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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

BREAKING NEWS: Houston Texas Temple Officially Closes for Renovation; Private Rededication to be held next year

Hello, everyone! After a day in which not much new Church news has been released, I happened upon this update indicating that the repairs on the Houston Texas Temple now require some minor renovation work, which, when completed at some point early next year, will be followed by a private rededication, There will not be a need for an open house, cultural celebration, or public rededication because the work is restorative. Just wanted to pass that information along. Any 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.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

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.

Monday, October 23, 2017

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.