Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference: Part Two--Predictions for Likely Changes in Church Leadership

Hello again, everyone! I am back again with the second of what will be a three-part post series discussing my predictions for the October 2018 General Conference. In this one, I will be passing along my thoughts about the likely changes in general Church leadership and the rationale behind those thoughts.

All of those details follow below. Since I do not in any way want to disturb their flow, I will be concluding 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.

Predictions for Changes in General Church Leadership

Preliminary Note: I am proceeding on an assumption here that, since both Presidents Oaks and Eyring did part of what has traditionally been a combined Solemn Assembly and Sustaining of Church Officers, and since President Oaks' part was to lead a sustaining vote for other changes in Church leadership (which involved reading the long list of new area seventies with difficult name pronunciations, and which President Oaks did very well, in my opinion), President Nelson may request that he (President Oaks) continue to lead the April sustaining vote, which typically involves such changes, which would leave President Eyring to lead the October sustaining vote, which, by comparison, sees far fewer changes in area seventies.

General Authority Seventies: Elders Mervyn B. Arnold, Craig A. Cardon, Larry J. Echo Hawk, C. Scott Grow, Allan F. Packer, Gregory A. Schwitzer, and Claudio D. Zivic released and granted emeritus status. Note: Each of these general authorities was born in 1948, and will have their 70th birthdays before General Conference, or within the last two months of 2018, and the Church in recent years has almost always released General Authorities in October that have their 70th birthdays prior to the end of any given year. With that in mind, it seems safe to surmise that each of these men will have that happen during this General Conference. Result:

Area Seventies: Some area seventies released, others called. Note: It has been customary in recent years for the Church to release and sustain several area seventies in April, with only a few changes in October. If that pattern continues, then at least a few changes could be made. Additional note: While some area seventies have been released as the result of a call to serve in other assignments (for example, as General Authorities or temple presidents), for other assignments (such as a call to preside over a mission), a release from that assignment might not occur, but would continue while such individuals preside over missions. Since that has occurred in recent years, Elder Tasara Makasi, who currently lives in South Africa, but has been called to preside over a mission in Zimbabwe, would not even have to switch the Quorum in which he is currently serving, and could retain both assignments, which also applies to Miguel A. Reyes, who is an area seventy residing in Mexico that has been called to preside over one of Mexico’s missions. It would not surprise me if Elder Fred A. Parker, who serves in the North America Southeast Area, but has been assigned to preside over a mission in the Caribbean Area, which means he would switch quorums. Elder Steven O. Laing, who is an area seventy in the Utah North Area, has been called to serve as the new president of the Brigham City Utah Temple, so he may be released.

Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference: Part One--Potential Speaking Order for the 5 General Sessions

Hello again, everyone. In this, the first of three posts I will be publishing one after the other, I will be passing along my predictions and projections for the potential speakers and speaking order we might see during the October 2018 General Conference.

That part of my predictions, based on what I had observed in my last post, are based on several assumptions. Since we are in somewhat uncharted territory (primarily in terms of how much the last General Conference did not follow typical patterns, and also because the Women's Session will be held in the slot that has traditionally been used for the Priesthood Session), what might actually occur is anyone's guess, and I will not in any way be surprised to go into the October General Conference with an entirely different set of predictions, nor will it shock me if any version of these predictions turns out to not match at all what actually winds up occurring.

That said, my speaking order predictions follow below. So as not to disturb their flow, I will end here 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.

October 2018 General Conference Predictions

Session	Conducting	Speakers
Saturday Morning	President Dallin H. Oaks	President Russell M. Nelson
		Lisa Harkness
		Elder Quentin L. Cook
		Elder Terence M. Vinson
		Elder Gerrit W. Gong
		Elder Mathias Held
		Elder David S. Baxter
		Elder Ronald A. Rasband
		President Dallin H. Oaks
Saturday Afternoon	President Henry B. Eyring	President Henry B. Eyring (Sustaining of Church Officers)
		Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
		Bishop Dean M. Davies
		Elder Gary E. Stevenson
		Elder Matthew L. Carpenter
		Elder D. Todd Christofferson
		Elder Juan Pablo Villar
		Elder Paul B. Pieper
		Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Women’s Session	Joy D. Jones	Cristina B. Franco
		Michelle D. Craig
		Jean B. Bingham
		President Henry B. Eyring
		President Dallin H. Oaks
		President Russell M. Nelson
Sunday Morning	President Russell M. Nelson	President Henry B. Eyring
		Bonnie H. Cordon
		Elder Ulisses Soares
		Elder Robert C. Gay
		Elder Craig A. Cardon
		Elder Neil L. Andersen
		Elder Walter F. Gonzalez
		President Russell M. Nelson
Sunday Afternoon	President Dallin H. Oaks	President M. Russell Ballard
		Brian K. Ashton
		Elder Shayne M. Bowen
		Elder Dale G. Renlund
		Elder Kyle S. McKay
		Elder Scott D. Whiting
		Elder David A. Bednar
		Elder Marcus B. Nash
		President Russell M. Nelson

