In Tribute to Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Who Observes His 80th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! With today being November 6, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is celebrating his 80th birthday. Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf was born to Karl Albert and Hildegard Else Opelt Uchtdorf on this day in 1940 in the city of Ostrava, which, at that time, was known as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but is now identified as the Czech Republic. With his family twice becoming refugees, he grew up in Germany, where his family joined the Church in 1947. 

Due to developing an early interest in airplane flying, he studied engineering, business administration, and international management, after which he joined the German Air Force in 1959, where he trained to be a fighter pilot. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot, working as an airline captain from 1970-1996. He held many responsible executive positions with German Airlines. He reported feeling discouraged about having to learn English, but has also described how he was able to do so.

He married Harriet Reich (whom he had met when the missionaries brought her and her family to Church while he was a young man) on December 14, 1962 ,and they both have different recollections of the details whereby they actually got together). They raised two children and now have several grandchildren, along with a few great-grandchildren. He served as a stake president before his call as a General Authority. During that time, he gave an instrumental interview to the press in which he tackled tough topics related to his faith as the Frankfurt Germany Temple prepared to open. 

He was subsequently sustained as a General Authority on April 2, 1994, and was initially assigned to the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Roughly two years later, on April 6, 1996, he was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 15, 2002 and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 2, 2004 and ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004 (becoming the eleventhth apostle born outside the United States).

On February 3, 2008, he was set apart as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency to President Thomas S. Monson. Although 12 men born outside the United States have served as apostles, he became only the sixth apostle born outside the United States to be called to serve in the First Presidency. At the time of his call to the First Presidency, he was the thirteenth in apostolic seniority. During the period of almost a decade in which he served alongside President Monson and First Counselor President Henry B. Eyring, the deaths of six apostles senior to him meant he had become the seventh in apostolic seniority. 

And with the death of President Monson occurring just three months after the death of Elder Robert D. Hales, the First Presidency was dissolved.The new Church President, Russell M. Nelson, chose as his counselors his seatmate Elder Dallin H. Oaks and President Eyring. As a result, Elder Uchtdorf returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When he departed that Quorum to serve in the First Presidency, he had been the tenth most senior member of that Quorum, and he returned to it as the third in seniority, with only Acting President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ahead of him. 

In recognition of his administrative capacities and capabilities, his assignments as a recently-reassigned Quorum member were those that had previously been held by the three who had been the most senior members of the Quorum prior to that time (Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard). Elder Uchtdorf has spoken frequently about ways in which Church members should consider themselves called to action. I enjoy hearing what he has to say in his General Conference addresses every six months.

Throughout his 26 years as a general authority, and his now-16 years as a special witness of the Savior, (including almost a decade of service in the First Presidency), he has now given 72 addresses in General Conference. Of those, 2 were given prior to his apostolic call, though the Church's list for some reason omits the first address he gave as a new General Authority Seventy.  He also gave 7 addresses between the time of his call to the apostleship and his subsequent call to the First Preidency. He then gave 57 more addresses in General Conference during the near-decade in the First Presidency, and has given 6 more addresses since resuming his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Uchtdorf is a man of great personal warmth and charm, and we are blessed indeed to have him among the Special Witnesses of Christ at this time. He has always struck a very warm and welcoming tone in his public discourses, and his current assignments are a clear testament to the great faith the Brethren have in him. In addition to being the third-most-senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he is also the third-oldest, behind only President Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook. He is also the seventh-most-senior apostle overall, and the sixth-oldest of the 15 apostles overall. I am grateful for the life and ministry of this charismatic servant of the Lord, and appreciate the opportunity I had to offer this post in tribute to his 80th birthday today.

I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. 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 all that you do.

Some Additional Thoughts and Observations About Apostolic Area Assignments

Hello again, everyone! The Church News has reported on how, in a single day (Sunday November 1), 6 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, accompanied by their respective wives, gave counsel to young adults living in each of the Church’s 6 North American areas. For reasons I will be detailing in this post, the nature of the respective reports has led me to some additional thoughts and observations about specific apostolic assignments (particularly in relation to the Church here in North America).

In detailing how those devotionals broke down, I will list each apostle and his wife one at a time, providing the geographical area to which each couple addressed their remarks in parenthesis: Elder Dieter F. and Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf (North America Northeast); Elder David A. and Sister Susan K. Bednar (North America Southeast); Elder Quentin L. and Sister Mary G. Cook (North America West); Elder Gary E. and Sister Lisa J. Stevenson (Utah); Elder Dale G. and Sister Ruth L. Renlund (North America Central); and Elder Gerrit W. and Sister Susan L. Gong (North America Southwest).

