Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post some thoughts here on the subject of General Conference, especially because the upcoming April conference is now less than 2 weeks away. In the Old Testament, the prophet Amos tells us: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants, the prophets." The Joseph Smith translation of that verse changes the word "but" to the word "until." In Doctrine and Covenants Section 1, which serves as the Lord's designated preamble to all other revelations found in that volume of scripture, the Lord says the following:
"Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.
"What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."
On the day the Church was reorganized in Palmyra New York, the Lord shared counsel found in D&C 21 in relation to Joseph Smith, which by extension applies to all other prophets which have succeeded him: "Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
"For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
"For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory."
At around the same time that the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants was received, another revelation from the Lord (Section 66) shared the following in relation to the elders of the Church: "And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."
Wikipedia provides this definition (complete with several more relevant and accurate sources) of a prophet, seer and revelator. With a growing global worldwide Church, the General Conferences which are held every six months enables practices mandated by scriptural requirement to occur, including the opportunity to sustain and be instructed by the leaders of the Church who have been called by the Lord. This is a unique and special opportunity we have twice a year to put aside other everyday pursuits and focus on hearing the Lord's will for our day.
There have been several suggested methods in terms of how each of us can best prepare for General Conference. For most of my teenage and young adult years, I would take the opportunity each March and September to again fully read and review the talks from the previous General Conference. Although that tradition has faded in recent years, another great suggestion I heard is one I have taken to heart for a while as well, and I recommend it fully and wholeheartedly to all.
The suggestion is this: Beginning roughly two weeks prior to each General Conference, take some time to think about and, where practical and feasible, to write down, the specific concerns and questions you have leading up to General Conference. After doing so, with those questions and concerns in mind, pray at least once daily (but certainly more often if needed) regarding the specifics of those concerns and questions, and ask the Lord to help you find answers to those questions.
Then, during General Conference weekend, participate in it to the fullest extent you can. As you listen to or watch the proceedings, continue to maintain a prayer in your heart that you will find the answers you seek. And if you do that, I am of the opinion, based on experiences I have had in this respect, that there will be at least one or two talks that deal specifically and directly with the exact concerns and questions that you have.
As the Spirit speaks to your heart regarding what is said, write down the impressions that come based on what you heard (which may not match exactly with what was said). Refer back to the questions and answers as needed following each conference, and, where impressed to do so, share your experiences with others concerning the answers to which you were led. In so doing, the Lord can and will tell you what you need to hear, even if that may not necessarily be what you want to hear.
As President Nelson shared in his first major address to the entire Church in General Conference, the Lord is anxious to reveal his will to all those who have questions and concerns. I know that answers to our concerns and questions can be found in General Conference, because that has been my personal experience for years now. May the Lord bless us all in the preparation we undertake in the remaining days before General Conference is my hope and prayer, as I offer these thoughts and my testimony that the things I have shared herein are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
General Conference--The Opportunity to Hear the Word of the Lord
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, March 22, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: Changes Announced to Seminary Program
Hello again, everyone! In a landmark announcement, the First Presidency has noted changes to its' seminary program. Rather than following a traditional academic schedule (August to May), beginning in January 2020, seminary students will have the opportunity to have their "Come Follow Me" Church curriculum and home study additionally supported by following a similar study schedule (and focus on the same book of scripture) as will be studied each year with the "Come Follow Me" curriculum.
In addition to the First Presidency announcement, 3 members of the Church Board of Education addressed these adjustments in a broadcast this morning. Those 3 Board members included Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assigned to oversee the work of the Church Educational System, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, who, as Young Women General President, serves on that Board, and Elder Kim B. Clark, a General Authority Seventy who is currently serving as the Commissioner of Church Education. Joining these Board members was Brother Chad H. Webb, who has been involved with the CES program for a while, and who presently serves as the Seminary and Institutes of Religion administrator.
One thing that really struck me as I briefly skimmed the articles to which I linked above is what was said about the timing of this announcement. Knowing that the announcement was going to be forthcoming, although the Board members had some concerns about the logistics associated with these adjustments, they said that the Lord confirmed to them that the timing of the change was right, and that the logistics would work themselves out as they are implemented.
The faith evident in that expression is in line with John 7:17, wherein we read: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." Some may feel more inclined to do the reverse: They want to know that something said or done is of God before they do anything as a result. But I was also reminded of 1 Nephi 4:6, in which Nephi says this: "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
More often than not, the Lord requires a small step into the darkness before He provides a light to help us see ahead. And that goes back to the Lord's statement elsewhere hat "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I am grateful that the members of the Church Board of Education determined to follow this inspired decision now and worry about the logistics of doing so later,
I also wanted to note the significance behind Elder Holland's current service as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the Church Board of Education. Elder Holland has long been involved with the Church Board of Education. He found his heart was in teaching, and he had a prestigious career as a professional educator, during which time he served on many national college boards. He also taught seminary and institute for a time.
