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.