Three Important Items from Mormon Newsroom

Hello again, everyone! Mormon Newsroom has published a few significant news stories in the last several days that are worth a mention. In this article, a California congregation describes their experience of sharing their Church building for a year with a local Jewish congregation, which culminated in a Shabbat Service in which people from both faiths were in attendance. I appreciate very much how the Church is cultivating relationships with friends of other faiths in various ways.

In the meantime, Elder David A. Bednar, who is the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assigned to oversee the Africa West Area, traveled to Ghana to dedicate the brand new Missionary Training Center. You can read more about that here.

And finally, from the Newsroom Blog, we have this story detailing how Sister Carol F. McConkie of the Young Women General Presidency and Sister Sharon Eubank, who is both the director of LDS Charities and the First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, met with the First Lady of Peru regarding her desire to thank the Church for the Mormon Helping Hands that helped with local projects. They also presented the First lady with a framed copy of The Living Christ in Spanish.

That does it for this Church news update. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best.

Significant Development Reported on Construction of the Durban South Africa Temple

Hello, everyone! Earlier today, I heard of significant developments for the Durban South Africa Temple, and this is the first chance I have had to post about it. For anyone following along, the previously detailed status of that temple has now been replaced with the note that roof trusses are being set for that temple.

That said, there are still some questions to settle in terms of the potential sequence of temple-related events, and I am working on that side of things as speedily as I can. I hope to post a concrete result of that study ASAP. Until that time, any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best.

Blog Report: How My Projected Version of the November 2017 Ensign Table of Contents Compared with the Actual Result

Hello again, everyone! Now that the PDF version of the November 2017 Ensign is available for all to see, I thought I would post about how the projected table of contents I put together compares to the actual thing. I hope this information may prove interesting to at least some of you. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best.

Possible Table of Contents for the November 2017 Ensign (Parentheses indicate actual page numbers and content.)

Session	Page	Title	Speaker
	2	Conference Summary for the 187th Semiannual General Conference
	3	Indexes
	4	Highlights from the 186th Semiannual General Conference
GW	8 (6)	Turn On Your Light	Sharon Eubank
	11 (10)	Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach	Neill F. Marriott
	14 (13)	Value beyond Measure	Joy D. Jones
	17 (16)	Three Sisters	President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
SAM	22 (21)	A Yearning for Home	President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
	26 (25)	The Needs before Us	Bonnie L. Oscarson
	28	The Plan and the Proclamation	Elder Dallin H. Oaks
	32	“I Have a Work for Thee”	Elder John C. Pingree Jr.
	35 (36)	The Living Bread Which Came Down from Heaven	Elder D. Todd Christofferson
	39 (40)	Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
SAA	43	The Sustaining of Church Officers	President Henry B. Eyring
	45 (44)	Spiritual Eclipse	Elder Gary E. Stevenson
	49 (48)	Repentance Is Always Positive	Stephen W. Owen
	52 (51)	The Eternal Everyday	Elder Quentin L. Cook
	56 (55)	By Divine Design	Elder Ronald A. Rasband
	60 (58)	The Heart of the Widow	Elder O. Vincent Haleck
	62 (60)	The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life be Like Without It?	President Russell M. Nelson
SPH	67 (64)	The Priesthood and the Savior’s Atoning Power	Elder Dale G. Renlund
	70 (68)	The Truth of All Things	Elder David F. Evans
	77 (75)	Earning the Trust of the Lord and Your Family	Elder Richard J. Maynes
	79 (78)	Bearers of Heavenly Light	President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
	82 (81)	The Lord Leads His Church	President Henry B. Eyring
SUM	85	That Your Joy Might Be Full	Jean B. Bingham
	87 (88)	Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?	Elder Donald L. Hallstrom
	90	Exceeding Great & Precious Promises	Elder David A. Bednar
	94	Turn to the Lord	Bishop W. Christopher Waddell
	97	Lord, Wilt Thou Cause That My Eyes May Be Opened	Elder W. Craig Zwick
	100	Fear Not To Do Good	President Henry B. Eyring
SUA	104	The Trek Continues!	Elder M. Russell Ballard
	107	God’s Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon	Tad R. Callister
	109 (110)	Apart, but Still One	Elder Joni L. Koch
	111 (112)	Do We Trust Him? Hard Is Good	Elder Stanley G. Ellis
	114 (115)	Essential Truths—Our Need to Act	Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella
	116 (117)	Seek Ye Out of the Best Books	Elder Ian S. Ardern
	118 (119)	Love One Another as He Has Loved Us	Elder Jose L. Alonso
	121 (122)	The Voice of the Lord	Elder Neil L. Andersen
	72	General Authorities and General Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
	125 (127)	Conference Story Index
	126	In Memoriam: Elder Robert D. Hales	[Not included in this Ensign; such a tribute will be included as a supplemental publication accompanying the Ensign]
	130	They Spoke To Us: Making General Conference Part of Our Lives	[Not included in this Ensign]
	132 [126]	News of the Church 132: Report of General Conference [Not included in this Ensign] 133 [126]: Juan A. Uceda/Patrick Kearon 134 [127-136]: Other Church News (Temple Updates, etc.)	[Help in Times of Trouble; Three Temples Dedicated; Prophets, Apostles Minister Worldwide; Resources for the Hearing Impaired; New Scripture Translations; Missionary Training Centers; Sister Bingham at the United Nations]
	137	Come Follow Me—For Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society (Introduction to and Instructions for New Curriculum)	[A New Direction for Sunday Meetings; Come Follow Me—For Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society; What Is Different; First Sunday Council Meetings; Second and Third Sunday Meetings; Fourth Sunday Meetings]
	144	Last page of General Conference Ensign

