Russell M. Nelson set apart as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello, all. It's early in the morning of Thursday July 16, and I am posting for a very exciting reason: Yesterday (Wednesday), Elder Russell Marion Nelson, the most senior apostle next to President Thomas S. Monson, was officially set apart by President Monson as the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He had become the de facto Quorum President and had functioned as such since President Boyd K. Packer died on July 3, but now it's official. At age 90 (he'll be 91 on September 9), he becomes one of the oldest men to be set apart as Quorum President. All reports say his health is very good, so I'm sure he'll be the Quorum President for at least 5 years, possibly more. He may even live to break Elder David B. Haight's record as oldest living apostle. He will reach that milestone on August 8, 2022. Now we just need to wait until October to find out who the new apostles will be (though there's always a chance that they may be called sooner). I will endeavor to keep you updated on apostolic news as it happens. Until I write again, all the best!

The 5th Anniversary of our engagement/I've been blogging for a year now.

I know I'm a little late in posting this. But life threw us a few curve balls we weren't expecting. So I've been trying for the last few days to sort some things out. Don't be alarmed or unduly concerned, readers. Amy and I are both still healthy and well. And the storms we are experiencing are sure to pass given a few more days or so.

What I wanted to focus on in this post is a couple of wonderful milestones I marked over Independence Day Weekend. First of all, but not most importantly, I've been a blogger since my first post last July 4. The blog has been a great way to keep those who follow it informed not only of important developments in our personal lives, but also about major news items from and about the LDS Church. It's been a thrill to blog, knowing there are so many people who care about what I have to say. You, my readers, are the reason I blog. That and I've not been very diligent as a journal keeper, so this blog has served as an outlet for me to be able to preserve all the important details of my life and the work of the Lord, which I love with all my heart. Thanks for your continued support and interest in this blog.

That being said, as many of you are aware, Saturday July 4 marked the 5th anniversary of our engagement day. We celebrate each such anniversary in a very unique way. On the first anniversary of our engagement, I expressed to my sweet Amy a desire I had to propose to her anew every year. In this way, we have another thing to celebrate each Independence Day: we become engaged all over again. Of course, of the five "reengagements" we've had, none can compare with the joy of being married and having one another to be with, take care of, and love. I thought I loved Amy on the day we became engaged, and even more so when we got married 5 1/2 months later. But what I felt for her then is a mere drop in the bucket compared to my feelings for her now, as we near the 5th anniversary of our marriage, which we will celebrate on December 18 of this year.

Each day with her makes her more dear to me than I ever thought anyone could be. She is the first face I see when I wake up every morning, and the last sight I have before I drift off to sleep every night. For over 5 years now, she has been my best friend, my biggest  fan, my most trusted confidante, and the reason for all the wonderful things in my life. She has encouraged me in every pursuit I have undertaken. She has stood by me as we have weathered the storms of life. She has taught me by her example what it means to see people as the Lord sees them. She loves me unconditionally, even when I have tried her patience or have said or done anything stupid or insensitive. She willingly deals with the consequences of decisions I have made, even when those decisions may have not been in our best interest. She is so patient with and kind to me.

I have often thought and told her that I may still be physically disabled, but, because of her, I am whole. For a long time before she came into my life, I always  felt there was something missing. Then she came into my life, and nothing was missing anymore. I told the Lord long before she came along that if I could just find someone who would love me and look beyond my disabilities and everything else wrong with me, I would happily accept her as an eternal companion. Amy is all that and so very much more. As I often try to tell her, I could look the world over from here to eternity and back again, and I would never find anyone as perfect for me as she is.

So reproposing to her every year on the day of our engagement reminds me of the innumerable reasons I love her. It helps me evaluate how I'm doing as a husband to her and whether I could or should be doing things differently or better. It helps me remember the treasure, the real gem I have found, who is worth anything it takes to help her be happy. I hope she can feel from me even just a small portion of what I feel for her. I am so blessed that Amy Nuttall consented to be my eternal companion, and I hope and pray that someday I will be worthy of her.

My beloved Amy, I hope you never doubt how much I love you. You give me a reason to press forward in life, no matter how rocky the road may be. When I am afraid, you give me courage. When I feel lost and alone, you give me companionship. When I am worried or troubled about anything, you help me feel better. You have given me your complete devotion and trusted me with your heart and your life and your love. I marvel every day that out of all the men in the world you could have chosen to spend your life and eternity with, you wanted me. No one could ever take your place. I don't ever want anyone else. You are the miracle I prayed for for so long. You are a companion and a help meet in the true sense of the words. I never imagined I'd be so lucky as to be bound eternally to someone as wonderful and amazing as you are. My love for you is beyond my ability to express. I hope that I may someday prove worthy of you. Thank you for all you are and everything you have given me. I love you, my precious Amy, now and forever!

