As has been a long-standing tradition dating back 100+ years, the Church has officially designated two apostles to represent Church leadership at the inauguration for President Donald Trump one week from today. This time, Elders D. Todd Christofferson and Gary E. Stevenson have been asked to do so. I am grateful to have been able to read about this today. These men will represent Church leadership very well.
In addition to Elder Christofferson attending the inauguration, he will represent the Brethren at a National Prayer Service the day following the inauguration. When I read that, I wondered for a moment why Elder Stevenson would not join him in doing that. But that is cleared up by the very next sentence of the article, which indicates that shortly after he and Elder Christofferson attend the inauguration, Elder Stevenson will depart directly from there to fill another Church assignment he has in South America.
This is the third inauguration of a US President since President Monson's tenure as prophet began almost 9 years ago (it will be exactly nine years in just three weeks from today). During that time, the Church has been well represented by those sent to such events. For President Barack Obama's first inauguration, which happened just before President Monson marked one year as Church President, the leading Brethren were represented at that event by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder M. Russell Ballard.
Four years later, it was the late Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Quentin L. Cook who did so at President Obama's second inauguration. And now we have Elder Christofferson and Elder Stevenson asked to attend President Trump's inauguration this year. It marks the first time during President Monson's tenure that two apostles that were still relatively junior in terms of apostolic seniority have been asked to attend (with Elder Christofferson being the 11th and Elder Stevenson being the 14th).
However, I am aware of one of the most likely reasons for at least Elder Christofferson's assignment to this event. Unless things have changed, he has been for quite a while the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that chairs the Church Public Affairs Committee. As far as I know, he is still doing that. If I am in error on this point, please do let me know. In the meantime, click here to read the full news release from the Mormon Newsroom at lds.org that verifies this information.
It is interesting how busy the apostles have been. And this is particularly true in the case of Elder Christofferson, who has more frequently represented the Church at various important events just within the last year. And the information the news release shared about Elder Stevenson's back-to-back assignments indicates that even though the three newest apostles have n been in their callings for about 15 months, they are still being extensively asked to fill a variety of assignments. I think it is awesome to see how well our three newest apostles have adjusted so well to the mantle of the apostleship.
As those of you who regularly follow this blog know all too well, I have always had a great love and admiration for the service our apostles so willingly render. I have loved being able to report the latest things they are doing and the assignments they are filling. And within the last little while, I have so very much enjoyed posting about the latest milestones these 15 good men are reaching in terms of age and tenure length and so on. I look forward to doing so much more in the future.
Thank you so much for taking time to read my musings about the latest developments in this regard. I appreciate you all more than I can say. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any feedback of any kind for me in regards to things posted on this blog. Such comments help me fine-tune the way I report developments in the future, and hearing the thoughts you have has greatly heightened my understanding of factors involved in matters on which I report. The sense of "community" I feel has been established here, even as small and insignificant as that may be in comparison with, say, the LDS Church Temples site maintained by Rick Satterfield or the Church Growth blogs maintained by Matthew Martinich, has continued to embolden me to share things like this that have personally impacted me. Thanks again.
On this blog, I, James Stokes, share insights and analysis covering the latest news and developments reported about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My specific emphasis and focus is on the ministry of our current apostles, General Conference, and up-to-date temple information. This site is neither officially owned, operated, or endorsed by the Church, and I, as the autthor thereof, am solely responsible for this content.
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Friday, January 13, 2017
The Church has assigned two apostles to represent Church leadership at the inauguration of President Donald Trump
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Interesting posts and comment threads on Matthew Martinich's Church Growth Blog
While it took a while for Matthew Martinich, who is considered somewhat of an authority on the subject of Church growth, to post for the first time this year, he has done one or two most interesting ones within the last month. And the most intriguing thing about following those ongoing posts is the ensuing discussions that have taken place in the comments responding to the post topics. This one highlights the first units created in 2017, and includes an ongoing discussion on the subject of mission president assignments, particularly those that have been filled by General Authorities and the husbands of the general officers of the Church.
This one includes a link to the monthly newsletter of cumorah.com, a neighboring site maintained by Matt that highlights the growth and progress of the Church in various nations and countries of the world. This one highlights an apology from Matt that I feel is unnecessary, but which he did in reporting that his previous post about the imminent creation of the Church's first stake in Belize was proven to be in error.
This one focused on Church-related growth and developments in and around the region of Kurdistan Iraq. As is all too common in posts on Matt's blog, the conversation branched off to many other topics.
