Some Items of Business Relating to This Blog (Including Some Observations About Temples)

Hello again, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the new method I have been using to convey information (posting more minor developments in comments on existing threads, and focusing blog posts on the more major developments that are significant enough to merit new posts and additional analysis on my part). I also hope that any of you, whether long-time or newer readers of this blog, will continue to feel free to post comments to share feedback on any new content, or any older posts to share new information.

I am particularly hosting an open commenting period on my April 2019 General Conference predictions, and welcome any insights any of you have on the projected speaking order, potential changes in Church leadership, the estimated figures for the statistical report, and the list of potential locations which, given recent comments from Church leaders and the research I have done, is more extensive than it ever has been.

While I have tried to limit that list to one location per US state or nation, there are a few nations and one state (Utah) where multiple temples seem likely to be announced. Although the United States (except for the regions within the Mormon corridor) has been in a general state of stagnation, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church growth blog, has indicated that congregational growth in the United States improved in 2018 in comparison to 2017.

That statement may not indicate that the stagnant growth in the US is beginning to reverse itself, but there are certainly areas within the US where I feel more confident a temple could be built than I was this time last year.  I have also recently referenced in my comments on this blog my opinion that the 19 temples announced last year were President Nelson's way of starting slowly to expand the number of temples.

In that regard, I was also reminded that 2018 saw the second-highest number of temples announced in a single year (which may be considered the highest number of temples for which a specific location was announced in a single year). So perhaps 2019 will see many more temples announced. But more than that: 9 of the 19 temples announced last year have since had a specific site either definitively or unofficially confirmed.

So the face of the Church's temple construction program is changing for sure, and part of that will almost certainly involve the announcement of dozens (if not scores) of temples. That is why my list of potential locations that could have a temple announced in April is more extensive than it has ever been. But another part of the changing face of temple construction might be that we will see temples move more quickly from announcement to groundbreaking.

In view of that consideration, I have taken time over the last hour or two to update my general estimated time-frames within which many of the announced temples could go on to have a groundbreaking, and part of that involved adjusting the order of some temples and moving up their estimates. I will be posting those changes within the next hour.  In the meantime (with my apologies for rambling), any thoughts anyone has about my General Conference predictions, particularly the list of potential locations which might have a temple announced in April, would be particularly appreciated.

Getting back to the items of business for this blog, I wanted to also solicit feedback on the current layout of this blog. Because I could not "sound off" about subjects close to my heart without you who are willing to read and offer feedback on the content here, if there is anything not working for any of you, I would like to know about it. I have also been mulling over the merits of adding other features to this blog, so let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the layout that is not presently included.

I also know that in the past, some of you who regularly comment have mentioned I should be earning money for my blogging efforts. So I have been considering that as well. I currently have Adsense ads on this blog, but my earnings therefrom have never been too significant, even on the highest-earning days. That is one of the main reasons I have tweaked the layout of this blog so much recently. I was checking if different layout configurations would impact the earnings.

So one option for me would be to add a "donate" button here. I hesitate to do that, because that can get tricky, and I wouldn't want any of you to feel pressured to donate if you didn't want to. But at times, I do wonder if that would be a good option. My efforts, unlike other blogs that provide extensive analysis of different aspects of the gospel, have no private source of funding, and I am certainly not getting revenue out of this blog which would be equivalent to the hours of work I put into the content I post here. If I do wind up adding such a button, donations would be completely optional, and I would certainly never think any less of any of you who do not want to or are not able to donate.

But the more I thought about this, the more I realized that I wouldn't want to unilaterally make any of these changes if they would only prove to be a deterrent to earnest discussion of the topics covered on this blog. For that reason, I would likewise appreciate any thoughts any of you have on any of the changes I am considering for this blog. While I do enjoy "sounding off" about subjects so close to my heart, this blog has cultivated a community of several loyal readers, many of whom also comment regularly. So none of this is my personal prerogative to decide on. If the changes I am mulling over will not improve the overall experience for you, my readers, making them would be a non-starter for sure.

For that reason, if any of you have any comments on anything I have discussed here, I would welcome and appreciate the chance to hear your input, and that also goes for any previous content on this blog. The commenting period for any posts on this blog (except those for which I have specifically set a time-frame limit) is eternally open, as far as I am concerned. That does it for this post. 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.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces Mission Changes for 2019

Hello again, everyone! Breaking news again from the Church about changes in missions for 2019. This is the earliest in any year, in my memory, in which such changes were announced. In the official Newsroom release, the creation of four new missions and boundary alignments for 12 others are detailed. The resulting number of missions total will be 399.

The new missions will be located to serve the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one more each for Guatemala, Peru, and the Philippines. Mission boundaries will be realigned for 3 California missions, and one each in Argentina, Halifax Nova Scotia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Japan, Korea, New York, and Virginia. I imagine that the specific missions will be consolidated with surrounding missions.

