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Thursday, April 5, 2018

BREAKING NEWS: Church Announces 2018 Area Leadership Assignments; Reinstates Area Presidencies in North America

Hello again, everyone! For the first time (at least in my recent recollection), the Church announced changes in area leadership less than a week after General Conference. As some of you may be aware, such announcements have typically been published on the Church News website towards the end of April or in early May of each year.

But it gets even more interesting. In this announcement of the changes, the First Presidency announced that areas in the US and Canada, which had been supervised by members of the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2004, will once again have full area presidencies, with a president and two counselors, all of which will be administered from Church headquarters. 

According to the news release and a quote from President M. Russell Ballard, the number of areas in the US and Canada will be reduced from 10 to 6, which will be defined as follows: Idaho/North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Northwest/West, and Utah. This also means that, for the areas that have been combined, the area seventies serving in the 5th and 6th Quorums of the Seventy will be in larger groups.

This is being done as the Church continues to find ways to reduce and simplify how the work of the Lord is being administered. And this move will free up members of the Presidency of the Seventy for other assignments, including assisting the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the work of administering the Church and for "other assignments", about which I am assuming we will learn more in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

For the benefit of all who are interested, I have assembled a list of the new assignments, which follows 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.

Changes in Area Leadership August 2018

Presidency of the Seventy:
All members will, as noted above, be released from their assignments to oversee the 10 (now 6) areas in the US and Canada.
Craig C. Christensen, Lynn G. Robbins, and Juan A. Uceda will, as noted in the April General Conference, be released from the Presidency, with Terence M. Vinson, Jose A. Teixeira, and Carlos A. Godoy sustained in their stead.
In view of those changes, the three newest members of the Presidency of the Seventy will be released as Presidents of the Africa West, South America South, and South America Northwest Areas respectively.

General Authority Seventies:
Jose L. Alonso will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Caribbean Area.
Wilford W. Andersen will continue to serve as the Senior Administrator of the Middle East/Africa North Area, but will also serve as President of the Idaho/North America Central Area.
Ian S. Ardern will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Pacific Area.
Mark A. Bragg will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the South America South Area.
Randall K. Bennett will serve as President of the North America Northeast Area.
Shayne M. Bowen will be released as President of the Philippines Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Southeast Area.
Craig A. Cardon will be released as First Counselor in the Pacific Area.
Yoon Hwan Choi will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as President of the Asia North Area.
Craig C. Christensen will serve as President of the Utah Area.
Claudio R. M. Costa will serve as President of the North America Southeast Area.
Joaquin E. Costa will be released as Second Counselor in the Brazil Area.
LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. will serve as First Counselor in the Utah Area.
Benjamin De Hoyos will serve as President of the South America South Area,
Edward Dube will serve as Second Counselor in the Africa West Area.
David F. Evans will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Asia Area.
Enrique R. Falabella will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the South America Northwest Area.
Randy D. Funk will be released as President of the Asia Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the Utah Area.
Eduardo Gavarret will serve as Second Counselor in the Caribbean Area.
Kevin S. Hamilton will be released as President of the Africa Southeast Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Northeast Area.
Mathias Held will serve as Second Counselor in the South America Northwest Area.
David P. Homer will serve as Second Counselor in the Asia Area.
Allen D. Haynie will be released as First Counselor in the Philippines Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area.
Larry S. Kacher will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Africa West Area.
Jörg Klebingat will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Northwest/West Area.
Peter F. Meurs will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Asia Area.
Hugo Montoya will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the South America Northwest Area.
Marcus B. Nash will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Africa West Area.
K. Brett Nattress will serve as Second Counselor in the Pacific Area.
S. Gifford Nielsen will serve as First Counselor in the Idaho/North America Central Area.
Adrian Ochoa will be released as President of the Central America Area and will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Southwest Area.
Allan F. Packer will be released as First Counselor in the South America South Area.
S. Mark Palmer will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Africa Southeast Area.
Adilson de Paula Parrella will serve as Second Counselor in the Brazil Area.
Kevin W. Pearson will serve as President of the North America Northwest/West Area.
Paul B. Pieper will be released as President of the Mexico Area and will serve as First Counselor in the North America Southwest Area.
John C. Pingree Jr. will serve as Second Counselor in the Mexico Area.
Rafael E. Pino will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as First Counselor in the Mexico Area.
Lynn G. Robbins will serve as President of the North America Southwest Area.
Evan A. Schmutz will be released as Second Counselor and will serve as President of the Philippines Area.
Joseph W. Sitati will serve as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area.
Vern P. Stanfill will serve as Second Counselor in the North America Southeast Area.
Brian K. Taylor will serve as Second Counselor in the Idaho/North America Central Area.
Michael J. Teh will be released as President of the Taiwan Taichung Mission and will serve as First Counselor in the Philippines Area.
Juan A. Uceda will serve as President of the Central America Area.
Arnulfo Valenzuela will be released as First Counselor and will serve as President of the Mexico Area.
Takashi Wada will serve as Second Counselor in the Asia North Area.
Taniela B. Wakolo will serve as Second Counselor in the Philippines Area.
Scott D. Whiting will serve as First Counselor of the North America Northwest/West Area.
Juan Pablo Villar will serve as Second Counselor in the South America South Area.
Claudio D. Zivic will be released as First Counselor in the Caribbean Area.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Some Thoughts on Announced Temples