Funeral set for President Boyd K. Packer/My article featured on lds.org's home page

I am posting today for a couple of reasons. First of all, I learned today that funeral services have been arranged for President Boyd K. Packer, who died yesterday of causes incident to age. The funeral will be held on Friday July 10 @ 11:00 AM MDT. Further details, such as which TV stations will carry the funeral proceedings, will be announced in the coming days. President Packer will be buried in the Brigham City Cemetery. The graveside service will be private. Now that the details of the funeral have been announced, I wonder who might be called upon to speak at the funeral. It's been quite a while since a President of the Quorum of the Twelve has died in office. The last time was when President Marion G. Romney passed away on 20 May 1988. That was 27 years ago. Of the 27 men who have served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one was excommunicated (Thomas B. Marsh) which is why his tenure ended.

15 Quorum Presidents have become President of the Church, which is the reason for the end of their tenure. One (Orson Hyde) had his tenure end due to a readjustment in apostolic seniority. (It was determined by Brigham Young that seniority in the apostleship was to be determined by longest continuous service rather than the date on which an apostle was ordained. Hyde had previously been disfellowshipped for brief periods of time in 1839 and 1846. Additionally, from 1847 to 1868, Hyde was actually the third most senior apostle. The second most senior apostle was Heber C. Kimball, a member of the First Presidency. If current practice were followed, Kimball would have been President of the Quorum and Hyde would have served as Acting President during this time period. However, Kimball was never called as President of the Quorum of the Twelve.)

One man (Brigham Young Jr.) served twice as President of the Quorum, with his tenure interrupted by the return of Joseph F. Smith to the Quorum following the death of Lorenzo Snow. (At the beginning of Young's tenure, George Q. Cannon was the second most senior Apostle in the Church. However, Cannon was a counselor in the First Presidency and was never called as President of the Quorum. If today's practices had been followed, Cannon would have been called as Quorum President and Young as Acting Quorum President. When Cannon died in April 1901, Young remained the President of the Quorum despite the fact that First Presidency member Joseph F. Smith was then the second most senior Apostle.) One Quorum President, Joseph F. Smith. only served in that capacity for the week between the death of Lorenzo Snow and the reorganization of the First Presidency, with Joseph F. Smith become the next Church President. When that happened, Young resumed his service as Quorum President.

8 men who served as Quorum President died in office. Additionally, 5 men who served as Quorum President were serving in the First Presidency during the entirety of their tenure, and the next most senior apostle not in the First Presidency served as Acting President. During President Marion G. Romney's tenure, he was in ill health, so Howard W. Hunter served as Acting President during Romney's entire tenure. When Romney died, Hunter became Quorum President.

The one man I haven't mentioned in this brief history of Quorum Presidents is Russell M. Nelson, who became the de facto Quorum President at the death of Boyd K. Packer yesterday. However, Nelson has yet to be set apart for this position. I hope I haven't bored anyone with this Church history lesson, but I find all this fascinating.

 There is one other thing I wanted to note in this post. I went onto lds.org a couple of days ago. I was surprised to discover a link to an article on the site's main webpage. The link read, "Christ Has Felt Your Pain." I could think of only one article that had a similar title, and that was the one that I wrote. So I clicked on the link, and, sure enough, it led to the article I had written that was published in the July Ensign. So my work has been and is currently being featured on lds.org's home page. I couldn't be more pleased and proud that the Church is finding additionally uses for my article. And I hope that more people will read it as a result and that it will make a positive difference in their lives. That's all I wanted to post about. I've "sounded off" enough for now. Until I blog again, all the best!

President Boyd K. Packer passes away/Other Church News

Many of you have heard the news by now, but President Boyd K. Packer passed away today from causes incident to age. He was 90 years old and was serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time of his passing. He becomes the second apostle to pass away this year, the first being Elder L. Tom Perry on May 31. With his passing, Elder Russell M. Nelson succeeds President Packer as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And that now leaves two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Those vacancies could be filled at any time, but most likely will be taken care of during the October General Conference. It has been 11 years since two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles died within a short time of each other. I  mused over an interesting bit of trivia regarding President Packer's passing. Now the two most senior apostles are separated in age by 3 years (President Monson will be 88 on August 21, and President Nelson turns 91 on September 9), but their ordinations to the apostleship took place a little over 20 years apart (President Monson in October 1963, and President Nelson in April 1984). This is the longest time span between the ordination of the two most senior apostles in the history of the Church especially in light of the fact that they are so close in age.

