Hello again, everyone! The lengthy title of this post comprises a summary of what this post will cover. There will be some additional thoughts and observations about the temple construction program of the Church as it currently stands, some commentary on Nelsonian temple annouoncements, and a look ahead at what I anticipate may occur in the future. Given the volume of the information I intend to present here, I will split these thoughts and observations into two or three separate posts.
This first one will cover the known current and future temple construction plans, and will be followed by a second part exploring Nelsonian temple announcements thus far, and, if needed, a third part outlining more specifics on what I anticipate in terms of temple announcements during the October 2019 General Conference. There is a lot to get to, so let's dive right in. First, some preliminary observations:
I am getting this post in before tomorrow, when I will provide coverage in some form on the conclusion of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple open house, the beginning of the open house for the Lisbon Portugal Temple, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Belém Brazil Temple. I use the term "coverage of some form" because I don't yet know what kind of coverage will be available. What I have right now is the preliminary releases provided for the Port-au-Prince Haiti, Lisbon Portugal, and Belém Brazil Temples, and I have seen nothing further in relation to any of these temples at this time.
Insofar as I am aware, there has not even been a widely-mentioned releaxe of the specific time of the groundbreaking ceremony for the newest Brazilian temple. I would assume it might be held anytime between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM Belém time, which would be anytime between 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM here in Utah. During that temple's groundbreaking, whenever it occurs, I assume we may find out how long construction is anticipated to take on that temple. I am estimating the construction thereof may take around 2-3 years to complete.
Given the progress (and the lack thereof) on other temples under construction (more on that in a moment), I have tentatively set a general estimate for the Belém temple for early-to-mid 2022. After tomorrow, the next temple milestone will be marked two weeks later, on August 31, at which time the open house for the Lisbon Portugal will end, and that date will coincide with the scheduled date for the youth devotional for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, which will be followed the next day by its' dedication.
As I also previously mentioned, I anticipate that one of our 3 apostles who are fluent in French will be assiged to dedicate that temple. Of those three (President Henry B. Eyring and Elders Neil L. Andersen and Dale G. Renlund), President Eyring presided over the one-session rededication for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple in May, and the month before that, Elder Renlund presided at the dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple, so my best guess is that Elder Andersen will be the one sent to dedicate the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, perhaps with Elder Renlund accopanying him.
The next currently-scheduled temple event will occur less than two weeks later, when the open house for the Frankfurt Germany Temple begins on September 13. The following day will mark the youth devotional for the Lisbon Portugal Temple, in advance of its' dedication the following day. At this point, I have no idea who might be assigned to preside at that event. We will have to see. The Saturday following that temple dedication, the Raleigh North Carolina Temple open house will begin. And the very next Saturday will mark the end of both the Raleigh and Frankfurt open houses.
The next known event impacting temples (of which we are aware so far) is the October General Conference, which will convene the first weekend in October, and at which I anticipate between 14-16 new temples will be announced. I will have additional thoughts specifically on the likely breakdown of those announcements in a subsequent post in this mini-series. The Saturday following General Conference, the open house for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple will begin, ending the following Saturday. After the first day of open house tours for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, the Raleigh North Carolina Temple will be privately rededicated in one session by President M. Russell Ballard. The rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple will be held the following Sunday, and I will be shocked if Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf does not preside thereat.
The Saturday following the conclusion of the open house for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, the one-week open house will begin for the Baton Rougue Louisiana Temple. That open house will end the day prior to the private rededication for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, over which any of the more senior apostles (from President Nelson to Elder Christofferson) may preside. On Friday November 15, the open house for the Arequipa Peru Temple will begin. Two days later (on Sunday November 17), Elder Quentin L. Cook will preside over the one-session private rededication for the Baton Rougue Louisiana Temple. On the last day of November, the open house for the Arequipa Peru Temple will come to its' conclusion. The youth devotional for that temple will then be held on Saturday December 14, with the dedication thereof following in 3 sessions the very next day.
I want to interject here that, prior to the end of this year, I fully anticipate that the following temples the following temples could have a groundbreaking before the
end of this year: Brasilia Brazil, Richmond Virginia, Saratoga Springs Utah,
Harare Zimbabwe, Bengaluru India, and Auckland New Zealand. Other potential
temples which could have a groundbreaking before the end of this year, if all
goes well, include: Greater Manila Philippines, Layton Utah, Nairobi Kenya,
Puebla Mexico, Salta Argentina, and Mendoza Argentina. And I am not ruling out the prospect of any surprise announcements during the remainder of 2019, in a similar vein as the unexpected announcements about the Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temple groundbreakings.
