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Sunday, February 11, 2018

Church News Update

Hello again, everyone! After taking a couple of days to get some personal challenges handled, I wanted to post again now to pass along some Church News stories which have touched and impacted me. So let's get right into that.

First of all, continuing the series of articles on the new Church leadership announced almost a month ago, the Church News published this one to familiarize all of us with President M. Russell Ballard, who has been Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for just under a month now, and who, as noted late last week, will preside at the first temple-related event of President Nelson's administration (the private rededication of the Houston Texas Temple on Sunday April 22).

President Ballard, as some of you may know, was the final apostle called during President Spencer W. Kimball's prophetic administration, and his call came a year and a half after that of Presidents Nelson and Oaks (although, as noted, President Oaks had to wait just under a month to be ordained an apostle in view of his judicial obligations.)

It is interesting to me that the three most senior apostles all hold the title of "President" now, which we have not seen since late 2007, when Presidents Hinckley, Monson, and Packer filled identical roles as the three senior apostles now. In that previous case, the ordinations of the three were far more separated than those of Presidents Nelson, Oaks and Ballard. But since these newest three "senior apostles" have served side-by-side for so long, they are not only well-known to the Church, but will continue to work together to move it forward in their new roles and responsibilities.

That said, we now move on to the next bit of news. Some of you may be familiar with Jon M. Huntsman and his family, who are well-known in the Church in general and here in Utah in particular. He was a billionaire who more importantly had the heart of and acted foremost as a philanthropist. Amidst founding other organizations (including Huntsman Chemical Corporation, for which Elder Rasband worked professionally prior to his call to full-time Church service), he is perhaps best known for founding the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which he did with a view to eradicating cancer.

Though I had no idea it would be so at the time, the founding of that Cancer Institute wound up impacting me in a couple of ways. First, as I have previously noted, my pediatric neurosurgeon referred me to the neurologist I currently see, who also works for the University of Utah and for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Second, if my memory serves me correctly, when a dear family friend was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually took her life, she spent some of her final days at the Huntsman Institute, where they ensured she was comfortable and well cared for.

So I found it more than fitting that when Jon M. Huntsman, who has the longest recorded tenure as an Area Seventy for the Church, passed away, his funeral was naturally attended by many Church leaders.

In addition to tributes from all but 2 of his children (one of whom preceded him in death and the other of whom is serving as a mission president), there were also addresses given by Presidents Nelson and Ballard.

Elders Uchtdorf and Rasband, at the family's request, gave the invocation and benediction respectively. The interesting thing to me about Brother Huntsman is that he married the daughter of Elder David B. Haight, and one of his daughters married a son of President Ballard.

So Brother Huntsman is well connected to the top leadership of the Church, and that was reflected in the fact that Elder Stevenson was also in attendance, in addition to many other general and auxiliary leaders.You can find more information on this noble servant of the Lord with a heart for humanity in this article.

Moving on to news stories that I hope to get through more quickly, this article covers auxiliary leaders who were invited to address women of various faiths in Wales, and this one describes how a Mormon Helping Hands Center was set up in Pyeongchang South Korea for use by athletes and people of all faiths who need it during the Olympics (which will likely be repurposed after the Olympics), this one shares enrollment numbers at BYU-Idaho which indicate that men outnumber women there, this one which focuses on new mission presidents called to serve in Nigeria and in my current city of residence, Orem Utah, and this one covering the Church's yearly musical production which pays tribute to the cultures and family histories of those born in Latin America.

And, rounding out this Church news update are this article, in which the Young Men General Presidency describes what led up to and what is hoped for in the recently-announced policy that priest-aged young men will now be able to baptize and serve as witnesses for baptisms for the dead, and this report of a guest lecture at BYU, wherein the presenter described ten simple ways in which Church leaders and members could create a sense of belonging for children and adults with disabilities.

In reference to that last article, I wanted to personally note (since I have dealt with lifelong disabilities) that I was blessed to grow up in wards where those disabilities were not seen as a reason to exclude me, and where inspired leaders instead regularly touched bases with both my parents and myself to determine how best to meet my needs, and how they could work around my situation. In short, these inspired leaders were following the principles mentioned by this guest lecturer long before they were being emphasized so strongly, and I am most grateful for that.

I apologize for the long post. There was a lot to cover. That does it for now. Any and all 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.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Musings on the Progress of the Arequipa Peru Temple & Potential New Temples

Hello again, everyone! Yesterday, I passed along (among other things) an update on the Arequipa Peru Temple. I wanted to post a brief note to share something I did not notice until today. It would appear that with exterior work nearing its' completion for that temple, attention will turn to the temple's interior work. I also heard in passing that this temple may be slightly ahead of schedule, and depending on the degree to which that may be true, I might have to rethink yet again those estimates I have offered for anticipated temple-related events.

It continues to amaze me how temple progress has evolved, even at times on a day-to-day basis. I will be keeping my eyes open for any and all related temple information and pass those updates along as I become aware of them. In the meantime, I continue to work on my list of potential temple locations in preparation for General Conference.

In that regard, it has been a while since we have seen a new Church President announce new temples in his first General Conference. As some of you may recall, the first temples announced during President Monson's administration came between late April and late May 2008, and the first three locations were all in Arizona.

So it would be understandable if President Nelson opted to not announce any new temples until either sometime after General Conference or until his second General Conference as Church president.

With that said, I don't anticipate that occurring for President Nelson. Both Presidents Nelson and Monson acted fairly quickly (in President Monson's case, prior to his ordination as Church President) to announce the first temple news of their administrations. Many of you may recall my mentioning that the Rexburg Idaho Temple was originally scheduled to be dedicated on February 3, which was postponed one week in view of President Hinckley's passing, making the Rexburg dedication the first over which President Monson presided.