As I have noted a few times previously, the Quorum of the Twelve is assisted by the Presidency of the Seventy in the global administration of the Church’s now-22 areas. For a while now, it’s been difficult to determine at times which members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were assigned oversight for each area, except in cases where that has been specified. So let’s take a look at some of the assignments listed to see if we can draw any conclusions.  The first natural conclusion to draw is that each apostle who spoke to young single adults in each area is assigned oversight for each of those respective areas.

And on the surface, that conclusion may be mostly sound and perfectly justifiable. The biography of Elder Brent H. Nielson shows him assigned to assist Elder Quentin L. Cook in the administration of the North America West Area. That’s explicitly stated, so it’s verified. But let’s now look at the biographies for Elders Carlos A. Godoy and Patrick Kearon. Although Elder Godoy’s biography notes only that he has responsibility for the Utah Area, Elder Kearon’s biography notes that Elder Ronald A. Rasband oversees the Utah Area. The note about Elder Rasband overseeing the Utah Area may be based on outdated information in an August 2018 video in which Elder Rasband introduced the new Utah Area Presidency.

I am suggesting that the information may be outdated based on another theory: When the video to which I I shared the link above was released, Elder Rasband did indeed have oversight for that area. But seven months earlier, in January, when the First Presidency reorganization was introduced, Elder D. Todd Christofferson had oversight of the Church Public Affairs Committee, and conducted the January 16, 2018 press conference as a result. At some point following the apostolic calls of Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares, there was a reshuffling of responsibilities and assignments at Church headquarters, and it appears that Elder Rasband at some point took over Elder Christofferson's role in chairing the Church Public Affairs Committee.

Depending on the other assignments that each member of the  Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have, it could be that the Brethren shifted oversight responsibility for the Utah Area from Elder Rasband to Elder Stevenson.With the information from the Church News articles being more current than the information in the broadcast may have been, and with a reshuffling of assignments possibly at play here, it seems  more correct to surmise that each apostle who spoke did so in the North American Area for which they have respective oversight. 

Let me add just a few more thoughts here: For the remaining four members of the Presidency of the Seventy, no area assignments are listed for either Elder Carl B. Cook or Elder Jose A. Teixeira. But specific area assignments are noted for both Elder Robert C. Gay (including the North America Northeast) and Elder Terence M. Vinson (North America Southeast). The specific apostles the two are assisting with those areas were not detailed. But if we assume that the information in the Church News articles is correct, we have correctly been able to identify which members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have oversight for each of the six North American areas of the Church. 

Although I wish the Church was more transparent about the specific assignments each apostle is filling in terms of areas and responsibilities at headquarters, the two articles seem to provide more official information than what we previously had to work with in that respect.  I will, of course, while tracking all other Church news developments and temple updates, continue as I can to keep my eyes open for any other insights I can glean on the specific assignments which are being filled by each of our current apostles, and will be sure to pass word of those updates along to you all as I am able to verify them. 

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. 

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for Salta Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! Less than half an hour ago, in updating my previous post that highlighted the intial cautious reassignment process for non-native missionaries in some areas of the world, I had noted that the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple was anticipated to occur, perhaps within minutes, of when I published those updates. A short time ago, the Church's official Newsroom confirmed that that temple groundbreaking had taken place.

As originally announced, Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, President of the South America South Area of the Church, presided at that groundbreaking. Just by way of review, the Church had originally announced in June that that temple would have a groundbreaking on August 15. Three days before that was to occur, the Church then had announced that the groundbreaking would be delayed until Friday October 9. And just over a month after the second delay was announced, the groundbreaking was then pushed back until sometime in November.

Then, of course, just a few short days ago, we got word of the arrangements that the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple would occur today at 6:30 PM local time. The fact that we now have confirmation that it actually occurred as arranged is tremendous. Although we don't have any solid information at present as to the proected size of the temple or the aniticipated duration of the construction process, based on my research for that temple, I am assigning it a general completion estimate of late 2023-early 2024.

And unless any temple groundbreakings are held between now and then, the next one for which we have confirmation of specific arrangements is the Coban Guatemala Temple, which will, as previously confirmed, occur on Saturday November 14. That being said, although no other temple groundbreakings have been confirmed to occur between now and then, I would anticipate at least one might be noted as having occurred, particularly for any of the temples in the United States. 

It's also possible that either or both of the two counselors in the South America South Area Presidency may be able to break ground for the Mendoza Argentina and Antofagasta Chile Temples within that time. Whatever might happen in that respect, rest assured I will be keeping my eyes open for developments in that respect and will bring any such word to you all here as I become aware of it.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Church to Begin Cautious Reassignment of Missionaries.Outside Their Home Natioms

Note: This post was originally published at 9:58 AM MST, and given massive updates that were completed at around 2:20 PM MST.

Hello again, everyone! A few moments ago, Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff issued an official statement on behalf of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, noting that leaders will begin what he described as a limited, deliberate, and cautiously-coordinated effort to start reassigning some missionaries to fields of labor outside their home nations. The Church News provided some additional information and context.

