Additional New Temple Presidents Announced

Hello again, everyone! The Church News continues to report the calls of new temple presidents. With those announced today, there have been 50 new temple presidents called this year so far. As I mentioned previously, the Church generally notes new presidents for roughly 1/3 of all operating temples. Since there are 159 operating temples (which will go up to 161 by the end of this year), it will be interesting to see how many other temples get a new president.

I would imagine we will shortly hear of the first presidents for at least the Concepcion Chile and Barranquilla Colombia Temples, which are set to be dedicated before the end of this year. And it wouldn't surprise me to learn of the first presidents for other temples anticipated to be dedicated in the early months of next year.

As has happened a few times this year, with this latest group of new temple presidents, there was one temple (Suva Fiji) which was not originally on my list of those that might get a new president, but one has been called for that temple.

The updated list follows below. I continue to monitor all developments of this sort and will bring word of those to you all 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.

New presidents have been called for the following temples:

1.      Manaus Brazil

2.      Boise Idaho

3.      Denver Colorado

4.      The Hague Netherlands

5.      Oquirrh Mountain Utah

6.      Helsinki Finland

7.      The Gila Valley Arizona

8.      Brigham City Utah

9.      Stockholm Sweden

10.  Palmyra New York

11.  Accra Ghana

12.  Papeete Tahiti

13.  Sao Paulo Brazil

14.  San Jose Costa Rica

15.  Albuquerque New Mexico

16.  Provo City Center

17.  Recife Brazil

18.  Cardston Alberta

19.  Payson Utah

20.  Porto Alegre Brazil

21.  Brisbane Australia

22.  Kansas City Missouri

23.  Oaxaca Mexico

24.  Regina Saskatchewan

25.  Cebu City Philippines

26.  Boston Massachusetts

27.  Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Mexico

28.  Billings Montana

29.  Houston Texas

30.  Sydney Australia

31.  Guatemala City Guatemala

32.  Hermosillo Sonora Mexico

33.  Montevideo Uruguay

34.  Indianapolis Indiana

35.  Laie Hawaii Temple (the new president of this temple is the older brother of General Authority Seventy Elder Donald L. Hallstrom)

36.  Las Vegas Nevada

37.  Atlanta Georgia

38.  Buenos Aires Argentina

39.  Redlands California

40.  Draper Utah

41.  Tijuana Mexico

42.  Sacramento California

43.  Monticello Utah

44.  Bountiful Utah

45.  Freiberg Germany

46.  Oakland California

47.  Villahermosa Mexico

48.  Manti Utah

49.  Suva Fiji

50.  Vancouver British Columbia

The first presidents will likely be announced for the following new temples:

1.      Concepcion Chile

2.      Barranquilla Colombia

3.      Rome Italy

4.      Kinshasa DR Congo

5.      Fortaleza Brazil

6.      Port-au-Prince Haiti

New presidents may also be announced for the following temples:

1.      Cordoba Argentina

2.      Fukuoka Japan

3.      St. Louis Missouri

4.      Taipei Taiwan

5.      Tegucigalpa Honduras

6.      Trujillo Peru

7.      Veracruz Mexico

8.      Washington D. C. Temple (Note: The Church may opt to wait on calling a new president for this temple until 2020 when it is rededicated)

Miscellaneous Church News Reported

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now with some Church news updates. There's a lot to cover, so let's get right to it. First of all, a few days ago, the Church News shared this report on the funeral services held recently for Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone. General Church leaders in attendance at the funeral services included Presidents Russell M. Nelson and Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency (with President Eyring representing the Brethren in speaking at the funeral, in view of his long friendship with Elder Featherstone) and Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It sounds like the service was a fitting tribute to this remarkable servant of God.

Less than 24 hours following the rededication of the Jordan River Utah Temple, the Church News released the text of the rededicatory prayer written and offered by President Eyring, who quoted many things said in the original dedicatory prayer penned by President Spencer W. Kimball, and offered by President Marion G. Romney, both of whom, as I mentioned earlier this week, have a familial connection to President Eyring.