In 1976, Elder Holland succeeded Elder Neal A. Maxwell as Commissioner of Church Education. Almost 4 years later, while serving in that capacity, he was helping lead the search for a new president of Brigham Young University, and he was surprised when the First Presidency called him to fill that same position himself. The end of his service at BYU in 1989 coincided with his call to serve as a General Authority Seventy.
And I am blessed to have some degree of familiarity with his long-term ties to the Church Educational System. My mom has worked as a freelance proofreader to varying degrees, and I recall her mentioning working on some projects for the Church Educational System during the same time Elder Holland was serving as the Commissioner of Church Education, and has shared fond memories of working for and with Elder Holland.
Sorry for that side-track on my part, but I thought some of you might be interested in those details. As soon as I read about the details of this change, I knew it was inspired. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do 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, 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.
In addition to the First Presidency announcement, 3 members of the Church Board of Education addressed these adjustments in a broadcast this morning. Those 3 Board members included Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assigned to oversee the work of the Church Educational System, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, who, as Young Women General President, serves on that Board, and Elder Kim B. Clark, a General Authority Seventy who is currently serving as the Commissioner of Church Education. Joining these Board members was Brother Chad H. Webb, who has been involved with the CES program for a while, and who presently serves as the Seminary and Institutes of Religion administrator.
One thing that really struck me as I briefly skimmed the articles to which I linked above is what was said about the timing of this announcement. Knowing that the announcement was going to be forthcoming, although the Board members had some concerns about the logistics associated with these adjustments, they said that the Lord confirmed to them that the timing of the change was right, and that the logistics would work themselves out as they are implemented.
The faith evident in that expression is in line with John 7:17, wherein we read: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." Some may feel more inclined to do the reverse: They want to know that something said or done is of God before they do anything as a result. But I was also reminded of 1 Nephi 4:6, in which Nephi says this: "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
More often than not, the Lord requires a small step into the darkness before He provides a light to help us see ahead. And that goes back to the Lord's statement elsewhere hat "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I am grateful that the members of the Church Board of Education determined to follow this inspired decision now and worry about the logistics of doing so later,
I also wanted to note the significance behind Elder Holland's current service as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the Church Board of Education. Elder Holland has long been involved with the Church Board of Education. He found his heart was in teaching, and he had a prestigious career as a professional educator, during which time he served on many national college boards. He also taught seminary and institute for a time.
In 1976, Elder Holland succeeded Elder Neal A. Maxwell as Commissioner of Church Education. Almost 4 years later, while serving in that capacity, he was helping lead the search for a new president of Brigham Young University, and he was surprised when the First Presidency called him to fill that same position himself. The end of his service at BYU in 1989 coincided with his call to serve as a General Authority Seventy.
And I am blessed to have some degree of familiarity with his long-term ties to the Church Educational System. My mom has worked as a freelance proofreader to varying degrees, and I recall her mentioning working on some projects for the Church Educational System during the same time Elder Holland was serving as the Commissioner of Church Education, and has shared fond memories of working for and with Elder Holland.
Sorry for that side-track on my part, but I thought some of you might be interested in those details. As soon as I read about the details of this change, I knew it was inspired. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do 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, 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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
First Presidency Begins Announcing New Temple Presidents for 2019
Hello again, everyone! I have previously remarked on this blog about the fact that President Nelson seems to be very much ahead of the curve, which is in no small measure due to both his finely-honed skills developed as a surgeon that have enabled him to get to the heart of any matter (pun intended), and his extremely good health and administrative capabilities. We saw that last year when the announcement of new area leadership was made 4-6 weeks sooner than they had been in prior years, and we saw it again when the new mission presidents that will begin serving in July were announced, along with new and consolidated missions, not long after the beginning of January of this year.
Yet another example occurred today, when the First Presidency announced new presidents for 8 of the Church's operating temples. This first group announcement is occurring around a month earlier than the first announcements of temple presidents have been made in previous years. So I have no doubt that other announcements of this nature will be made over the next several weeks. Among the 8 temple presidents announced today are two current area seventies (Victorino A. Babida and Milan F. Kunz), both of whom will either be released as such during the April or October General Conferences of this year.
Also included among those 8 are 2 former area seventies and 1 counselor in the current presidency of a temple who will become the new temple president in November. There was also an unexpected development in that a new president was called for the Manila Philippines Temple. I call that unexpected due to the fact that the current president of that temple has only served for 2 year, and it has been somewhat standard for temple presidents to serve for a roughly 3-year period.
