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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Thursday, November 9, 2017
BREAKING NEWS: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Will Preside Over Dedicatory Services for the Meridian idaho Temple
Hello again, everyone! I am posting with breaking news that answers the question I posed in a blog post about a week or so ago: Who will be presiding at the Meridian Idaho Temple dedication? According to this article, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, will do so. I fully anticipate that Elder David A. Bednar, who was called to the apostleship at the same time as President Uchtdorf, will be in attendance. Just wanted to pass that information along. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray the Lord will bless you individually in everything 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.
Updated Estimates For Future Temple-related Events Anticipated Between Now and 2020
Hello again, everyone! I am posting in the early hours of November 9 to share updated estimates for future temple-related events that I put together in view of additional study on my part about climate and temperature of different parts of the world within the general time-frames that are anticipated for such events. I look forward to discussing your thoughts on these changes. Those altered estimates follow. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, 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 that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Revised time-frame for future temple-related events:
Sunday November 19, 2017: Dedication of the Meridian
Idaho Temple (158th operating temple; already confirmed)
Sunday December 10, 2017: Dedication of the Cedar City
Utah Temple (159th operating temple; already confirmed)
2018:
January: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Renovation Closure
(already confirmed; exact date may not be as set in stone as I once believed)
February: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Renovation Closure
(already confirmed; exact date may not be as set in stone as I once believed)
Sunday March 4: Washington DC Temple Renovation Closure
(already confirmed)
April or May: Full-scale construction anticipated to
begin on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple
May: Mesa Arizona Temple Renovation Closure (already
confirmed; exact date not yet released)
Sunday May 20: Jordan River Utah Temple Rededication
(already confirmed)
Sunday August 5 or 12: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication
Sunday August 19 or 26: Kinshasa DR Congo Temple
Dedication (160th operating temple)
Sunday September 16 or 23: Concepcion Chile Temple
Dedication (161st operating temple)
Sunday November 11 or 18: Barranquilla Colombia Temple
Dedication (162nd operating temple)
2019:
Mid-April: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late April: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (163rd
operating temple)
Early-to-mid May: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple
Rededication
Mid-May: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication
Late May-early June: Durban South Africa Temple
Dedication (164th operating temple)
Mid-June: Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple Dedication (165th
operating temple)
Early-to-mid August: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication
(166th operating temple)
Mid-to-late August: Rio de Janeiro Temple Dedication (167th
operating temple)
Mid-September: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication
Mid-October: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late October: Lisbon Portugal Temple Dedication
(168th operating temple)
Mid-November: Arequipa Peru Temple Dedication (169th
operating temple)
Mid-December: Oakland California Temple Rededication
NOTE: The Church indicated when announcing the renovation
of this temple that it would reopen in 2019. That said, it is an older temple,
and as such, may take longer than anticipated. I could see it being rededicated
in 2020, if the process is delayed for any reason.
2020:
Mid-to-late April: Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Dedication
(170th operating temple)
Mid-May: Tokyo Japan Temple Rededication
Early-to-mid September: Mesa Arizona Temple Rededication
Mid-November: Washington DC Temple Rededication
NOTE: If, as I expect, almost all of the temples that are
currently announced have a groundbreaking in either 2018 or 2019, then it is more
likely than not that many of them could be dedicated during 2020. For now, the
only events that are anticipated to happen in 2020 are listed here. As the next
two years unfold, I will be adding future events to this list.
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, November 8, 2017
Revisiting my thoughts yet again about the potential timeline for future temple-related events
Hello again, everyone! I know I have posted quite a bit today, but I wanted to post again now and let you all know that I have recently heard from a wide variety of sources that I may need to rethink things yet again in terms of the potential timeline for temple-related events within the next three years or so. That is an ongoing and evolving process. It appears that there are so many more factors to consider in that regard than just climate and temperature. Back to the drawing board I go about all of that. It will be interesting to see how my ongoing study about such things will change these estimates. Just wanted to pass that along. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything 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.
