UPDATED: April 2024 General Conference Projected Speaker Lineup

Hello again, everyone! I was a bit unsettled as far as my General Conference predictions were concerned, and I couldn't figure out why. Then it came to me: I needed to revise my thoughts about the projected speaker lineup. The last General Conference wasn't the start of a new trend. It was a conference in which the prophet and an apostle were absent. The last time President Nelson spoke in the opening session of General Conference was in October 2022. I now believe that if he is able to preside at the next General Conference in-person, he will speak in the opening session.

I also now believe that he will give his customary longest address on Sunday Morning, and that a final short address will conclude the final session. That in turn means that President Oaks will open the final session rather than closing the Sunday Morning Session. As a result of these changes, I have also adjusted how many GA Seventies I think might speak, and who those might be. Other than that, the revisions speak for themselves.

Just by way of information, I will be posting a birthday tribute to Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf tomorrow morning, then will plan on covering the major temple update in the afternoon. I will also be publishing a birthday tribute to Elder Dale G. Renlund next Monday morning, before covering the next major temple news in the afternoon. And my final 2023 apostolic milestone update will be provided on Sunday, November 19.

Lots to look forward to. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Europe East Area Renamed Eurasian Area

Hello again, everyone! In a comment yesterday, I had mentioned that the Europe East Area had been renamed the Eurasian Area. A new report on Elder Quentin L. Cook's ministry to Europe officially confirms that. The report also states that he met with Russian leaders. I am hoping that part of that meeting included dialogue about the temple the Church hopes to build in Russia. If so, hopefully we might be able to hear news on that temple sooner rather than later. He also visited locations in the Europe Central and Europe North Areas.

I am glad we finally have confirmation on this change. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Will Create 36 New Missions in 2024

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has made a stunning announcement this morning. In order to accommodate an ever-growing missionary force, effective July 1 of next year, 36 new missions will be created. The total number of missions will thus rise to 450, the highest it has ever been in the Church. While I'm sure Matthew Martinich will cover this himself on the Church Growth Blog, and I will defer to him for better analysis of this stunning development, I wanted to break down the details:

Each new mission will be created from an existing mission. Each of the following Church areas will see the addition of the following missions:

Africa Central

Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa South

Democratic Republic of the Congo Kolwezi

Kenya Nairobi East

Africa South

Madagascar Antananarivo North

Africa West

Ghana Accra North

Ghana Takoradi

Nigeria Calabar

Nigeria Port Harcourt North

Sierra Leone Bo

Asia

Cambodia Phnom Penh East

Thailand Bangkok East

Asia North

Japan Sendai

Brazil

Brazil Manaus South

Caribbean

Dominican Republic Santo Domingo North

Europe Central

Germany Hamburg

Europe North

Portugal Porto

México

México Mexicali

México Puebla East

North America Central

Montana Missoula

North America Southeast

Florida Tallahassee

South Carolina Charleston

North America Southwest

Nevada Henderson

Texas Dallas South

Texas El Paso

North America West

California Modesto

Philippines

Philippines Dumaguete

Philippines General Santos

Philippines Tuguegarao

South America Northwest

Bolivia Cochabamba South

Ecuador Quito West

Perú Lima Northeast

South America South

Argentina Tucumán

Chile La Serena

Utah

Utah Salt Lake City East

Utah Saratoga Springs

Utah Spanish Fork

I will just add a note here that the creation of new missions may also point to a major realignment in area boundaries in August of next year, and that I anticipate some of these locations with new missions might soon have temples announced (if temples are not already announced there). The missionary force is increasing in direct response to President Nelson's call for more missionaries, and it is good to see this development.