Due to the announced calls of presidents for these 8 temples, I am publishing an updated version of my list of temples that have gotten or may yet get a new president. As I have mentioned previously, it is usually the case that the Church announces presidents for roughly 1/3 of all operating temples every year. And since there will be 168 or 169 operating temples by the end of this year, I am estimating that a minimum of 56 new temple presidents will be called to begin their service this year.
My personal list of potential temples which could get a new president include 3-4 of the new new temples anticipated to be completed within the next year, and I have an additional list of 56 other temples that could get a new president at some point this year, based on what my research on that subject demonstrated.
I do continue to keep my eyes open for any and all significant Church news and temple developments, and will be doing my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things. In the meantime, the updated list of temples that have had or may yet have a new president called for 2019 follows below. So as to not 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, 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.
Also included among those 8 are 2 former area seventies and 1 counselor in the current presidency of a temple who will become the new temple president in November. There was also an unexpected development in that a new president was called for the Manila Philippines Temple. I call that unexpected due to the fact that the current president of that temple has only served for 2 year, and it has been somewhat standard for temple presidents to serve for a roughly 3-year period.
Due to the announced calls of presidents for these 8 temples, I am publishing an updated version of my list of temples that have gotten or may yet get a new president. As I have mentioned previously, it is usually the case that the Church announces presidents for roughly 1/3 of all operating temples every year. And since there will be 168 or 169 operating temples by the end of this year, I am estimating that a minimum of 56 new temple presidents will be called to begin their service this year.
My personal list of potential temples which could get a new president include 3-4 of the new new temples anticipated to be completed within the next year, and I have an additional list of 56 other temples that could get a new president at some point this year, based on what my research on that subject demonstrated.
I do continue to keep my eyes open for any and all significant Church news and temple developments, and will be doing my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things. In the meantime, the updated list of temples that have had or may yet have a new president called for 2019 follows below. So as to not 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, 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.
New presidents have been called for the following
temples:
1.
Copenhagen Denmark
2.
Manila Philippines (not anticipated)
3.
Tampico Mexico
4.
Philadelphia Pennsylvania
5.
Spokane Washington
6.
Manhattan New York
7.
Columbia River Washington
8.
St. Paul Minnesota
The first presidents will likely be announced for the
following new temples:
1.
Arequipa Peru
2.
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
3.
Winnipeg Manitoba
4.
Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire
List of currently-operating temples which may be getting
a new president in 2019:
1.
Aba Nigeria
2.
Anchorage Alaska
3.
Birmingham Alabama
4.
Campinas Brazil
5.
Chicago Illinois
6.
Ciudad Juarez Mexico
7.
Cochabamba Bolivia
8.
Columbus Ohio
9.
Curitiba Brazil
10. Dallas
Texas
11. Detroit
Michigan
12. Fort
Collins Colorado
13. Fresno
California
14. Gilbert
Arizona
15. Guadalajara
Mexico
16. Halifax
Nova Scotia
17. Hamilton
New Zealand (Note: It is possible that the Church could hold off on calling a
new president for this temple until its’ rededication is held in 2021)
18. Hartford
Connecticut
19. Hong
Kong China (Note: It is possible that the Church could hold off on calling a
new president for this temple until its’ rededication in 2021 or 2022)
20. Idaho
Falls Idaho (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service
interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two
on replacing him.)
21. Johannesburg
South Africa
22. Jordan
River Utah (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service
interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two
on replacing him.)
23. Kyiv
Ukraine
24. Lima
Peru
25. London
England
26. Medford
Oregon
27. Melbourne
Australia
28. Memphis
Tennessee (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service
interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two
on replacing him.)
29. Mexico
City Mexico
30. Monterrey
Mexico
31. Montreal
Quebec
32. Merida
Mexico
33. Nashville
Tennessee
34. Nauvoo
Illinois
35. Nuku’alofa
Tonga
36. Oklahoma
City Oklahoma (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service
interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two
on replacing him.)
37. Orlando
Florida
38. Panama
City Panama
39. Perth
Australia
40. Portland
Oregon
41. Provo
Utah
42. Raleigh
North Carolina (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his
service interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year
or two on replacing him.)
43. Reno
Nevada
44. Rexburg
Idaho
45. Santiago
Chile
46. Santo
Domingo Dominican Republic
47. Sapporo
Japan
48. Seattle
Washington
49. Seoul
Korea
50. St.
George Utah (Note: Since this temple is scheduled to close for renovation later
this year, the Church could hold off on calling a new president until the
renovation is complete)
51. Star
Valley Wyoming
52. Tuxtla
Gutierrez Mexico
53. Twin
Falls Idaho
54. Veracruz
Mexico
55. Washington
D.C. (Note: Since the current president of this temple had his service
interrupted by its’ renovation, the Church could hold off another year or two
on replacing him.)
56. Winter
Quarters Nebraska
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)