BREAKING NEWS: Church to Publish Unified New Editions of The Hymnbook and Children's Songbook

Hello again, everyone! Big news from the Church today. It has been announced that, in an effort to more fully unify Church members worldwide, plans are underway to completely revise both the hymnbook and the children's songbook. The intention is to provide one unified book of each that will have the same hymns or songs with the same numbers in all nations where the Church is established.

This also means that some of the lesser-known and more infrequently used hymns may be omitted in favor of hymns that are popular all around the world, and opens the possibility of some hymns and songs that are international staples being added to the new editions for all Church members.

For the first time ever, the Church is inviting feedback from members worldwide about this process. You can read more in this article, which was published by the Church News about 3.5 hours ago. I continue to monitor all Church and temple developments and will pass those along to you 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 Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may be aware, although the LDS Church Temples site is still undergoing a restoration and redesign process, updates have continued to be published periodically on the site's Facebook page. So I am pleased to be able to pass these updates along to you all now.

First, I wanted to note that there are now 11.81 years remaining between today's date and April 6, 2030, when the Church will celebrate its' bicentennial anniversary. Although there has been no change in terms of the number of temples which, on average, would need to be dedicated between today and that day in order for the Church to have 200 in operation by that time, I hope that this update may be of interest to some of you.

That said, let's talk about the updates I mentioned. To commemorate the start of the season within which the Mormon Miracle Pageant will be held in Manti, two articles have been shared, and you can find links to those on the aforementioned Facebook page. Next, I wanted to note that scaffolding has come down from the exterior of the Concepcion Chile Temple.

 Additionally, on that same Facebook page referenced above, you can view a panoramic video for the Barranquilla Colombia Temple, which was shot to show how it looked at night. And the final update I have found is that, although the extent of the progress is unclear, recent photographs, which were also posted on Facebook, show that work on the Fortaleza Brazil Temple continues at a steady pace.

It is worth noting here that, although I have taken more time in recent days to keep tabs on the aforementioned Facebook page so I can pass these temple updates along to you all, I have been giving myself an extended break from Facebook as part of my efforts to deal with some significant health issues I have been working to resolve. Some of those issues have included anxiety and depression, which I am working through to the best of my ability.

But long before President Nelson issued a challenge to youth worldwide to "take a break from fake" by participating in a seven-day "social media fast", I made the determination to cut back substantially on the amount of time I spend on Facebook. As a consequence, I have only been logging on to Facebook once or twice a month, if it has even been that frequently, and generally only long enough to pass along links to these blog posts. So if any of you have connected with me through Facebook and have wondered why I have not been on there recently, that is the reason.

I have found, however, that keeping tabs on Church and temple news and sharing those developments to the extent that I can has helped me in dealing with the anxiety, depression, and other health challenges. And I have certainly experienced more difficult things previously. So I am well enough for the moment, if not as well as I would like to be. And I will do my level best to continue to bring you all word of Church news and temple developments as I am able to learn more about 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 Reported: Part Two

Hello again, everyone! I am back with the second post I mentioned just a few moments ago, which will serve as the second part of my updates on recently reported Church News. So let's resume our discussion of those items.

Gerry Avant, who, as mentioned previously, is the recently-retired Church News editor, continues her series of articles taking a look back on highlights of her storied career. Although she will not be traveling with the Tabernacle Choir on their "2018 Classic Coast Tour", she shared how the Church's role in Russia was changed for the better through the Choir's 1991 European Tour.

Interestingly enough, then-Elder Nelson and his first wife Dantzel, who was a member of the Choir at that time, accompanied the Choir on their tour. As I have mentioned previously, for a number of years during his apostolic ministry, including during his tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Nelson had the supervisory responsibility for the Europe East Area. In that capacity, he traveled to Russia many times.

It was likely his familiarity with Eastern Europe in general and Russia in particular that enabled him to be inspired to announce a temple for Russia, and I would not be surprised in any way if, because he has spent so much time there, he is able to facilitate expedited progress on finding a city and a specific site for that temple and the process of building it.