General Observations and Assumptions That Have Molded My Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! In the last week or two, as time and circumstances have allowed, I have worked on assembling my initial predictions for the October 2018 General Conference. I will share those in a subsequent post, but for now, I wanted to pass along some assumptions I have made that have molded those predictions.

The list of those assumptions follows below. So as not to interrupt the flow of those assumptions, I will end the post here. 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.

Assumptions and Conclusions That Have Shaped My Initial Predictions for the October 2018 General Conference

Overall:

1.      Any new temples may be announced as part of President Nelson’s remarks during either the opening session on Saturday Morning or the concluding one on Sunday Afternoon.

2.      President Nelson will continue to share the responsibility for conducting sessions with his counselors, with the exception of the Women’s Session, which may still be conducted by one of the presidents of the Women’s Auxiliaries.

3.      The Sustaining of Church Officers will be conducted at its’ usual time at the beginning of the Saturday Afternoon Session. Since President Oaks did such a wonderful job with the names of area seventies that were released and sustained, President Eyring may lead the Sustaining of Church Officers this go-round, when few (if any) changes in area seventies may be noted.

4.      The First Presidency will continue the tradition established during the April 2018 General Conference of having an equal or greater number of speakers born outside the US as within it.

5.      We will hear from one member of the Presiding Bishopric (likely during the Saturday Afternoon Session), two members of the Presidency of the Seventy (likely during the Saturday and Sunday Morning Sessions), and at least three general officers of the Church (unless only two speak.

6.      From among the General Authorities, we will hear from half of the 8 who were called in April 2018, and also from more seasoned General Authority Seventies who have either not given a second address yet, will likely be granted emeritus status this conference, or who have not had an opportunity to speak in 4.5-6 years.

Saturday Morning:

1.      President Nelson’s remarks will be short to pre-endorse the other addresses that will be given during General Conference. Any major announcements, including new temple locations, may be made during that time.

2.      Three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak.

3.      The General Authority Seventies and member of the Presidency of the Seventy that will speak will all be born outside the US.

4.      We may hear from one general officer of the Church.

5.      One of President Nelson’s counselors will speak during this session (whichever one does not present the Sustaining of Church Officers in the following one).

Saturday Afternoon:

1.      As noted above, whichever counselor in the First Presidency does not speak during the Saturday Morning Session will present the Sustaining of Church Officers.

2.      Four members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak during this session.

3.      The member of the Presiding Bishopric might speak during this session.

4.      Three or four General Authority Seventies may speak during this session as well.

5.      At least two or three speakers during this session may have been born outside the US.

Women’s Session:

1.      Barring anything unexpected, this session will likely be conducted by one of the presidents of the Church’s three female-led auxiliaries.

2.      No members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will likely speak during this session.

3.      The Church will continue to invite one member from each of the three female-led auxiliaries to speak.

4.      Unlike previous Women’s Sessions, this session will see all three members of the First Presidency speak.

Sunday Morning:

1.      Whichever of the two counselors did not speak during the Saturday Morning Session will speak during this one, and he may be the same person who led the Sustaining of Church Officers in the Saturday Afternoon Session.

2.      Two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles may speak during this session.

3.      We may hear from another member of the Presidency of the Seventy during this session.

4.      We may also hear from one of the female auxiliary presidency members during this session.

5.      Two or three of the speakers may be selected from those who were born outside the US.

6.      President Nelson will speak at the conclusion of this session, and may announce new temples during that address, if he has not done so in the Saturday Morning Session.

Sunday Afternoon:

1.      The remaining three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will likely speak during this session.

2.      A member of either the Young Men’s or Sunday School General Presidencies may address us during this session.

3.      The Church could either opt to have no speakers born outside the US, or one or two internationally-born speakers during this session.

4.      3-4 speakers will likely be General Authority Seventies.

5.      If a second member of the Presidency of the Seventy has not spoken before this time, it could occur during this session.

6.      President Nelson will likely speak at the conclusion of this session, and may make any announcements (including new temples) that were not made during the previous three general sessions.

