BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for the McAllen Texas Temple

Hello again, everyone! As confirmed in a new report from the Newsroom a short while ago, this morning, ground was officially broken for the McAllen Texas Temple by Elder Art Rascon, an area seventy. Since Texas is one state that has seen severe outbreaks of COVID-19, local regulations prevented a large gathering, so a video of the proceedings will be made available later this week. In a recent comment about that temple on the Church Growth Blog, someone living in Texas noted that the temple was anticipated to be completed in late 2022. It seems as though a lot of temples have a window of late 2022-early 2023, so it will be interesting to see what actually happens in that respect.

As previously announced, the temple is anticipated to be one story, and approximately 25,000 square feet in area, and will include an adjacent meetinghouse on the site. It will be interesting to see how quickly full-scale construction can begin for this temple. As some of you might recall, in the days leading up to this groundbreaking, the Church was still working on obtaining a conditional use permit for the property. Insofar as I am aware, that permit has not yet been obtained, which may or may not lead to a delay in the construction for that temple.

The McAllen Texas Temple, in addition to being the fifth for the state of Texas, is also the sixteenth temple to have a groundbreaking this year alone. The Church now has five temples left that are on the docket for a groundbreaking this year. And for the first time since Halloween, this week ground was broken for only one temple. I had mentioned in the threads of my previous post that the exact date of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Antofagasta Chile Temple had been confirmed as this upcoming Friday, November 27. That means that only the Mendoza Argentina Temple groundbreaking remains in the queue for November, and will occur at an as-yet unspecified date.

One other note may be of interest to you all here: with this latest groundbreaking, there are now 30 temples in the current construction queue, and 33 others are announced. If the Church remains on track in breaking ground for the other five temples this year (Antofagasta Chile, Mendoza Argentina, Okinawa Japan, Harare Zimbabwe, and Bengaluru India), then the Church will end the year with more temples under construction than there will be just in the announced section. 

With that in mind, given the efforts this year to clear that queue in the midst of a global pandemic, and in consideration of the number of temples for which groundbreakings might soon be announced, we could easily see a large number of new temples announced during the April 2021 General Conference. I am still putting together some updates on my temple files, and evaluating how and to what extent recent precedents and developments might factor into my April 2021 General Conference predictions, but if all goes well, hopefully, I'll have something posted soon.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Shares "Spiritual Prescription" for Temporal and Societal Issues #GiveThanks

Hello again, everyone! As had been previously announced, President Nelson addressed the world this morning through a video posted on social media and shared by all official Church Youtube channels. In the days leading up to this morning when that video was posted, I saw many comments about the upcoming address. In those comments, many people expressed what they hoped or expected to hear from the address.

Many of those comments noted the hope that President Nelson would reiterate proper health measures for these COVID-19 conditions, despite the fact that Church leaders have repeatedly demonstrated their personal support for and adherence to those measures in word and deed, and by example. One or two comments expreessed the hope that the Lord would prompt the prophet to send out the apostles around the world to per0ssonally heal individuals and families afflicted by the virus.

In expressing the latter hope, those who made those comments cited the way in which the Prophet Joseph Smith, assisted by the apostles, participated in what became known as a "day of God's power" when malaria and its' impact had laid up so many Church members and those of other faiths. Though the Prophet and his family had been similarly affected, following several days of illness, the Prophet rose from his sickbed, having been healed by the Lord, then administered to each member of his family, who were also immediately healed.

The Prophet then went out home-by-home providing healing blessings, counsel, or words of comfort to several more who were afflicted, which included many members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After being directly involved in that process for a period of several hours, although there were more people who needed the healing measures provided personally by the Prophet, Brother Joseph felt inspired to step back from doing so personally, and commissioned the members of the Twelve to extend those same meausres to others who needed them. 

The efforts of the Twelve to expand the healing efforts and minister as direct4ed by the Prophet proved successful in every casee. Getting back to the expressed hopes for today's prophetic address, in a way, I can see why some expressed the hope that the prophet and apostles would similarly spread healing efforts throghout the world. My personal thought was that it wouldn't be wise for 15 men in the vulnerable age demographic for COVID-19 to go out into the world in that kind of scenario, which seemed to be verified by the fact that all Church leaders have avoided international travel during this period of time.

And some who made other comments on the upcoming addresss seemed to agree, noting tithat if any of us approached the upcoming address with preconceived notions about what we expected or felt we needed to hear, we likely wouldn't find satisfaction, comfort, or inspiration in the message that would be delivered. And so many others expressed excitement for the upcoming message, saying that whatever President Nelson had prepared in the way of today's message would be inspiring and just what is needed.