The Church announced yesterday (May 22) that nearly 170 missionaries currently serving in Nicaragua would be relocated, due to political unrest and in consideration of their safety. Those nearing the end of their service period will be honorably released to return home, and those who remain will be reassigned to missions in North and South America or Europe.

It is heartbreaking in a way to see that happening, since the Church is in the preliminary stages of trying to get a temple built there, but hopefully things will settle down sufficiently enough to allow the missionaries to return and for work to begin on the temple before too much longer. You can find more details in this Church News article and this release from Mormon Newsroom.

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in company with Elder Gary E. Stevenson and other leaders, recently visited Saints residing in Australia and New Zealand, at which time, he encouraged Church members to "keep it simple" when sharing the gospel. You can read more about their ministry among these members from the Church News and Mormon Newsroom.

In the meantime, from the Blog section of Mormon Newsroom, the Church shared this report highlighting Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's recent visit to Germany, during which time he presented the president of Germany with his family history. And, in continuation of the cooperative effort between the Church and the NAACP, this article highlights a luncheon that featured addresses from individuals on both sides of that effort.

The Church News also shared this account of a recent address given by Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy during a BYU-Idaho Devotional, this article highlighting a message given during the BYU Women's Conference by Sister Kathy Andersen, wife of Elder Neil L. Andersen, which emphasized following the watchman on the tower, and this article from the new Young Women General Presidency, which notes that, while programs and methods may change, the doctrines of the Church will not.

And finally, in a continuation of the Church's ongoing efforts to increase transparency, this article was released on the subject of how Church finances are managed and distributed. That article was apparently a companion piece to this post by Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse, who wrote some thoughts on why and how the Church preaches and practices financial self-reliance. To provide more context for both of those resources, the Church included these questions (and their answers).

Here's the interesting thing about those materials being published now. I have been involved in my fair share of conversations with people not of our faith who suggest that, instead of spending money on temples or anything else, the money coming into the Church should be used to help the poor. I don't know how it is that people don't seem to understand that the Church is doing both. I have seen (and been positively influenced by) the process by which the Church holds itself accountable for the expenditures of Church resources. And so on that level, these materials are a timely release indeed.

We live in a most remarkable time. Not only is the Lord hastening His work in miraculous ways, but we have also entered an era where more information about the day-to-day ministry of the leaders of His church is being published, and where the Church and its' leaders are truly interested in being more transparent and promoting greater understanding of and cooperation with those not of our faith.

I continue to monitor all such developments and will do my level best to keep passing those along to you as i become aware 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.

Requesting Feedback for Refinement of October 2018 General Conference Speaking Order Predictions

Hello again, everyone! In an effort to refine my predictions for the potential speaking order of the October 2018 General Conference, I am posting a revised version of those predictions. These revisions have come as a result of study on my part. And I wanted to take this opportunity to solicit your feedback on the revisions. A few questions I considered in the process of those revisions were as follows:

1. It has typically been traditional for the counselors in the First Presidency to alternate being the last speaker during the Saturday Morning Session and the first speaker during the Sunday Morning Session. While there have been exceptions (such as last April), that has generally been the case. Will that prove correct this go-round?
2. In my opinion, President Oaks did an amazing job with the long list of releases and sustainings of area seventies last month. With that in mind, would it be fair to assume that President Eyring will continue to lead the sustaining vote in October, when comparatively less changes occur?
2. Will the Women's Session continue to be conducted by one of the three presidents of the female-led auxiliaries, or would that task be performed by a First Presidency member?
3. Would the entire First Presidency speak during the Women's Session every October, as they did for the Priesthood Session every conference before this upcoming one?
4. Would the First Presidency invite a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and/or other male general authorities to speak during the Women's Session?
5. If we do not hear from a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the Women's Session, when would the Church fit in the last member of the Quorum of the Twelve?
5. How might the Women's Session being held in the spot tradtionally reserved for the Priesthood Session alter the number of general officers who speak to us in the other four sessions.
6. Would the Church continue to have just one member of the Presidency of the Seventy speak (as we saw last month) or will we hear from 2 members of that presidency, as has been traditional in recent years?
7. Is there anything I need to keep in mind when considering the number or names of the General Authority Seventies who might speak? I know that the last few Octobers have seen a pretty even blend of new GA Seventies that were called the previous April and veteran General Authorities speaking for the second or third time (if not more than that).