But when the conversation came back around to Kurdistan, a church service missionary felt to point out to Matt how wrong she thought his post was in terms what what he had indicated. After reading her comment, I felt somewhat conflicted, on the one hand feeling defensive of Matt, whose information has been proven to be reliable for the most part, even though it was not uncommon to have him retract or clarify information on his blog when that becomes necessary. On the other hand, I was intrigued by what the sister service missionary shared about the actual developments she had witnessed firsthand. The next comment, which proved to be the last, was from Matt himself, who thanked her for the clarification and told her why he had written what he had written. This seemed to smooth things over well enough, for which I was very glad.
In the meantime, there was also one other post Matt did just before Christmas of which I wanted to make mention. He talked about how Nigeria had reached the landmark milestone of 500 wards and branches. The ensuing discussion is interesting. Click here to read both the post itself and the discussion that followed.
Interesting stuff as always! Enjoy! And, as always, any comments on Matt's blog posts of which I have made mention should be made at the location of the original posts. Thanks.
This one includes a link to the monthly newsletter of cumorah.com, a neighboring site maintained by Matt that highlights the growth and progress of the Church in various nations and countries of the world. This one highlights an apology from Matt that I feel is unnecessary, but which he did in reporting that his previous post about the imminent creation of the Church's first stake in Belize was proven to be in error.
This one focused on Church-related growth and developments in and around the region of Kurdistan Iraq. As is all too common in posts on Matt's blog, the conversation branched off to many other topics.
But when the conversation came back around to Kurdistan, a church service missionary felt to point out to Matt how wrong she thought his post was in terms what what he had indicated. After reading her comment, I felt somewhat conflicted, on the one hand feeling defensive of Matt, whose information has been proven to be reliable for the most part, even though it was not uncommon to have him retract or clarify information on his blog when that becomes necessary. On the other hand, I was intrigued by what the sister service missionary shared about the actual developments she had witnessed firsthand. The next comment, which proved to be the last, was from Matt himself, who thanked her for the clarification and told her why he had written what he had written. This seemed to smooth things over well enough, for which I was very glad.
In the meantime, there was also one other post Matt did just before Christmas of which I wanted to make mention. He talked about how Nigeria had reached the landmark milestone of 500 wards and branches. The ensuing discussion is interesting. Click here to read both the post itself and the discussion that followed.
Interesting stuff as always! Enjoy! And, as always, any comments on Matt's blog posts of which I have made mention should be made at the location of the original posts. Thanks.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
New Mission Presidents Announced for 2017
Even though, historically speaking, by this time in January in years past, mission presidents and any new missions have been announced for about a week, in light of the recent deaths of prominent current and former General Authorities just within the last 20 days or so, it is understandable (in my opinion) that this year's assignments were only announced today.
The biggest surprises for me in this regard (which were, on reflection, not as surprising as they initially appeared to be) were that the only new mission to take effect this year is the Utah Salt Lake City Church Headquarters Mission, and that, among those called to serve as mission presidents this year were not a few former Area Seventies, four currently serving ones (Pedro U. Adduru, Angel H. Alarcon, Winsor Balderrama (Sejas) and Abenir V. Pajaro, who will no doubt be among the many Area Seventies released this April (as service as a mission president renders continuing service in a specific geographical area impossible)) and one current General Authority, Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, who joins the ranks of five or six other actively serving General Authorities that have served as a mission president during that same time.
I honestly can't qualify this next statement. I only make it based on my own study of the relevant time periods. But from that study, I can say with relative certainty that it was a common thing for apostles to serve as mission presidents while being active members of the Quorum of the Twelve, at least for the first 100 years or so of the Church's history. Then it seemed that, during President Spencer W. Kimball's tenure as prophet, many actively serving General Authorities served as mission presidents. I haven't been made aware of all those that might have so served during the tenure of Presidents Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter, and Gordon B. Hinckley, but I can't say unequivocally that it did not happen at all. If that practice did go away during those years, it seems that President Thomas S. Monson has been inspired to bring it back.
As part of my desire to share what I know regarding Church news and developments, I share the following facts I am aware of in terms of those active General Authorities who have served, are serving or will start serving this year as mission presidents. This information was mentioned by me in a comment I posted recently in response to a post on the LDS Church Growth Blog. For what it's worth, here's that information:
Elder W. Craig Zwick served as an interim mission president because of the death of the current president. I guess the idea was to do a quick fix to ensure the mission work would carry on uninterrupted while the Church appointed a successor. Elder Zwick served for that short time in 2014 as president of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. Then, as mentioned above, Elder Michael John U. Teh currently serves as the president of the Taiwan Taichung Mission, having been called last year. Elder Wong has been called to serve as president of the Canada Vancouver Mission starting in July, which will neccesitate and result in a change being made in the Asia Area Presidency. Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita served from 2013-2015 as the president of the Japan Nagoya Mission. And during that same two year span, Elder Yoon Hwan Choi served as the president of the Seattle Washington Mission.
