Prophet & Church President Russell M. Nelson Becomes the First Apostle to Observe His 98th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back once again, this time to share a post in tribute to our beloved prophet, Church President Russell M. Nelson, who officially marks his 98th birthday today, thus becoming the first apostle and prophet of this dispensation to reach that age milestone. So let's talk about this wonderful man whom we sustain as the prophet, seer and revelator for the Church, and the only man currently authorized to speak in behalf of the Lord. Russell Marion Nelson was born in Salt Lake City Utah to Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson on this day in 1924 (just a day before the birth of Boyd K. Packer, his future immediate predecessor to the Presidency of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) .

Though he grew up in a loving family, his parents were not active in the Church. As a teenager, he went looking for books about the Church at Deseret Book. His parents allowed him and his siblings to be baptized when he was 16. President Nelson married his first wife, Dantzel, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have nine daughters and one son. When his wife unexpectedly died in 2005, he described having "inconsolable grief" for a time. He married Wendy Watson, a BYU professor, the following April.

He studied at LDS Business College and went on to obtain his BA and MD at the University of Utah. He simultaneously trained as a surgeon and did doctoral studies at the University of Utah. He was part of the research team that developed the heart-lung machine that was first used for an open-heart operation on a human being in 1951. He spent two years on medical duty for the US Army during the Korean War, then underwent another training period in Boston at the prestigious Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts General Hospital.

At one key point in his medical career, the University of Chicago was anxious to get him to come and teach at their school of medicine, so the president of that university asked Dallin H., Oaks, then a professor at the law school, to try and persuade him to come. Then-Brother Oaks did his best to convince then-Brother Nelson to accept the offer. But Church President David O. McKay advised Brother Nelson not to go, so he turned down that opportunity.

In 1955, he accepted a teaching opportunity at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he built his own heart-and-lung machine. Around a year later, he was on duty to perform the first pediatric cardiac operation. In 1960, he performed the first successful operative repair of a tricuspid heart valve. Being worried that a surgical procedure he had been asked to perform was too risky for anyone, he requested and received a blessing from then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball, who was one of his patients.

That surgery was a success, and he later used the same technique to operate on Elder Kimball himself, a risky procedure, which only moved forward following a pointed directive from President Harold B. Lee, who at that time was serving as First Counselor in the First Presidency. While performing that operation, Brother Nelson had the overwhelming feeling that President Kimball would one day be President of the Church.

As a result of that operation's success, Church members were blessed to enjoy the counsel and ministry of President Kimball for almost another decade and a half. The doctor-patient relationship he experienced with President Kimball enabled Brother Nelson to write a letter of assurance about President Kimball's health when the latter was called as Church President.

He has served in many positions on different hospital boards and has received several awards for his pioneering work. He likewise had many service opportunities in the Church. He served as a stake president for over six years, during which time he served alongside another future apostle, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

In mid-1970, Ernest L. Wilkinson, then president of BYU, submitted his resignation, which went into effect early the following year. As Neal A. Maxwell, Commissioner of Church Education, searched for a replacement, Brother Nelson was one of the candidates considered for the position, which was in due course filled by Brother Nelson's future apostolic seatmate, Dallin H. Oaks.

In the meantime, Brother Nelson was called in June of 1971 as the Sunday School General President (during which time, Brother Wirthlin would again serve alongside him.) Brother Nelson would go on to also serve in the now-defunct calling of regional representative, during which time, having been present when President Kimball suggested that some of them should learn Mandarin Chinese, took on that task in obedience to the prophet's counsel.

In April 1984, with the advice and consent of President Spencer W. Kimball, President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency, called Brother Nelson to fill one of two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Then-Brother Oaks was called to fill the other vacancy, and the two have sat side-by-side in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since that time.