In the revised predictions I have put together, I have attempted to provide the best answers I can to these questions. That said, I recognize we are going to be in somewhat uncharted territory next conference, primarily because the Women's Session will be held in the slot that has typically been reserved for the Priesthood Session.

Those revised 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[i]

Session	Conducting	Speakers
Saturday Morning	President Russell M. Nelson	President Russell M. Nelson
		Elder Terence M. Vinson
		Elder Quentin L. Cook
		Elder Jack N. Gerard
		Elder Gerrit W. Gong
		Elder Walter F. Gonzalez
		Elder Ronald A. Rasband
		President Dallin H. Oaks
Saturday Afternoon	President Dallin H. Oaks	President Henry B. Eyring (Sustaining of Church Officers)
		Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
		Bishop Dean M. Davies
		Elder Gary E. Stevenson
		Elder D. Todd Christofferson
		Elder Craig A. Cardon
		Elder Juan Pablo Villar
		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 Takashi Wada
		Elder Neil L. Andersen
		President Russell M. Nelson
Sunday Afternoon	President Henry B. Eyring	President M. Russell Ballard
		Brian K. Ashton
		Elder Mathias Held
		Elder Dale G. Renlund
		Elder Scott D. Whiting
		Elder Paul B. Pieper
		Elder David A. Bednar
		President Russell M. Nelson

---

[i]Although General Conferences in the past 20 years or so have typically conformed to general patterns in terms of the traditional speaking order, there have been a handful of exceptions. The most recent of those, of course, occurred with the April 2018 General Conference, when a Solemn Assembly was held, two new apostles were called, and the announced changes in policy and practice resulted in a completely different speaking order format. And in view of the October 27, 2017 announcement that the Priesthood and Women’s sessions would both be held annually, with the former being held every April, and the latter every October, it is almost certain that this will necessitate additional alterations to the typical format. While it may be a year or two until we know what the “new traditional format” will look like, the predictions for the speaking order of this General Conference are molded by assumptions, which may or may not prove accurate. With that in mind, the thoughts below represent my best efforts to figure out how all of that might work. And until I have a better idea of what that will look like, I will, as previously noted, be allowing myself a very small margin of error.

Jordan River Utah Temple Is Rededicated

Hello again, everyone! Mormon Newsroom shared this report on the dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple. President Henry B. Eyring presided at the first two sessions, and will also likely oversee the third and final one, which will begin in about 20 minutes.

Also in attendance were Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (who chairs the Temple and Family History Executive Council); General Authority Seventies Elder Timothy J. Dyches (an Assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department) and Mervyn B. Arnold (who is serving in undisclosed assignments at Church headquarters); Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary General President, who serves on the Temple and Family History Executive Council; and Bishop Dean M. Davies, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.

With this temple now having been rededicated, normal operations will resume on Tuesday May 22. I continue to monitor all temple developments and will pass those along to you all 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.

Additional note (included at around 5:45 PM): The LDS Church News website provided additional context for today's rededication. Not only did President Eyring draw inspiration for the rededicatory prayer he wrote from the original prayer written by President Spencer W. Kimball and read by President Marion G. Romney, but I had somehow forgotten that President Kimball's wife was President Eyring's aunt, and that President Marion G. Romney was his father's first cousin.

So President Eyring's assignment to preside at this rededication was likely more a result of the double-layered familial connection to those involved in the first dedication than it was about President Nelson recognizing that President Eyring has had more experience in presiding at temple dedications. This assignment was personal for President Eyring, and it was a nice touch to see that recognized. Just wanted to add that. Thanks again to you all.