The question of who might fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles still remains. I will, of course, support and sustain fully the two newest apostles as much as I tried to sustain President Packer and Elder Perry. But I personally would love to see a couple of younger men,  with perhaps one or both of them being international. It will be interesting to see whom the Lord calls.

There have also been one or two other items of Church-related news that I wanted to touch on briefly in this post. The leaders of the Church at the top level have called for better observances of the Lord's holy day, Sunday. The Newsroom article on that subject states: "Recommendations include wider participation in planning worship services and holding these sacrament meetings and other classes. Elder Ballard said the proposed changes are recommendations that may be adapted to local needs. 'We have to maintain flexibility. The Church all over the world has different circumstances.'"

A committee made up of four members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (though the article didn't reveal which apostles were on the committee) and the Presidency of the Seventy is also on the committee. One major change the committee is asking local Church leaders to do is for bishoprics to involve the ward council in the planning of Sacrament Meetings. Elder L. Whitney Clayton, who is the 2nd most senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy, said, "The contribution of all ward council members will add spiritual insight to the plans being considered by bishoprics, while bishoprics will be responsible for approval of plans. There's a great deal of freedom to move within that recommendation. What we hope is that bishoprics will bring in suggested plans for sacrament meetings, out into the future — we're talking two, three months out into the future — and that members of the ward council will offer suggestions. They may have a suggestion about who should speak or a refinement about a particular topic or a suggestion about a hymn." The committee has suggested that among other appropriate Sabbath Day activities are: doing acts of service, reading the scriptures and spending time with family.

“What we hope is that the Sabbath will become a delight for people at home, that they'll love what happens in their homes on Sunday. It will be a time to draw apart from the world, to just give ourselves some rest from the things that are always before our eyes the other days of the week, with the work week, all the things we worry about. And then on the Sabbath we could think about the Savior. What we hope is that the Sabbath will become a delight for people at home, that they'll love what happens in their homes on Sunday. It will be a time to draw apart from the world, to just give ourselves some rest from the things that are always before our eyes the other days of the week, with the work week, all the things we worry about. And then on the Sabbath we could think about the Savior.”

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom is quoted as saying: “When we consider that is His day, then what we do is in connection to Him and for Him. But that doesn't mean we can't load our children in our cars and go visit grandparents or family or relatives. It doesn't mean that we can't take time to laugh together.” Additional Sunday-appropriate activities could include writing in journals and to missionaries, as well as sharing the numerous resources the Church has available online with family. The news release shares a couple of great quotes from Elder Russell M. Nelson's April 2015 General Conference talk, "The Sabbath is a Delight". I would encourage all my readers to review that address.

The news release says, "Training on improving Sabbath day worship and gospel learning within families was given to general authorities, area seventies and general auxiliary presidencies during the week of general conference. That training is now being extended to the level of local congregations as training occurs throughout the year. "Training materials focused on improving Sabbath day worship at church and in the home are being distributed to local leaders for upcoming leadership meetings; the principles will then be taught to the full membership of each congregation." Thus ends the news release.

I am grateful for the emphasis that is being placed on Sunday as being a holy day. I hope that those who need to examine their Sabbath day observance will be benefited by this training that will take place. It is my hope and prayer that a reverence and respect for the Lord's holy day may be cultivated and enhanced. and my fervent testimony that blessings come from treating Sunday as a different day and not just another day like any other day of the week. That we may properly observe the Sabbath Day and reap the blessings that come from truly keeping the Lord's Day holy is my prayer as I close this blog post for now in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!/Two major developments regarding the Church and the LGBT population

