Overview of Changes in General Church Leadership

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to provide an overview of resources which the Church has released, particularly those relating to announced leadership changes. The Church has released this summary of the Solemn Assembly (including biographical information for Elders Gong and Soares, our new apostles), along with this one (introducing the new members of the Presidency of the Seventy and new General Authority Seventies).

As anticipated, President Nelson had more than enough time to make all the necessary changes in Church leadership. Let's take a quick look at what has changed (and is going to change) in terms of the Presidency of the Seventy and the new General Authority Seventies that have been called. It is worth noting that, while we sustained two changes in the Presidency of the Seventy that are effective immediately (in view of the calling of the new apostles), in leading the second half of the sustaining of Church officers, President Oaks additionally mentioned that three other members of the current presidency (Elders Craig C. Christensen, Lynn G. Robbins, and Juan A. Uceda) will be released in August, and that Elders Terence M. Vinson, Jose A. Teixeira, and Carlos A. Godoy will begin serving in the Presidency as of August 1, 2018. As we know, this is when the area leadership changes take effect.

The interesting thing about those upcoming changes is that Elder Uceda will have only been in the presidency for a year once his release is effective. I cannot be sure, but I would imagine that Elder Uceda has been asked to fill a special assignment, either at headquarters or in an area presidency, that would prevent him from continuing to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy at that time. It will be interesting to see what happens there.

So let's talk about the General Authority Seventies that were sustained today. Among them are y that had been serving as area seventies at the time of their calls (Elders Steven R. Bangerter, Matthew L. Carpenter, Mathias Held, David P. Homer, Kyle S. McKay, and Juan Pablo Villar), 1 (Elder Jack N. Gerard) who was released as an area seventy two years ago, and 1 other (Elder Takashi Wada) who has served as a director of temportal affairs for three areas of the Church (North America Northwest and West and Asia).

We also saw the calling of a new Young Women's General presidency. As relayed in this article, the former First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency (Bonnie H. Cordon) has been called to serve as the Young Women General President. She has selected as her counselors Michelle D. Craig (who had been serving as a member of the Primary General Board) and Becky Craven, who is, as far as I know, a new face to the general Church membership.

Sister Cordon's call to serve as the Young Women General President has resulted in the call of Lisa Harkness, a member of the Primary General Board, to serve as the new First Counselor. Interestingly enough, Sister Harkness is the third First Counselor for Primary General President Joy D. Jones.

In April 2016, Sister Jones selected Jean B. Bingham and Bonnie H. Cordon as her counselors. In April 2017, Sister Bingham was called as the new Relief Society President, so as a result, Sister Cordon became the new First Counselor, with Cristina B. Franco called as the new Second Counselor. Now that her second First Counselor has been called as the new Young Women General President, for whatever reason, the only change to the Primary General Presidency this go-round is that Sister Harkness has replaced Sister Cordon, while Sister Franco remains the Second Counselor.

There were also a number of area seventies released and sustained as well, and I will have more later this week on how those changes impacted the total number of area seventies. That does it for this overview of the changes to the general leadership of the Church, and therefore, 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: Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums to Be Combined in Each Ward as One Elders' Quorum

Hello again, everyone! Breaking news from the LDS Church tonight in the Priesthood Session. This release describes how the Elders' Quorums and High Priest's Group are now going to be combined into one larger quorum, and, regardless of office, will be referred to as "the Elders' Quorum", with its' presidency being comprised of those who may be either High Priests or Elders. The new Elders' Quorum Presidency will directly report to the stake presidency.

All those serving in stake leadership (including the stake presidency, high council members, and the bishop and his counselors) will now comprise the high priests' group in the stake. This will add strength and power to priesthood quorums.

On a personal note, I welcome this change. My first opportunity to teach a lesson in Elders' Quorum was in my parents' ward. On the first day I was going to teach, I was advised that the High Priests in the ward would be joining the lesson, as their instructor was not able to make it. As I taught that group of combined elders and high priests, there was a power in the discussion of the lesson material, and, above and beyond that, how to implement the principles taught into our lives.