Latest Apostolic Statistics: Part Two--Updated Ages & Other Important Information

Hello again, everyone! Having set the stage in the first part of this apostolic age update, we now move on to talk specifics regarding the ages of our apostles, the average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the 15 apostles as a group, current and future nonagenarians, and any other pertinent information. So let’s get right into all of that.

We start with the First Presidency. President Nelson is now 93 years, 8 months, and 11 days old, with a decimal age of 93.69 years. President Oaks is 85 years, 9 months, and 8 days old, with a decimal age of 85.77 years. President Eyring, who, as noted in the previous post, will observe his birthday in just 11 days, is now 84 years, 11 months, and 20 days old, putting his decimal age at 84.97 years.

The three have a combined 264.43 years of life experience, which puts their average age at 88.14 years as of today. As previously noted, President Oaks is the closest of the three to that average, as his age is 2.37 years below it. The ages of President Nelson and President Eyring respectively fall above and below that average.

We move on now to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Before I go into specifics on these 12 men, I wanted to note that, although I have previously listed this information in groups of four apostles, I decided that, starting with today’s update, and since the First Presidency has three members, it would make more sense to list this data in groups of three apostles each.

That said, President Ballard is 89 years, 6 months, and 12 days old as of today, with a decimal age of 89.61 years. Elder Holland is now 77 years, 5 months, and 17 days old, or 77.46 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf’s long-form age is 77 years, 6 months, and 14 days, which is 77.53 decimal years.

With Elder Bednar’s birthday being just under a month away, his long-form age is 65 years, 11 months, and 5 days old, or 65.93 years. The oldest but least-senior of our three apostles born in 1940 is Elder Cook, who has a long-form age of 77 years, 8 months, and 12 days, which is 77.70 years. For Elder Christofferson, he is 73 years, 2 months, and 15 days old, making his decimal age 73.20 years.

His seatmate, Elder Andersen, is now 66 years, 9 months, and 11 days old, making his decimal age 66.78 years. Elder Rasband, who, as previously noted, is just over six months older than Elder Andersen, has a long-form age of 67 years, 3 months, and 14 days, which is 67.28 decimal years. Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who, as noted previously, is now the second-youngest apostle, is currently 62 years, 9 months, and 14 days old, with a decimal age of 62.79.

Rounding out things with the final three Quorum members, Elder Renlund’s long-form age now stands at 65 years, 6 months, and 7 days old, which makes his decimal age 65.52 years. Elder Gong, who is just around 13 months younger than Elder Renlund, now has a long-form age of 64 years, 4 months, and 27 days, which is 64.41 years.  Elder Soares, who is our only apostle currently under the age of 60, is exactly 59 years, 7 months, and 18 days old, which is 59.63 decimal years.

The current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have a combined 847.96 years, which averages out to 70.66 years. As I mentioned in my last update, 5 of those 12 are older than the average, while the other 7 are all younger than the average. And, as I mentioned before, Elders Christofferson is the youngest of those 5 oldest, and Elder Rasband is the oldest of the 7 youngest.

In adding the combined life experience of all 15 apostles, we get a total of 1,112.39 years, which an average age of 74.16 years. I may have been in error last time when I posted information about the apostles closest to that average. It appears that 7 of the apostles are older than that average, and 8 are younger, with Elder Holland being the youngest of the oldest, and Elder Christofferson being the oldest of the youngest.

We now move on to the nonagenarians. President Nelson remains the 7th oldest apostle, and he will move up on the list 13.5 months or so from now. President Ballard will join that list in around 4.5 months. Since the birthdays of Elder Soares and President Ballard occur less than a week apart in October, that means that Elder Soares is 30 years younger than President Ballard, his 90th birthday is around 30 years and 4.5 months away.

I continue to track all of this information, and will do my level best to pass updates on to you regularly. As I mentioned in my previous post, my hope is to post on this subject once every month or two. 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.