"Be One" Celebration Held

Hello again, everyone. The "Be One" Celebration, which, as previously mentioned, was held tonight to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the landmark revelation that extended the priesthood to all worthy males, wrapped up about half an hour ago. And what a celebration it was! In music and spoken word, the history of many Saints of African and other descent was reviewed. Among those highlighted were Elijah Abel, who was the first black man to join the Church, and who served as a seventy in the early Church, Jane Manning James, a faithful black woman who was shown great kindness by the prophet Joseph Smith and his family, and Elder Helvecio Martins, who was the first general authority of black African descent.

The celebration began with President Eyring conducting and noting that the event had been planned by a committee chaired by Elders Claudio R. M. Costa (of Brazil), Edward Dube (the first Zimbabwean general authority seventy) and Joseph W. Sitati (who is the first Kenyan general authority seventy).

The event also featured addresses from Presidents Dallin H. Oaks (to open the event) and Russell M. Nelson (to conclude it). President Oaks focused his remarks on both the personal impact the announcement had on him and on Presidents Nelson and Eyring, and by sharing his hope that all Church members will focus less on the problems of the past and more on moving forward in the future. President Nelson endorsed President Oaks's remarks and provided his own message of hope that the Church will work towards greater unity, and also reiterated that the blessings of the gospel are available to everyone, because all are equal in the eyes of God.

I was very impressed with and touched by this event, which at times brought tears to my eyes. But I was also suitably impressed by how quickly reports of the event came in. You can find an article from the Church News here, and the one from Mormon Newsroom here. I am also pleased to provide links to the full text versions of the addresses from President Dallin H. Oaks and President Russell M. Nelson which speak for themselves.

I continue to monitor all Church news and will pass updates 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.

Additional Church News Stories Reported

Hello again, everyone! I am back again in the early hours of June 1 to pass along some additional Church news stories that have recently been reported. Let's get right into all of those. First of all, Mormon Newsroom shared this report detailing the plans the Church has released regarding redevelopment plans for the residential area near the Mesa Arizona Temple.

Mormon Newsroom additionally reported that two stars from Broadway's "Finding Neverland". Matthew Morrison and Laura Michelle Kelly will headline the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2018 Pioneer Day Concert. Additionally, to narrate the program, the Choir is welcoming back Oscar Hammerstein III, who is the grandson of Oscar Hammerstein II. The latter, as some of you may be aware, provided the music to the lyrics of Richard Rogers, with the two collaborating on many famous and well-loved Broadway musicals. Hammerstein III will be the narrator of that Pioneer Day program, which will, in part, include a tribute to the music of his grandfather.

Moving on now to the Church News, we start with an update on the worldwide ministry efforts of our apostles. I may or may not have shared this already, but Elder Uchtdorf recently spent some time in Berlin, and the Church News shared this report on what he did there.

In the meantime, President Ballard and Elder Stevenson recently traveled together to the Pacific Area of the Church. President Ballard's message was an important one: While modern technology is important and has its' place, our usage of it should not be allowed to interfere with our connection to heaven.You can find the article reporting more details on that visit here.

And Elder Renlund recently journeyed to the Asia Area. While there on assignment, he not only held meetings with members, Church leaders, and missionaries, which enabled him to spiritually touch people's hearts, but he was also able to reconnect with several individuals whose physical hearts he had literally touched during his career as a heart surgeon. The Church News published this article

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but with the Church getting ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the revelation that extended the priesthood to all worthy males, the June 2018 Ensign will be a special edition with many articles on that subject. And in addition to the commemoration broadcast that will air at 7:30 PM tonight MDT, the Church News has also published a few articles in honor of the anniversary.

We first have this one, detailing the conversion of a Nigerian man, who in turn facilitated the conversion of others to the gospel, although they were unable to be baptized into the faith they had embraced until the revelation on the priesthood was given. They never once gave up on their hope that they would, in due time, have claim to all of the blessings of Church membership. Their consistent faith and patience paid off, and once word of the revelation reached them, they all immediately lined up for baptism. That is an awesome story.

Next, from retired former Church News editor Gerry Avant, we have this collection of first-hand accounts she collected once the revelation was announced. How wonderful it was to read about so many who were so anxious to take full advantage of all gospel blessings once word of the revelation reached them.

That article also included comments from President Kimball, which were originally made on December 5, 1978, regarding the circumstances that led up to his receiving the revelation and having it ratified by the other apostles. And finally, there was this article, which shared three answers to the question: Where were you when you heard about the revelation?