Additional Updates Noted On Several Other Temples

Hello again, everyone! Although it has been just about 3.5 hours since I posted the last temple updates I had, I have since learned of several other developments that I wanted to pass along as well. So let's get right into all of that.

We begin with the Fortaleza Brazil Temple. The last time I posted an update on that temple was on Saturday April 14, at which time I noted that the temple in that city was still having its' cladding being put up around its' exterior, while on the grounds, trees were being planted and walkways and staircases were being poured as well.

The newest update of which I have become aware indicates that cladding is nearing completion on the temple's exterior, while sod has been laid and trees have been planted in the oval garden feature. I have previously mentioned my feeling that this temple could be dedicated prior to the date when a dedication will occur for the temple in Kinshasa, which is an opinion I stand by.

Turning next to the Lisbon Portugal Temple, which, unless I have missed something, has not had a status update in the last 3-4 weeks or so, it would appear from an update today that a vapor barrier and cladding is going up around that temple's exterior, while the parking lot surface is being laid.

Doubling back now to Brazil, the new status update for the Rio de Janeiro Temple shows that waterproofing and a vapor barrier is being applied to the exterior walls of that temple. The last time I found an update for that temple was about a week and a half ago, on Saturday April 14. It is great to see progress being made after such a comparatively short time.

And I have one other update which has been noted, this one on the renovation process for the Frankfurt Germany Temple, where cladding is being reattached to its' exterior. As I have previously stated, it is awesome to consider that this temple, which, at the beginning of this year, was anticipated to be rededicated at some point this year, but which could not have a rededication pinpointed any more specifically than that. It may even have been earlier this month when we learned that its' completion was anticipated for the early or middle part of next year, and the fact that it has progressed substantially since that change clearly demonstrates the justification of that belief.

I continue to monitor all temple developments, and will, to the best of my ability, pass those along ASAP after I learn of 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.

Several Temple Updates Noted

Hello again, everyone! Just a few moments ago, updates on several new temples and those undergoing renovation were brought to my attention. Before getting into specific updates, I wanted to first note an update to something I have shared before: my belief that the Church will have a minimum of 200 operating temples by or before the Church's 200th anniversary (which will be observed on Saturday April 6, 2030). As of today, that anniversary is 11.95 years away, which means that, if an average of 3.43 temples were dedicated each year, it could easily be done.

With 2 temples scheduled for dedication later this year, 2018 will be below that average. But next year, we know that 5 or 6 new temples will be dedicated, and there are 3 others that we know of so far which will be dedicated in 2020. If, as I have said before, several other announced temples have a groundbreaking within the next year and beyond, that would also increase the number of those that will be completed during 2020 and the years that follow. So it seems logical to assume that at least 200 temples will be operating by that time.

Having noted that, we now turn our attention to the updates I mentioned. We start first in Rome Italy. While the last update I posted for that temple still applies (that the visitor's information center is open and that the plaza water feature is being tested), it has additionally been noted today that asphalt has been laid for the driveway.

Turning next to the temple in Kinshasa DR Congo, it has been noted that a concrete block perimeter wall is being built, and that work has resumed on the roof of the temple. And although I noted just yesterday that interior framing was being done for the walls of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, I learned today that the baptismal font has also been poured.

Since that is all the updates of which I have been made aware for new temples, I now conclude by passing along an update on the status of the renovation process for the Oakland California Temple. New information on that process indicates that both water feature fountains have been removed from the grounds, and that work has begun on the process of renovating the temple's interior.

It continues to amaze me how much things can change in terms of such developments, even within the space of 12 hours or less. The Lord is hastening the work of allowing His children access to temples around the world, and it is thrilling for me to be a witness to such developments and to pass them along to you all here. I will continue to do so to the best of my ability.

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 Provided for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple; Open House for Jordan River Utah Temple Concludes This Saturday

Hello again, everyone! This post will cover two temple developments of which I became aware a short while ago. We start first with the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. As many of you might recall my mentioning here on this blog at least a few times previously, the groundbreaking for that temple was held on October 28 of last year, with full-scale construction efforts getting underway around two weeks following that.

As you may also be aware, because the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple has been planned as a smaller edifice in comparison with others under construction, the process of building that temple was only anticipated to last between 15-18 months. If we add 18 months to mid-November 2017, that takes us to mid-May 2019, so it makes sense that this temple's general completion estimate falls in mid-2019.

The last update I shared for this temple was passed along the Friday before General Conference weekend. At that time, I noted that structural framing had gone up for the temple and its' steeple. Then today, after almost a month has passed without my hearing anything on it, I learned that the interior walls of the temple are now being framed. It was good to learn of that update.