Looking ahead to next year, in addition to the open house (scheduled to take place between January 22 and February 1), and the youth devotional and dedication (set for Saturday and Sunday February 15 and16 respectively) for the Durban South Africa Temple, we are also anticipating the dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, the rededication of the Tokyo Japan Temple (likely to occur sometime before the 2020 Summer Olympics), the dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, and the rededication for the Washington DC Temple (and possibly the rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple as well), which are anticipated to occur in that order.
2021 is likely to see the rededication of the Mesa Arizona Temple (if it doesn't happen before the end of the previous year), the dedication of the Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire Temple, the rededication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, and, in any order, the dedications for the Praia Cabo Verde, Yigo Guam, San Juan Puerto Rico, Quito Ecuador, and Pocatello Idaho Temples, along with the possible dedications for the Urdaneta Philippines and Belem Brazil Temples. The other known temple events which will occur in the 1-3 years following are the rededications of the Hong Kong China, St. George Utah, and Salt Lake Temples, along with the dedications of any temples which may have a groundbreaking within the next 18-24 months.
So that is an overview of what is known in terms of future temple events. And based on however many temples are announced in October and the General Conferences within the next year or two following, the temple construction program as it will exist by the time the Salt Lake Temple is rededicated may look entirely different. Having provided that overview of known temple construction milestones in the immediate and near fture, my next post will discuss Nelsonian temple announcements thus far, and what I specifically anticipate occurring with the temples that will be announced in October 2019, unless I have to split my thoughts about the upcoming announcements into a third post in this mini-series.
That does it for now. 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.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Additional Thoughts and Observations on the Temple Construction Program of the Church: Part One—Current Temple Construction and Upcoming Scheduled Events
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.
Monday, August 12, 2019
President Dallin H. Oaks Observes His 87th Birthday
Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early-morning hours of August 12 to pay tribute to the final apostle who has his birthday this month. President Dallin H. Oaks. He is observing his 87th birthday today. So let's dive right into this tribute post. Dallin Harris Oaks was born to Dr. Lloyd E. and Stella Harris Oaks in Provo, Utah, on this day in 1932. Included in his mother's ancestry is Martin Harris, who, as we know, was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. President Oaks' first name was given in honor of the last name of an artist with whom his mother had worked (as the model) for a statue in Springville Utah.
His father, an opthalmologist, died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis. Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave him some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken. After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor.
In the meantime, Elder Oaks attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer. Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games. At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later.
He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis. He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter led to a lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. He also served on the foundational board of a a Mormon thought periodical. He was also chairman of the university's disciplinary committee,
He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court.
He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade. However, a surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. (Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled for over a year prior to April 1984.)
Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference. Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained. President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."
Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained (having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3). He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 34 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments in his time as an apostle, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998. Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since.
In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile.With the death of President Monson, Elder Oaks became the second most-senior apostle, and his apostolic seat-mate, President Nelson, felt impressed to call him to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency, and he was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018. President Oaks has given 77 addresses in General Conference. 1 of those was given while he was serving as President of BYU-Provo. I am grateful to have been able to take the opportunity to share more about President Dallin H. Oaks on this, his 87th birthday.
I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, has indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks thereof. That does it for now. 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.
His father, an opthalmologist, died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis. Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave him some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken. After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor.
In the meantime, Elder Oaks attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer. Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games. At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later.
He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis. He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter led to a lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. He also served on the foundational board of a a Mormon thought periodical. He was also chairman of the university's disciplinary committee,
He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court.
He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade. However, a surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. (Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled for over a year prior to April 1984.)
Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference. Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained. President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."
Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained (having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3). He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 34 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments in his time as an apostle, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998. Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since.
In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile.With the death of President Monson, Elder Oaks became the second most-senior apostle, and his apostolic seat-mate, President Nelson, felt impressed to call him to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency, and he was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018. President Oaks has given 77 addresses in General Conference. 1 of those was given while he was serving as President of BYU-Provo. I am grateful to have been able to take the opportunity to share more about President Dallin H. Oaks on this, his 87th birthday.
