dale G. Renlund and brief remarks from Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Caribbean Area President and General Authority Seventy Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, and his wife, Sister Zulma Gonzalez, comprised the layout of the devotional. You can read highlights of what was said by each in that article.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will, to the best of my ability, pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such updates. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

President Nelson Speaks to Saints in the Caribbean Area of the Church

Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom section on the official Church website recently released this article about President Nelson's visit to the Caribbean, which, as previously mentioned on this blog, took place yesterday and today. There were a few particular things I took away from that report, as follows:

1. President Nelson delivered the entirety of his remarks in Spanish. I had known about him learning Mandarin Chinese in response to a challenge from President Kimball, but he is apparently the first Church president who knows and utilizes two or more languages with fluency. I am feeling more and more lately that there is more truth than we might have realized in Elder Holland's assessment from the April General Conference, and I echo them. What a prophet indeed!
2. He talked a lot to the Saints about their ongoing efforts to recover from the aftermath of the hurricane that swept the Caribbean around one year ago, and he promised that more help was on the way from the Church, and invoked a blessing upon the Saints (particularly those in Puerto Rico) that they will continue to recover.
3. Some of the things he said (as quoted in the article) makes me more certain than ever that there is a high likelihood that Puerto Rico could have a temple announced in the near future. Is that likely to occur next General Conference? Time may tell. If President Nelson is planning a mass announcement of several temples to be built immediately (which seems to be the case), what better way to encourage the Puerto Rican members of the Church in their recovery than to announce that a temple will be built in their midst?

Again, these observations, for what they might be worth, are what I took away from this article, for what they might be worth to any of you. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will pass word of those along to you all as I receive word 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. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

A Couple of Updates Provided on Temples

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post now to report two temple developments that have come to my attention within the last few hours. First, the unofficial site for information about temples (which can be found at its' new URL here shows that the new projected estimate within which the site might be finished with its' restoration work has changed to September 30 of this year.

If this estimate has changed to be more specific, hopefully that means all is going with with the restoration work. But hopefully it also means that this is the latest anticipated date whereby that site might again be up and running. As those of us who enjoy the site continue to pray for those involved in that restoration process, hopefully it can be completed sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, the Facebook page for the site has noted that unanticipated repairs will be done for the Rexburg Idaho Temple. As some of you may recall, the dedication for that temple had been set to occur on February 3, 2008, but the unexpected passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley one week earlier meant that the following Sunday would mark the reorganization of the First Presidency. Therefore, one major action President Monson took as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was to announce that the dedication would be delayed for a week.

Although the temple is just over 10 years old, it appears that the extreme heat on one end and the extreme cold on the other has resulted in somewhat significant damage to a few of the most prominent exterior elements of the temple. With a closure of that temple having gone into effect last Monday (August 27), the temple will be closed until Monday September 17, a period of three weeks. The reason that I did not mention that temple among those closing for an extended period at some point this year was that I felt a need to restrict that list to temples which would close for more than a month.

That said, though no other source is tracking this information, I continue to monitor the Church's progress towards having 200 operating temples by or before the 200th anniversary of the Church (which will, as previously noted, be marked on Saturday April 6, 2030). I have run the numbers that will be effective for tomorrow, at which time there will be 11.59 years remaining until said anniversary. The Church will easily have 200 operating temples at that time if roughly 3.54 temples are dedicated each year between now and then.

As also previously noted, the 2 temple dedications set to occur before the end of this year will be below that average, but next year, with 1 temple dedication already scheduled and 5 others anticipated to be announced within the next year or so, a total of 6 temples will make 2019 fall above that average. 3 other temples already anticipated to be dedicated during 2020 will put that year almost at that average by the time we get between June and August.

And if, as anticipated, we learn more in around a month in General Conference about the specific extent to which President Nelson's plans to expand the number of temples might go, then the number of temple events held during the remainder of 2020 and the years that follow could very well increase exponentially.

For that reason, I have no doubts whatsoever that the Church could easily construct and dedicate a minimum of 30 temples between mid-2020 and the date of that 200th anniversary, and I would not in any way be surprised if there are many more than that by that date. Whatever might occur in that regard, you can depend on my bringing word of it to you all here as I become aware of such developments.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.