NOTE: When putting this together originally, I had forgotten that the Church would be including a supplement to the Ensign to honor the life of Elder Robert D. Hales. The days when mentions of apostolic deaths are made in the regular magazines are passed. Just wanted to note that..             

Additional Temple Update: Progress noted in Lisbon Portugal

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to report a development that came to my attention recently. Progress was noted on the Lisbon Portugal Temple. With the main floor poured, pouring is underway for the second floor of that temple. In the meantime, meetinghouse cladding continues. What an amazing time we live in, where reported progress on temples can even occur in a matter of hours. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to note such updates here. Any comments on this are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best.

Pictures and Videos Released by the Church for Meridian Idaho and Cedar City Utah Temples

Hello, everyone! For those of us who are not within a reasonable driving distance from both the Meridian Idaho and Cedar City Utah Temples, the Church has allowed us to vicariously be part of that experience through sharing video and pictures of what both temples look like on the interior and exterior. Click here for that information on Meridian, and here for the information on Cedar City. Enjoy! Comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all in all that you do.

More Temple News

Hello again, everyone! Hope you are all well today. I wanted to pass on some temple news that, to me, is significant. I hope that many of you may find this information interesting. Let's dive right in to that subject.

First of all, while open house tours continue for the Meridian Idaho Temple, the Cedar City Utah Temple, where open house tours will begin this Friday, is currently having media and VIP tours. That was great to find out about.

Secondly, there has been a change in the sconstruction status of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple. It has now been noted that the cladding for the tower is being added, and that the shingling is being completed for the housing facility. Based on that new information, and on the fact that the Rome Italy temple has not progressed in a while, I am wondering how likely it is that Barranquilla could be the last temple dedicated next year, while Rome is pushed back into 2019. We know that Rome has experienced delays during its lengthy construction period. It is interesting to think about. Please let me know your thoughts on that.

Aside from that, and noting that the Church's main site for the Asuncion Paraguay Temple still does not mention its closure, which was originally anticipated to happen this upcoming Sunday, there have not been any other developments of any kind in terms of temple news.

That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all in all that you do.

Two Major Temple Developments To Report

Hello, everyone! I found out a couple of days ago that the name  of the street on which the Boston Massachusetts Temple sits has been changed to Hinckley Way, no doubt to honor the legacy of the prophet who built the temple there. As one who grew up witnessing first-hand the temple-building plan he put into place, I can say without fear of contradiction that this is an honor long overdue, and I am glad to see it happen.

Additionally, I failed to mention that the open house for the Meridian Idaho Temple is now underway, Elder Quentin L. Cook, who, as I may have mentioned, has some kind of role on the Church's Temple and Family History Council, was on hand to conduct VIP and media tours in the days prior to the temple opening to the public, and the first day of those public tours was yesterday. Those tours, which will not run on Sundays, will continue until a week before the cultural celebration (Saturday November 11).

Aside from these developments, there is no additional temple-related news to report at this time. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best and pray the Lord's blessings upon you all.

Miscellaneous Church News

Hello, everyone! With my concentrated efforts in the last few days on monitoring temple-related news, and with everything that has been going on for me personally, there were a few Church news items well worthy of a mention on this blog that I haven't focused on. I will do so now.

First, and most significantly, changes are coming to the visiting teaching program in which all women 18 years of age and older participate. This article describes what those changes are, and why they are being implemented. It seems that the Church is gradually shifting its focus to teaching by the Spirit for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or calling. And that is something with which I, and hopefully all other Church members, can easily get on board.