So I welcome the chance all Melchizedek Priesthood holders will have in a ward to meet in one united group, firmly committed to bearing the priesthood and doing the Lord's work together. I testify, along with the testimonies we have received tonight from President Nelson and Elders Christofferson and Rasband, that this is yet another example of the clear fact that modern revelation does occur in this Church. It is the Lord's Church. Together we will move the work of the Lord forward.

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.

Some Thoughts on the Newest Apostles

Hello again, everyone! Now that the Saturday Morning Session has concluded, I wanted to provide some additional thoughts regarding the newest apostles. First, both picks should appeal to those that complain about the face of Church leadership not representing the diversity of the Church. Elder Gong, though born in the US, is of Asian descent, and Elder Soares becomes the first apostle called from South America, having been born and raised in Brazil.

And it is wonderful to think how prophetic President Nelson's statement made during the January 16 press conference in which he and his counselors took media questions. He indicated that the Church would see a day when there are more flavors in the mix, and the men he was inspired to call certainly reflect how prophetic that statement really was.

Next, since this is my specialty, I wanted to note that, with Elder Gong being 64 years old, and with Elder Soares being 58, they become the 10th and 12th in order of age among the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and they are also the 13th and 15th oldest among all of the apostles.

Elder Gong has only given 2 talks in General Conference, and Elder Soares has given 5 addresses. That makes sense because Elder Soares was called as a General Authority in April 2005, and to the Presidency of the Seventy in January 2013, while Elder Gong was called as a General Authority in April 2010 and was called to the Presidency of the Seventy in October 2015 (as a result of Elder Rasband's call to the Twelve; he formally began his service in that presidency on January 4, 2016, by which time he had concluded all his obligations as the president of the Asia Area).

Next, a general note about the apostles overall. As many of you know, I had been predicting that one of President Nelson's counselors would speak during the Saturday Morning Session. Since we heard instead from three members of the Quorum of the Twelve (rather than 2 as I had projected), it is likely that all three First Presidency members will speak tomorrow morning, along with Elders Gong and Soares.

And I also found it interesting that the Solemn Assembly from this General Conference is going to be separate and distinct from the sustaining of other Church leadership, which is set to occur at the beginning of the session this afternoon.

But getting back to the apostles, Elder Gong is the second current apostle that has a birthday in December (with his December 23 birthday coming 20 days following that of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland), and Elder Soares' birthday, which is marked on October 2, means he joins President M, Russsell Ballard, whose birthday is marked on October 8.

I would like to again share my absolute witness that these men have been called by the Lord at this time. I received instant confirmation of that as their names were announced. And for any who do not yet have such a witness, I invite you to do that which is necessary to obtain one.

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: Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Hello again, everyone! As many of you likely know by now, Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares have been called to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In a surprise move (at least to me), President Eyring, who lead the Solemn Assembly, noted that other Church leaders would be sustained during the Saturday Afternoon Session. The Quorum of the Twelve is now complete, and I couldn't be happier with those the Lord chose, as I had the instant confirmation that those called were called by the Lord.

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.

A Final Word Before General Conference

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to offer a final word before General Conference starts in 12.5 hours. We have a great deal to look forward to this weekend, with a Solemn Assembly being held in which all of us, as groups and then as an entire Church, will have the opportunity to sustain the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, including two new members of that Quorum.

In a couple of newspaper articles leading up to this weekend, spokesmen for the Church were quoted as saying that any theories made online regarding the identity of the new apostles, any other Church leadership changes, any temple locations, and any other suggestions of changes in doctrine and policy are nothing more than the private thoughts of the individuals perpetuating them.

I have recently referenced both the fact that my thoughts on the apostolic vacancies had been focused on in an article on Mormon Light, and that that article referred to those thoughts as "speculation". For myself, I have tried to use the patterns of the past to offer informed musings on that subject. And I am just as ready to sustain any one or two men that were not on the list of those I mentioned as I would be to sustain any one or two men that were not. But until something is officially announced tomorrow, anyone's thoughts, mine especially, are no more and no less than thoughts which may or may not reflect the Lord's will.

