In Honor of Elder Dale G. Renlund on His 69th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back with a post in tribute of Elder Dale G. Renlund, who, as noted, is marking his 69th 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 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.

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 has given a total of 13 addresses in General Conference, 2 of which were prior to his apostolic call (the second of which was given in the General Conference prior to the one in which he became an apostle.

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Latest Temple Reopenings Announced

Hello again, everyone! With only one exception in recent weeks, Tuesday has been the designated day on which the Church has announced the latest temple reopening updates. Those releases have been shared in the Newsroom and through updates in the Church News (including the weekly status tracker).

This post will be updated with an analysis of that announcement if and when it comes. Note: The following paragraphs between here and the closing text for the post were added once the Church's official announcement on temple reopenings was made.

The Church specifically announced this morning that the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple, which unpaused and was granted phase 2 status just one week ago, will shift to phase 2-B, allowing proxy baptisms by appointment in addition to all living ordinances in priorirty order, as soon as one week from today (Tuesday November 16). Meanwhile, the Manila Philippines Temple, which unpaused last week and resumed phase 2-B will transition to pase 3 ASAP, perhaps as soon as next Tuesday November 16. Additionally, the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple will open in phase 3 as early as this Friday (November 12), with the Pocatello Idaho Temple set to open phase 3 as soon as Tuesday November 16.

The Church News reiterated yet again today that the Medford Oregon Temple, originally projected to move into phase 3 at some point in August, remains in phase 2--B for the time being, and that no revised date has been set for that transition. 6 of the Church's temples remain in phases 1 or 2, while no phase designation has been given for the temples in Hong Kong China and Tokyo Japan both of which are currently closed for renovation.

As a result of the latest adjustments, next Tuesday (November 16), 159 of the Church's 170 operating temples (93.5%) will be in phase 3. And since 4 other temples are operating in phase 2-B, the percentage of those now offering any proxy work (in addition to living ordinances in priority order) has now risen to 95.9%. With today's announced updates, as of next Tuesday (November 16) the reopening of temples will stand as follows:

9 temples are closed for major renovations (all but 2 of which have been granted phase 3 designations); 2 temples remain "paused" in their reopenings (both of which had reached phase 3 prior to their pauses); and 2 other temples are in phase 1. There are now 3 temples in phase 2, with 4 others in phase 2-B; and the remaining 150 open in phase 3.

I have noted this in the past, but feel a need to reiterate it again: I am grateful for the carefully-planned cautiously-coordinated reopening of temples around the world, and for the revelatory process that drives those announcements every week. Although no temples anywhere have reached phase 4 (a return to full normal operations), it is wonderful the Church has been prudent and wise in the announcements of changes each week.

As always, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates, and remain committed to bringing you all word of those updates as I become aware thereof. This Saturday (November 13) willl see Elder Dale G. Renlund observing his 69th birthday. I will be presetting my next apstolic data update to publish here on Sunday November 14 (which will mark the final such update for this year).

I also continue to be hopeful that opening arrangements might soon be announced for the Yigo Guam and Quito Ecuador Temples, with reopening arrangements for the Tokyo Japan and Hamilton New Zealand Temples announced soon as well. And I continue to hope that the announcements of multiple temple groundbreakings will be made within the next couple of week for most (if not all) of the remaining temples that will have a groundbreaking this year, though there is also the prospect that the Church could report a groundbreaking has already occurred for some temples. So stay tuned for more on all of these developments as i find out about them and pass them along.

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.

Honoring Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf on His 81st Birthday

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.

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-17 years as a special witness of the Savior, (including almost a decade of service in the First Presidency), he has now given 74 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 8 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 81st 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: All Temple Cafeterias Will Close, Effective in Early 2022

Hello again, everyone! As some of you are no doubt aware. several temples of the Church around the world have had caeterias in operation for their patrons and workers to obtain good food as they worship and work in the temple. But one of the top initial temple updates on the renovation process for the Salt Lake Temple, as reported in March of this year, was a decision to close the cafetera in that temple and repurpose it for temple worship spaces.