This article describes the modern-day application for President Kimball's directive phrase: "Every member a missionary." That article meant a lot to me, because I was one who did not wear a missionary badge or even serve my mission full-time. And that idea that every member can be a missionary is much of what drives me now to focus so much on Church-related news and information. In that way, I hope I am fulfilling that directive, which was given years before I was born.

This article, from a man who felt his deceased mother's presence at a temple wedding, rang true to me as well. By the time my future wife and I had been friends for a year, her mother had passed away several months prior. So when we started dating, she wasn't around at all, except in spirit. As our relationship blossomed, we both expressed the hope that we would feel her mother's presence during our wedding ceremony. And we did. We have also felt her with us at various times and in various places. If there is one thing I have learned from that, it is that the veil is truly very thin, for which I am fervently grateful.

LDS Business College marked the inauguration of its 13th president, Bruce C. Kusch this last week as well. This article describes who was going to be in attendance (which likely became who was actually there). That was good to read about.

BYU-Idaho is preparing for its annual Sacred Hymns Festival, and has issued a call for texts of such hymns. You can find the details on that here.

The Church News also published articles about the numerous Area Seventies who were released, and introducing the one new Area Seventy who was sustained during General Conference earlier this month. But as that information can currently be found in the General Conference Ensign.

That does it for this brief update. Any comments are always welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all in all that you do.

Updated time-frames for future temple-related events.

Hello again, everyone! Because of the changes noted yesterday on the completion time-frames for several temples, I thought I would post briefly to share the changes I have made to the rededication and dedication estimates. As always, any and all comments are welcome and appreciated. 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 all that you do.

2018 Dedications and Rededications
May 20: Jordan River Utah Temple Rededication (official date announced by the Church)
August 12 or 19: Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication (158th operating temple)
September 9 or 16: Kinshasa DR Conge Temple Dedication (159th operating temple)
October 21or 28: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication
November 11 or 18: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (160th operating temple)
December 9 or 16: Barranquila Colombia Temple Dedication (161st operating temple)

2019 Dedications and Rededications
Early-to-mid May: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late May: Durban South Africa Temple Dedication (162nd operating temple)
Early-to-mid June: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Rededication
Early-to-mid August: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late August: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication (163rd operating temple)
Early-to-mid September: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late September: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Rededication:
Mid-to-late October: Rio de Janeiro Temple Dedication (164th operating temple)
Mid-to-late November: Lisbon Portugal Temple Dedication (165th operating temple)
Mid-December: Oakland California Temple Rededication
:

Church Announces Upcoming Changes in Missionary Efforts Worldwide/Missions will be streamlined and consolidated

Hello, everyone! I am sure by now you have all heard the news, but I still feel it is worthy of a blog post. Church leaders today announced changes that will affect the efforts and labors of missionaries worldwide. These changes were alluded to by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in his opening address at the Seminar for New Mission Presidents. As some of you may remember my mentioning when I first posted about that address, Elder Oaks is the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles serving on the Missionary Executive Council.

While these changes were not specifically spelled out at that time, it appears that the Church's plan in this regard consists of three parts: issuing a list of standard questions (along with a cover letter signed by the First Presidency) detailing specific interview questions prospective missionaries will answer in interviews; the tablets many missionaries now use will be replaced with smart phones, and the Church will also, over time (the extent of which has not yet been specified) be consolidating missions. In the meantime, the Church is also expanding the outreach of missionaries by enabling them to use social media to find and communicate with people who are genuinely interested in the Church and to answer any questions they might have.

As most of you are aware, the original result of the missionary age change was an upsurge of missionaries, from around 58,000 to 88,000. According to recent reports, there are around 70,000 missionaries, not as high as it was when the age change was announced, but still considerably higher than it was prior to the age change.

With this announcement, it is clear that the Church is determined to move missionary efforts into the 21st century. These changes will also deal with the concerns our missionaries have expressed as a result of the survey the Church had them do. The intent is to allow greater numbers of missionaries in each mission, which in turn provides an opportunity for modern-day technology to play its proper role in advancing the gospel. And what this will do is allow the missionaries who have access to technology to teach those who are genuinely interested in the Church: the focus can then be more about reaching those with a genuine interest in the Church, rather than trying to find such people through door-to-door tracting.

And all of these changes make sense. We have been in the 21st century for the last 17 years. The Church has long evaluated how to enable missionaries to be effective in their ministry, and these changes will allow that to happen in much greater abundance than ever before,

Sorry for the long post. But this is wonderful news that is well worth the amount of detail given. It will be interesting to see what happens in missionary efforts worldwide as a result. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and may the Lord bless you all in all that you do.