Next, for any of my readers who are wanting to tour the Jordan River Utah Temple, the open house will run for one more week and will conclude at the end of the day this Saturday. At that point, the Temple Department will finalize any preparation for this temple's rededication, which will be held four weeks (exactly 28 days) from today.

As I also previously mentioned, since the Jordan River Utah Temple rededication is the first major event of President Nelson's administration, I have no doubts that he will preside at at least one of the three dedicatory sessions. I am also equally as certain that several other Church leaders will be participating or at least in attendance at the three dedicatory session.

The rededication of this temple will be significant for another reason: it appears to mark the last time the Church will have a cultural celebration the night before a temple's dedication or rededication. In covering the announcements of the scheduled dedications for the Concepcion Chile, Barranquilla Colombia, and Rome Italy Temple, I had noted that, instead of a cultural celebration, a devotional has been scheduled for youth in these temple districts the night before. The Church has not made it clear why this is being done, but there are surely very good reasons behind this change.

And although it is also true that, following the rededication of the Jordan River Temple, there will not be any other dedications until October 28 (when the Concepcion Chile Temple will be dedicated), I am cautiously optimistic that we will find that, by that date, not only will construction have formally begun for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, but we may also have seen at least two, and possibly even three or more, temples have a groundbreaking by that time.

Whatever might occur in that regard, you can depend on my monitoring these developments and passing word along to you as I hear 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.

Houston Texas Temple Rededicated in a Simple Ceremony; Minor Update Noted on the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple

Hello again, everyone! Mormon Newsroom published this release regarding the rededication of the Houston Texas Temple that was held earlier today. In addition to President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the service was attended by Elders Larry Y. Wilson (who serves as Executive Director of the Temple Department, unless the recent assignments that were given have changed), Elder S. Gifford Nielsen (who, while he has no direct role in the Temple Department, was there as a resident of Houston prior to his call as a General Authority), and Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, who particularly commeted on the remarkable way in which the temple repairs were finished ahead of schedule and under budget, which, for a project of this sort, is nothing short of remarkable.

This temple will, of course, reopen to patrons on Tuesday. The one other temple development which I wanted to note in this post is that the status of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple was updated recently to show that, rather than having full-scale construction begin within the last 7 or 8 days of this month, it is likely that that process will commence at some point in the second quarter of 2018. It appears that the report from someone in Canada in this regard may have been in error. I had hoped it was not, but clearly, there is more to what's delaying this process than originally thought.

That said, I fully believe that we will be seeing this temple start the construction process sooner rather than later. One of many unknown factors that I am still waiting to hear about is whether the plan modification for this temple was sufficient to change the estimate of the length of its' construction process. As I previously noted, round about the time the Church annouonced this temple's groundbreaking, I had heard an estimate of 20 months (1 year and 8 months) mentioned for that process. If that information still applies, and if the Church gets construction underway within the next month or two, then the temple could complete the construction process either around the end of next year or the beginning of 2020, which would allow its' dedication sometime during early-to-mid 2020.

I continue to do my level best to stay on top of all such developments, and will be sure to pass such news along to you all as I receive 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.

Change in Advisers to the Church Magazines Noted in May 2018 Ensign

Hello again, everyone! In my previous post, I shared some information about the May 2018 Ensign. This post, in somewhat of a continuation of that theme, will highlight some changes that the Church has made to the advisers of its' magazines.

There have not been any changes noted in either the editor (Elder Hugo E. Martinez continues in that assignment) or assistant editors (Randall K. Bennett and Carol F. McConkie are still listed, though obviously Sister McConkie's release will necessitate a change, which will likely be noted in the June magazines).

And while Brian K. Ashton, LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., Edward Dube, Sharon Eubank, Donald L. Hallstrom, and Douglas D. Holmes continue as advisers to the Church magazines, Bonnie H. Cordon's call as Young Women General President means she will no longer serve as an adviser, since she now has other responsibilities, and it appears that the Church has also released Elder Erich W. Kopischke from his responsibility as an adviser. Additionally, Cristina B. Franco, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, has been added as an adviser.

No word yet on any other changes. It is likely there will be a new assistant editor, who will likely be one of Sister Cordon's counselors, and that that will be determined by the time the June magazines are published. Any other changes may not be identified until the August 2018 issue, since August 1 marks the beginning of new assignments for each General Authority Seventy.

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.

