Church News Updates Reported

Hello again, everyone! This will be the first of two posts I will be publishing within the next hour or so. This one will share some extensive Church news updates which have been reported in recent days, and the second post will detail newly-reported temple developments. So let's get right into all of that. First of all, Elder Hartman Rector Jr., an emeritus General Authority, passed away yesterday at the age of 94. He was the first member of that Council who did not convert to the Church until his adult years. His inspiring conversion story is detailed in the article to which I lined

He was called as a member of the now-defunct First Council of the Seventy on April 6, 1968. While serving in that capacity, he spent a one-month period serving as the interim president of what was then the Church's Italian Mission. In 1971, he became the first president of the Alabama-Florida Mission. During the final year of his service in the First Council of the Seventy (October 1975-October 1976), he simultaneously served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. With the reconstitution of the First Quorum of the Seventy, he was released from his assignment in the Presidency of that Quorum.,

Elder Rector also served for two years as president of the California San Diego Mission, spent two years as a counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, another year as a counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, and also served in area presidencies in North and South America. He had an almost-3-year term as Assistant Executive Director of the Family History Department, and 9 years as the Managing Director of the Genealogical Department. He also gave 16 addresses during his many years of active service as a General Authority, each of which is worthy of review. I would refer you to the article cited above for any other information you may need on Elder Rector's life and ministry.

In other Church news, I previously referenced how the media did two interviews during the weekend of the Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication, one with President Nelson and Elder Stevenson, and the other with Sister Nelson. In the latter interview, Sister Nelson provided a first-hand look at the many positive changes she has seen in her husband since his appointment as Church President almost 10 months ago. A Church News article provides some additional details from what the Newsroom originally reported.

On the campus of LDS Business College, President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, spoke at a devotional in which he highlighted the life-changing moment in which he began to realize his full potential. Additional details were also provided on the recent meeting held between NCAA representatives and Church leaders regarding LGBT students. And another Church leader met in Brussels with EU officials, where the subject of religious freedom was addressed. And the Church News shared an inspiring story of how one man's patience in waiting for a quarter-century to receive the priesthood changed a community.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to bring 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.

Update on the Number of Current Area Seventies

Hello again, everyone! I thought I would take some time right now to provide an update on the number of current Area Seventies. I wanted to first pass along some preliminary information. As mentioned in earlier posts, prior to the October 2018 General Conference, the number of Area Seventies in all but the first two Quorums was within 10-20 members of the maximum 70. Two major factors came into play in relation to those numbers.

The first was the ambiguity and confusion over whether or not the Church had consolidated the 10 North America Areas down to 6 (as there are only 6 area presidencies with oversight of those areas). If those areas had been consolidated (as appeared to be the case), then the composition of the 5th and 6th Quorums would have been altered in some manner, since the Idaho Area has been part of the 5th, and the North America Central Area has been part of the 6th.

Particularly, I had been under the impression that the previously-separate 3 Utah Areas had been consolidated.into a single Utah Area based on what I could find in available sources. But as noted a few days ago, President M. Russell Ballard, who was the Church leader quoted at the time the reestablishment of area presidencies throughout North America were announced, spoke at a regional conference for Saints living in what had been the Utah North Area, and he still referred to them by that designation. So the Utah Areas have not been consolidated, which, by extension, means that there are still 10 North America areas in the Church. 

The second factor was that, as anticipated, there were a massive number of area seventies released during General Conference at the beginning of last month. While not everyone whose potential release I was anticipating actually was released, as of right now, only two Quorums of Area Seventies are anywhere close to having 70 members, and those two Quorums (the 4th and 5th) are 15 and 19 members respectively short of that maximum number. Accordingly, at least for the next year, and barring anything unexpected, I no longer believe we will see any new Quorums established for area seventies.

That said, the data speaks for itself. You will see from it (when I post it below) that the total number of area seventies is now 268. I remember a time when the total number of area seventies was less than 200. But as the Church has grown, so too has the number of area seventies. And we may see a day when more that 6 Area Seventies Quorums are needed to administer the work. We could even see a day when the membership of each Quorum is consistently close to 70. And there are scriptural and doctrinal provisions for each of those scenarios.

The table showing the current number of area seventies follows below. By way of additional explanation, the table has three columns. In the first, the number of Area Seventies serving in each individual Area is shown (with no change having occurred from what is listed here in terms of the relevant areas that comprise each Quorum). The second column shows the total number of members in each Quorum. And the third column shows a running total which adds the number of members in each of the 6 Quorums together.

Here is that table:

Quorum	Totals within each Area	Quorum Total	Grand Total
3rd	11+13+18+4+1	47	47
4th	4+14+20+17	55	102
5th	7+5+10+5+9+15	51	153
6th	7+11+8+14	40	193
7th	18+17	35	228
8th	8+9+11+12	40	268

I hope that this information can prove valuable to at least some of you. I continue to keep as faithful a record as possible of the number of current area seventies, and will pass any additional information about those numbers along as those developments occur. I likewise continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and remain committed to bringing word of new developments to you all ASAP after I become aware of them.

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.

Revised Specific Estimates for Known Temple Events in the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! I am back again to share, as promised, a look at more specific estimates which I have revised  for known temple events in the near future based on the new information I mentioned in an earlier post. These new estimates will only cover the known events (up through 2021). As more information becomes available regarding temples that will have a groundbreaking in the near future, or on other future temple events (such as renovation closures), I will add those, along with any relevant completion estimates, to this list. That said, I am hoping that other temples (beside just the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple) might have construction begin before the end of this year.

Time will tell whether or not that will be able to occur, but it would not shock me if that turns out to be the case. The updated information follows below. So as to not to detract focus from that, 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.