April 2018 General Conference Preliminary Predictions Part 1: Speaking Order and Possible Changes in General Church Leadership
Hello again, everyone! Not long after General Conference ended last month, as I always do, I immediately began preparing my preliminary predictions for General Conference next April. As I have previously mentioned, while I continue to work on and invite feedback about the series of posts I am doing about potential future temple locations, which will be one part of those predictions, and while I am waiting more towards the end of this year to prepare my predictions for what the year-end statistical report might look like, I thought I would post here and now with what I have assembled in terms of the potential speaking order and potential changes in general Church leadership. Those predictions follow below. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
April 2018 General Conference Predictions
Preliminary note on these predictions: On October 27,
2017, the First Presidency announced that the Women’s and Priesthood Sessions
of General Conference would both be held annually, with the Priesthood Session every
April, and the Women’s Session every October, with both to be held two hours
following the Saturday Afternoon Session. As I have previously stated, my
predictions in recent years have averaged between 60-80% in their accuracy
because I have been able to notice patterns of the past and have used those to
predict what may happen for the future. The new policy will result in new
patterns, which I hope to have figured out by April 2019. That said, the only
thing that might be different during this conference is that President Eyring
will be giving one less talk than he has in recent April General Conference
sessions. Other than that, I don’t anticipate much deviation from previous
conferences.
Speaking Order (Text in brackets indicated what actually
happened.)
Session
|
Conducting
|
Speaker
|
Saturday Morning
|
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
|
President Henry B. Eyring
|
|
|
Bishop Dean M.
Davies
|
|
|
Christina B.
Franco
|
|
|
Elder David A.
Bednar
|
|
|
Elder Massimo
De Feo
|
|
|
Elder Larry Y.
Wilson
|
|
|
Elder Ronald A.
Rasband
|
Saturday
Afternoon
|
President Henry
B. Eyring
|
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
(Sustaining of
Church Officers)_
|
|
Church Auditing
Department Report, 2017
|
Kevin R.
Jergensen
|
|
Statistical
Report, 2017
|
Brook P. Hales
|
|
|
Elder Dale G.
Renlund
|
|
|
Elder D. Todd Christofferson
|
|
|
Devin G.
Durrant
|
|
|
Elder Taniela
B. Wakolo
|
|
|
Elder Dallin H.
Oaks
|
|
|
Elder M.
Russell Ballard
|
Saturday
Priesthood
|
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
|
Elder Gary E.
Stevenson
|
|
|
Douglas D.
Holmes
|
|
|
Elder Gerrit W.
Gong
|
|
|
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
|
|
|
President Henry
B. Eyring
|
Sunday Morning
|
President Henry
B. Eyring
|
New apostle
|
|
|
Elder Patrick Kearon
|
|
|
Neill F.
Marriott
|
|
|
Elder Neil L.
Andersen
|
|
|
Elder Brian K.
Taylor
|
|
|
Elder Paul B.
Pieper
|
|
|
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
|
Sunday Afternoon
|
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
|
President
Russell M. Nelson
|
|
|
Elder Larry
Echo Hawk
|
|
|
Elder Taylor G.
Godoy
|
|
|
Elder Jeffrey
R. Holland
|
|
|
Elder Walter F.
Gonzalez
|
|
|
Elder Anthony
D. Perkins
|
|
|
Elder Quentin
L. Cook
|
Predictions for Changes in Church Leadership
Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles: New apostle and Quorum member sustained to fill the vacancy
created by the October 1, 2017 death of Elder Robert D. Hales.
Note about this
apostolic vacancy: The newest apostle could be any worthy man in the Church, whether
or not he is known to Church membership (including any currently serving
General Authority, Area Seventy, member of the Sunday School or Young Men
General Presidencies, or the Church at large). That said, the last time a new
apostle did not come from among those currently serving General Authorities
occurred with the 2004 sustaining of Elder David A. Bednar, who was then
serving as both an area seventy and as president of BYU-Idaho at the time of
his call. So it is more likely that someone from the general leadership of
the Church will be called. Of those five apostles called during President
Monson’s Church presidency, three were called from the Presidency of the
Seventy (one of whom was the second most senior member, and the other two who
were the Senior President of the Seventy), one was the Presiding Bishop of
the Church (who had also served as a General Authority Seventy prior to his
call as Presiding Bishop), and one was a General Authority Seventy.
Note about the
timing of the announcement: While I would not be surprised at all if we do
not find out who will be filling the apostolic vacancy until the Sustaining
of Church Officers during the Saturday Afternoon Session, at the same time, I
could also see President Monson authorizing President Eyring to lead the
sustaining of the new apostle during his Saturday Morning address.
Result: Elder
(name of new apostle goes here) was called and sustained to the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles.
|
Presidency of
the Seventy: If the new apostle is any of these men, he will be released and
a new member will be sustained.
Result:
|
General
Authority Seventies: If the new apostle comes from among these men, he will
be released. As is typical for the April General Conference, new General
Authorities will be sustained from the Area Seventies or the Church at large
(including any current mission or temple president).