Today, a second major temple development announced by the Church was that, effective in early 2022, all temple cafeterias will pernmanently close. The two exceptions are for the Guayaquil Ecuador and Hamilton New Zealand Temples, where a longer transitionary period will be required. The announcement also noted that the Church has already closed some temple cafeterias due to COVID-19, and that those will not reopen. This move comes as the result of the Church continuing its' steady efforts to reduce and simplify the day-to-day operations of the Church on a global scale.

But more than that, based on the fact that a major focus of President Nelson's prophetic priorities for the Church is to determine what is most needful for the members thereof, and how the Church can focus on whar really matters (the work for the living and the dead that is performed in temples). This also opens up the prospect that for the temples that had operated cafeterias, current or future renovations could repurpose those spaces for temple worship.

Makes perfect sense to me. While I wouldn't have traded my experiences as a worker in the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple (which included regular stops at the cafeteria and numerous memories in the early 2010s when I met my wife in that temple and we had numerous opportunities to eat together while we served together, I can understand the reasoning behind these decisions.

And in the future, if the Church no longer is needing to plan to include temple cafeterias in some of the larger temples, that would create more space for temple worship to occur.rega I am grateful for this inspired directive and testify that it was the result of revelation to those 15 men I gratefully sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators.ark

I will be back tomorrow with another new post, honoring Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who will then be celebrating his 81st birthday. The following Saturday, Elder Dale G. Renlund will mark his 69th birthday, and the day after that will mark the last 2021 update I will share regarding apostolic age and tenure milestones.

So 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: Revised Opening Arrangements Announced for Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! In a stunning announcement that I did not see coming at all, the First Presidency has announced the revised opening arrangements for the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, Open house tours will occur between Saturday March 26 and Saturday April 16, with the exceptions of Sunday March 27, Saturday and Sunday April 2 and 3 (General Conference weekend), and Sunday April 10.

A youth devotional wilnl take place on Saturday May 7, 2022, and the temple will be dedicated in 3 sessions the following day (at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM Rio de Janeiro time). Elder Gary E. Stevenson, the only remaining member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who has not yet presided at a temple dedication, will preside at this one.

I think I would be remiss if I didn't share some thoughts about the timing of the dedication arrangements here. As some of you might recall, back in July, the First Presidency announced revised reopening arrangements for the Washington D.C. Temple, which will see that temple rededicated on June 19. With the Rio de Janeiro dedication now set for My 7, that will occur before the Washington D.C. Temple rededication.

It's also worth noting that, with this temple dedication set in May, there seems to be a high likelihood that the opening arrangements for the Yigo Guam and Qutio Ecuador Temple could be set to occur before this dedication of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple. But for temples outside the United States, COVID-19 is the big variable in play here. It's also worth noting that I am more than slghtly surprised that the Church isn't sending native Brazilian apostle Elder Ulisses Soares to dedicate this temple.

And with Elder Stevenson being assigned to preside at this dedication instead, it will be interesting to see who actually is assigned to preside at the dedications of the Yigo Guam and Quito Ecuador Temple. With President Ballard set to dedicate the Pocatello Idaho Temple this weekend, and Elder Stevenson designated to dedicate the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, it will be interesting to see what unfolds going forward with the scheduling of other temple openings and which apostles might be assigned to preside at each of those events.

The announcement of the Rio de Janeiro Temple's revised opening arrangements also gives me hope that the Church will be able to  set the reopenings for Tojkyo Japan and Hamilton New Zealand soon as well. And it will be interesting to see how COVID-19 might impact the scheduling of other temple openings as well. I remain cautiously optimistic that the Church might have some groundbreaking announcements made soon for other temples.

I will monitor all such developments and bring you word thereof here as i become aware of it.

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.