I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Held for Fort Worth Texas Temple; Site Locations and Preliminary Details Confirmed for 3 Temples in Europe and the United States

Hello again, everyone! New reports from the Newsroom have confirmed the groundbreaking for the Fort Worth Texas and have confirmed locations and preliminary information for the Vienna Austria, Harrisburg Pennsylvania, and Winchester Virginia Temples. While the first report speaks for itself, let's break down the details of the second:

The Vienna Austria Temple, first announced in April 2021, will rise on a 0.80-acre site at Silbergasse 2, Vienna, Austria. The edifice is planned to be a roughly 15,300-square-foot multi-story temple. I was particularly intrigued by the announcement that it will be built up rather than out. As I may have mentioned in the past, my sweet wife served in what was then the Germany-Austria mission. She only spent a day in Austria itself, so she's not too familiar with where this temple will be. But she was happy to hear of this announcement nonetheless.

The Harrisburg Pennsylvania and Winchester Virginia Temples were both announced in April of this year by President Nelson. In Pennsylvania's capital city, a single-story 20,000-square-foot edifice will rise on a 5.36-acre site at 605 Rutherford Road in Harrisburg. Virginia's second temple will be a single-story 30,000-square-foot temple built on an 11.27-acre site at 200 Merriman's Lane in Winchester.

As a result of today's announcement, of the 97 announced temples, 55 have not had any official information confirmed yet. Hopefully, that number goes down further before the end of the year. It's also worth noting that I'm not sure why no temple dedications were included in today's announcement. I also was hoping for additional groundbreakings. But 3 temple sites, including one for a temple announced more than two years ago, is nothing to be disappointed about.

I am grateful for today's announcement. I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces Schedule for 2024 Churchwide Events

Hello again, everyone! The Church has announced the schedule for the 2024 Churchwide Events. Here are the relevant dates:

January 28: Worldwide Event for Youth: “I Am a Disciple of Jesus Christ”

February 4: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

February 29–March 2: RootsTech Family History Conference and Family Discovery Session

April 6–7: April 2024 General Conference

May 5: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

October 5–6: October 2024 General Conference

October 27: Worldwide Event for Youth

November 3: Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults

December 8: First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional

A few surprises: The Worldwide Devotionals for Young Adults have typically been held in January, May, and August (the beginning of each third of the year). This year, they will be in February, May, and November. Likewise, although the First Presidency's Christmas Devotionals are typically held on the first Sunday in December, next year, it will be on the second Sunday, which may mean that new temples could be dedicated on the first and third Sundays of next year. The schedule otherwise speaks for itself.

Other noteworthy events are scheduled as follows:

January 26: Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcast

March 1: Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction

March 9: Friend to Friend for Children

March 31: Easter Sunday

June 18: CES Religious Educators Conference

June 20–23: Seminar for New Mission Leaders

July 19–20: Tabernacle Choir Summer Concert

August 10: Youth Music and Arts Festival

September 14: Friend to Friend for Children

November TBD: Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcast

November TBD:  Luz de Las Naciones

November 16: Church Music Festival from Temple Square

December 12–14: Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert at Temple Square

December 25: Christmas Day

Interestingly, there are two Seminaries and Institutes Annual Broadcasts scheduled next year, whereas there has typically been only one. There is also a CES Religious Educator's Conference, which I assume may allow several general Church leaders to provide training and counsel to seminary and institute instructors. 

I'm also fascinated that the Church has scheduled both a Youth Music and Arts Festival and a Church Music Festival, which I assume will be for all Church members. Although it was not specified, I assume that on Easter Sunday and the Sunday before Christmas, it will be Sacrament Meeting only. And I think we could potentially see a couple other Churchwide broadcasts as well. 

Looking ahead to 2024, I also wanted to put out a fun teaser of my own plans ahead for 2024. I have compiled a 2024 schedule showing content I will focus on in the new year. We will have several more apostolic milestones next year, as the current First Presidency will join the list of the longest-serviung First Presidencies and observe several milestones related to their tenure, unless there are forthcoming changes in the First Presidency that would prevent that.

So there will be a lot to look forward to in the next 14 months.  I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. 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. Please subscribe if you liked what you read here and would like to be informed of newly added posts and comments. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.