No matter who might be called to serve this go-round, the two new apostles (as with the others) will have my sustaining vote of support. As I have already indicated, I took time to gain my own testimony that those who will be called have been appointed by the Lord, and I have no doubt that when their names are revealed tomorrow, I will instantly know, as I have in times past, that the two were meant to come to the apostleship at this time. I would also anticipate that, barring anything unexpected, we will see the Solemn Assembly occur, as noted, at the top of the Saturday Morning Session.

And while I fully expect that new temples will be announced, and while I hope that any that are will have been on my list, I will rejoice just as much whether any are announced or not. As I have also observed, I don't see any scenario where President Nelson will not have taken time to call the new apostles and to make any subsequent changes that will fill out Church leadership following those calls, including the calling of new General Authority Seventies.

I am also equally certain that we will see the Young Women General Presidency changed, and I can see a few options there, with one or both of the current counselors retained in the new presidency, or one of the counselors in the other two auxiliaries (Primary or Relief Society), or current members of the Young Women General Board.Board.

Of one thing I am absolutely certain: the Lord leads His Church and knows perfectly what its' members need and how best to convey His will to His servants on what needs to be done and said in every General Conference. What we will hear and what will be done during this weekend will be what the Lord wants said and done in and for His Church at this time. And you can find ongoing reports on all of that here as it occurs.

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.

Update Noted on the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple

Hello again, everyone! This will just be a quick post to note a status update for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. New information received late last night was expanded by another update that came in earlier today. The latest information indicates that structural framing has gone up for both the temple and its' steeple.

And, as I noted yesterday, the general completion estimate for this temple has changed from early-to-mid 2019 to just mid-2019, and I am more specifically estimating that this temple could be dedicated in early-to-mid June. Stay tuned for further updates as they are needed.

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.

Some Additional Thoughts on the Announcement of the Rome Italy Temple Dedication Information

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again today to pass along some additional thoughts on the announcement that was made earlier today about the dates for the open house and dedication for the Rome Italy Temple. First, while the Mormon Newsroom announcement does not mention a cultural celebration or youth devotional, on the Church's official Events page, the details of the dedication do include a notice that a special youth devotional will be held the night before the first dedicatory session.

And as an additional observation, this temple's dedication will mark the first time a temple has been dedicated over multiple days. For those interested, the last time that occurred was with the 2009 dedications of the Draper Utah and Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temples, which were both held for a three-day period.

The next most recent example of that was the Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedication in 2002, which spanned 4 days. There were a number of other temples that had 2 or more days for their dedications, including the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. For temples widely anticipated that would be meaningful to so many, the decision was made to hold those dedications over several days.

But it would appear that the period of 8 days set aside for the dedication of this temple is the longest such period to occur within the last 40 or 50 years. And that makes sense. For an iconic city such as Rome, that has such rich roots to most Christian faiths, it makes sense that the Church would want to extend all who want to do so the opportunity to participate in this dedication.

I have also observed recently that it will be most interesting to see how soon President Nelson shares responsibility for presiding at temple dedications with his counselors. He may opt to do so very early in his presidency, since he has asked President Ballard to preside at the private rededication for the Houston Texas Temple. So let's take a look at how long it took for previous Church presidents to share that responsibility with their counselors and (in several cases, the senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).

President Spencer W. Kimball was appointed Church president in December 1973. The first time he asked one of his counselors to officiate at a dedication was with the 1981 original dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple, at which he asked his second counselor, President Marion G. Romney, to preside. All other temples dedicated prior to President Kimball's death were dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, who served as Second Counselor in the First Presidency for most of the last 3 years of President Kimball's presidency.

President Ezra Taft Benson requested that his counselors, Presidents Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson, preside at the first two temple dedications of his presidency. He himself presided over the next two, and President Hinckley presided over all of the rest of those dedications prior to President Benson's death at the end of May in 1994. Only two temples were dedicated during President Hunters brief 9-month administration, but President Hunter did ask his counselors to represent him in presiding at some of the final sessions of either or both of those.