I am posting at this hour for some very important reasons. First and foremost, my parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary yesterday (July 1). I am so grateful to the woman who set them up on their first date when neither of them had previously known each other. I am grateful for the influence my mom had on my dad serving a mission. She must have made quite the impression on him. By the time he left on his mission, she was also serving as a missionary. When my dad gave his farewell talk, he mentioned that he had met a South African lady that he intended to marry when he got home. I'm glad my mom came to the United States on a "short vacation." I'm glad my dad didn't let the moss grow under his feet upon his return and that my parents were engaged a day after his release as a missionary. I am grateful that they did such a remarkable job in raising their family. They deserve much of the credit for my personal successes. After all, as I observed in my article in the Ensign this month, my earliest doctors told them to take me home and simply love me, as I would never amount to more than a limp noodle on a sofa. While I do have my "limp noodle" moments, thanks to them, I have had far more successes than I have had failures. And even when they had reservations about letting someone else (the woman who would become my wife) take over responsibility of looking out for me, once they knew I was serious about marrying her, they fully supported me, just like they have in everything I've ever done. I hope to be able to give them many more grandchildren to dote on. And I know that my children couldn't ask for a better Ouma and Oupa. I have seen what my wife has gone through in dealing with the death of her mother. I hope my parents will be around for many years to come. I still have so much to learn from their examples and testimonies. They have lived a legacy of faith and devotion to God that  I know will be a blessing to their posterity for many years to come. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad, and thanks for everything!

That being said, there have been two major developments relating to the Church and their attitude toward and actions regarding the LGBT community in general and same-sex marriage in particular. The Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has written a letter that they indicated should be shared to all adults and youth in congregations in the United States and Canada either July 5 or July 12, in a setting other than Sacrament Meeting. It reaffirms the Church's support for traditional marriage, reiterates the doctrine of marriage being between one man and one woman, addresses the reasoning behind a belief in and support for traditional marriage, and directly provides answers to questions relating to why traditional marriage is so important in the eyes of the Church and our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Since the Church has made public the information that will be shared, I share it here as well. I would encourage all those Latter-day Saints who follow my blog to prayerfully review these materials and come to find out for themselves the truthfulness and importance of this doctrine. I believe the statement that "when . . .prophet[s] speak, the debate is over." I have been and will continue to be a supporter and proponent of the Church's view. I know that will not make me popular with any who support same-sex marriage, but I have never been afraid of being unpopular. In the letter, it is stated that the Church insists on its right to practice and uphold a support of traditional marriage without threat of ridicule or persecution. The bottom line is, our leaders have spoken, and no one, whomever they may be, has a right to change the doctrine the Lord has set forth. The Church will never change their position. Neither will I. The whole world could make same-sex marriage legal, and it still wouldn't alter what the Lord has decreed. Any who take issue with that are welcome to do so, but I hope all my readers will accept this as something I have come to know for myself to be true and respect me for it, rather than ridiculing or persecuting me for so believing. I respect other peoples' rights to disagree with what I believe and proclaim their own opinion on the subject, but I don't appreciate people telling me that I'm bigoted, prejudiced, or misled. Other people may believe however they want. I accept their rights to do so. I hope in turn they will accept my rights to believe in and support traditional marriage without trying to convince me of the error of my ways. Sorry about the sermon. But it's how I feel. Those who favor same-sex marriage have said that everyone needs to love and accept everyone else and their lifestyles. I do have a love and respect for all of our Heavenly Father's children. But just as a parent won't condone their children doing something wrong, I cannot condone or support something that I believe is not in harmony with God's will. Many say about same-gender attraction that those who deal with it were just "born that way" and that they can't help their tendencies, that this is just part of "who they are." Anyone is free to believe that. But I refuse to believe that a loving God would take away anyone's power of choice or ability to act for themselves in any matter. Everyone has their agency. For some, that leads them to disobey and disregard the Lord's standards. I am using my agency to live the way I feel God wants me to live. And I hope I will be respected for that rather than ridiculed, criticized, or persecuted for it.

Enough on that. I also wanted to mention another development in regards to the Church's conduct towards the LGBT community. The Church has made a sizable donation of money and much-needed perishable food items to the Utah Pride Center at the request of the Center. The Church made no mention of this themselves. It was the Center who reported the information to the local news outlets. What was donated will go to help the Center provide breakfast every Saturday to homeless youth. The Center partners with the Utah Food Bank, but the Bank is unable to supply perishable items. Those interviewed said that they were glad that, in spite of their difference in beliefs, they were able to come together on this issue, to help those who are not currently able to help themselves. It is a major milestone in the Church's relationship with the LGBT community in general and this Center in particular. It is hoped that this donation will benefit those homeless youth for a long time.

Well, I've "sounded off" enough for one night. It is past 2 am, and I haven't eaten anything since getting back from work 4 hours ago. I will keep my eye out for further developments on the Church news front and will do my best to also keep all my readers updated on our personal lives. Until I write again, all the best!