PDF Version of May 2018 Ensign is Now Available; Results of My Predictions for Its' Table of Contents

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to report that the PDF version of the May 2018 Ensign is now available to download, which can be done here. Those who have a subscription to the Ensign should receive their paper copies within the first or second week of May.

With the PDF version now available, we now know what its' actual table of contents looks like. As many of you might recall, in a post about a week or so ago, I shared my thoughts on how it might look. You will find below another copy of that, with the differing content in parentheses. I should mention that in my version of it, I did not allow space for the statistical report, which appears on the first page following the concluding address from President Nelson, and I had also forgotten that the Church is devoting several pages at the back of the conference Ensign to the new curriculum for Elders' Quorums and Relief Societies.

In an interesting move, the layout of this Ensign will include the Church Auditing Department Report in a two-column spread on a page that is the middle of The Sustaining of Church Officers which was led by President Oaks during the Saturday Afternoon Session.

The copy of the table of contents I put together follows, with differences between my version and the actual one in parentheses. 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.

Possible Table of Contents for the May 2018 Ensign

Session	Page	Title	Speaker
	2	Conference Summary for the 188th Annual General Conference
	4	Highlights from the 188th Annual General Conference
SAM	6	Solemn Assembly	President Henry B. Eyring
	9	Precious Gifts from God	President M. Russell Ballard
	13 (12)	Am I a Child of God?	Elder Brian K. Taylor
	16 (15)	Even As Christ Forgives You, So Also Do Ye	Elder Larry J. Echo Hawk
	19 (17)	The Heart of a Prophet	Elder Gary E. Stevenson
	23 (21)	Until Seventy Times Seven	Elder Lynn G. Robbins
	26 (24)	The Prophet of God	Elder Neil L. Andersen
SAA	30 (28)	The Sustaining of Church Officers	President Dallin H. Oaks
	32 (29)	Church Auditing Department Report, 2017	Robert W. Cantwell
	33 (30)	Meek and Lowly of Heart	Elder David A. Bednar
	37 (34)	One More Day	Elder Taylor G. Godoy
	39 (36)	Young Women in the Work	Bonnie L. Oscarson
	42 (39)	Saving Ordinances Will Bring Us Marvelous Light	Elder Taniela B. Wakolo
	45 (42)	Teaching in the Home—a Joyful and Sacred Responsibility	Devin G. Durrant
	48 (46)	Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing	Elder Dale G. Renlund
SPH	52 (50)	What Every Aaronic Priesthood Holder Needs to Understand	Douglas D. Holmes
	55 (54)	Introductory Remarks	President Russell M. Nelson
	56 (55)	The Elders’ Quorum	Elder D. Todd Christofferson
	59 (58)	Behold! A Royal Army	Elder Ronald A. Rasband
	62 (61)	Inspired Ministering	President Henry B. Eyring
	65	The Powers of the Priesthood	President Dallin H. Oaks
	68	Ministering with the Power and Authority of God	President Russell M. Nelson
SUM	76 (75)	Take the Holy Spirit As Your Guide	Elder Larry Y. Wilson
	79 (78)	With One Accord	Reyna I. Aburto
	82 (81)	Pure Love: the Sign of Every True Disciple	Elder Massimo De Feo
	85 (83)	He That Shall Endure unto the End, the Same Shall Be Saved	Elder Claudio D. Zivic
	88 (86)	His Spirit to Be with You	President Henry B. Eyring
	92 (89)	Small and Simple Things	President Dallin H. Oaks
	96 (93)	Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives	President Russell M. Nelson
SUA	101 (97)	Christ the Lord is Risen Today	Elder Gerrit W. Gong
	103 (98)	Prophets Speak by the Power of the Holy Spirit	Elder Ulisses Soares
	105 (100)	Ministering	President Russell M. Nelson
	106 (101)	“Be With and Strengthen Them”	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
	110 (104)	Ministering as the Savior Does	Jean B. Bingham
	113	Behold the Man!	Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
	117 (111)	It Is All about People	Bishop Gerald Causse
	120 (114)	Prepare to Meet God	Elder Quentin L. Cook
	124 (118)	Let Us All Press On	President Russell M. Nelson
	72	General Authorities and General Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
	(119)	(Statistical Report)
	126	They Spoke to Us: Making Conference Part of Our Lives	(Not included in this Ensign)
	128 (120)	Conference Story Index
	129 (121)	News of the Church, including new leader biographies, an overview of the announced policy and practice changes, new temples, and any other general Church news
	(137)	(Come Follow Me—For Elders’ Quorum and Relief Society)
	144	Last Page of Conference Ensign