I continue to monitor all Church news and will do my best to pass updates along as I receive them. If not before, I will be back later this evening to pass along my thoughts about the commemorative broadcast.

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.

Articles Recently Published About New Church Leaders

Hello again, everyone! I just now realized that I have missed reporting on a number of articles about new Church leadership, which have continued to be published. So let's get right into those. We have this one introducing Elder Jack N. Gerard, this one in which Elder Brook P. Hales was introduced (which I may or may not have  posted here previously), this one about Elder Mathias Held, who has had extensive international experience, this one to introduce Elder David P. Homer, and this one published earlier today that introduced Elder Kyle S. McKay.

With these articles, the only new General Authority Seventies that have not yet been featured in introductory articles are Elders Juan Pablo Villar and Takashi Wada. I would imagine that after those are published, other articles will likely be published about Sister Lisa R. Harkness, new First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, and the members of the new Young Women General Presidency members (Sisters Bonnie H. Cordon, Michelle D. Craig, and Becky Craven).

Hopefully I will be able to publish posts about those articles as they in turn are published on the Church News website. 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 New Temple Presidents Called

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has continued to announce new temple presidents. With the callings of three more noted, the Church has called a total of 53 new temple presidents thus far this year, which is exactly 1/3 the amount of the 159 temples currently in operation.

Among the three new presidents announced today is another current area seventy, which means that 6 currently-serving area seventies have now been called to serve as temple presidents. This also means that, in addition to any first presidents that will be announced for temples that will be dedicated before the end of this year or the beginning of next year, there are merely 5 temples left on my list of those currently operating that may get a new president at some point this year.

Whatever might occur in that regard, you can depend on my bringing word of those calls to you as I receive them. In the meantime, the updated version of my list tracking these changes 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.

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

51.  Tegucigalpa Honduras

52.  Fukuoka Japan

53.  St. Louis Missouri

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.      Taipei Taiwan

3.      Trujillo Peru

4.      Veracruz Mexico

5.      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)

President Henry B. Eyring Marks His 85th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back as promised in my previous post to pay tribute to President Henry B. Eyring, who is celebrating his 85th birthday. There is a lot to discuss about his life, so let's get right into it. Henry Bennion Eyring was born on May 31, 1933, in Princeton New Jersey, to well-known physicist Henry Eyring and Mildred Bennion. As I previously noted, his father's sister, Camilla Eyring, married Spencer W. Kimball, while his father's first cousin was Marion G. Romney. Young "Hal", as he was known, was a very good student.

At one point, his father was explaining a scientific concept to him when he noted that young Hal seemed to not be interested in it. He asked his son what he thought about when he had nothing else to consider, and told him that he should pursue that subject. This led young Hal to an eventual career as an educator and academic administrator. His family would later relocate from New Jersey to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Although he did not serve a full-time mission, he was an active member of the U. S. Air Force, and was stationed in New Mexico, where he served as a liaison between military officers and scientists, where he was responsible for analyzing data from tests done on nuclear weapons. Prior to his military service, he had earned a degree in physics from the University of Utah. He also studied at Harvard, where he eventually earned both a masters' and doctoral degrees in Business Administration.

While he was highly sought after by business owners who admired his analytical work, he chose to continue to pursue his education. In the meantime, it was not until 1960 (when Hal was 26 or 27) that he met Kathleen Johnson at a YSA meeting in New Hampshire. She was born in Palo Alto California, and had studied at Stanford before coming to Harvard. She also spent some time studying at the Universities of Vienna and Paris.

Because Hal was serving as a counselor in the district presidency, his district president (Wilbur Cox) adjusted his assignments to accommodate his desire to date Kathleen. They dated over that summer, and continued their courtship long-distance, with Kathleen making several cross-country trips prior to their engagement in the early months of 1961.

They continued their courtship for the next year or so, until they were married in the Logan Utah Temple on July 27, 1962, by which time Hal was 29 years old. Their marriage was solemnized by his uncle, then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Their family would eventually include six children (four sons and two daughters). Two of their sons are Henry J. Eyring (who current serves as president of BYU-Idaho) and Matthew J. Eyring (who is a Chief Strategy Innovation Officer with Vivint, a company specializing in home automation).

Hal eventually became a professor at Stanford University. He continued his career as an associate professor at the Stanford School of Business for 9 years (between 1972 and 1981), and went on to be a Sloan Visiting Faculty Fellow at MIT, during which time he also took courses in human behavior. Sometime between late 1970 and early 1971, his wife asked him if he shouldn't be studying with Neal A. Maxwell, who was serving at that time as Commissioner of Church Education.