In the natural course of life between then-Elder Nelson's apostolic call (announced on April 7, 1984) and early July 2015, the Church had lost 4 Chrch Presidents and all of the apostles senior to then-Church President Thomas S. Monson, in addition to all apostles junior to President Monson but senior to Elder Nelson. The last of those was President Boyd K. Packer, whose passing on July 3, 2015 led to Elder Nelson becoming the de facto President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was officially set apart in that capacity 12 days later, on Wednesday July 15, 2015, by Church President Thomas S. Monson, who had by that time begun to decrease his involvement in the day-to-day administration of the Church.

When the Church released an official statement in mid-May 2017, which noted that President Monson would no longer be taking an active role in leading the Church, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Nelson filled a vital role in assisting President Monson's counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in taking care of the day-to-day administration of the Church.

When President Monson passed away on January 2. 2018, President Nelson directed the affairs of the Church as the senior apostle (and the de facto Acting President of the Church) for 12 days before his ordination and setting apart as Church President.

Following his ordination, he met individually with each of the other 12 apostles to get their input on who should serve as his counselors and who should be called to fill the resulting 2 vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Once that process was complete, he selected as his counselors his seatmate, Elder Oaks, and Elder Eyring, who had served as a counselor to both Presidents Monson and Gordon B. Hinckley, as his First and Second Counselors, respectively, in the First Presidency. As a result of that reorganization, Elder Uchtdorf again took his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During the broadcast and subsequent press conference when the new First Presidency was introduced to the world on Tuesday January 16, President Nelson paid tribute to his predecessor's counselors and mentioned that both were willing to now serve where they were most needed. The responsibilities assigned to Elder Uchtdorf were those previously held by the senior three apostles of the Church, Presidents Nelson and Oaks, and the new Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, M. Russell Ballard.

Even prior to serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, or subsequently as President of the Church, President Nelson took great care of his fellow Brethren in the apostleship.

Many of you will recall how, in the midst of an address about charity, the pure love of Christ, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin began shaking uncontrollably, In a silent demonstration of what his colleague was teaching, Elder Nelson stood by and supported Elder Wirthlin until he closed his address, then gently helped him back to his seat. Not long after Elder Richard G. Scott underwent a needed surgical procedure, he was surprised to learn that President Nelson had stood inside the operating room observing the procedure in its entirety.

And, of course, as recounted during the funeral of Elder Robert D. Hales, following the Sunday Morning Session of the October 2017 General Conference, President Nelson felt impressed skip his lunch break and go immediately to the hospital to visit Elder Robert D. Hales, who passed away within a few minutes after President Nelson arrived.

President Nelson has demonstrated a keen intellect, a willingness to seek for and follow revelation from the Lord, and an undeviating loyalty and full commitment to his family, his Church, and his apostolic colleagues. We have seen him respond swiftly to such revelation, and perhaps the greatest details of the revelation he continues to receive regularly are yet-to-be revealed in the upcoming General Conference.

I have always been impressed and touched by President Nelson's remarks. He has given 105 addresses thus far in General Conference, including 65 following his call to the apostleship, 5 given while he served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and 35 so far which he has given since becoming President of the Church. By all accounts, he continues to think, move, and act with the health, vigor, and energy of one 20-30 years younger than his current 98 years. Something Sister Nelson has repeated in public comments lately is that she is highly suspicious of his birth certificate, because he is anything but a typical 98-year-old.

I am grateful for the chance to have paid this birthday tribute to President Nelson. He and all of the other apostles have my unequivocal and everlasting support and sustaining vote. I know for myself that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God, that he will not lead us astray, that he speaks for and on the behalf of he Lord and that we will be blessed by the Lord as we follow the counsel given by His chosen mouthpiece.

That does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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 Quentin L. Cook on His 82nd Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share some thoughts about Elder Quentin L. Cook in honor of his 82nd birthday today. Let's dive right into that subject. Quentin LaMar Cook was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook on this day in 1940 in Logan, Utah. His ancestry includes his great-great-grandfather, Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was one of the original apostles of the Church and who was instrumental in bringing the gospel to England and supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith at key moments when apostates made efforts to replace Brother Joseph as the Lord's mouthpiece.