That said, I am not sure of all the factors that are involved in the decision to assign a currently serving General Authority to simultaneously lead a mission. I imagine most of it involves helping thosemissions grow in ways that they could not otherwise achieve. Slightly less important, it may be that some of these brethren did not have a chance to be a mission president prior to serving as a General Authority. Service as being a mission president is not by any means a prerequisite to being a General Authority, but it does help. Another reason may be the idea that a general authority who has had experience through various assignments around the world and at Church headquarters may serve to "tighten up" mission procedures and policies and bring them more in line with the Church's general mission.
It has been interesting to see the announcement of new mission presidents. For a list of those called,click here. Any comments on the subject of new mission presidents are always welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
The biggest surprises for me in this regard (which were, on reflection, not as surprising as they initially appeared to be) were that the only new mission to take effect this year is the Utah Salt Lake City Church Headquarters Mission, and that, among those called to serve as mission presidents this year were not a few former Area Seventies, four currently serving ones (Pedro U. Adduru, Angel H. Alarcon, Winsor Balderrama (Sejas) and Abenir V. Pajaro, who will no doubt be among the many Area Seventies released this April (as service as a mission president renders continuing service in a specific geographical area impossible)) and one current General Authority, Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, who joins the ranks of five or six other actively serving General Authorities that have served as a mission president during that same time.
I honestly can't qualify this next statement. I only make it based on my own study of the relevant time periods. But from that study, I can say with relative certainty that it was a common thing for apostles to serve as mission presidents while being active members of the Quorum of the Twelve, at least for the first 100 years or so of the Church's history. Then it seemed that, during President Spencer W. Kimball's tenure as prophet, many actively serving General Authorities served as mission presidents. I haven't been made aware of all those that might have so served during the tenure of Presidents Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter, and Gordon B. Hinckley, but I can't say unequivocally that it did not happen at all. If that practice did go away during those years, it seems that President Thomas S. Monson has been inspired to bring it back.
As part of my desire to share what I know regarding Church news and developments, I share the following facts I am aware of in terms of those active General Authorities who have served, are serving or will start serving this year as mission presidents. This information was mentioned by me in a comment I posted recently in response to a post on the LDS Church Growth Blog. For what it's worth, here's that information:
Elder W. Craig Zwick served as an interim mission president because of the death of the current president. I guess the idea was to do a quick fix to ensure the mission work would carry on uninterrupted while the Church appointed a successor. Elder Zwick served for that short time in 2014 as president of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. Then, as mentioned above, Elder Michael John U. Teh currently serves as the president of the Taiwan Taichung Mission, having been called last year. Elder Wong has been called to serve as president of the Canada Vancouver Mission starting in July, which will neccesitate and result in a change being made in the Asia Area Presidency. Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita served from 2013-2015 as the president of the Japan Nagoya Mission. And during that same two year span, Elder Yoon Hwan Choi served as the president of the Seattle Washington Mission.
That said, I am not sure of all the factors that are involved in the decision to assign a currently serving General Authority to simultaneously lead a mission. I imagine most of it involves helping thosemissions grow in ways that they could not otherwise achieve. Slightly less important, it may be that some of these brethren did not have a chance to be a mission president prior to serving as a General Authority. Service as being a mission president is not by any means a prerequisite to being a General Authority, but it does help. Another reason may be the idea that a general authority who has had experience through various assignments around the world and at Church headquarters may serve to "tighten up" mission procedures and policies and bring them more in line with the Church's general mission.
It has been interesting to see the announcement of new mission presidents. For a list of those called,click here. Any comments on the subject of new mission presidents are always welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Important Update in terms of Future Temples--Mainly posted for my own benefit
Hello. While this post will mainly be for my own benefit (to enable me to have the updates while I am at work), I wanted to post today to note important developments that have happened in terms of progress announced temples have made towards groundbreaking. These are important notes because it gives some indication of how imminent such future events may be. With that said, I welcome any feedback. There have been no other changes to this temple construction progress report update other than the notes I have made here. But it is a new year, and there have been some outstanding developments in regards to temple construction. So I anxiously await future news, and I hope to be able to post about such things as they cross my radar. Thanks.
Temple
Construction Progress Report (current as of 1/12/17)
Current
Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for
dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled
for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced. NOTE: There is a more than likely possibility
for several announced temples to have a groundbreaking announced during 2017.
Two are very close to that so far this year, and there may be many more before
too much longer.