President Hinckley became Church president in mid-March 1995, and the first temple dedication that he did not preside over was conducted by President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the Regina Saskatchewan Temple. The prophet's counselors, Presidents Monson and James E. Faust, began being assigned to those temple dedication duties in 2000. But following the dedication of the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple in August of the same year, President Hinckley resumed personal responsibility for presiding at temple dedications again, and he did so at all of the remaining temple dedications of his presidency.

And of course, as we know, more recently, President Monson became Church president in February 2008, and in view of the reorganization of the First Presidency the week before, President Monson had shifted the dedication of the first temple of his presidency by one week. Starting in August 2011, he shared those responsibilities with his counselors (and with senior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles),  and the dedication of the Phoenix Arizona Temple and the rededication of the Ogden Utah Temple were the last such temple events at which he personally presided.

So it will be interesting indeed to see what President Nelson will opt to do in terms of how soon he opts to share such duties with his counselors. It may not be long at all. All three men in the First Presidency have had experiences presiding at temple dedications or rededications. I am particularly intrigued to see what occurs regarding the 8-day dedication for the Rome Italy Temple. Depending on how many sessions might wind up being held, I would imagine that Church leadership will rotate participating on different days.

Whatever might occur in terms of future temple dedications or rededications, you can find my analysis of such news here as I learn of it. 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.

Updated Estimated Time-frames for Future Temple-Related Events

Hello again, everyone! As I promised to do, I have taken another look at the estimates which I have provided for future temple-related events, and I am posting those revised estimates now. There are some unknowns that may impact this list further, such as whether it is reasonable to assume that the temples will stay on track in their construction sufficiently to allow their subsequent dedications or rededications as estimated here. I continue to monitor all such developments and will be sure to pass those along as I receive them.

The estimates follow below. 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.

Future estimates for known temple-related events

First half of 2018:
April: Full-scale construction anticipated to begin for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple
Note: A Church member in Winnipeg has confirmed that construction of this temple is anticipated to begin next month.
Sunday April 22: Houston Texas Temple Rededication (private; date has been confirmed; President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will preside at this event)
Sunday May 20: Jordan River Utah Temple Rededication/Mesa Arizona Temple Renovation Closure (both have been confirmed)
Note: Since the rededication Jordan River Utah Temple is the first public temple event of President Nelson’s administration, it seems to be a given conclusion that he will preside at this event, but it will be interesting indeed to see how soon he shares such duties with his counselors, which has seen some variation for each Church president in recent years.

Second half of 2018:
July: Hamilton New Zealand Temple Renovation Closure (confirmed; official date confirmation pending)
Sunday October 28: Concepcion Chile Temple Dedication (160th operating temple; confirmed)
Sunday December 9: Barranquilla Colombia Temple Dedication (161st operating temple; date has been officially confirmed)

Final note on 2018: I have heard that 2018 could potentially be a big year for groundbreakings of temples currently announced. With the Bangkok Thailand Temple having taken a major step forward towards its’ potential groundbreaking (as the site was announced and the architectural rendering was released on March 19, 2018), I will be watching that one. It will be interesting to see how many temples will actually have a groundbreaking during 2018, and once anything is confirmed in that regard, I will pass that along.

First half of 2019:
Mid-February: Frankfurt Germany Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late March: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication
Sunday March 10-Sunday March 17: Rome Italy Temple Dedication (162nd operating temple; confirmed)
Mid-April: Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late April: Kinshasa DR Congo Temple Dedication (163rd operating temple)
Early-to-mid May: Fortaleza Brazil Temple Dedication (164th operating temple)
Early-to-mid June: Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple Dedication (165th operating temple)

Second half of 2019:
Early-to-mid August: Raleigh North Carolina Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late August: Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple Rededication
Mid-September: Lisbon Portugal Temple Dedication (166th operating temple)
Mid-to-late October: Asuncion Paraguay Temple Rededication
Mid-November: Durban South Africa Temple Dedication (167th operating temple)
Mid-December: Oakland California Temple Rededication
Note: While this temple’s rededication is anticipated before the end of 2019, if its’ renovation process is delayed for any reason, then that would push its’ rededication into 2020.

