BREAKING NEWS: Elder Soares and His Wife Experienced Mild COVID-19 Bout During Holiday Break

Hello again, everyone! Not long ago, the Newsroom shared an updated report on COVID-19 among the current apostles. It has been noted that Elder Ulisses Soares and his wife, Rosana, were diagnosed with mild case s of COVID-19 at around the same time as the holiday break occurred for those at Church headquarters. Both have since made a full recovery. Given the mildness of the symptoms reported, the fact that they made a full recovery, and the fact that Church headquarters had closed for the Christmas and New Year's holiday observances were ample reasons why this information is just now being made public.

It has been an interesting anomaly to me to observe that only the three most junior apostles of the Church were the ones so far who have been confirmed as positive for the virus. But as my wife observed, the older and more senior leaders are likely being overly cautious, given their higher susceptibility. And there is a large part of my mind that does wonder whether something in the future for Elders Renlund, Gong, and Soares made it necessary for them to be the ones that have dealt with this so far.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing that side of things, but I have seen ample examples among the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that illustrate that, in some cases, longstanding health issues for them or their wives have shaped their ministries in remarkable ways. Foremost in my mind are Elders Neal A. Maxwell, David B. Haight, Robert D. Hales, Richard G. Scott, and Joseph B. Wirthlin. For each of these apostles, the health challenges they had in the course of their ministries shaped them in ways that I don't believe would have been possible otherwise.

It has been quite a year for apostolic developments, with the pandemic limiting travel on the part of top Church leadership. Though we don't have a lot of details, we also recall how Elder Holland had some health issues unrelated to the pandemic last year. In a subsequent interview with the Church News, Elder Holland talked about how, in the course of trying to figure out what was happening with his health, the doctors discovered and were able to manage a more significant issue that would otherwise have gone undetected.

I'm going to borrow a standard phrase from the Book of Mormon here: And thus we see that the Lord in His wisdom and mercy allows His servants in our day to experience their very own "thorns in the flesh." And in similitude to what happened to Paul in the New Testament, the very real "thorns of the flesh" that our recent and currwheent apostles have experienced, are experiencing, or may yet experience can give them motivation to mold their ministry based on the lessons learned therefrom.

In view of so many of my own personal experiences in terms of my health, I can attest to the fact that that pattern does not apply exclusively to apostles. I have had numerous times in my own life where circumstances I was dealing with in terms of my health did not make snese, where answers were hard to come by and solutions few and far between. And quite honestly, almost without exception, those experiences, as challenging as they were in the moment, have, in one way or another, led me to where I am and who I am today.

Above and beyond that, however, the news of the positive diagnoses of COVID-19 for our three junior apostles is hopefully a demonstration that, even when taking all the proper precautions, a positive diagnosis can occur. Just recently, COVID-19 has impacted some in my own family circle. So simply being cautious is not nearly enough. We need to be sure as individuals that we are mindful of what we owe to each other in the world that we all share. And I think sacrificing a little freedom now is well worth it if it ensures more freedom in the future My hope and prayer is that we will all be wise with respect to our attitudes and decisions relating to COVID-19.

And I for one am grateful that each of the three apostles and each of their spouses have been spared from further issues of discomfort or illness beyond what's been reported. I love, sustain, and pray for these good men and women who, in the midst of this global pandemic, are still filling their charge to uplift and inspire people and to be witnesses of Jesus Christ to all the world. May the Lord bless them all in their continued efforts.

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 Creates One New Mission for 2021; Announces New Mission Presidents for 2021

Hello again, everyone! The Church News today shared a major announcement from the First Presidency. Effective July 1, one new mission, to be named the Mozambique Beira Mission, will be created. That will bring the number of total missions in the Church to 408 as of that date. Although it has become somewhat customary in recent yearz for the Church to announce the creation of multiple new missions and the consolidation of several others, as 2021 continues to unfold, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have obviously impacted today's announcement. 

Aside from the newly-created mission, a total of 105 new mission leaders have been called to serve around the world. At a glance, that includes one current GA Seventy (Elder Juan Pablo Villar, who is currently serving in the South America South Area Presidency), a number of current and former area seventies, and Sister Lisa L. Harkness, the current First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency.  I have no doubts that Matthew Martinich, author of the Church Growth Blog, will have analysis on this development at some point within the next week or two. 

In the meantime, I myself am planning to post a more extensive analysis of the list of new mission presidents as soon as I can complete that. Added at approximately 11:15 AM:  I have completed my analysis of the new assignments that will go into effect in July of this year, and I have compiled notes on it. In summary,  the list of new leaders includes, as mentioned, Elder Villar and Sister Harkness, 10 current area seventies, and 2 or 3 former area seventies. So there are bound to be changes noted in General Conference as a result of at least some of these calls. Having said that, we now return you to your previously-published content.

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 ud wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Review of Temple Construction Progress During 2020

Hello again, everyone! As the final minutes of 2020 draw closer to their inevitable conclusion, I am pleased to be able to provide you all now with a review of temple construction progress that occurred throghout 2020. Over the course of five reports that have been edited as progress has been noted, I have tracked the many wonderful upddates that have been provided through the Newsroom, the Church News, and via the Church Temples website throughout the year.  Perhaps the most impressive thing reflected in these reports has been the fact that, even in the midst of a global pandemic that resulted in all operating temples being closed for a period of roughly two months, temple construction has progressed unabated. 

