New Doctrinal Mastery Program Replaces Scripture Mastery Program in Seminary

In a talk given to CES instructors and administrators earlier this year, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles introduced the Doctrinal Mastery program that officially replaces the Scripture Mastery program. This was done in an effort to allow the doctrines of the gospel to sink more deeply into the hearts of students and to allow them greater ability and flexibility in applying the doctrines of the gospel to their lives. For more details on this monumental and landmark change, please see this article.

16 New Temple Presidents Called

Hello, In a windfall announcement, the Church has called 16 new temple presidents. This has greatly trimmed the list of those temples who may yet have a president called this year. I include an updated copy of the list for your benefit.

Temples getting a new president in 2016:
1. Nashville Tennessee
2. Fort Collins Colorado
3. Star Valley Wyoming
4. Hartford Connecticut
5. Philadelphia Pennsylvania
6. Columbia River Washington
7. Chicago Illinois
8. Mexico City Mexico
9. Hong Kong China
10.  London England
11.  Manhattan New York
12.  Medford Oregon
13.  Dallas Texas
14.  Birmingham Alabama
15.  Seattle Washington
16.  Hamilton New Zealand
17.  Cochabamba Bolivia
18.  Gilbert Arizona
19.  Anchorage Alaska
20.  Curitiba Brazil
21.  Kyiv Ukraine
22.  Panama City Panama
23.  Fresno California
24.  Memphis Tennessee
25.  Winter Quarters Nebraska
26.  Lima Peru
27.  Nauvoo Illinois
28.  Portland Oregon
29.  Merida Mexico
30.  Reno Nevada
31. Spokane Washington
32. Rexburg Idaho
33. Montreal Quebec.
34. Monterey Mexico
35. Ciudad Juárez Mexico
36. Aba Nigeria
37. Nuku’alofa Tonga
38. Raleigh North Carolina
39. Provo Utah
40. Guadalajara Mexico
41. Copenhagen Denmark
42. St. Paul Minnesota Temple
43. Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
44. Halifax Nova Scotia
45. St. George Utah Temple
46. Santiago Chile Temple

Temples that may still get a new president this year:
1. Campinas Brazil
2. Columbus Ohio
3. Detroit Michigan
4. Frankfurt Germany
5.  Johannesburg South Africa
6.  Melbourne Australia
7.  Perth Australia
8.  Quetzaltenango Guatemala
9.  Sapporo Japan (will be dedicated on August 21)
10. Seoul Korea
11.  Tampico Mexico
12.  Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple
13.  Twin Falls Idaho

New Angel Moroni placed atop the Bountiful Utah Temple today.

Good news for the Bountiful Utah Temple: Today, a new Angel Moroni was placed atop that temple to replace the one that was irreparably damaged from a lightning strike on May 22. Thanks to you all for your readership and interest.

Missionary that disappeared has been found

Hello, dear readers. Wanted to let you know of the beginning and end of a situation. Nearly 48 hours ago, a missionary serving in Utah disappeared, seemingly without a trace. That missionary was found safe and sound today after the police and the LDS Church enlisted the public's help in finding her. The reasons for her disappearance and reappearance are as yet unknown, but more details will be released as they become available. That's the good news for today. For more details on this matter, please see KSL.com. Hope you all are well.

Important Temple Developments

Hello, all! Posting today with the latest temple news, and it is exciting! Apparently the government-imposed delays preventing the construction of the Fortaleza Brazil temple from going forward have been utterly eliminated. What that means is that full-scale construction is anticipated to start any day now. The temple is anticipated to be completed in 2019.

Additionally, the Church has apparently decided not to commence construction on the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple until after the conclusion of the Summer Olympic games. It makes sense that the Church wouldn't want to upstage the games. But I wouldn't be surprised if the groundbreaking date for that temple is announced soon and set for after the Olympics. I also anticipate perhaps two or three other groundbreakings will be announced before too long, but it's anyone's guess as to when that will happen. I am hoping that the Church will soon identify a site for those temples for whom a site exists. I have updated my personal temple progress report to reflect these developments. I will be sure to keep my eye on all temple-related news and events and post about them here as soon as I can. Thanks to you all for your readership and interest. You are the reason that I blog. And I promise, the personal update is coming...just as soon as there's no more Church news to report. This blog has become a place where I can share news about the Church I love, and it means everything in the world to me that you guys take time to read (and sometimes share) my posts. Best wishes to you all.