October 2019 General Conference—Lengths of Talks Given by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! While I am not quite ready to analyze and score the results of my October 2019 General Conference predictions, I thought it would be a good idea to now publish the record I have assembled of the lengths of each of the talks given by each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  As a result of some unexpected developments (including President Nelson's short address in the Saturday Afternoon Session to introduce the youth-related changes, and his subsequent address duringh the Sunday Afteroon Session of General Conference being 2-3 times longer than his addresses closing prior General Conferences have traditionally been), that information this go-round is markedly different.


Additionally, I was pleasntly surprised this go-round by something else related to these addresses. Within the last decade or so, it has traditionally been the case that there is a somewhat significant lag between when each apostle spoke and how soon after the video versions thereof are published. Particularly, with the Saturday and Sunday sessions, it has not been uncommon for there to be as much of a one-day lag between when at least one apostle spoke and when the video version of their talks are up. In previous years, that fact has resulted in my somehow omitting the information for at least one of those talks.

But for the first time this weekend, I kept a careful watch, and waited until now to post this information so that I could be sure I hadn't overlooked anything. Between our 15 apostles, 21 General Conference addresses were given this go-round. Without further ado, that information follows below. In the meantime, I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I receive it.

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.

Lengths of Talks Given by First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles During the October
2019 General Conference

18:56—President Henry B. Eyring (SUA)

18:27—President Russell M. Nelson (SUM)

18:17—President Russell M. Nelson (GW)

17:58—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

15:59—Elder David A. Bednar

15:36—President M. Russell Ballard

15:14—Elders Gary E. Stevenson and Gerrit W. Gong

14:47—President Dallin H. Oaks (SAM) & Elder Ulisses Soares

14:46—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

14:39—Elder Ronald A. Rasband

14:32—Elder D. Todd Christofferson

13:52—Elder Dale G. Renlund

13:28—Elder Neil L. Andersen

12:47—President Dallin H. Oaks (GW)

12:29—Elder Quentin L. Cook

12:17—President Henry B. Eyring (GW)

11:44—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA)

7:10—President Henry B. Eyring (SAA; Sustaining of Church Officers)

4:02—President Russell M. Nelson (SAA; Youth Announcement)

BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Announces Changes In Temple Recommend Interview Questions; Designates 2020 as a Bicentennial Celebration Year for the Church

Hello again, everyone! The October 2019 General Conference has just wrapped up, and more breaking news has been reported. First, President Nelson highlighted upcoming temple open houses, dedications, and rededications, urging the Church to use those as opportunities to teach our friends of other faiths about the importance of the work done in temples. He went on to further announce updates and revisions to the standard temple recommend questions, which clarify what is required to worthily enter the temple.

Above and beyond that, however, he noted that next year would be designated a bicentennial celebration year to mark the anniversaries of important milestones in the restoration of the Savior's Church. Among those milestones he mentioned that would be a focus are the First Vision, the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, the publication of the Book of Mormon, and the reestablishment of the Church. He went on to note that the April 2020 General Conference would be unlike any other the Church has ever seen before in its' history. So between these developments, there is a lot to which we as members of the Church can look forward.

While I don't know exactly what might make the April 2020 General Conference so unique, I have a few thoughts, which I will want to mull over before I share anything solid. There are, however, two things I can say with absolute certainty: first, per a letter from the Church Communication Department (which had been sent out on September 13 of this year), the April 2020 General Conference will convene on Saturday and Sunday April 4 and 5, 2020, and that I will be making the April 2020 General Conference predictions unique as a result of the anticipated uniqueness of that Conference to which President Nelson referred.

In fact, I already have more than a few ideas in that respect. But I will be taking my time putting those together. Meanwhile, I will also be monitoring all Church news and temple updates. I am anticipating that at least 3 items of temple news will be coming down the pike over the next several weeks, given what President Nelson noted during his concluding remarks about temple construction, open houses, dedications, and renovations. Stay tuned for more on those developments as well as I learn more about them.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Announces 8 New Temples

Hello again, everyone! The breaking news continues from General Conference. This time, in an unusually-timed announcement, as he concluded his remarks in the Women's Session of General Conference, President Nelson announced 8 new temples. The temples will be built in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Orem Utah; Bentonville Arkansas; Bacolod Philippines; Taylorsville Utah;  Coban Guatemala; McAllen Texas; and Port Moresby Papua New Guinea. Additional information is available on the official release from the Newsroom.

It is good to have learned about this. I had the exact location correct for 5 of these 8 temples, but had Fort Worth instead of McAllen, and was caught off-guard by the announcement of temples for both Taylorsville and Orem, though I anticipated at least one new one for Utah this go-round. I look forward to seeing more information released on these temples as plans are developed. With that noted, unless he intends to announce other temples at some other time, I have no idea what, if any, other announcements may be made this weekend. But I will do my level best to stay on top of any other developments and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it.

In the meantime, I also continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it. 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.