I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, has indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks thereof. That does it for now. 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.
Friday, August 9, 2019
A Tribute to Elder Neil L. Andersen on His 68th Birthday
Hello again, everyone! With midnight having passed moments ago here in Utah, it is now August 9, and Elder Neil L. Andersen is celebrating his 68th birthday today. So I wanted to post and share some highlights of his life and ministry in the Church. Let's get right into all of that. Neil Linden Andersen was born on this day in 1951 to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen in Logan, Utah. His family relocated to Pocatello when he was five to run a dairy farm. He served a full-time mission in France, then obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, eventually earning his MBA from Harvard, also in economics. During his time at BYU, he met and married his wife, Kathy Sue Anderson, and together they raised four children.
He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president, assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.
During the time Elder Andersen served as a General Authority Seventy, he filled a wide variety of Church assignments, including executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he served as the area president). In August of 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy. His call coincided with that of his other future apostolic seatmate, Elder Rasband.
While serving in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had oversight for the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007) and for the North America Southwest Area (from 2007-2009). In 2005, as a result of his call and that of Elder Rasband as members of that Presidency, he was the second most-junior member thereof. By the time his assignment changed, he had become the third-most-senior member, with only Elders Earl C. Tingey and D. Todd Christofferson senior to him. The latter was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2008, and Elder Tingey was released the following August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference. As a result, Elder Andersen thus became the new Senior President of the Seventy.
He would only serve in that capacity for 8 months. In view of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s death in December 2008, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. Interestingly enough, three future apostles (Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband) were seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy between August 2007 and April 2008, and they would each go on to be called to the apostleship in that same order (in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015, respectively.
Quick sidenote here which may be of interest to some of you: 8 of our 15 current apostles were serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time they received their apostolic calls (President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gerrit W. Gong, and Ulisses Soares). This suggests to me that, whenever future apostolic vacancies exist, the current members of the Presidency of the Seventy at that time may be top candidates to fill them. Of course, the Lord knows who He needs to be called to the apostleship and when, but that is an important note, all the same.
Gettingh back to Elder Andersen, he has given a total of 26 addresses in General Conference. Among those are 2 which were given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 others given as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 21 since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for Elder Andersen's ministry, and I joyfully and wholeheartedly sustain him and each and every one of his 14 fellow apostles as prophets, seers and revelators. I appreciate every opportunity I have had to learn more about each of these Brethren through their spoken words and worldwide ministry efforts as special witnesses of Jesus Christ.
That does it for now. 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.
He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president, assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.
During the time Elder Andersen served as a General Authority Seventy, he filled a wide variety of Church assignments, including executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he served as the area president). In August of 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy. His call coincided with that of his other future apostolic seatmate, Elder Rasband.
While serving in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had oversight for the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007) and for the North America Southwest Area (from 2007-2009). In 2005, as a result of his call and that of Elder Rasband as members of that Presidency, he was the second most-junior member thereof. By the time his assignment changed, he had become the third-most-senior member, with only Elders Earl C. Tingey and D. Todd Christofferson senior to him. The latter was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2008, and Elder Tingey was released the following August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference. As a result, Elder Andersen thus became the new Senior President of the Seventy.
He would only serve in that capacity for 8 months. In view of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s death in December 2008, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. Interestingly enough, three future apostles (Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband) were seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy between August 2007 and April 2008, and they would each go on to be called to the apostleship in that same order (in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015, respectively.
Quick sidenote here which may be of interest to some of you: 8 of our 15 current apostles were serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time they received their apostolic calls (President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gerrit W. Gong, and Ulisses Soares). This suggests to me that, whenever future apostolic vacancies exist, the current members of the Presidency of the Seventy at that time may be top candidates to fill them. Of course, the Lord knows who He needs to be called to the apostleship and when, but that is an important note, all the same.
Gettingh back to Elder Andersen, he has given a total of 26 addresses in General Conference. Among those are 2 which were given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 others given as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 21 since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for Elder Andersen's ministry, and I joyfully and wholeheartedly sustain him and each and every one of his 14 fellow apostles as prophets, seers and revelators. I appreciate every opportunity I have had to learn more about each of these Brethren through their spoken words and worldwide ministry efforts as special witnesses of Jesus Christ.
That does it for now. 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.
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