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, October 27, 2017
Church releases October 2017 General Authorities Chart
Hello again, everyone! Among other big news of the day, I wanted to report that the Church has released the October 2017 General Authorities Chart. As expected, with the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the first six members of that Quorum (ranging from those called in the time of President Kimball to those called during President Hinckley's administration) are on the top row, with the 5 called during President Monson's tenure below. You can find that chart here; it will also be available in a smaller format in the November 2017 Ensign. As always, 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.
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.
Cedar City Utah Temple Open House Begins; Asuncion Paraguay Temple closes for renovation on Sunday
Hello, everyone! In keeping with my new tradition of reporting minor updates in temple construction progress, I am pleased to report that open house tours for the Cedar City Utah Temple officially began today. Additionally, as already noted, on Sunday, the Asuncion Paraguay Temple is scheduled to close for renovation. And, as I noted in my last post, if the design being used for the Memphis and Oklahoma City renovations is intended to be the new standard, then we know what the Asuncion Paraguay Temple will look like once renovated. Just wanted to pass that information along. Except for those things, there is no new progress to report. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time, and until my next post, I wish each of you all the best.
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.
A New Look for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple
Hello again, everyone! While I have no desire to take the focus away from the General Conference announcement, I wanted to let you all know that I discovered more yesterday about what is anticipated to change for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple. It is getting a new look. And what will it be? Many of you may remember the post I did earlier on this blog about the renovation process for the Memphis Tennessee Temple. It appears (unless I misunderstood what I was seeing) that the design for the Memphis renovation is identical to the new design for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple. This appears to be a standard design for temples built in a similar era. So I anticipate that this may be the new look of the other more recently-dedicated temples that are closing for renovation. If I find information that indicates anything else, you can be sure I will pass that along, as I always do.
That does it for this post. 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.
That does it for this post. 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.
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.
Church Announces Changes to General Conference
Hello, everyone! Big news from the Church today. There are major changes coming to General Conference starting in April. The priesthood and women's sessions will now be held annually, with a priesthood session every April, and a women's session in October, both to be held at 6:00 pm MT on general conference Saturday. It is anticipated that this will help streamline these meetings, and that will eliminate the need to have any sessions the week before General Conference weekend every six months. It will be amazing to see how all of that comes together. I will also have to figure out how this might change my semiannual predictions. It will be interesting to see this process unfold. For more details, click here. 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.
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, October 26, 2017
Temple Progress Reported
Hello, everyone! I am posting today with an update on temple construction progress that has been reported by a few sources available to me. So, let's get right into what these changes are and how that might affect the sequence of temple-related events for the next year or so.
First, when posting a few days ago, I had noted that the lack of progress on the Rome Italy Temple would likely result in the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which has progressed more consistently, being dedicated first. That opinion has now been verified. I for one hope that Rome will be dedicated before the end of 2018, but could see the Church pushing that dedication back to early 2019.
Until more is known, I think we will see the Concepcion Chile Temple dedicated in mid-August, with the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple following in mid-September, the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple in mid-to-late October (following General Conference), the dedication of the Barranquilla Temple in mid-November, and the Rome dedication in December to round out the year.
Additionally today, progress was noted on the Lisbon Portugal Temple, where the upper walls of the temple are now being poured. And finally, the private rededication that will take place for the Houston Texas Temple may happen closer to the middle of next year than the early part. As with every temple-related development, I am keeping an eye out for news to the best of my ability, and will be sure to post any updates as I become aware of them.
That does it for this update. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best and pray the Lord's blessings upon you in all that you do.
First, when posting a few days ago, I had noted that the lack of progress on the Rome Italy Temple would likely result in the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which has progressed more consistently, being dedicated first. That opinion has now been verified. I for one hope that Rome will be dedicated before the end of 2018, but could see the Church pushing that dedication back to early 2019.
Until more is known, I think we will see the Concepcion Chile Temple dedicated in mid-August, with the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple following in mid-September, the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple in mid-to-late October (following General Conference), the dedication of the Barranquilla Temple in mid-November, and the Rome dedication in December to round out the year.
Additionally today, progress was noted on the Lisbon Portugal Temple, where the upper walls of the temple are now being poured. And finally, the private rededication that will take place for the Houston Texas Temple may happen closer to the middle of next year than the early part. As with every temple-related development, I am keeping an eye out for news to the best of my ability, and will be sure to post any updates as I become aware of them.
That does it for this update. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Until my next post, I wish each of you all the best and pray the Lord's blessings upon you in all that you do.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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..
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.
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.
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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