To round out the discussion of articles from the Church News, there are two more significant ones. In preparation for Father's Day this Sunday, the Church News published an article highlighting comments from the First Presidency about how their fathers had impacted their lives. And the Church News continued another series that has been published recently by sharing these highlights of Facebook posts by Church leaders.

Turning now to a few articles from Mormon Newsroom, this report highlights ongoing relief efforts underway by Church members following a volcanic eruption in Guatemala. Next, a Mormon Newsroom blog post highlights significant stories from the branches of Mormon Newsroom operating in other countries.

That same Mormon Newsroom Blog also shared this summary of a Family History event held at the Capitol building in California, which was held in honor of "Juneteenth." For those not aware of this, Juneteenth, which is observed on June 19th every year, marks the day on which a festival is held by African Americans to commemorate the emancipation of slaves on that day in 1885.

And finally, President Nelson continues to be honored for his prestigious career as a heart surgeon. Yesterday (June 15), the University of Utah's School of Medicine announced it had created the Dr. Russell M. Nelson and Dantzel W. Nelson Presidential Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery.

This is a well-deserved honor. Although President Nelson had pioneered newer, better, and more effective heart surgery procedures, it was his first wife Dantzel who, following the demise of one of the patients he had operated on, encouraged him to continue to operate and perfect that process so that others would not have to experience the grief that he was going through. And this honor is fitting since he was able to perfect life-saving practices that had not been successfully employed prior to that.

I continue to monitor all Church and temple news and developments, and will do my level best to bring those to you as I become aware of them. That does it for this post. Aneny 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 Reported: Part One

Hello again, everyone! There were a few other noteworthy Church News stories that have recently been reported, so I thought I would share those in this post. The Church News reported a few days ago that Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse was in New Zealand recently to supervise the transition of the position of the director of temporal affairs for that nation. You can find a report of that trip here.

Next, we have two articles about FamilySearch developments. That organization is bringing a museum focusing on the American Revolution to a location next to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple. More specific information on that is provided in this article.

It has additionally been reported that  Also, in an effort to ensure that all are more fully able to find members of their family tree, FamilySearch additionally noted that they will begin to provide records of same-sex couples starting next year, as explained here.

If you all will indulge me for a few minutes, I want to interject some editorial comments here. Some critics of the Church may be inclined to ask why this genealogical arm of the Church is doing this when the Church has continued to affirm its' opposition to same-sex unions.

The fact of the matter is that the Church has had a long-standing practice of encouraging everyone to trace their familial connections. And while the Church does not condone, support, or sanction such unions, the Church also believes in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

So because such unions have been sanctioned as legal here in the US, and are legal in other parts of the world, those who may in any way be considered as a product of such unions have an equal right to trace their family lines that is no different from that of anyone who has no same-sex couples in their ancestry. You can read more about the reasoning behind this move and what it will involve in this article/

The Church News continues its' series "From the Vault", which takes a look back at important addresses given by Church leaders in years gone by. This week, that address was given in February 2000 by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. The setting was a BYU devotional, and the title of his remarks was "How Do I Love Thee?"

I have had a couple of opportunities to read that address, and it is a real masterpiece. You can either read the summary of that address in the Church News or the full address from the BYU Speeches Vault. And if you are really ambitious, it may be illuminating to read both.

The Church News also took the opportunity to share further responses from the youth of the Church worldwide as a result of President Nelson's address to them on June 3, this time passing along some feedback from young women.

The Church News additionally noted that an update of the Church's Media Library app is now available. And the articles about newly called Church leaders have continued as well, with one published earlier today about new General Authority Seventy Elder Juan Pablo Villar.

As some of you may know, President Boyd K. Packer lived in Brigham City Utah for many years, and he taught seminary there and was a big part of the process of getting a temple built and dedicated in that city. The Church News published an article about how an organ that was beloved to President Packer was restored by a former plumber.