In the statement, Brother Woodruff also expressed gratitutde for the way in which current missionaries (and, by extension, those preparing to depart for the mission field) have responded to what has happened in so many cases, with required quarantines and other precautions being taken to get missionaries to a new field of labor, and also for the way in which so many young missionaries have embraced greater use of technology to meet their obligations to share the gospel throughout the world.

As previously acknowledged by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council of the Church, one impact of COVID-19 on missionary service is that it has changed the way the Church looks at missionary efforts. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, and its' wide-spread impact throghout the world, it was easier for the Church to uphold the status-quo perception, ideas, and practices relating to how missionary work was conducted on a global scale. 

But with COVID-19 changing so much in relation to the Church's day-to-day operations, out-of-the-box solutions had to be sought for and implemented. As a result, with the changes that have been necessary during this COVID-19 pandemic are expected to be part of the "new normal" in missionary work in the days ahead.  And the process of making any necessary adjustments will continue to unfold following consultation between leaders at Church headquarters, area presidencies worldwide, and, through that process, conveyed to mission presidents and to current and prospective missionaries and their families. 

With most missionaries having opted to resume their service in their home nations as quickly as they could following their quarantines, the process of reshuffling missionaries or adjusting assignments may take time to sort out. Today's statement also noted that missionaries would be contacted by the offices of the missions to which they will be assigned, whereby those missionaries will receive information about their travel itineraries, including scheduling and arrangements that will play into their arrival in the field, and that missionaries who have received that information can then convey it to their families. 

At this point, the Church is urging missionaries and their families to be patient with the process, and is further discouraging missionaries and their family members from unnecessarily reaching out to the Church Travel Office, embassies, or consuls about their travel plans or documents. because the Church is carefully planning all of that on their end. By patiently allowing the Church to handle coordination in that respect, missionaries and their families will save themselves a lot of hassle, stress, and worry.

It is also worth noting that COVID-19 conditions are still in flux throughout much of the world. As a result, the Church is carefully weighing every aspect of returning to any semblance of normalcy in every step along the way to whatever the long-term :"new normal" may look like. The statement also notes that the Church's foremost concern in the process of making adjustments to assignments will be the safety of the missionaries worldwide, the satfety of their companions and mission leaders, and the safety of all those with whom any missionary or missionary companionship will interact.

So there will be a lot to consider here in that respect, especially since the Church has so much to evaluate with respect to COVID-19. President Nelson has repeatedly reemphasized that the health, safety, and well-being of Church members and friends of other faiths around the world will remain the Church's utmost concern. Given the fact that we just recently received word that it may be a while before any of the Church's temples in phase 2 transition into phase 3, it's apparent that the reassignment of Church missionaries, the reopening of temples, and the resumption of Church meetings is something that the Church is not inclined to rush a return to normalcy.

And that's consistent with the scriptural directive given by the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 10:4. It is wonderful to see that the Church is determined to not run faster or labor harder than the prevalent worldly conditions as a result of COVID-19 will allow.  It's far easier to take a slow and steady approach in all such matters than it is to rush any of it and potentially be in a situation where the Church and the actions it takes become part of the problem rather than contributing to the resolution of the COVID-19 problems.

In any case, I fully believe that the decisions made at every level in the Church are inspired by the Lord. We have particularly seen the inspired leadership of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in the measured approach taken to weigh the issues at hand and to respond accordingly. It is wonderful to see that unfolding the way it has. And in between the updates that the Church continues to provide in that respect, I do continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will be sure to pass along word of those to you all as I become aware of such things.

With the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple set to occur at 6:30 PM local time, that is now just 15 minute away from now, so you can count on my covering that here once such coverage is available. 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: Report on How My Predictions for the November 2020 Ensign Table of Contents Turned Out

Hello again, everyone! Between the apostolic birthdays coming up later this month, and the exact dates being confirmed for 2 of the 8 temple groundbreakings within just the last 48 hours or less, I wanted to get ahead of the rush on everything else I'll need to cover. Although the PDF version of the Novembmer 2020 Ensign is not yet available for online viewing or downloading, I received my physical copy of the magazine in the mail today.

Due to those upcoming projects that will come down the pike in the next couple of weeks, I wanted to provide a comparative look at how my projected table of contents for this issue compared with the actual layout. As has been the case for previous General Conference editions of the Ensign, any differences between what I had predicted and what the magazine actually shows is in parentheses.

The one other note I have on this document (which largely speaks for itself aside from that) is that this will, of course, consittute my final analysis of General Conference editions of the Ensign. That's true because, as of January 2021, The Liahona will be the standard monthly magazine for adults, and the next analysis of a General Conference magazine will be the first General Conference edition of the Liahona after those changes go into effect.

Aside from these notes, the information largely speaks for itself. 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.