Final note on 2019: As with 2018, I have heard that 2019 could potentially be another big year for temple groundbreakings. If that proves to be the case, there will be other temple-related events to add to this list for subsequent years.
                     
First half of 2020:
Mid-March: Arequipa Peru Temple Dedication (168th operating temple)
Mid-to-late April: Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple Dedication (169th operating temple)
Mid-May: Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Dedication (170th operating temple)
Early-to-mid June: Tokyo Japan Temple Rededication
Mid-September: Mesa Arizona Temple Rededicatiom
Mid-December: Washington DC Temple Rededication

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

Final note: If, as noted above, several temples have a groundbreaking during the next two years, that in turn would necessitate adding their completion estimates to the list above. I continue to monitor all temple-related developments and will pass news of them along as I receive word of them.

Church to Close Missionary Training Centers in Spain and Chile

Hello again, everyone! In addition to the big news about the Rome Italy Temple Dedication, the Church has also announced plans to close the Missionary Training Centers in Madrid Spain and Santiago Chile, with the closures set to take effect in January of next year. The Church reports that missionaries that would have gone to these MTCs will go to one of the other 13 MTCs around the world. Church leaders will in the future make a determination on if and how to best use these facilities, which also serve other functions (such as temple patron housing and meetinghouses).

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.

Additional Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! While the big temple news today is the Rome Italy Temple Dedication, there have been a number of other developments for temples around the world that are worth mentioning here. So let's get right into those updates.

I wanted to note first an update on general information I have previously shared regarding the Church's temple construction efforts. Many of you long-time readers of this blog will no doubt recall my repeat mentions about my feeling that the Church could easily have 200 temples by or before April 6, 2030, which would mark the Church's bicentennial anniversary. Whether or not an official goal is made to do so, I am reasonably confident it will happen.

I say that because only 18 new temples would need to be announced and completed, along with the 23 in various phases around the world. Since that is a total of 41 temples which would need to be completed by that time, and since there are 12.02 years between today's date and that 200th anniversary (which will be marked on a Saturday), the Church would just need to dedicate roughly 3.41 temples per year between now and then.

With 2018 being a year that will see slightly less than that average (as only 2 temple dedications will occur by the end of this year), 2019 is shaping up to be full of temple dedications, and with the Rome Italy Temple dedication information announced today, it seems clear to me that 2019 will be a huge year for other dedications, and that we may see double or even triple the amount of temple dedications next year that we will see this year.

Having noted all of that, we now turn our attention to other temple news. I have become aware of a report regarding the Concepcion Chile Temple. The latest information I have is that the angel Moroni statue was officially installed today, while the traditional stone inscribed with the phrase Holiness to the Lord has also recently been put into place. Additionally, the entrance monument sign (bearing the names of both the temple and the Church) is being finalized.

Next, because the Rome Italy Temple dedication has been set for mid-March of next year, and since the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple is anticipated to be the next one dedicated after that, with the additional knowledge that the Fortaleza Brazil Temple has progressed nicely while there has not been any progress reported on the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple since I last shared an update on its' status, many sources to which I look for temple information have moved the completion estimate for this Haitian temple to mid-2019.

Also anticipated to be completed during mid-2019 is the Lisbon Portugal Temple, where recent reports show that parking lot curbing is being poured, that spire framework has been installed, and that scaffolding and netting continues to be placed around the temple's exterior.

Aside from these developments, there have been no other updates on any new temples or among those undergoing renovation. But it will be interesting to see if and how the general completion estimates off of which I base all of the more specific estimates I have provided might change for the new temples being constructed in Kinshasa and Fortaleza, and the temples undergoing renovation in Frankfurt Germany, Memphis Tennessee, and Oklahoma City Oklahoma. There may be a need to completely redo all of them. I will look into that later today, and will hope to have that reworked and published here at some point within the next two days.

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.