And while no temple event had to be shifted in view of this year's reorganization of the First Presidency, it is interesting to note that this new First Presidency acted right away in making major announcements related to temples, including the closure of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple (which was likely in the works prior to President Monson's death), the closure of temple visitor's centers in conjunction with their nearby temples, and, just yesterday, the rededication announcement for the Houston Texas Temple, it very much seems as though the first temple announcements during President Nelson's administration are likely to occur at his first general conference.

This is especially true when we consider that President Monson was 85 days into his presidency when he made the first temple announcements of his administration. Based on the volume of temple news that  we have seen released by the Church since President Nelson became the Church President on January 14 of this year, it wouldn't surprise me to see him announce new temples at his first General Conference as such, although he will only have been Church President for 77 days when that occurs.

When we add to that Elder Wilson's statement (made last April a couple of weeks after General Conference) to the effect that 80 potential locations were under consideration to be announced in the 15 years following (which would be late April 2032), I very much doubt that President Nelson would opt to delay announcing temples in his first General Conference. And since he is taking such an active role for someone who is the second oldest man to ever become Church president, I feel confident that we will see such announcements during this General Conference.

Regarding the subject of future temples, I also should note that I have been hard at work in the last little while to fine-tune my list of potential locations in which a temple may be built. I know I promised to post it before now, but the need to extensively overhaul the format of the list has delayed my ability to do so. Just know that I am in the process of getting that ready to publish here, which I hope to do before the end of this month, if not sooner. Just wanted to note that it is in progress.

That does it for this post. Any and all 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.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Updated Estimates for Future Temple-related Events

Hello again, everyone! Roughly 36 hours or so after I last did so, I am posting right now with another revision to my estimates for future temple-related events. Making these adjustments has involved some extensive study on my part concerning climate factors and when weather and travel experts say is the best time to travel to such areas, the progress (and lack thereof) in temple construction efforts, and any other relevant information I could find to mold my thoughts about these potential time-frames. Here are those results:


Future estimates for known temple-related events

2018:
Monday February 19: Oakland California temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)
Sunday March 4: Washington DC Temple Renovation Closure (date has been confirmed)
Sunday April 22: Houston Texas Temple Rededication (private; date has been confirmed; President M. Russell Ballard will preside at this event)
April or May: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple
Sunday May 20: Jordan River Utah Temple Rededication/Mesa Arizona Temple Renovation Closure (both have been confirmed)
July: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Renovation Closure (official closure date confirmation is pending)
Sunday August 12 or 19: Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication (160th operating temple)
Sunday October 14 or 21: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (161st operating temple)
Sunday December 9 or 16: Barranquilla Colombia Temple Dedication (162nd operating temple)

2019:
Mid-February: Kinshasa DR Congo Temple Dedication (163rd operating temple)
Mid-to-late March: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication
Mid-April: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication (164th operating temple)
Late April-early May: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Rededication
Mid-May: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication
Late May-early June: Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple Dedication (165th operating temple)
Mid-June: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication
Mid-August: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Rededication
Mid-September: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late October: Lisbon Portugal Temple Dedication (166th operating temple)
Mid-November: Durban South Africa Temple Dedication (167th operating temple)
Mid-December: Arequipa Peru Temple Dedication (168th operating temple)
                       
2020:
Mid-February: Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple Dedication (169th operating temple)
Mid-to-late April: Oakland California Temple Rededication
NOTE: Although the First Presidency has indicated that this temple would be rededicated prior to the end of 2019, the fact that it is a considerably older temple leads me to believe that will not take place until early 2020 at earliest, but I could see that being pushed back further as well.
Mid-May: Tokyo Japan Temple Rededication
Early-to-mid June Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Dedication (170th operating temple)
Mid-August: Mesa Arizona Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late October: Washington DC Temple Rededication

2021:
Mid-to-late April: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Rededication

Final Note about these estimates: I heard that 2018 and 2019 could be big years for temple groundbreakings. If that proves correct, then many other new temples could also be dedicated during 2020 and 2021. It also seems safe to assume that other temple renovations will be announced, which will in turn necessitate subsequent rededications. As the next two years unfold, I will have a better idea of when such events may occur, and they can then be added to the other estimates above.

That does it for this post. Any and all 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.

Temple News & Developments Include Time-frame Alterations

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to be able to report that, in addition to the rededication of the Houston Texas Temple, the status of the Arequipa Peru Temple has been updated, as the cupola for the temple has been installed atop the tower walls.

Additionally, several time-frames for the completion of temples have been slightly tweaked. There is now apparently sufficient reason to believe that the Fortaleza Brazil Temple will be completed prior to the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. In the meantime, while they have not shifted in their order, there is also reason to believe that the Lisbon Portugal and Durban South Africa Temples may have their dedications more towards the final half of 2019 than in the middle 4 or 5 months of next year.

I am evaluating how these developments will change my estimates for next year's sequence of events, and I will post those updated estimates ASAP. That does it for this post. Any and all 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.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Houston Texas Temple Rededication

Hello again, everyone! When I did my initial check of the Church websites today, I was pleased to discover that the First Presidency announced the day on which the Houston Texas Temple would be privately rededicated. According to this article, that will occur on Sunday April 22, and the First Presidency has asked President M. Russell Ballard to preside at that event. Since it is a private dedication, attendance will be by invitation only, and no Church block meetings will be impacted.

I am grateful to have learned about this, and to have been able to share this information with you. I am likewise gratified to have found out that my estimate for this event was right on. I will keep my eyes open for more temple-related information and pass that along as I am able to.

That does it for this post. Any and all 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.