Hello again, everyone! This is a personal post to share some news and to pass along plans for content that will be coming over the next four months. Over the last couple of months, I have been toying with the idea of tweaking the layout of this blog to try and make it more user-friendly, and to make particularly relevant content easier to find. Today I was able to make those adjustments. To me personally, those tweaks do make the sidebars easier to follow, and this new arrangement should allow all of my readers to more easily find content that is of interest to them. But that is just my opinion. I am inviting your feedback on these changes, and look forward to your thoughts, which are always welcome and appreciated.
I also wanted to just put this out there as well: Because I am still looking for ways to expand this blog's readership and audience (though I am continually impressed with how quickly the numbers of those reading these posts has gone up lately), there may be individuals who are newcomers to this blog. For that reason, I wanted to reiterate something I have said previously: Because of current health challenges that prevent me from working at the moment (which I hope will change in the next few months, or possibly sooner), blogging is one of many ways I fill my time.
So I do keep fairly close tabs on developments here on my blog, with particular attention to those comments that are being made. Since I have previously had experience moderating online discussions, my general practice has been to personally reply to every comment made on this blog. But I do worry that my doing so may be misunderstood. With that in mind, I wanted to just again let all of you know that I do appreciate any comments made on this blog.
Since I do personally reply to most comments made here, I hope that everyone understands that I do not mean to cut off future comments on these posts. If someone has provided insightful feedback here, I want to show my appreciation for those thoughts, and I also want to take time to address questions and corrections, and to clarify anything I have said that I have worried may be misunderstood.
So if any of you see one (or more) comments from me personally on these threads, I hope you all know that I am not trying to end feedback on the posts. If there are things I need to clarify, amend, or correct, I want to make sure that takes place. If anyone has felt that one or more comments from me in response to other comments made on the posts here are meant to either end the dialogue on these posts, or are meant to discourage future comments on them, that was never my intention, and if that is the case for any one of you, I sincerely apologize.
My hope is that, as people read the posts here and the conversations that take place in the comments (both by me and by others here), that "all may be edified and rejoice together." I also wanted to announce that, within the next month or two, as time, circumstances, and available information allows me to do so, I will likely be gathering data to begin a second round of posts on the most likely near-future temple prospects for each of the Church's geographical areas.
While I welcome any comments on any post at any time from anyone, for the posts about temple prospects, the intent will be to have an open commenting period for the next 3.5 months or so, which I hope will allow ample time for discussion of my thoughts (and your comments in response) on the most likely prospects for temples that may be announced in the October General Conference.
That is the intent, but if I am unable to track down information on the sizes of current temple districts, or other pertinent information that may factor into those discussions, that will be a challenge to work around when the timing is right. Stay tuned for more on that as I figure all of that out. I cannot say for certain, but if all goes well, I will hope to start on that series within the next couple of weeks or so.
That does it for this post. As mentioned above, and as always, any and all comments are 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.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
New Blog Layout
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Friday, June 1, 2018
"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.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
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.
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.
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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.
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)
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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