"This Week on Social"

Hello again, everyone! The Church News published another article in their ongoing series "This Week on Social". This week's edition consisted of post from several female leaders, in addition to those in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency reflected on the analogies she saw between the storms the Philippines experienced while she was on assignment there during Typhoon Mangkhut and the storms each of us experience as a matter of course during this earth life.

Both Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, and Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles posted about the additional details I discussed in my last post relating to the Church's new activity initiative for those aged 3-18. And Church President Russell M. Nelson posted his thoughts about speaking to a congregation earlier this month from a baseball field.

Sister Reyna I. Aburto, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency described her experiences visiting with survivors of a recent volcanic eruption in Guatemala. And President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, highlighted the importance of temple attendance.

I am grateful that in the age of technological advances, our Church leaders are embracing that technology to share highlights from their teachings and worldwide ministry efforts. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will pass those along to you all ASAP after I learn of them.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time. 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.

Church Clarifies A Few Points Regarding New Initiative for Youth and Children

Hello again, everyone! As most of you probably recall, the Church announced earlier this year that, effective on January 1, 2020, the programs for youth and children in the Church would be completely revamped and replaced. This will involve the discontinuation of the Church's relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (including for Cub Scouts), but it will also replace Faith in God, Activity Days, Duty to God, and Personal Progress. At the time the announcement was originally made, it was noted that more details would be forthcoming.

So earlier today, the Church released additional details through Mormon Newsroom. Specifically, it was announced that camps and outdoor activities would still be part of the plan for the new initiative. The Church has consistently encouraged its' members to not let ourselves lose sight of the beauty all around us as created by our Heavenly Father, and so the fact that camps and outdoor activities will be included in this new initiative is not surprising to me at all.

Along with the new details, the Church has released two very specific new answers to questions about that initiative, which can be found via links found in the article I cited above. I continue to monitor all Church News and developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any subject at any time. 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.

Further Additional Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! Since my last report sharing general Church news update two days ago, a few additional developments have been reported via the Newsroom on the Church's official website and on the Church News website. So let's dive right into the discussion of those new articles.

We start in the Newsroom, where two new articles have been published within the last 48 hours. First, as some of you may be aware, Elder Joseph W. Sitati, our first General Authority Seventy from Kenya, has been serving as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency since August. He was invited to speak at the 3rd All Africa Congress on Religious Freedom last week. He talked to the religious leaders, government officials, and scholars about how human flourishing, in all aspects of an individual's life, is a result of religious freedom. This continues the Church's tradition of speaking in public forums on the role religious freedom plays in the betterment of people worldwide. The Newsroom provided both this general summary of what he said and the complete transcript of his remarks. The conference this year was held in Rwanda, where the Church is still in its' infancy.

And the Newsroom essentially killed the proverbial two birds with one stone with this article highlighting both the winners of the annual "Faith Counts" Video Contest, in addition to sharing another account of the ongoing ministry of our Church's female leaders as details were provided about how Sister Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, not only attended the Faith Counts Awards Ceremony, but also made outreach visits to an Ohio resettlement agency built to help serve refugees and immigrants, in addition to a stop at Columbus Global Academy, which teaches English as a Second Language. I am grateful, as I stated around 36 hours ago, for the additional ways in which the ministry of the female members and leaders of our Church are being highlighted more fully of late.

Turning now to the Church News website, one story highlights how 4,000 citizens in the Philippines have found refuge at Church meetinghouses. In the meantime, the Church News shares a recent interview done by local Utah radio station KUER with the same Church leaders that have represented the Church on the previously-mentioned coalition which includes faith leaders, prominent political figures from Utah, and medical professionals, who expressed concerns about the current wording of the proposition going before Utah voters this November which would legalize the use of medical marijuana but which provides insufficient regulations to ensure that illegal use of it is still discouraged.

The three Church leaders, (Elder Jack N. Gerard, who heads up the Church Public Affairs Department; Elder Craig C. Christensen, President of the Utah Area; and Sister Harkness) spoke during the KUER radio show to further explain why the Church would gladly support the legal use of medical marijuana for those who need it, but why the Church and the members of the coalition have come out against the initiative in its' current form. You can read more about that radio interview here.

With the open house for the Concepcion Chile Temple now well underway, the Church has provided a video for those who wish to virtually tour the temple (if they cannot get to the open house). And finally, Elder David A. Bednar recently returned from an extended visit to Mexico, where he ministered to members and missionaries, taking time to address concerns on an individual basis and to conduct Church business while he was there. The Church News provided this report of that visit. It would not surprise me in any way to learn that he spent some time while there looking at potential temple locations. As I mentioned previously, the Church has at least two and perhaps double that amount of potential locations where a temple would make sense. Given that the latest information I have indicates that the largest temple district in Mexico is in its' capital city, I could see the Church potentially splitting that at least two ways.

Although the Church in Mexico has recently seen mass consolidations of wards, branches, districts, and stakes, I do not see anything that would give me a reason to suggest that future temples for Mexico should not be on the radar in the near future, especially if President Nelson's temple-building plans prove to be as extensive as so many have indicated.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I receive it in the near future. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post anytime. 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.