When thinking about some of those comments, I was reminded of the biblical story of Naaman the Syrian. Being afflicted with leprosy, Naaman requested healing from the prophet Elisha, who in turn instructed Naaman to wash himself seven times in thI am ge River Jordan. Naaman, who had expected a personal healing from the prophet, and noted that other rivers might be better suited for the task, was reluctant to follow the offered counsel, until his servant pointed out that if Elisha had instrctued Naaman to do any greater task, Naaman would have done it. 

His servant then asked Naaman why he was resisting the counsel of the prophet to do something as simple as washing himself in the river Jordan seven times in order to be healed, Properly chastised, Naaman followed the counsel and came up out of the water completely healed. With that scriptural story in mind, I was pleased to see the comments leading up to the address that hoped all of us were ready to receive any message that President Nelson, as the current prophet, would provide this morning.

Given that we are now less than one week away from Thanksgiving Day in the United States and elsewhere, it is not surprising that President Nelson's full remarks focused on the healing power of gratitude, and that the address included two more prophetic invitations upon which all should act.  The invitations included flooding social media for the next seven days with expressions of gratitude and to unite in prayers of gratitude, accompanied by petitioning the Lord for healing from all negative wordly conditions.

As someone who has made no secret of my admiration for the leading Brethren of the Church, and who has covered multiple developments relating to their apostolic ministries, I am grateful for the prophet's loving invitations. In our ongoing efforts as soldiers in the army of the Lord, and as members of His battalion, we have now received our latest marching orders, and it is time we muster together in our rank formations and follow them. 

I was similarly inspired by the powerful prophetic promises made by uur prophet for those of us who will act on the counel we've received, and by the fact that President Nelson chose to conclude his inspired message with a prayer of gratitutde, thanksgiving, and a petition to the Lord for His healing power. I am grateful for a prophet who tells us what we need to hear when we need to hear it, even if what is said is not what others wanted or expected to hear. 

I am also grateful for the inspired invitations, and the petitionary prayer offered by President Nelson on behalf of the human race. I aam likwise grateful for a prophet who receives inspriation for our day for all of us as children of God. I know that as we follow the counsel from our beloved prophet that the Lord will bless us with what we need to overcome all wordly circumstances, and I share that witness gratefully, and express gratitutde to all who may read this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

UPDATE: 2021 Churchwide Events Schedule

Hello again, everyone! I have an update to provide whiich I felt wsrranted a new post rather than a comment on the threads of a previous post.  Over the last several years, it has been somewhat customary for the Church to release a list of Churchwide events for each year in August or September of the preceding year. August, September, and October of this year came and went with no such schedule of 2021 Churchwide events released. And here we are into mid-November, with nothing in that respect released thus far.

As many of you might also recall, on June 1 of this year, the Church announced a streamlining of the way in which Church news and event details would be shared, which involved merging the previously separate  News & Events page into the Newsroom. When that announcement was made, quotations from Church leaders noted that the Newsroom would thus become the main hub on the Church website for all news releases and events. 

In view of that change to how Churchwide events are tracked, the decision may have been made to just list the Churchwide events on the Events page as those plans are finalized, rather than putting out an official hard copy of a formal schedule showing all events for the year. Unless a formal schedule for next year is released at a later time before the end of this year, that is my assumption. With that being the most likely scenario, I am pleased to report that the first events for next year have been noted on that events page. 

In late February of next year, the Church will hold the Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction,  which will specifically feature the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who serve on the Temple and Family History Esecutive Council: Elders David A. Bednar (who chairs that council), Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund. And the dates for the April 2021 General Conference, along with the details for it, have also been confirmed. 

As has been traditional, the conference will occur on the first Saturday and Sunday of April (3 and 4 respectively). There will be the Saturday and Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions as usual, in addition to the customary Priesthood Session for all men and boys ages 11 and up on Saturday evening. The Sunday sessions will coincide with the 2021 Easter Sunday, so that may or may not change the traditional patterns we have seen in those sessions in recent years.

Other events that will occur in 2021 are likely to be added to that pge as the plans for those are finalized, which includes the Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults, all Face-to-Face events for all groups, any  other major speaking assignments for Church leaders, and all temple events once those plans are able to move forward. I will do my level best to keep up on additions or alterations to that events list as those occur, and to pass them along to you all here as I learn about 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: Groundbreakings Held for Coban Guatemala and Davao Philippines Temples

Hello again, everyone! After last week, when 3 of the 8 November temple groundbreakings took place, I wasn't sure what to expect for this week. But as confirmed by the Newsroom this morning, ground has been broken for the Davao Philippines Temple,Additionally, the Guate mala Newsroom notes that a transmitted broadcast will be held at 6:00 PM Guatemalan time for the Coban Guatemala Temple. 