Dedication
scheduled:
156. Paris France Temple: Exterior lighting system
operating; interior work underway; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Patron plazas and water feature added to temple grounds; interior
finish work underway; completion anticipated sometime during late
2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; landscaping
areas defined; hanging drywall; completion anticipated
sometime during late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Trees on site for planting; patron plazas and water featured added;
installing lamp posts and art glass windows; completion anticipated
sometime during late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion anticipated
sometime between early and mid-2018.
161. Kinshasa Democratic
Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion
anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
162. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Attaching building wrap to exterior walls; adding landscaping
structures; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
163. Durban South
Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing
walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated
sometime during mid-2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Pouring walls for steeple base; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
165. Winnipeg Manitoba
Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
166. Fortaleza Brazil
Temple: Second floor exterior walls poured; completion anticipated
sometime during 2019.
167. Lisbon Portugal
Temple: Excavation underway for temple and utility building; structural
framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for
Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late
2017 and early 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed;
old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early
and mid-2018.
Announced:
168. Arequipa Peru
Temple: Construction preparation
phase; awaiting groundbreaking announcement.
169. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement
anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place
shortly following the site announcement.
170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license issued
in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.
171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval
phase; awaiting official site announcement. NOTE:
The LDS Church Temple website indicates that a potential site has been
announced and that the temple itself is currently being designed. This is a
sign that a site announcement is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase;
awaiting official site announcement. NOTE: As
the above-mentioned website indicates for this temple, while no official temple
site has been announced, there may be a possibility that a Church office
building may be reconstructed into a multi-purpose edifice that may in part
function as the temple. If that happens, it will be similar to the situation of
the Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York temples.
173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning
and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled
dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or
groundbreaking dates.
Italicized
numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications
and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and
groundbreaking.
Red
text denotes changes from the last posted
temple progress report.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Another touching story from the Church News: Prayer, "guardian angel", protect a woman during airport shooting
In another touching story from the Church News, an LDS member from Fort Lauderdale related the account of how she was protected during the shooting at the Florida airport by prayer and the intervention of a "guardian angel" she said was sent there to save her life. Click here to read that remarkable story. Perhaps the most interesting part of this account is the fact that the woman's "guardian angel" doesn't view himself as a hero and says instead that he hopes he would have done the same thing for anyone else. But "hero" is a very appropriate designation for this remarkable man that sees himself as anything but. I loved reading about this, and it was my distinct honor to share it with you now. Thanks for your continued readership and support.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Another former General Authority Lost: Elder Lynn A. Sorensen Passes Away
Though I just found out about this a little while ago, I couldn't waste any time in reporting on it. The Church lost another great giant of the kingdom six days ago. Elder Lynn A. Sorensen, who served as a General Authority from 1987-1992, passed away on January 4. Called as a General Authority at the age of 67, he reached the age of 97 by the time of his death.This article details his service and stands as a tribute to his life. Funeral services will be held tomorrow. Click here to review his one conference talk, a masterful and inspirational address. It is a crazy time we live in, where so many of our leaders, current and former, are being called home. The Lord must need them. I hope this post, short though it is, serves as an adequate tribute to the life of a most remarkable man. Thanks for reading this. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Tucson Arizona Temple Advancements
Much progress has been reported in the construction of the Tucson Arizona Temple. This has rendered it necessary for me to include a full update to my temple construction progress report. As before, this is just a minor change, but I wanted to post it here from home so that I have access to it at work. Thanks for indulging me. Let me know if any of you have any feedback.
Temple
Construction Progress Report (current as of 1/9/17)
Current
Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for
dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled
for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced. NOTE: There is a more than likely possibility
for several announced temples to have a groundbreaking announced during 2017.
Two are very close to that so far this year, and there may be many more before
too much longer.
Dedication
scheduled:
156. Paris France Temple: Exterior lighting system
operating; interior work underway; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho
Temple: Patron plazas and water feature added to temple grounds; interior
finish work underway; completion anticipated sometime during late
2017.
158. Cedar City Utah
Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; landscaping
areas defined; hanging drywall; completion anticipated
sometime during late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona
Temple: Trees on site for planting; patron plazas and
water featured added; installing lamp posts and art glass windows; completion
anticipated sometime during late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple:
Interior work progressing; completion anticipated
sometime between early and mid-2018.
161. Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior
walls; completion anticipated sometime between early and
mid-2018.
162. Concepcion Chile
Temple: Attaching building wrap to exterior walls; adding landscaping
structures; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
163. Durban South
Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing
walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated
sometime during mid-2018.
164. Barranquilla
Colombia Temple: Pouring walls for steeple base; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
165. Winnipeg Manitoba
Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated
sometime between late 2018 and early 2019.
166. Fortaleza Brazil
Temple: Second floor exterior walls poured; completion anticipated
sometime during 2019.