Young Quentin was a middle child, having an older brother and a younger sister. He grew up in a very gospel-centered home, although his father eventually lost interest in Church activity .At age 15, he had a discussion with his brother Joe that changed his life. Joe was unsure whether to continue with his medical school studies, or to delay that in order to serve a mission, with their father favoring the former. During that conversation, they determined that either the gospel was true or it wasn't, and that if it was, serving a mission would be the best use of Joe's time. Joe’s decision to go resulted in young Quentin eventually accepting his own call to serve in the British Mission.

One of his two mission presidents was Elder Marion D. Hanks, who simultaneously served as a general authority. At one point during his mission, his companion was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Though the two didn't know it at the time, both would go on to serve as General Authority Seventies and as colleagues in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Cook later noted the following in relation to Elder Holland:

"Sometimes we receive revelation even when we do not know the Lord’s purposes. Shortly before Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was called to be an Apostle in June of 1994, I had a beautiful revelatory experience that he would be called. I was a regional representative and could see no reason I would be given that knowledge. But we were companions as young missionaries in England in the early 1960s, and I had a great love for him. I considered the experience a tender mercy for me. In recent years, I have wondered if the Lord was preparing me to be junior in the Twelve to an incredible missionary companion who was my junior companion when we were young missionaries. I sometimes warn young missionaries to be kind to their junior companions because they never know when they might be their senior companion."

Elder Cook returned from his mission with a strong testimony of the Savior and a resolve to associate with people who love the Savior, both within and outside of the Church. He married his high school sweetheart Mary Gaddie in the Logan Utah Temple on November 30, 1962. Their posterity includes three children and numerous grandchildren.

He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in political science and from Stanford University with a juris doctorate degree.As a managing partner in a San Francisco Bay area law firm, he specialized in business law. He later became president and chief executive officer of California Healthcare System, and vice chairman of Sutter Health Systems. His church service has included being a bishop, stake president’s counselor (during a period of time when his brother Joe was president of that same stake), stake president, regional representative, and area authority. While he was in the stake presidency, he was instilled with a love of people from all nations when he had responsibility for Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations.

He was named a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 6, 1996, and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 1998. He served as a member of area presidencies in the Philippines, the Pacific, and North America, and he also served executive director of the Church Missionary Department during the period of time that "Preach My Gospel" was developed and instituted as the standard guidebook for missionaries, and was subsequently called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2007.

Nine days after that, the death of President James E. Faust, who had been serving as Second Counselor to Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, would wind up having an unexpected impact on Elder Cook's life. As the October General Conference rolled around, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring was called as President Hinckley's new Second Counselor, which created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 6, 2007, Elder Cook was sustained to fill that vacancy, and he was ordained an apostle five days later.

Elder Cook has spoken 32 times in General Conference: twice as a General Authority Seventy and 30 additional times in the almost-15 years since his call to the apostleship. I am grateful for his service as a special witness of Christ, and I wholeheartedly sustain him and the other apostles.

In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.

I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below.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: Current Apostolic Data

Hello again, everyone! It has been a tradition on this blog for me to provide updates on apostolic data every 7 weeks. Having last done so on July 17, it is time to publish the newest such data. As with every two-part update, the first part contains updated data about the age and tenure length records for all 17 Church Presidents. The first part also includes updated information on the tenure length records for each of the 28 Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The first document also shows information on the three sets of apostolic groups: the longest-serving First Presidencies (which will not be updated with the First Presidency as presently constituted until 2024), in addition to the longest-serving groups of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and groups of all ordained apostles (the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).

The latest version of that document also shows when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as currently comprised will move up on the list of the longest-serving Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to specifics on when the current members of that Quorum, along with the current First Presidency, will reach the next milestones on that list.

Meanwhile, the second part of today's update shows the long-form and decimal ages for the members of the current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the apostolic groups overall, in addition to the average ages of each group and apostolic nonagenarians (with 3 of the current 15 apostles being on that list, and the timing noted for when each of the other 12 apostles will join that list).