I don't know if that's the video version of a groundbreaking that has occurred/will occur earlier in the day, or whether that is the live broadcast of the event, but what I do know is that, given the time difference, the video will be made available at 5:00 PM Utah time. With these temple groundbreakings having taken place, that leaves 3 of the 8 left to occur later this month, including the Antofagasta Chile, Mendoza Argentina, and McAllen Texas Temples. I believe that at least two of those could occur one week from today, which would leave 1 to occur in the final 1-2 weeks in November. 

I will be sure to keep my eyes open for word on those events and will pass that along here as I become aware of it. In the interim, the two groundbreakings that have been (or will be) held today brings the queue of temples under construction to a new high total of 29, with 34 now announced. I am grateful to have been able to find out about these events and to bring you word thereof. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will bring you all word of those as I become aware of them as well. 

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and app;reciated, 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.

Tribute to Elder Dale G. Renlund, Who Is Observing His 68th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am back with a post in tribute of Elder Dale G. Renlund, who, as noted, is marking his 67th birthday today. Let's get right into all of that. Elder Dale Gunnar Renlund was born to Mats Ake and Marianna Andersson, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on this day in 1952. His parents had emigrated from Finland (Mats) and Sweden (Marianna) respectively in order to be married in the temple. In view of that, Elder Renlund grew up primarily speaking Swedish. The fact that he did not speak English as a primary language gives him a certain degree of international appeal. In his teenage years, Elder Renlund lived with his family in Sweden while his father was a building missionary for the Church.

Several years later, Elder Renlud returned to Sweden, this time as a full-time missionary. Following his missionary service, Elder Renlund continued his scholastic endeavors at the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and his M. D. Approximately 3 or 4 years after he concluded his missionary service, he met and married his eternal companion, Ruth Lybbert, who was the daughter of another General Authority Seventy, Merlin R. Lybbert. Elder Renlund went on to do a three-year cardiology residency and a three-year fellowship in cardiology, both at Johns Hopkins University, and served as a bishop while he did so.

During that very same period of time, his wife was earning her law degree, and Ruth also gave birth to their only child, a daughter, Ashley. At some point in 1986, Elder Renlund became a professor at the University of Utah. From 1991 to the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2009, he served as the medical director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals Cardiac Transplant Program. In 2000, he was also appointed the director of the Heart Failure Prevention and Treatment Program at Intermountain Health Center headquartered in Salt Lake, while his wife was working as a law partner in the firm of Dewsnup, King and Olsen.

In the Church, in addition to serving as a bishop, Elder Renlund also served locally as ward Sunday School president, high councilman, and as a stake president. From 2000 to 2009, Elder Renlund served as an area seventy. He became a general authority seventy in April 2009, at the same conference in which Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained as an apostle. The August after his call, Elder Renlund began serving in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, which is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. He concluded that service by as the area president from 2011 to 2014.

Just over a year after concluding that service (during which time he served in other general capacities at Church headquarters), he was the third man to be called to fill the three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve in the wake of the passing of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scot (with his call occurring the same day as that of Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Gary E. Stevenson). Some have claimed (rightfully so, in my opinion) that since Elder Scott was the last of the three to pass away, Elder Renlund, as the last of the three new apostles called, was the one filling the apostolic vacancy occurring from the death of Elder Scott. Others may disagree on that, as is their right, but I think that is a fair statement.

Elder Renlund's apostolic call was significant for a few reasons. The calls of Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund made them the 98th, 99th, and 100th members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called in this dispensation. There have been more men ordained as apostles, but only 102 of those men have officially served in the Quorum of the Twelve. There is another significant aspect of Elder Renlund's call. As most of you are probably aware, at times in the past where 2 or more apostles have been called, tradition is that they will be called, sustained, and ordained according to their age, from oldest to youngest. That tradition, as has been the case a couple of times before, was slightly adjusted, as Elder Stevenson, almost three years younger than Elder Renlund, was called, sustained, and ordained as the senior apostle to Elder Renlund. That kind of thing is not in any way unprecedented, but it is a significant anomaly to note.

As

Given that all apostles from Elder David A. Bednar through Elder Renlund were born in the United States, some have taken issue with the Church for the perceived lack of diversity in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But as was observed in this article, Elder Renlund's diverse background certainly qualifies him as having strong international ties and experiences. Elder Renlund had 2 opportunities to speak in General Conference prior to his apostolic call (1 of which occurred six months prior to his first address as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), and gave his eleventh talk as an apostle just over a month ago. You can review any of those 13 addresses at your convenience.

I am grateful to have been able to offer this birthday tribute in his honor, and am also grateful for his service. I gladly sustain him and the other 14 apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to bring word of those 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 everything you do.