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Monday, December 11, 2023

UPDATED: April 2024 General Conference Predictions

Hello again, everyone! With Friday's announcement of Elder Patrick Kearon's apostolic call, I had to go back to the drawing board on my General Conference predictions. Because his call has already been announced, there is no need for President Nelson to announce it in the opening session of General Conference. And although it sounds like his recovery is progressing, I had forgotten to make allowances for the prophet's condition (even if he is recovered from his back injury by then, he will probably still need to be seated during any remarks he gives). 

So those two factors led me to alter my previously-offered predictions. Consequently, I have made adjustments to my projected speaker lineup and my predictions for changes in general Church leadership. I also made some minor adjustments to my projections for the figures in the statistical report for 2023, based on updated numbers for stakes and non-sensitive districts, as provided by the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site. 

For your reference, I have included a few notes in each of those documents with any pertinent details that led to specific factors in what I am projecting. I did my best to keep those notes to a minimum. If there are any questions about the latest adjustments, I am happy to field those here. The commenting period for these latest predictions remains active until Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 10:00 PM MDT.

I have every reason to believe this will not be the final draft of these predictions. Since Elder Kearon's call was announced last week, I am assuming the Church will also officially confirm that Elder Carl B. Cook has succeeded him as Senior President of the Seventy and that the newest member of the Presidency of the Seventy will also be announced within this next week. Stay tuned for coverage on all of that, and on the latest temple news, which I anticipate will be announced during the 2:00 PM MST hour tomorrow.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Friday, December 8, 2023

BREAKING NEWS: Elder Patrick Kearon Called to Fill the Vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! I had shared my opinion that President Nelson wouldn't wait to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I was right. This morning, the Church announced that Elder Patrick Kearon, who had been serving as the Senior President of the Seventy, was ordained an apostle yesterday and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At 62 years old, he takes his place as the currently youngest apostle in the Church.

Born on July 18, 1961 in the United Kingdom, he was raised there and in the Middle East. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. He is an adult convert to the Church. He has served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2010 (called in the same General Conference as his now apostolic colleague Elder Gerrit W. Gong). He has served in the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2017, and as Senior President since August 2020. He married Jennifer Carole Hulme on January 12, 1991, in the Oakland California Temple. They are the parents of four children, one of whom is deceased.

I am very pleased by this news. Elder Kearon hopped on a plane today and flew to Hawaii, where he will give his first public address as an apostle during the BYU-Hawaii commencement. At some point in the next month or two, I anticipate he will meet with the press. And of course, he will speak to us during the April 2024 General Conference. This leaves a vacancy in the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Carl B. Cook now becomes the de facto Senior President of the Seventy. I expect that the vacancy will be filled before General Conference as well. 

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 

Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Monday, December 4, 2023

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location and Preliminary Details Announced for the Renamed Temple in Prosper Texas

Hello again, everyone! A few minutes ago, the First Presidency officially announced the next major temple construction update. Contrary to what I had supposed, no temple dedications were announced, nor were any new groundbreakings set. Today's announcement is related solely to the temple announced in October 2022 as the Prosper Texas Temple. According to today's announcement, that temple will now be known as the McKinney Texas Temple. 

The location of the temple and preliminary information about it has also been confirmed. An 8.16-acre site adjacent to and east of the existing chapel at 651 Stacey Road will serve as the location of the multi-story temple, which is anticipated to be roughly 44,000 square feet in area. As a result of this announcement, the number of temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet now stands at 51.

I am grateful for today's announcement. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.