Hopefully this shared data will be of interest to you all, and again, I offer an open invitation to anyone who has any questions about those documents to ask them here. I will, of course, continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments, and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of all such reports. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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: First Presidency Announces Parameters for the October 2022 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! On this Friday, I am pleased to share some breaking news from the First Presidency: in a letter to be read in all Sacrament Meetings this Sunday, the parameters have been set for the October 2022 General Conference (in order to access the contents, you'll need to sign into the Church website with your Church account). The letter indicates that the conference will consist of five general sessions for all members, including one on Saturday evening. 

The details provided in the letter were later confirmed in a report from the Church News while this post was being put together here. With that announcement in mind, it appears as though my interpretation of both last July's announcement about the Saturday evening session and the introductory First Presidency message given by President Oaks at the beginning of last April's Womens' Session is correct: the focus and audience for the Saturday evening sessions will be determined by revelation on a conference-by-conference basis. 

Some people reportedly complained that the Church abandoned the specially-focused sessions (Priesthood in April and Women's in October) only to reinstate that with the Women's Session last April. But as President Oaks announced in April, the focus and audience will be determined on a conference-by-conference basis. Parenthetically, it's a valid point to me that the April 2022 General Conference featured a Women's Session since that was the closest conference held to the late March 180th anniversary of the establishment of the Relief Society organization. 

And the establishment of that organization eventually led to the creation of the Relief Society, Primary, and youth programs as we know them today. I could see the Church doing something similarly special in April 2029, to mark the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Priesthood, and in April 2030, to mark the Church's bicentennial, particularly since, if current traditions hold, the Saturday of that conference will coincide with the exact bicentennial day.

So that leads me to my next point: with the general session for all members, who might speak? As reflected in my General Conference predictions, I would anticipate at least 1 or 2 General Officers, 1 member from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and one member of the First Presidency. The only questions in my mind are whether that would be President Nelson (since President Eyring spoke then last October and President Oaks did so in April) or whether the counselors will continue to alternate, and how many other speakers there might be.

In terms of the second question, the number of speakers in that Saturday evening session has varied in recent General Conferences of the Church. In April 2020, there were 7, with 6 each the following October and April, 8 in October 2021, and 5 in April of this year. If Presidents Oaks or Eyring speaks during that session, it's possible they could also give a short introductory address specific to that session.  

If President Nelson speaks, we could either see a shorter or normal-length talk from the prophet, which may affect how many other talks he gives and their respective lengths. As far as how many other speakers the session will feature, that's anyone's guess. The announcement also notes that the Saturday evening session will be 90 minutes, as opposed to the other sessions, which will be 120, and that could also impact the speaker lineup.

Nothing would surprise me at this point. The announcement also notes that, due to ongoing renovations of the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square, in-person attendance at the Conference Center will be limited. Last April, the cap was 10,000 (with the Conference Center half-full as a result). There could be that same number or slightly lowered as a result. In any case, my unexpected discovery of the letter answered a lot of questions on my end.

I was grateful to have found that, and hope this post has been illuminating for you all. I continue to monitor all other Church news updates and temple construction developments and will be sure to bring word of those to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. 

If you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. 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: Renovations, Expansions, and a Redesign Scheduled for Kona Hawaii Temple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency announced this afternoon that renovations, expansions, and a redesign are planned beginning around October 2023 for the Kona Hawaii Temple. The updates are anticipated to be completed sometime in late 2025. Plans call for an increase in the square footage of that temple from 9,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet. The rendering for the temple after the change reflects a slightly different look.

The temple is the 70th in operation, originally dedicated by President Hinckley on January 23 and 24, 2000. This continues the Church's efforts to expand the floor plan of Hinckley-era temples to accommodate an increased need. During the renovation process, the Church encourages patrons in the Kona temple district to participate in ordinance work at the Laie Hawaii Temple. I am grateful to have heard about this news and for the opportunity to share it with you all here.

I continue to monitor all such updates and will bring you word of those here as I become aware of them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Thank you for the privilege of your time. 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.