167. Lisbon Portugal
Temple: Excavation underway for temple and utility building; structural
framing going up for meetinghouse; completion anticipated
sometime during 2019.
Scheduled for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho
Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for
Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah
Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late
2017 and early 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany
Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed;
old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime between early
and mid-2018.
Announced:
168. Arequipa Peru
Temple: Construction preparation
phase; awaiting groundbreaking announcement.
169. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement
anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place
shortly following the site announcement.
170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license issued
in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.
171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval
phase; awaiting official site announcement.
172. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase;
awaiting official site announcement.
173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning
and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled
dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or
groundbreaking dates.
Italicized
numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications
and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and
groundbreaking.
Red
text denotes changes from the last posted
temple progress report.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Newest Apostolic Age Milestones
Hello, all! Just posting today to do my second update this year on the latest apostolic age milestones. In this post, I will review the tenure milestones President Nelson will reach as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2017, where he sits in terms of age among the other nonagenarian apostles and those he will surpass among that group this year, the 2017 age and tenure milestones that Church President Thomas S. Monson will reach this year, and where the apostles are age-wise as of today. I will be throwing out a lot of facts, figures, and dates in this post, so hopefully none of you will get confused and it will be enjoyable to all.
Before I discuss all of that, I do want to note one thing: President Nelson's future milestones as Quorum President are subject to however long President Monson lives and serves as Church President. For the last two or three years, President Monson's health has been iffy, and the report has been that he is feeling the effects of advanced age However, he (President Monson) was reportedly able to summon enough strength to deliver a tribute at Elder Glen L. Rudd's funeral of a considerable and extensive length. Whether he forced himself to be well enough to do so remains to be seen. I prefer to see it as a very good indicator that President Monson's health has sorted itself out for the moment. More on that will be reported here as I learn of it.
As of today, President Nelson has been the Quorum President for just over 18 months, having served for 1 year, 6 months, and 5 days. As some of you may recall, he jumped two spots in terms of his service length just around the celebration of the Christmas season. He will jump several spots again this year. Assuming President Monson lasts throughout 2017, by the end of it, President Nelson will have lived to become the 16th longest serving Quorum President (he now holds the 21st spot.) For those curious about the specifics, he will reach the 20th spot on Friday May 5 (less than four months from now), passing up Brigham Young Jr.'s first tenure. Note that the latest milestone he observed was passing Brigham Young Jr.'s second tenure. The son of our second Church President served two nonconsecutive terms as Quorum President because he served around 6th Church President Joseph F. Smith taking his spot as Quorum President for about a week before his ascension to the Presidency. Young would have been the Acting President for his first tenure, if that practice had been in place at that time.)
President Nelson jumps to the 19th spot less than a month later on Sunday June 4, taking the spot currently held by George Albert Smith. He will become the 18th longest serving Quorum President on Sunday July 9, surpassing Heber J. Grant. He takes the 17th spot, now held by Anthon H. Lund, on Wednesday October 11. And he will reach the #16 spot, which is currently held by Harold B. Lee, on the same day Amy and I will celebrate 7 years of marriage on Monday December 18. As you can see, it will be quite a year in terms of Quorum Presidential milestones.
In the meantime, if President Nelson lives through this entire year, he will jump three spots in terms of his rank as a nonagenarian apostle. He currently ranks as the 10th oldest of our 17 nonagenarians, being 92 years, 3 months, and 30 days old as of today. On Wednesday July 5, he will take the #9 spot now held by Elder L. Tom Perry. Though Elder Richard R. Lyman was excommunicated and lost his apostleship, history still notes him as living long enough to become the 8th oldest nonagenarian apostle. President Nelson will surpass Elder Lyman on Wednesday October 18. About two months later, President Nelson will achieve the distinction of becoming the 7th oldest apostle, taking the spot which is currently held by Charles W. Penrose. President Nelson appears by all reports to be well on track to become the oldest living apostle, which will happen on Monday August 8, 2022. What a banner year it will be for President Nelson!
In the meantime, President Monson, as noted above, seems to be doing better. Time will tell for sure, and I will do my best to keep up on that and report things as they develop. His tenure as prophet, which as of today has lasted 8 years, 11 months, and 5 days, leaves him as the 9th longest serving prophet. In the meantime he is the 7th oldest prophet of this dispensation, as today he is 89 years, 4 months, and 18 days old. His one and only milestone this year is in tenure length. He will become the 8th longest serving Church president, surpassing Wilford Woodruff, on Friday June 30. In the meantime, one age-related milestone will be marked this year for President Monson. He will join the ranks of the 17 other nonagenarian apostles 7 months and 13 days from now, on Monday August 21.
