BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: President Nelson Announces 17 New Temples

Note: On October 6, 2024, before President Nelson announced new temples in General Conference, I was rushed to the Emergency Room and had an acute medical crisis that culminated in a month-long hospital stay. This post was originally set to publish at 4:15 PM, but I could not correct it at that time. So today, (January 14, 2024), I am pleased to complete my analysis of the newest announced temples. My thanks once again to you all.

Hello again, everyone! As I had projected, President Nelson just concluded General Conference by announcing new temples. But he announced 17 new temples rather than the 20 I had originally predicted. The temples will be built in the following locations: Juchitán de Zaragoza Mexico, Santa Ana El Salvador, Medellín Colombia, Santiago Dominican Republic, Puerto Montt Chile, Dublin Ireland, Milan Italy, Abuja Nigeria, Kampala Uganda, Maputo Mozambique, Coeur d’Alene Idaho, Queen Creek Arizona, El Paso Texas, Huntsville Alabama Milwaukee Wisconsin, Summit New Jersey, and Price Utah.

Of the newest 20 temples, I had the following temples down to the exact correct location: Juchitan Mexico (though I didn't include the "de Zaragoza" part), Santa Ana El Salvador, Medellin Colombia, Santiago Dominican Republic, Dublin Ireland,  Milan Italy, Abuja Nigeria, Kampala Uganda, Maputo Mozambique, Coeur d’Alene Idaho, Queen Creek Arizona, El Paso Texas, and Price Utah. I got 13 of the 17 correct to the exact location.

I had the correct general area but the wrong specific location for the following temples: Puerto Montt Chile (I had prioritized Osorno/Punta Arenas/Valparaíso), Milwaukee Wisconsin (I had prioritized Green Bay), and Summit New Jersey (I had prioritized East Brunswick), so I got 3 of the 17 halfway correct.

I was not anticipating the following temples:Huntsville Alabama, which wasn't on my radar at all. In view of this announcement, there are now 367 temples in any phase. Of those 367, President Nelson has announced  185 (roughly 50%). I am grateful that our prophet continues to announce new temples, and that he continues to encourage the Temple Department and Special Projects Division to keep the queue moving steadily.

Stay tuned here for updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 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 all such 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. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe for the applicable updates. 

If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated but never required. 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.

October 2024 General Conference Predictions (Final Version)

 Hello again, everyone! Since we are now officially 36 hours away from the next General Conference, I am pleased to be able to post the final version of my predictions for the upcoming weekend. We start, as always, with the projected speaker lineup. 

I fully believe the First Presidency will have three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conduct three of the five sessions (and that, for reasons I have outlined previously, the three will be Elders D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, and Ronald A Rasband). I likewise believe that the Sustaining of Church Officers will be at the top of every General Conference going forward.

I am projecting that Elder Patrick Kearon, who has not yet spoken at all in the Saturday Morning Session, will do so this weekend, and that this weekend will see the highest number of black participants ever in any General Conference (my projection is for 4 black speakers). The only other note on the speaker lineup is that I believe that only 5 of the 11 GA Seventies called in April 2024 will speak this time around and that I'm projecting that we will hear from 6 other "veteran" GA Seventies. 

And as has been the case in just about every October General Conference for the entirety of President Nelson's prophetic tenure, the only changes in Church leadership which I am anticipating are that a few area seventies will be released with a few more sustained, while the announcement of new temples is always a given. 

So I have prepared my thoughts on an area-by-area list of all the prospects I could see in the near term, and a more specific list of the top prospects I see being announced this weekend (that list can be found at the bottom of that final document). I hope all of you enjoy following along with these predictions, such as they are.

I continue to monitor 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.

If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. 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.

Elder Ulisses Soares Observes His 66th Brithday

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased at this time to honor Elder Ulisses Soares, who is celebrating his 66th birthday today. As I've mentioned previously, Elder Soares has a most unique life story and background, and I am grateful to share some thoughts about him with you all. Ulisses Soares was born on this day in 1958 in São Paulo Brazil to Apparecido Soares and Mercedes Carecho Soares. He has European and Amerindian ancestry. When an aunt joined the Church, that was how the Soares' family first learned of the gospel. His parents, after being taught by the missionaries, were baptized when young Ulisses was five years old.

Regarding his experience with worshipping in the Church during his growing-up years, his small branch would meet in a tiny rental place that was located above a bakery. He served a full-time mission in Rio de Janeiro, Upon his return, he connected with Rosana Fernandes Morgado, who had served in the same mission at around the same time, but whom he had not met until after they both had returned. The two were married in the São Paulo Temple, and together they raised three children

His academic experience involved studying at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, from which, in 1985, he received a bachelor's degree in economics and accounting. He then continued his studies at the;National Institute of Postgraduate Study, where he earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration. He spent his professional career working for several multinational companies (one of which was Pirelli Tire Company) as an accountant and an auditor. Donald L. Clark, who at that time was serving as director of temporal affairs for the Church in Brazil, convinced him to take a job with the Church as a senior auditor.

When Brother Clark was asked to serve as a mission president, Brother Soares took over for him as director of temporal affairs. He went on to fill a special assignment for the Church's Presiding Bishopric. Within the Church, Elder Soares has served as an elder's quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, stake high councilman, and as a regional welfare agent.

When the São Paulo Brazil Cotia Stake was created in 1995, Elder Soares was called as the first president thereof. 5 years later, he served a three-year term as president of the Porto Portugal Mission. Less than two years after his return (during the April 2005 General Conference), he was called as a General Authority Seventy.

As a General Authority Seventy, he served as First Counselor in the Brazil South Area.from 2005-2007, as First Counselor in the Brazil Area from 2007-2009, and as President of that area from 2009-2011. He served from August 2011-January 2013 as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, at which point he was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, with responsibility for the North America Southeast Area. Then, in November 2015, Elder Soares was reassigned to oversee the Idaho and North America Central Areas of the Church. He still had oversight of both of those areas in 2018.

On March 31, 2018, Elder Soares was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he was ordained an apostle on Thursday April 5, 2018. He thus became both the first Latter-day Saint apostle from Brazil and the first one from Latin America. Elder Soares has had many opportunities to grow into his assignment. In the time he has has served as a general authority, he has given a total of 18 General Conference addresses, with the first 2 given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 more as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 13 given since his call to the apostleship. His talk during this weekend's General Conference will bring his apostolic total to 14, and his grand total to 19.

I testify without reservation or hesitation that the Lord inspired President Nelson to call Elders Gong and Soares as apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I gratefully and wholeheartedly sustain all 15 “special witnesses of Christ” in their divinely-inspired and doctrinally-supported roles prophets, seers, and revelators in their roles and responsibilities as special witnesses of Christ, and am grateful to have been able to provide this birthday tribute to Elder Soares today. I continue to monitor 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.

If you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe. If you would like to support the work done on this blog, donations in any amount are never required but are always welcome and appreciated. 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.