UPDATED: October 2020 General Conference Predictions

 Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, less than two months after the April 2020 General Conference was held, the First Presidency announced that the October 2020 General Conference would be virtual only, and would follow the "same pattern" as the April General Conference. In the interim, as I have also recently mentioned here, in conjunction with the cancellation of all Temple Square activities relating to the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, and the Bells on Temple Square, the releiase noted that the Choir would participate in the October 2020 General Conference via archived performances.

Although confirmation through an official announcement from the First Presidency is pending on the arrangements for the next General Conference, the event page entry for General Conference implies that a Saturday evening session for all Church members and friends of other faiths will be held in place of the traditional Women's Session, and that the sessions will again originate from a small auditorium on Temple Square, and that, aside from the First Presidency, only those speaking or praying during each session will be in attendance thereat.

Based on those assumptions, as circumstances have allowed, I have taken time to overhaul my predictions for the next General Conference. Since I can share the content of those predictions in a single post, I have them split into three distinct documents. The first highlights what I anticipate will be the potential speaking order for the conference; the second highlights the anticipated changes in general Church leadership; and the third takes a look at the list I have assembled of locations in which a temple seems most likely to be announced.

Each of the three predictions documents for next conference come complete with their own sets of notes, which I have striven to keep as brief and concise as possible. I am pleased to reopen a commenting period on these predictions that is effective from now until 10:00 PM on Thursday October 1, at which point I will need to make the final adjustments to each prediction set before General Conference weekend occurs. I look forward to the input I will get on these. While that feedback period is ongoing, I will be sure to also monitor any Church news updates and all major temple developments and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of all such developments. 

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.

UPDATED: Temple Documents

Hello again, everyone! As a result of the flood of temple announcements which have come down the pike within the last two weeks, I thoughtitwould be a good idea to update the documents I most recently shared just over two weeks ago. The documents largely speak for themselves, and include the following details: updated sections of my temple construction progress report;  announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed; temples most likely to have groundbreakings occur in 2020 and 2021; the probable timing for temple groundbreakings within the next year or so; some updated analysis on the Church's progress towards having 18 temple groundbreakings occur in 2020; and adjusted estimates for the probable timing of all known temple events.

Some brief contextual information may be helpful. Firstly, as always, the timing for all temple events is determined by the prophet as revealed to him through the Spirit. As such, absent of official announcements, the information in those documents is largely conjecture or predictions, and will be subject to correction, clarification, or amendement as more is known. Secondly, one big unknown at the moment is COVID-19. Depending on how the pandemic impacts each nation iand location in which any temples have been or will be announced, that will obviously impact timing and progress. But the global pademic was the chief factor I used in determining the potential timing for some temple groundbreakings, dedications, or rededications based on what was known at the time, or what I could find out about each location in personal research.

It is possible that the pandemic may preclude the Church's ability to break ground on the 18 temples mentioned by Elder Bednar. It is also possible that with flexibility in arrangements, other temples may climb up the queue in unexpected ways and at unexpected times. Trying to determine how, if, and to what extent any temple event (groundbreaking, dedication, or rededication) will potentially be delayed is above my personal proverbial pay grade. That being said, I have a feeling that when the time is right for all such events, the Lord will open a way for them to occur, whether on original schedules or delayed as needed. And we have seen mountains moved in temple construction on a continual basis, so miracles aren't off the table or out of the equation either.

Whatever might  wind up happening with respect to temple developments, you can count on my covering it all here. I continue to monitor all Church news as well, and will bring you all world of the important highlights as time and circumstances allow. 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.

POSSIBLE BREAKING NEWS: Arrangements Confirmed for the October 2020 General Conference?

Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, almost one month ago, I detailed new evidence pointing to the possible arrangements being announced for the October 2020 General Conference. Then, this morning, as reported in the threads of my most recent post, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square announced the cancellation of this year's Christmas concert due to ongoing COVID-19 factors and resulting restrictions. As part of that article, the news release specifically noted the following: 

"As it did in April 2020, the Choir will participate in the October 2020 general conference meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through use of its prerecorded performances." That sentence included a link to the events page entry for the upcoming General Conference. The page notes that the conference "will focus on the Savior’s messages of love, understanding, acceptance, hope, connection, and inclusion." It also included the following direct quote from the First Presidency:

“We will focus on Him by elevating our use of the name He revealed for His restored Church. We will recognize major events of the ongoing Restoration to celebrate our history and future. We will become even more 'converted unto the Lord' and invite all to come and find enduring joy on His covenant path.” The page further notes that all sessions will be for all Church members and their friends of other faiths, including the two sessions each on Saturday and Sunday October 3 and 4 at 10:00 AM MDT and 2:00 PM MDT, with an evening session on Saturday at 6:00 PM MDT for all members and friends of the Church.

The events page then concludes with the note that the upcoming General Conference will consist of prerecorded music, as confirmed in the release about the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's 2020 Christmas Concert, and finally notes that, aside from the First Presidency, who will preside at and conduct each session, only those speaking or praying in each session will be in attendance, with those sessions being carried live from a small auditorium on Temple Square.

This is more detail than we have previously been given on this upcoming General Conference, so I think it's safe to assume that, unless we hear anything more official from the First Presidency through a Newsroom release that these will be the plans for General Conference in roughly six weeks from today. Therefore, this latest information supercedes and replaces any previous information I have provided in that respect.

But whether or not anything more official does come down the pike soon, if this is the plan, it's also probably safe to surmise that the General Conference leadership sessions will again be deferred for six months, and that all Church leaders and members outside of Utah will be invited to participate remotely. I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware 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.