Later this month, the announcement notes that new mission presidents will be announced, which will also occur earlier than it has in past years. President Nelson's good health has surely impacted the earlier timing of the announcement of these changes, which is wonderful to see. In the meantime, others, who are more skilled than I am in that area, will provide further analysis of these developments in the coming days, so I will not comment further on these changes for now, except to advise all that such analysis will likely be provided later this week on the Church growth blog maintained so well by Matthew Martinich.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.

Happy New Year 2019!

Hello again, everyone, and Happy New Year 2019! I wanted to post right now to provide an overview of known projects which will be published on this blog throughout this year. In addition to ongoing updates on the ministry of our apostles, major Church news and temple developments, General Conference, scheduled Church events (including temple dedications, rededications or groundbreakings), and any other breaking news, I intend to do specific posts on or around the following days for the following reasons:

First half of 2018:
January 14: One-year anniversary of President Nelson's prophetic administration.
January 24: Elder Christofferson's 74th birthday.
January 27: First 2019 apostolic milestone update.
February 6: Elder Rasband's 68th birthday.
February 20: President Ballard's first 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
March 10: Second 2019 apostolic milestone update.
April 9: President Oaks' first 2019 Quorum President milestone.
April 21: Third apostolic milestone update.
May 15: President Ballard's second 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
May 31: President Eyring's 86th birthday.
June 2: Third 2019 apostolic milestone update.
June 15: Elder Bednar's 67th birthday.

Second half of 2019:
Preliminary note: Since the July milestones will, as detailed below, are so close together, I may do a single post marking all of them after they pass rather than on the day each is observed.
July 3: President Nelson's first (and only) 2019 Church President tenure milestone.
July 5: President Nelson's first ever (and only) Church President age milestone/first (and only) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
July 7: President Oaks' second 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 9: President Oaks' third 2019 Quorum President milestone.
July 14: Fourth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
July 31: President Ballard's fourth (and final) 2019 nonagenarian milestone.
August 6: Elder Stevenson's 64th birthday.
August 9: Elder Andersen's 68th birthday.
August 12: President Oaks' 87th birthday.
August 25: Fifth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
September 8: Elder Cook's 79th birthday.
September 9: President Nelson's 95th birthday. (Since this is a milestone birthday, there may be an official Church event in honor of this milestone).
October 2: Elder Soares' 61st birthday.
October 6: Sixth 2019 apostolic milestone update.
October 8: President Ballard's 91st birthday.
November 6: Elder Uchtdorf's 79th birthday.
November 13: Elder Renlund's 67th birthday.
November 15: President Oaks' fourth 2019 Quorum President milestone.
November 17: Seventh 2019 apostolic milestone update.
December 3: Elder Holland's 79th birthday.
December 14: President Oaks' fifth (and final) 2019 Quorum President milestone.
December 23: Elder Gong's 66th birthday.
December 29: Eighth (and final) 2019 apostolic milestone update.

As you can see, 2019 will be jam-packed just with these posts. If scheduled Church events (including temple groundbreakings, dedications and rededications) are taken into account, and we also add in General Conference coverage, breaking news, and any major Church news or temple developments, then 2019 will be quite a year for this blog and for me personally.

At the outset, if you will allow me to do so, I want to interject a personal note here. I could not provide ongoing coverage of everything I post about on this blog if it were not for my knowledge that such posts will be read and commented on in the way they have up to this point. In point of fact, without each of you, my readers, I would be doing nothing more than posting for my own benefit. Because I know there are readers who have come to trust my reports of such developments as they occur, I am continually motivated to do so. Thank you all for that.

I appreciate that the audience which this blog reaches is expanding. Within the last 24 hours, I have had readers from the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, an unknown region, Venezuela, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Turkmenistan. When my all-time views are considered, my audience also includes readers from Canada, Portugal, the Ukraine, and Spain. I know also that a number of those who read my blog come from Mexico and other countries in South America, Europe, and Africa, among other continents, which is very humbling to me. I hope the message of the content on this blog, though written in English, serves as an inspiration to all who read what I "sound off" about.

Likewise, thanks to all who contribute thoughtful feedback relating to the comments posted on this blog. I made a decision as the number of comments picked up here that I would do my best to provide a personal response to thank each individual for commenting, and to provide any additional insight or clarification as needed. By way of reminder to my newer readers, any comment I add is generally not meant to end the discussion. If I see any discussion headed in a direction with which I am not comfortable, I will mention that and steer it either back on track or to a good conclusion, but other than that, ongoing comments are always welcome and appreciated.

With renewed commitment to cover whatever lies ahead for the Church, and a promise that I will continue to do my best to bring word of those developments to you all as they occur, that does it for this post. Any and all comments continue to be, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines.

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 for a happy, safe, healthy, and prosperous 2019, and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.