Hello again, everyone! With today being January 14, it has been 4 years to the day since President Nelson became the Church President and prophet. In view of this milestone, I wanted to provide a look back and a look ahead at where the Church has been and where it could be as his ministry continues. I need not rehash the circumstances surrounding the death of Church Presidennt Thomas S. Monson or the introduction of the new First Presidency members in the Salt Lake Temple prior to the usual press conference.
But I was touched by the account we heard just recently outlining the inspired process whereby the new prophet selected his counselors. I know a lot of people, myself included, who were not necessarily surprised to see President Nelson had appointed his longtime apostolic seatmate, President Oaks, as his First Counselor, but plenty of people appeared to be surprised that Elder Uchtdorf had not been retained in the new First Presiency.
We remember, of course, Elder Uchtdorf's response to the new First Presidency, and it has been a thrill to hear of the ways in which he has contributed to the furthering of the work. Under the dynamic leadership of President Nelson, so much has changed in so many positive ways. After promising in that first press connference that there would someday be "more flavors in the mix" President Nelson kept that promise by appointing the first Asian-American and Latin American apostles.
And although it was generally believed that President Nelson would not change too much in terms of Church organizations, programs, or policies, what we have seen in the last 4 years has been a brilliant transformation of the Church that focuses more on doctrine and less on tradition or habit. As mentioned yesterday in the Church News article about the anniversary, he has issued numerous invitations, coupled with prophetic promises.
Of course we know that he himself has only dedicated two temples personally (Concepcion Chile and Rome Italy) and would have dedicated a third (Arequipa Peru) if he had not been dealing with a mild illness. The remaining nine were dedicated by his apostolic colleagues. And all 10 of the temples rededicated during the past 4 years have been handled by other apostles. I am wondering if President Nelson might opt to preside at the rededications for the Washington D.C. and Salt Lake Temples.
In his first four years he has announced 83 temples, all but 1 of which were announced in General Conference. Yesterday, we were privileged to see that one of those had its' dedication announced. Since the Church News published the article about the status of those 83 temples, a groundbreaking was held in December 2021 for the Bacolod Philippines Temple, while the groundbreaking for the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple.
Providing a full list of the wonderful things the Church has accomplished in the last four years under his inspired direction is a nearly-impossible task. But one thing is certain: The prophetic mantle continues with him, and, as the scriptures put it, he has been "sanctified by the Spirit to the renewal of [his body]." I vividly remember in hiis first General Conference as Church President that Elder Andersen expressed hope that President Nelson will be around for the next decade or two.
There have been numerous statements by his fellow apostles and his wife indicating that he is hard to keep up with, and that he has the physical and mental stamina of a man 30-40 years younger than he actually is. So barring a major shift in the status of his health, it could be that "the next decade or two" could be an underestimate of how long he might be around.
As he's observed, the work is moving forward at a very accelerated pace. We have seen that verified fully by the increase in the number of breaking news developments I've provided on this blog since January 2018. And I have no doubt there will be even more to report in the coming years. To the best of my ability, I am committed to monitoring all of that and bringing word of that to you ASAP.
In the meantime, 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.