2018:

Thursday November 8: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple

Note: Although the Global version of the Newsroom page on the Church website has not confirmed this event, it was confirmed through the Ghana edition of that page, and Elder Neil L. Andersen has been asked to preside at that event.

Sunday December 9: Dedication of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple (161^st operating temple; confirmed)

Note: Given President Nelson’s commitment to travel and be out among the Saints as much as he can, I would not be surprised if this event fit into a larger one (although it might be smaller than the two we have seen so far) as an extension of his ongoing Global Ministry Tour.

Final note on 2018: I had heard that this year would be a potentially big one for temple groundbreakings. Aside from the Abidjan temple, I am waiting for further word on the Urdaneta Philippines and Bangkok Thailand Temples as well, but it would not shock me if either or both only saw their construction begin in 2019.

2019:

Sunday March 10-Sunday March 17: Dedication of the Rome Italy Temple (162^nd operating temple; confirmed)

Note: Given that the dedication of this temple will occur over an 8-day period, I would not in any way be shocked if attendance at this dedication was rotated through all 15 of our current apostles.

Saturday & Sunday April 6 & 7: 189^th General Conference

Note: Because 19 temples were announced in 2018, and because President Nelson has expressed his commitment to continuing to bring temples closer to the Saints around the world, I am sure we will see several new temples announced.

Sunday April 14: Dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (163^rd operating temple; confirmed)

Note: In view of the facts that the dedication of this temple will occur after the April General Conference, and that following the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson began his Global Ministry Tour, I could see President Nelson doing another leg of his tour in conjunction with this temple’s dedication, whether that tour starts or ends with this dedication, or whether a dedication is held sometime in the mid-point of that tour.

Mid-May: Dedication of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple (164^th operating temple)

Early-to-mid June: Rededication of the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple

Early-to-mid August: Dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple (165^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late August: Rededication of the Memphis Tennessee Temple

Early-to-mid September: Dedication of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple (166^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late September: Rededication of the Raleigh North Carolina Temple

Saturday & Sunday October 5 & 6: 189^th Semiannual General Conference:

Note: Depending on what is done by this time to clear the existing backlog of announced temples, it seems more likely than not that several new temples will be announced during this weekend.

Mid-October: Rededication of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple

Early-to-mid November: Dedication of the Lisbon Portugal Temple (167^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late November: Rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple

Note: On November 5, 2018, the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site removed the more general estimate for this temple and instead noted a completion was anticipated at some point during 2019. While I would certainly hope it will not be another year from now before this temple’s renovation is completed (since it began in 2015), until more is known, I have felt to be more conservative in my specific estimate.

December: Rededication of the Oakland California Temple

Note: On the same date noted above, that same site also removed the more general estimate for this temple, and it looks like a completion is still anticipated next year, but perhaps not as soon as many (myself included) thought. So given that new information, until more is known, I have felt it wise to be more conservative with this estimate as well. That said, since the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional for 2019 has been set for the second Sunday in December rather than the first, the rededication of this temple could occur on either the first or third Sunday of that month.

Final note on 2019: Given what I have heard about 2019, it seems more likely than not that several temples will have a groundbreaking at some point during that year. If nothing happens for the Urdaneta Philippines and Bangkok Thailand Temples by the end of 2018, those would top the list for next year. I am also anticipating that a groundbreaking for the Pocatello Idaho Temple will be held in early 2019. Additionally, based on what I know at the present time, I am keeping my eyes open for information on the Saratoga Springs Utah, Nairobi Kenya, Lima Peru Los Olivos, Harare Zimbabwe, Brasilia Brazil, and Greater Manila Philippines Temple, most (if not all) of which could have a groundbreaking by the end of 2019 years.

2020:

Mid-February: Dedication of the Arequipa Peru Temple (168^th operating temple)

Mid-March: Rededication of the Asuncion Paraguay Temple

Saturday & Sunday April 4 & 5: 190^th Annual General Conference

Note: Barring anything unexpected, I would anticipate several new temples being announced during this weekend.

Mid-to-late April: Dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple (169^th operating temple)

Mid-to-late May: Rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple

Mid-August: Dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple (170^th operating temple)

Saturday & Sunday October 3 & 4: 190^th Semiannual General Conference

Note: Temple announcements are always possible, so it is not hard to believe that a few could be announced during this General Conference.

Mid-to-late October: Rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple

Mid-December: Rededication of the Washington DC Temple

Final note on 2020: Some of the announced temples that will have a groundbreaking between now (early November 2018) and the end of 2019 could potentially be dedicated during this year. And several other announced temples (I currently have 7 on my radar) could have a groundbreaking during 2020 as well.

2021:

Saturday & Sunday April 3 & 4: 191^st Annual General Conference

Note: Depending on what happens between now (early November 2018) and the dates for this General Conference, I could easily see several new temples announced.

Mid-to-late April: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Rededication

Mid-September: Dedication of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple

Note: If what I have heard about the size of this temple and the duration of the construction process for it is correct, then a dedication could happen at around this time. But I am hoping that could occur sooner. Since there will hopefully be several other temples that will have a dedication occur before that happens for this temple, I am not currently assigning a number to it for now.

Saturday & Sunday October 2 & 3: 191^st Semiannual General Conference

Note: I am hoping that by the time this particular General Conference weekend rolls around, the temple construction program of the Church will have progressed to the point where some temples will continue to be announced every six months.

Final note: I am hoping that by the end of 2021, there will be several more temple events to list here. Until more is known, I prefer not to provide too much conjecture about the future events we could see. But one thing is certain: If what I have heard about President Nelson’s plans to expand the number of temples and to accelerate the speed at which they are constructed, then we will likely be in for an unprecedented season of temple events in the future.