Now, just a word about the apostles overall. The next apostolic birthday takes place later this month when Elder D. Todd Christofferson will celebrate his 72nd. The next one before a three-month break will be that for Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who will turn 66 on February 6.
With that said, what follows are the latest apostolic age averages. As of today, the average age of the members of the First Presidency is 83.05. President Eyring is closest to that average, having reached today the age of 83.61. President Monson is above that average, standing at the age of 89.38 years. And rounding out the First Presidency as its youngest member is President Ucthdorf at 76.17 years.
As of today, the ages of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stand thusly: President Nelson is 92.33. Elder Oaks is 84.41. Elder Ballard, just younger than President Monson, is 88.25. Elder Hales, who is 12 days younger than Elder Oaks, is 84.38. The youngest and most senior of our apostles born in 1940 is Elder Holland, who marked 76.1 years as of today. Elder Bednar, the third youngest apostle, is 64.57. Elder Cook, the oldest of the three apostles born in 1940, is 76.33 years. Elder Christofferson, who as I mentioned, is preparing to mark his 72nd birthday in just 16 days, is 71.96 years old. Elder Andersen stands at 65.42 years. Elder Rasband, whose 66th birthday will be less than 2 weeks (13 days exactly) following Elder Christofferson's 72nd, is now 65.92 years. Elder Stevenson, the youngest of our 15 apostles, is now 61.42 years. And Elder Renlund, our second youngest apostle who is separated in age from Elder Bednar by less than five months, is 64.15 years.
With those ages, we arrive at the fact that the average age for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.6 years, with that average splitting the quorum directly in half, with Jeffrey R. Holland being the youngest of the oldest half and Elder Christofferson being the oldest of the youngest half. In the meantime, the average age of the 15 apostles overall stands, as of today, at 76.29 years. 7 of those 15 are older than that average, and 8 are younger. Those closest to that average include Elder Cook on the older side and President Uchtdorf on the younger side.
Hope this post has been interesting and informative to you all. Thanks for reading and, if you feel so inclined, commenting on this. I hope that I will have the opportunity for many more such updates this year, even though I can't promise all of them will be this extensive. I appreciate you all.
Before I discuss all of that, I do want to note one thing: President Nelson's future milestones as Quorum President are subject to however long President Monson lives and serves as Church President. For the last two or three years, President Monson's health has been iffy, and the report has been that he is feeling the effects of advanced age However, he (President Monson) was reportedly able to summon enough strength to deliver a tribute at Elder Glen L. Rudd's funeral of a considerable and extensive length. Whether he forced himself to be well enough to do so remains to be seen. I prefer to see it as a very good indicator that President Monson's health has sorted itself out for the moment. More on that will be reported here as I learn of it.
As of today, President Nelson has been the Quorum President for just over 18 months, having served for 1 year, 6 months, and 5 days. As some of you may recall, he jumped two spots in terms of his service length just around the celebration of the Christmas season. He will jump several spots again this year. Assuming President Monson lasts throughout 2017, by the end of it, President Nelson will have lived to become the 16th longest serving Quorum President (he now holds the 21st spot.) For those curious about the specifics, he will reach the 20th spot on Friday May 5 (less than four months from now), passing up Brigham Young Jr.'s first tenure. Note that the latest milestone he observed was passing Brigham Young Jr.'s second tenure. The son of our second Church President served two nonconsecutive terms as Quorum President because he served around 6th Church President Joseph F. Smith taking his spot as Quorum President for about a week before his ascension to the Presidency. Young would have been the Acting President for his first tenure, if that practice had been in place at that time.)
President Nelson jumps to the 19th spot less than a month later on Sunday June 4, taking the spot currently held by George Albert Smith. He will become the 18th longest serving Quorum President on Sunday July 9, surpassing Heber J. Grant. He takes the 17th spot, now held by Anthon H. Lund, on Wednesday October 11. And he will reach the #16 spot, which is currently held by Harold B. Lee, on the same day Amy and I will celebrate 7 years of marriage on Monday December 18. As you can see, it will be quite a year in terms of Quorum Presidential milestones.
In the meantime, if President Nelson lives through this entire year, he will jump three spots in terms of his rank as a nonagenarian apostle. He currently ranks as the 10th oldest of our 17 nonagenarians, being 92 years, 3 months, and 30 days old as of today. On Wednesday July 5, he will take the #9 spot now held by Elder L. Tom Perry. Though Elder Richard R. Lyman was excommunicated and lost his apostleship, history still notes him as living long enough to become the 8th oldest nonagenarian apostle. President Nelson will surpass Elder Lyman on Wednesday October 18. About two months later, President Nelson will achieve the distinction of becoming the 7th oldest apostle, taking the spot which is currently held by Charles W. Penrose. President Nelson appears by all reports to be well on track to become the oldest living apostle, which will happen on Monday August 8, 2022. What a banner year it will be for President Nelson!