Hello again, everyone! I recently took another look at the 19 temples that have not yet progressed beyond an announcement, and I found some interesting information and updates from a variety of sources. So I thought it would be worthwhile to post now and pass along that updated information. In this update, I will focus on those 19 in order of their potential likelihood for a groundbreaking in the near future. So let's get started.

We begin in Bangkok Thailand. With the site confirmed and an artist's rendering released a couple of weeks ago (on March 19), some have speculated that President Nelson could break ground for this temple while he is visiting that city, which will be on April 20, but unless something is officially announced before he departs for the trip, a groundbreaking for that temple might only occur later this year.

Next, we turn to Urdaneta Philippines. As I previously noted, the biggest obstacles delaying a groundbreaking for that temple were obtaining government approval and announcing an official site. Since a site was confirmed earlier this year, a groundbreaking for this temple may occur soon as well, especially if the process of obtaining government approval can in any way be expedited.

We move on now to the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple. Although we are still waiting for a site to be confirmed by the Church, we do know that, shortly after this temple was announced in 2016, the contractor had stated that a year of preplanning would be needed before a groundbreaking would be held. If, as reported, that year began last March, this temple might have a groundbreaking sooner rather than later.

Moving on to Brasilia Brazil, as we know, a site was confirmed for that temple soon after it was announced last April. Some have quite rightly observed that although a site has been confirmed, and although that site has been inspected by Church engineers (which occurred last June), it may be a while yet before that temple has a groundbreaking. It will be interesting to see what happens there.

For the second temple announced in Manila Philippines, its' location was also confirmed not long after its' announcement. It is anticipated that an official name could be announced for this temple at any point in the near future. Depending on how quickly things happen for this temple. its' groundbreaking may or may not be announced in the near future.

We next move on to Pocatello Idaho. As many of you may be aware, several sites have been the subject of speculation, but we do have increasing evidence of the most likely location. Since this temple is within the "Mormon corridor", a groundbreaking might be just a matter of time, especially if a site confirmation occurs anytime soon.

I am pleased to next bring you some news that (to me) was unexpected but welcome. I received word today that designs are underway for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, although we are still waiting on an official site announcement. Temples in Utah have been known to get their construction underway fairly quickly after they are announced, and that is particularly true of temples being built in Utah County. So that is another one I am watching with great interest, as it will split the district of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, where I previously served, and to which I can attest to that temple's high attendance level.

It is also interesting to note that the Church apparently acquired a certain parcel of land in Layton Utah just two days before that temple was announced. Although nothing hasbeen officially confirmed as of yet, if the Church does confirm at any point that the site they procured will be where the temple is built, a groundbreaking could be held in very short order.

In addition to the other six temples announced last weekend, we have 5 others that were announced in the last few years of President Monson's administration that we have not discussed yet (Abidjan Ivory Coast, Quito Ecuador, Harare Zimbabwe, Belem Brazil, and Nairobi Kenya).

Of those 5, this is what I know or have heard: Since we have seen progress made on the Bangkok Thailand Temple recently, as noted above. and since we unexpectedly had the groundbreaking for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple last year, the other temple announced during the April 2015 General Conference is the one for the city of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. I have heard that growth has been sufficient enough in the Ivory Coast that a second and third temple for that nation could occur in short order. And if work gets underway on some (if not all) of the others I mentioned above later this year, it is not a stretch to believe that could occur for this temple as well, especially if any obstacles preventing it are cleared.

For the temple in the Ecuadoran capital city of Quito, while we don't have news as of yet, the time that occurred between the announcement and groundbreaking for Ecuador's first temple in Guayaquil (which was a lengthy 14 years) is not anticipated to take that long for this temple. We don't know any more right now than we did when it was announced two years ago, but that could change. The same holds true for the temple in Belem Brazil.

That brings us to the last two of the 5 I mentioned above. As I previously stated in an earlier post, I had heard in passing that the members in Harare Zimbabwe and Nairobi Kenya have recently been made aware of the site locations for those temples, even though that has not yet been confirmed by the Church. There have been passing rumors that, depending on what happens between now and then, President Nelson could break ground for both temples during his tour in both cities, which would put the groundbreaking for Nairobi Kenya on August 16, and the groundbreaking for Harare Zimbabwe the following day.

