Observations On the Newly-Available PDF Version of the November 2018 Ensign

Hello again, everyone! The PDF version of the November 2018 Ensign is now available online for download. In conjunction with this development, I have new information about changes which have been made to the editor and advisers of the Church magazines. Here is a look at what has changed in that regard:

November 2018:
Editor: Randy D. Funk
Advisers: Brian K. Ashton, Randall K. Bennett, Becky Craven, Sharon Eubank, Cristina B. Franco, Donald L. Hallstrom, Larry S. Kacher, Erich W. Kopischke, Lynn G. Robbins

Released as editor: Hugo E. Martinez (in view of new area presidency assignment)
Called as editor: Randy D. Funk
Released as adviser: Randy D. Funk
Called as adviser: Larry S. Kacher

Additionally, as per my usual semiannual tradition, I am pleased to provide a look at how the potential table of contents for that Ensign compares to the actual thing. That follows below. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here and now as I always do. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 

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.

Possible Table of Contents for the November 2018 Ensign (Text in parentheses indicate what actually occurred)

Session	Page	Title	Speaker
	2	Conference Summary for the 188th Annual General Conference
	4	Highlights from the 188th Annual General Conference
SAM	8 (6)	Opening Remarks	President Russell M. Nelson
	11 (8)	Deep and Lasting Conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ	Elder Quentin L. Cook
	14 (12)	Lift Up Your Head and Rejoice	M. Joseph Brough
	16 (15)	Laying the Foundation of a Great Work	Elder Steven R. Bangerter
	18	Be Not Troubled	Elder Ronald A. Rasband
	22 (21)	Gather Together in One All Things in Christ	Elder David A. Bednar
	26 (25)	Truth and the Plan	President Dallin H. Oaks
SAA	30 (28)	The Sustaining of Church Officers	President Henry B. Eyring
	32 (30)	Firm and Steadfast in the Faith of Christ	Elder D. Todd Christofferson
	36 (34)	Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice	Bishop Dean M. Davies
	39 (37)	One in Christ	Elder Ulisses Soares
	42 (40)	Our Campfire of Faith	Elder Gerrit W. Gong
	45 (43)	All Must Take upon Them the Name Given of the Father	Elder Paul B. Pieper
	48 (46)	Believe, Love, Do	Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
GW	52 (50)	For Him	Joy D. Jones
	54 (52)	Divine Discontent	Michelle D. Craig
	56 (55)	The Joy of Unselfish Service	Cristina B. Franco
	58	Women and Gospel Learning in the Home	President Henry B. Eyring
	62 (61)	Parents and Children	President Dallin H. Oaks
	66 (68)	Sisters’ Participation in the Gathering of Israel	President Russell M. Nelson
SUM	70 (71)	The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead	President M. Russell Ballard
	78 (74)	Becoming a Shepherd	Bonnie H. Cordon
	82 (77)	The Ministry of Reconciliation	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
	86 (80)	The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion	Elder Shayne M. Bowen
	88 (83)	Wounded	Elder Neil L. Andersen
	92 (87)	The Correct Name of the Church	President Russell M. Nelson
SUA	96 (90)	Try, Try Try	President Henry B. Eyring
	100 (93)	The Father	Brian K. Ashton
	103 (97)	Taking upon Ourselves the Name of Christ	Elder Robert C. Gay
	106 (101)	Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?	Elder Matthew L. Carpenter
	108 (104)	Choose You This Day	Elder Dale G. Renlund
	112 (107)	Now is the Time	Elder Jack N. Gerard
	114 (110)	Shepherding Souls	Elder Gary E. Stevenson
	118 (113)	Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints	President Russell M. Nelson
	72 (64)	General Authorities and General Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
	120 (115)	Conference Story Index
	122 (116)	News of the Church
	132 (128)	Last Page of Conference Ensign

Full Report Provided on President Nelson's Visit to Paraguay

Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom on the Church's website recently shared a full report on President Nelson's visit to Paraguay. One interesting thing that stuck out to me about this report is that, as President Nelson continued to offer remarks in Spanish, Elder Stevenson commented on how weird it was for him to have to wear headphones to hear the English translation of the prophet's remarks.

But Elder Stevenson also mentioned how amazing it was to see the Saints in these congregations responding to President Nelson speaking in their native tongue. President Nelson is truly a prophet to the people. It is not surprising in any way to me that his message has been the same everywhere he has visited this year. He is continually encouraging people to prioritize their families, frequent study of the Book of Mormon, and striving for temple worthiness.

That said, I had thought (when Asuncion was announced as a stop on his tour) that he would potentially meet with governmental leaders to see what could be done to get the renovation process started for the temple in that city. But given that the process started several days prior to his departure on this tour, it appears that such a visit was not necessary.

I will continue to provide coverage of this first leg of President Nelson's South American Tour as that becomes available. I likewise continue to monitor any other Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to 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, on any post of any time. 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.

Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! There have been a few more reports on President Nelson's first South American leg of his Global Ministry Tour, the ministry of President Oaks and his traveling companions to those impacted by a recent hurricane in the southeastern United States, and other developments. So let's get right into all of those reports.

First of all, extensive coverage of President Nelson's visit to Bolivia has been provided by the Church News and the official Newsroom on the Church's website. An ongoing summary of this tour can be found here, including additional coverage as that is made available. My biggest take-away from this article was the fact that President Nelson had been scheduled to visit Bolivia earlier this year, but the passing of President Monson changed those plans. And the Lord recently instructed him to follow through on those earlier plans as he prepares for the Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication, which will occur this weekend. I will continue to provide reports of that tour as I receive them.

In the meantime, as previously mentioned, President Oaks was joined recently by several other Church leaders in a tour of the areas recently struck by Hurricane Michael in the southeastern United States. The Church News and the official Newsroom also covered those developments. And while Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, joined President Oaks and others in the southeastern United States, Bishop Dean M. Davies, who serves as First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, dedicated a new Deseret Industries in Gilbert Arizona.

It is wonderful indeed to see the leaders of the Church place such a high priority on being out among the people, whether within the United States or outside of it. As always, I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to keep bringing word of those to you all as I receive it.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.