As a particular result of this year's events, there are now more temples under construction than there are announced (not yet under construction).  That number now includes multiple temples under construction in Utah alone, in taddition to multiple others throughout the United States, in the Philippines, and in Latin America, for what I believe is the first time each of those regions have had multiple temples in the queue at the same time in the history of the Church. The developments largely speak for themselves. So here's a look at where temple construction stood as 2020 began, at the end of the first quarter, halfway through the year, just prior to the October 2020 General Conference, and where things stand at this year-ending hour. 

I have gradually restructured various portions of the report, and the content in the latest one is almost certain to change as we move into 2021. As I hope is evident by these reports and the information compiled therein, the temple construction program of the Church is one of many that has seen the promise of President Nelson come to fruition. Part of the way the work is moving forward at an accelerated pace is in the temple construction milestones we have seen since President Nelson's statement on that was made last year. 

To reiterate something I have previously noted, as many as 12 temples could have groundbreakings in the first part of 2021, with at least 6 of those almost certain to occur prior to the April 2021 General Conference, if all goes well. So I'm certain that we have just scratched the surface on what is to come in terms of temple construction. With that in mind, whatever occurs in that respect in the coming year, you can count on my tracking those developmnts and passing those along here as I becine 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.

Looking Back on 2020 and Ahead to 2021.

Hello again, everyone! As 2020 draws closer to a conclusion, I have my year-end temple construction review ready for automatic publication during the final moments of this year. But in this post, I wanted to take a brief oportunity to note the Church News overview of the major developments covered in 2020. Aside from those developments, I myself on this blog have provided these scheduled updates this year, in addition to an untold number of breaking news developments which I could not have possibly anticipatede in advance. 

In a very direct and specific way, the prophecy uttered by President Nelson late last year has come to fruition. The work has indeed moved forward at an accelerated Even in the midst of a global pandemic and an untold number of other global crises, the voice of the Church and the consuel offered by the general leaders of the Church has remained constant, consisstent, and inspiring. As some of you may recall, I was skeptical when the potential effects of what would become the first major global pandemic in over 100 years were first mentioned to us here on the threads of this blog.

But the devastation caused by the pandemic, and by other natural disasters, pretty much speaks for itself. There have been very few parts of the world unaffected by it. And while many governments and religious leaders have struggled to adjust during the increased spread of COVID-19 around the world, the Church was able to quickly pivot whenever the need arose because of the adjustments that had been made in the years prior to that. Practically all normal functions of the Church have been impacted in some way, but the adjustments which were made as the need arose for them allowed much of the work of the Church to continue,  move forward, and even accelrate in so many miraculous ways.

Even though General Conferences held in April and October were virtual-only, the inspiration that attended those sssessions, even with then being held on a smaller scale, was inspiriing to see. In the meantime, numerous adjustments have enabled the Church to prepare long-term for the future. While a global pandemic raged, the Church held 21 temple groundbreakings, which led to multiple temples being under construction in Utah sapecifically, in the United States generally, and in a few South American nations, the Philippines, and Asia (although in the case of 10 of those 21 temples, full-scale construction is still pending as 2020 nears its' conclusion. 

The Church also took major steps to prepare for the future growth and expansion of the work, which involved greater utilization of technology at the general Church leadership level and in relation to global missionary work, and the announcement of the shift from 4 magazines (only 1 of which was specifically geared to members outside the United States) to 3 global magazines. And in preparation for a time when the needs of the Church, due to its' anticipated growth and expansion, will eventually require more area seventies serving worldwide to assist in that work, the Church created 4 new Quorums of the Seventy, marking the first time in nearly 15 years that new area seventies' Quorums were formed, and the first time that occurred for a reason other than geographical proximity or the size of the existing Quorums.

As the year winds to a close, the Church has been able to see a net increase in the number of stakes totaling at least 30, which is still an impressive 56% of the increase in the total number of stakes that occurred between the end of 2018 and the year-end figures from last year. In the meantime, likely because of the more complete embrace of technology in missionary work, many of the Church's missions have reported more overall success this year in finding and retaiining new coverts. And the growth seen this year is laying a clear foundation for what is anticipated to occur next year.

The way the Church has figured out a "new normal" relative to adjustments thave have been made up to this point could mean that the Church will keep many of those adjustments as the standard status quo going forward. And despite the wide-spread devastation caused this year, whether due to the pandemic, natural disasters, political, racial, societal, or systemic unrest, so many wonderful things have happened. The sheer number of new developments has had an impact on me personally due to the increased number of additional unanticipated reports I was able to provide on this blog throughout the year as those developments occurred.

This year alone, I began coverage on this blog with just over 1800 published posts. By mid-une, I'd hit the 1900th post milestone. And as of today, with one planned post left for the year (an overview of temple counstruction progress that has occurred throughout 2020), barring any additional unexpected breaking developments from the Church before the end of the year, 2020 will conclude with my having just under 2000 published posts here. 

With the current year set to end around 82-83 hours from now here in Utah, I am pleased in this post to also provide an advanced look ahead at the developments I can anticipate for next year, which are formally scheduled to occur as specified. But I fully anticipate having many currently-unknown breaking news updates to pass along as well. And I will do my level best to remain on top of all such developments in the days, weeks, month and year ahead.

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: Apia Samoa and Brisbane Australia Temples To Shift To Phase 3 Next Week

Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom and the Church News have announced this morning e the Apia Samoa and Brisbane Australia Temples will reopen under phase 3 next week, which will allow all ordinances for the living and some proxy work for the dead as arranged through scheduling.

This brings me total number of temples in phase 3 to 4. The Church continues to evaluate COVID-19 conditions worldwide and area-by-area and will continue to adjust accordingly. These latest updates are the only ones relating to COVID-19 conditions for today. For more information, please also consult the temple status tracker from the Church News.

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.