While I hope we will be abble to see groundbreakings for the Bangkok Thailand, Harare Zimbabwe, and Nairobi Kenya Temples while President Nelson visits there, I will not be surprised if one or all of those cities wind up having to wait for that to occur. I continue to monitor all developments on this front and will pass those along to you as I receive them.

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 Estimates for Known Temple Events Within the Next 4 years

Hello again, everyone! As I promised to do so, I have looked over my estimates for known temple events and have made those changes which I have felt would be appropriate. So I wanted to post those right now. The more specific timing of any temple event is, of course, in the hands of the Lord and of those who are working on these projects. I will not be surprised in any way to find out that further adjustments are necessary in the future, nor will it surprise me if the actual time-frames are nowhere close to what I share here.

The updated estimates, along with any relevant notes, 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 this 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, if only the first one or two sessions. Since this temple is in the Salt Lake Valley, it seems entirely likely that several Church leaders will be in attendance at this event.

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. Since we have had information about the site location and artist’s rendering of the Bangkok Thailand Temple, I am watching for news of a groundbreaking there. Additionally, I have heard in passing that members in Harare Zimbabwe and Nairobi Kenya have been advised of the location of the sites for the temples announced in those cities. If the Church confirms those locations in the near future, both of those temples could potentially have a groundbreaking later this year as well. We also have seen site confirmations for the temples in Brasilia Brazil, Urdaneta Philippines and the second temple in Manila, with a likely location also identified for the Pocatello Idaho Temple. And with the fact that the contractor for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple said in March of last year that a year of pre-planning would be needed for that temple, it may not be long before we have official confirmation of the site for that temple. It will be interesting indeed to see how many of these temples actually have a groundbreaking later this year.

First half of 2019:
Mid-February: Frankfurt Germany 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: Memphis Tennessee Temple Rededication
Mid-to-late 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.

Lengths of Addresses Given By the Apostles During the April 2018 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! As long-time readers of this blog might recall, shortly after each General Conference of the Church, I take some time to look at the lengths of each talk given by the apostles of the Church (including those given by members of the First Presidency), and I then post the results of that research on this blog. Having looked at that information for this last General Conference, I am pleased to bring you the information below.

I did want to note something interesting that struck me as General Conference concluded: Although President Nelson only gave addresses in 3 of the 5 sessions, the fact that he spoke twice during the Priesthood Session and Sunday Afternoon Session (once in each to introduce new policies and practices, and a main address at the end of each session) meant that his 5 total addresses matched the number of addresses typically given by a Church president in most General Conferences. So that was amazing.

The information I have assembled follows. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will conclude now as I always do. 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.


20:48—President Russell M. Nelson (SUM)
17:40—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (SUA)
17:35—President Dallin H. Oaks (SUM)
17:02—President Henry B. Eyring (SUM)
16:04—Elder Neil L. Andersen (SAM)
16:01—President Dallin H. Oaks (SPH)
16:01—Elder David A. Bednar (SAA)
15:53—President Henry B. Eyring (SPH)
15:29—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (SUA)
15:04—Elder Quentin L. Cook (SUA)
15:07—Elder Gary E. Stevenson (SAM)
14:43—Elder Dale G. Renlund (SAA)
14:29—President M. Russell Ballard (SAM)
14:28—President Russell M. Nelson (SPH; main address)
13:35—Elder Ronald A. Rasband (SPH)
13:19—Elder D. Todd Christofferson (SPH)
12:10—President Dallin H. Oaks (SAA; Sustaining Other Church Officers)
11:03—President Henry B. Eyring (SAM; Solemn Assembly)
6:01—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA; concluding address)
5:24—Elder Ulisses Soares (SUA)
4:56—Elder Gerrit W. Gong (SUA)
3:39—President Russell M. Nelson (SPH; Priesthood Quorum Announcement)
2:15—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA; Ministering Announcement)


Church News Provides Summary of General Conference Talks

Hello again, everyone! While I was pleased to be able to report late last night that the transcripts of the talks given during General Conference are now available for us to study, as we have been invited by President Nelson to do, I recognize that there are many of my readers that, due to daily obligations, may not always have time to read a full address from General Conference.

For any of you who fit that description, I wanted to pass along this document, which provides summaries of each address given during General Conference. These summaries encapsulate the key elements of those addresses, and get right to the heart of what was said by every speaker. I am happy to recommend these summaries, along with the full transcripts, to which I posted a link last night.

In a world where so much is happening on a daily basis, it is wonderful indeed to consider how committed the Church News, and more particularly the Church itself, is to enable all of us to enjoy General Conference after it airs through a variety of methods.

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.