In the meantime, President Monson, as noted above, seems to be doing better. Time will tell for sure, and I will do my best to keep up on that and report things as they develop. His tenure as prophet, which as of today has lasted 8 years, 11 months, and 5 days, leaves him as the 9th longest serving prophet. In the meantime he is the 7th oldest prophet of this dispensation, as today he is 89 years, 4 months, and 18 days old. His one and only milestone this year is in tenure length. He will become the 8th longest serving Church president, surpassing Wilford Woodruff, on Friday June 30. In the meantime, one age-related milestone will be marked this year for President Monson. He will join the ranks of the 17 other nonagenarian apostles 7 months and 13 days from now, on Monday August 21.
Now, just a word about the apostles overall. The next apostolic birthday takes place later this month when Elder D. Todd Christofferson will celebrate his 72nd. The next one before a three-month break will be that for Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who will turn 66 on February 6.
With that said, what follows are the latest apostolic age averages. As of today, the average age of the members of the First Presidency is 83.05. President Eyring is closest to that average, having reached today the age of 83.61. President Monson is above that average, standing at the age of 89.38 years. And rounding out the First Presidency as its youngest member is President Ucthdorf at 76.17 years.
As of today, the ages of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stand thusly: President Nelson is 92.33. Elder Oaks is 84.41. Elder Ballard, just younger than President Monson, is 88.25. Elder Hales, who is 12 days younger than Elder Oaks, is 84.38. The youngest and most senior of our apostles born in 1940 is Elder Holland, who marked 76.1 years as of today. Elder Bednar, the third youngest apostle, is 64.57. Elder Cook, the oldest of the three apostles born in 1940, is 76.33 years. Elder Christofferson, who as I mentioned, is preparing to mark his 72nd birthday in just 16 days, is 71.96 years old. Elder Andersen stands at 65.42 years. Elder Rasband, whose 66th birthday will be less than 2 weeks (13 days exactly) following Elder Christofferson's 72nd, is now 65.92 years. Elder Stevenson, the youngest of our 15 apostles, is now 61.42 years. And Elder Renlund, our second youngest apostle who is separated in age from Elder Bednar by less than five months, is 64.15 years.
With those ages, we arrive at the fact that the average age for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.6 years, with that average splitting the quorum directly in half, with Jeffrey R. Holland being the youngest of the oldest half and Elder Christofferson being the oldest of the youngest half. In the meantime, the average age of the 15 apostles overall stands, as of today, at 76.29 years. 7 of those 15 are older than that average, and 8 are younger. Those closest to that average include Elder Cook on the older side and President Uchtdorf on the younger side.
Hope this post has been interesting and informative to you all. Thanks for reading and, if you feel so inclined, commenting on this. I hope that I will have the opportunity for many more such updates this year, even though I can't promise all of them will be this extensive. I appreciate you all.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Funeral Services Held Today for Elder Bruce D. Porter
Hello, all! As anticipated, funeral services were held today for
General Authority Seventy Elder Bruce D. Porter. Also as anticipated, the
Deseret News gave a report on that commemoration of his life. But what was not
expected was the difference between the report of the services honoring Elder
Rudd yesterday and the same today for Elder Porter. Rather than listing
specific General Authority attendees, as was done in the article about Elder
Rudd the article about Elder Porter only vaguely made mention of those in
attendance. I am sure those specifics may be added given time, if they become
available, but for now, the article is not clear in that regard.
That being said,
the General Authorities of the Church appear to have been well represented in
terms of the number of them in attendance, even though specific attendees were
not known. President Eyring represented the First Presidency. 75% (9 members)
of the Quorum of the Twelve were also in attendance, as were four members (a
clear majority) of the Presidency of the Seventy and many other unnamed General
Authorities and general officers of the Church.
The most weird
thing about the article reporting the services, in my opinion, was the fact
that the article, written earlier today, was nowhere to be found on the main
LDS Church News website. I only found it by running a search for it. Also, it
is indicated in the article that the article itself was put together as press
time approached and that a more full report would be contained in the next
print edition of the Church News (though it indicated that the full report
would be available instantly on the Church News website). For now, if any of
you would like to read the version to which I am referring, click
here. I will post the more complete report as soon as I am able to find it.
Well, with how
very busy it has been at work today, it's time for me to go home. Depending on
what I might learn in terms of other Church news and developments, I may be
posting again as needed once I get there. Thanks, as always, for your kind
readership and attention. Any and all comments continue to be welcome and
appreciated.