After considering her question and following a lot of reflection, Hal accepted an offer to become president of Ricks College. Although other job offers came his way during his 6 year tenure at the college, he continued to serve until his release in 1977.. His previous Church callings included being a bishop, serving as a member of the Sunday School General Board, and as a regional representative.

In 1980, Hal was called to serve as the Commissioner of Church Education, succeeding Jeffrey R. Holland. He would continue to serve in that capacity until 1986. When the Church reorganized the Presiding Bishopric in April 1985, Robert D. Hales was called as the new Presiding Bishop, and he recommended that Hal serve as his First Counselor. After serving in that capacity for 7.5 years, he was called in October 1992 to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. When he began his new assignment, he was called for a second time to seerve as the Commissioner of Church Education, an assignment in which he would continue until 2004.

Following the passing of Church president Howard W. Hunter and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency in March 1995, new Church president Gordon B. Hinckley called Elder Eyring to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 12.5 years later, following the death of President James E. Faust, who had served as Second Counselor to President Hinckley, Elder Eyring was invited to join Presidents Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson in the First Presidency.

The way that came about is an interesting story. Elder Eyring had taken the phone call from President Hinckley and had heard his invitation to join the First Presidency, but because he had occasionally taken calls on the Church's phone system that were meant for some of his apostolic colleagues, he asked President Hinckley if he was sure he was talking to the right person. "This is Hal Eyring." he said. President Hinckley quickly responded, "I know who this is." Thus it was that the first apostle appointed during President Hinckley's administration was called to serve in the First Presidency for an almost four-month period prior to President Hinckley's passing.

When the First Presidency was reorganized, new Church president Thomas S. Monson called President Eyring to continue serving in the First Presidency, this time as his First Counselor. While in that capacity, President Eyring has dedicated 8 temples (San Salvador El Salvador, Gilbert Arizona, Payson Utah, Indianapolis Indiana, Philadelphia Pennsylvania (for which he had also presided at the groundbreaking), Hartford Connecticut, Paris France, and Cedar City Utah).The dedication of the Gilbert Arizona Temple was an interesting anomaly. Although President Monson presided at all three sessions, he requested that President Eyring read the prayer during the first session, so that was one recent example of how the dedication duties were shared by two apostles.

President Eyring has also rededicated seven temples (Ogden Utah, Buenos Aires Argentina Mexico City Mexico, Montreal Quebec, Suva Fiji, Idaho Falls Idaho, and Jordan River Utah Temple). The Ogden Utah Temple rededication is another interesting case. President Eyring conducted all three sessions and presided at the final two sessions, in which he also offered the dedicatory prayer, with President Monson having presided at and offering the dedicatory prayer in the first session.

As we also know, roughly one year ago (on May 23, 2017), the Church announced that President Monson would be stepping back from an active role in the day-to-day administration of the Church. When that occurred, Presidents Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf assumed oversight of all decisions except for those requiring the prophet's approval.

Following President Monson's passing this year on January 2, the First Presidency was reorganized on January 14, at which time President Eyring was called to continue his service in the First Presidency, and is serving as Second Counselor a second time, working with Church President Russell M. Nelson and his First Counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks. For the last several years, President Eyring's wife has been in ill health, and he has done a wonderful job of balancing his responsibilities in the First Presidency with his role being his wife's caregiver.

Because President Eyring has a familial connection to both Presidents Spencer W. Kimball and Marion G. Romney, who were involved in the 1981 dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple, President Nelson asked President Eyring to preside over its' recent rededication on May 20 of this year. As noted in an earlier post, President Eyring drew heavily on the original dedicatory prayer in composing the rededicatory prayer for this temple.

Although he is now 85 years old, by all accounts, he continues to be in good health. His lifelong legacy of education and service is an inspiration to all. I once had the opportunity to attend a stake conference at which then-Elder Eyring presided. His message to us at that time was on the important subject that our stake should foster unity.

It is a message he has since shared repeatedly in several General Conference addresses. Particularly during the October 2017 General Conference, when he was the presiding authority, his messages highlighted the important concept that the Lord is at the helm of His work, and that, regardless of the health of His chosen prophet, He continues to move the work forward.

As of right now, President Eyring has given a total of 93 addresses in General Conference, all but 5 of which have been given since his call to the apostleship in April 1995. You can find and review any of those inspirational addresses here.

I am grateful for the life, ministry, and service of this amazing man, whom I sustain with all my heart, and for the opportunity I have had in this small way to pay tribute to him on this, his 85th birthday. That does if 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.