Result:
|
Presiding
Bishopric: If the new apostle is any of these three men, there will be
changes to this group.
Result:
|
Area Seventies:
Releases and sustainings, especially if the new apostle comes from among
these men.
NOTE: The last
area seventy called as an apostle was Elder David A. Bednar in 2004. It is
possible that the Church could look to one of the current area seventies to
fill this vacancy. It is also common to see the bulk of releases and
sustainings happen in April, when President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, leads out in
the sustaining, rather than in October, when President Eyring does so. Last
October was the exception to this, so anything is possible.
Result:
|
Young Women
General Presidency: Sisters Bonnie L. Oscarson, Carol F. McConkie, and Neill
F. Marriott released; new Young Women General Presidency sustained, whether
or not either of the current counselors are retained in the new presidency;
new presidency members may also come from among the outgoing members of the
general board, or the new president could be one of the counselors in the
Primary or Relief Society General Presidency. If that happens, changes in the
affected presidency will also need to be sustained.
Note: The
current presidency has served since 2013, meaning that they have reached the
standard 5 years of service that have been typical for general presidencies
in recent years. It is therefore more than likely that the current presidency
will be released. And the last time any member of an outgoing presidency were
retained in the new one was in 2007, so it could very easily happen again. It
has also been common for one or more members of the outgoing Young Women
General Board to become part of the new presidency. So the Church has options
there.
Result:
|
Sunday School
General Presidency: Possible changes made, if new apostle comes from this
presidency.
Result:
|
Young Men
General Presidency: Possible changes made, if new apostle comes from this
presidency.
Result:
|
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.
Clarifying the intent of my responses to comments on this blog
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again at this time, as the title of this post says, to clarify the intent of my responses to comments on this blog. I always value feedback from others. When I hear comments and thoughts from other people about things that I have "sounded off" about, I have, more often than not, posted personal replies to each of those comments. I am concerned that some might have felt my doing so is meant to end the chance for discussion of such topics.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I am happy to welcome any and all comments from anyone on any post at any time any of you do want to comment. I know some people who blog regularly that have, to a certain degree, let their comment boards run themselves, only responding if and when questions are directed to them personally. And I respect that as their right. But in my case, my intention in responding to each comment that, in my opinion, deserves a reply, as I have done up to now (and will continue to do, if that's okay with all of you), is to acknowledge the merits (and when needed, correction and clarification) in the comments each of you make, and I hope that by doing so, each one of you to whom I do respond will understand clearly how much I value all comments on this blog.
Rather than ending the conversation, I hope that such replies will provide more of an opportunity for the discussion to continue in an orderly manner, and will be a clear indicator of how much I appreciate all of you who do comment. That has always been my only intent for commenting as extensively as I have here on my own blog. I hope any I may have offended by so doing will forgive me. In the meantime, I also hope that the conversations on here, to whatever extent my personal replies may be involved, will continue to be inspiring for all who follow them. I have been humbled to my very core to realize how many regular readers I have gained, and to see how readership of this blog has expanded to various parts of the world. The fact that my thoughts, as imperfect as I myself am, are of interest to so many means everything in the world to me.
That seems like a good note to end on. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless each one of you in all that you do.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I am happy to welcome any and all comments from anyone on any post at any time any of you do want to comment. I know some people who blog regularly that have, to a certain degree, let their comment boards run themselves, only responding if and when questions are directed to them personally. And I respect that as their right. But in my case, my intention in responding to each comment that, in my opinion, deserves a reply, as I have done up to now (and will continue to do, if that's okay with all of you), is to acknowledge the merits (and when needed, correction and clarification) in the comments each of you make, and I hope that by doing so, each one of you to whom I do respond will understand clearly how much I value all comments on this blog.
Rather than ending the conversation, I hope that such replies will provide more of an opportunity for the discussion to continue in an orderly manner, and will be a clear indicator of how much I appreciate all of you who do comment. That has always been my only intent for commenting as extensively as I have here on my own blog. I hope any I may have offended by so doing will forgive me. In the meantime, I also hope that the conversations on here, to whatever extent my personal replies may be involved, will continue to be inspiring for all who follow them. I have been humbled to my very core to realize how many regular readers I have gained, and to see how readership of this blog has expanded to various parts of the world. The fact that my thoughts, as imperfect as I myself am, are of interest to so many means everything in the world to me.
That seems like a good note to end on. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless each one of 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.
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