(Added from home
about 75 minutes later) Click
here for the more extensive report I referenced above. Still no
specific list of attendees from the various leadership groups mentioned in the
article. But perhaps the numbers mentioned above are more indicative of Elder
Porter's scope of influence than an actual list of participants would be. Hope
this additional information is helpful to you.
(Still later) We
have yet another source available to us in regard to Elder Porter's funeral
services. This
article from the Mormon Newsroom on lds.org, goes into greater detail
than that which has been provided by the Church News. Still no official list of
participants, but another amazing read nonetheless. Another great report of the
events commemorating the life of this amazing spiritual giant. Stay tuned for
more on all Church news and developments as I hear of them. Thanks again.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Important and Significant Temple Construction Progress Update
Hello. I am posting today for a very exciting reason. When I made my first check of the LDS Church Temples website, I was initially very disappointed to see that no progress has been noted on temples now under construction. But those disappointed feelings faded away very quickly when I looked at the information about announced temples.
Just between the last time I checked the site and now, there has been sufficient reason enough to warrant noting that a groundbreaking announcement is anticipated soon for the Arequipa Peru Temple. That was great to hear.
The one question in my mind, which I am trying to get resolved in the best possible way, is whether the site announcement and groundbreaking ceremony for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple may take place before the groundbreaking in Arequipa. Since it is difficult to tell, I would welcome any thoughts in that direction. For the moment, my line of thinking is that since the Arequipa groundbreaking appears to be more imminent than the unfolding of events in Harare. it is Arequipa that should be listed first. I will change that in the posted report below. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and feelings on this matter. If it comes to a point where I need to change it again, I am more than willing to do that. Just let me know what you think, if you feel inclined to do so.
Here's my updated report:
Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 1/5/17)
Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled
for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled
for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced. NOTE: There is a more than likely possibility for several announced
temples to have a groundbreaking announced during 2017. Two are very close to
that so far this year, and there may be many more before too much longer.
168. Arequipa Peru Temple: Construction preparation phase; awaiting groundbreaking
announcement.
172. Bangkok
Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site
announcement.
Just between the last time I checked the site and now, there has been sufficient reason enough to warrant noting that a groundbreaking announcement is anticipated soon for the Arequipa Peru Temple. That was great to hear.
The one question in my mind, which I am trying to get resolved in the best possible way, is whether the site announcement and groundbreaking ceremony for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple may take place before the groundbreaking in Arequipa. Since it is difficult to tell, I would welcome any thoughts in that direction. For the moment, my line of thinking is that since the Arequipa groundbreaking appears to be more imminent than the unfolding of events in Harare. it is Arequipa that should be listed first. I will change that in the posted report below. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and feelings on this matter. If it comes to a point where I need to change it again, I am more than willing to do that. Just let me know what you think, if you feel inclined to do so.
Here's my updated report:
Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 1/5/17)
Dedication
scheduled:
156. Paris France Temple: Exterior lighting system
operating; interior work underway; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday
May 21, 2017.
Under
Construction:
157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Light fixtures hung;
interior trim underway; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.
158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Fencing progressing;
entrance plaza created; landscaping areas defined; hanging
drywall; completion anticipated sometime during late 2017.
159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Pouring walkways; erecting
fencing; installing art glass windows; hanging drywall; completion
anticipated sometime during late 2017.
160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work
progressing; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
161. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo
Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
162. Concepcion Chile Temple: Attaching building wrap to
exterior walls; adding landscaping structures; completion anticipated
sometime during mid-2018.
163. Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring temple
foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing walls; palm trees planted
along entrance road; completion anticipated sometime during mid-2018.
164. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Pouring walls for
steeple base; completion anticipated sometime between late 2018
and early 2019.
165. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday
December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between late 2018 and
early 2019.
166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Second floor exterior walls
poured; completion
anticipated sometime during 2019.
167. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Excavation underway for
temple and utility building; structural framing going up for
meetinghouse; completion anticipated sometime during 2019.
Scheduled
for rededication:
8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish
work underway; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.
Undergoing
Renovation:
20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation;
rededication anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.
41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some
exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed;
rededication anticipated sometime between early and mid-2018.
Announced:
169. Harare Zimbabwe
Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement
anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place
shortly following the site announcement.
170. Rio de Janeiro
Brazil Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license
issued in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.
171. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval
phase; awaiting official site announcement.
173. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Stalled in planning
and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.
174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting
official site announcement.
Key:
Bolded
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled
dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or
groundbreaking dates.
Italicized
numbers and text denote
temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications
and groundbreakings are scheduled.
Underlined
numbers and text denote temples whose
numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and
groundbreaking.
Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress
report.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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