There is more news to cover, but I will do so in a new post so that this one doesn't become too cumbersome. 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 everyting you do.

New President & Matron Announced for the Trujillo Peru Temple

Hello again, everyone! This will be just a very quick post to pass along news that the First Presidency has called a new president and matron for the Trujillo Peru Temple. This brings the total number of temples that have had a new president announced this year to 54, which cuts down the number of temples that may still get a new president to 3 or 4 (as I have the Cordoba Argentina, Taipei Taiwan, Veracruz Mexico, and (possibly) the Washington DC Temple on that list).

I would also anticipate that, at minimum, the Church may soon announce the first presidents for temples that will be dedicated within the next year. Right now, that would include Concepcion Chile, Barranquilla Colombia, and Rome Italy Temples, but depending on when the dedications of the Kinshasa DR Congo, Fortaleza Brazil, and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples are announced, those are also on my list of temples that may soon have a new president announced.

I continue to monitor all temple developments and will do my level best to 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.

Elder David A. Bednar Marks His 66th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! After a very busy day for me personally, I am back to do the first of two or three posts I will be publishing by the end of the day today. As some of you may recall my mentioning, today marks the 66th birthday of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

So let's get in to some details about his life experiences. David Allan Bednar was born on June 15, 1952 in Oakland California to Anthony George and Lavina Whitney Bednar. His mother came from a long line of Latter-day Saint ancestors, but his father was not a member of the Church. Despite that fact, Anthony Bednar fully supported the rest of his family participating actively in the Church, and he would often step in and participate in meetings and Church activities, including various service projects.

One major highlight of Elder Bednar's life came long after his marriage. Although he frequently asked his father when he would be baptized, his father replied that he would do so when he felt it was right. Anthony called his son one day and asked, "Would you be free on (and he named a date in the near future)? I would like you to come and baptize me." He was able to baptize, confirm, and ordain his father to the priesthood.

Elder Bednar served a mission in southern Germany, and some may recall the late President Boyd K. Packer recounting in General Conference a story of how he was in Germany and a young missionary gave him money, which he was able to use to get through border security. That young missionary was David A. Bednar.

Elder Bednar attended BYU-Provo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's in organizational communication. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from the prestigious Purdue University.

He met Susan Kae Robinson at an activity for young adults. He recounts that they were playing flag football, and that he threw a pass, which she caught, and that, incidentally, was the only time she could remember catching a pass. This impressed him, and the two started dating not long afterward. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and would go on to raise 3 sons together.

For a four-year period (1980-1984), he was an assistant professor of management at what was then the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. He spent the next two years as an assistant professor at Texas Tech University, after which he returned to Arkansas, where he served first as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, then the Director of the Management Decision-Making Lab. During this time, he was recognized with numerous awards as being an outstanding educator.

He also had a few ecclesiastical responsibilities within the Church at around the same time. He spent several months as a bishop, then went on to serve first as the president of what was then the Fort Smith Arkansas Stake, then as the first president of the newly-established Rogers Arkansas Stake. During the final months of his service as a stake president, he was called to serve as a regional representative.

In 1997, he was among the first men called to be an area seventy. That same year, he was also called to serve as president of Ricks College, during which time he led the transition of that college to BYU-Idaho. His tenure in that assignment came to an end on December 1, 2004, roughly one month following his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He and fellow apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf were called to fill the vacancies created by the July deaths of Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight 10 days apart. Interestingly enough, Elder Bednar joined only two other current apostles (now-Presidents Nelson and Oaks) who were called to the apostleship without having previously served as a general authority.

Elder Bednar's tenure as an educator has molded how he speaks as an apostle. One of his hallmarks is to invite the Holy Ghost to bless him and us as we listen to his remarks. In view of his almost-14-year tenure in the apostleship, he has given 28 General Conference talks, which are always well crafted and insightful, and are well worthy of review by all of us.

At the time of his call to the apostleship, Elder Bednar, at age 52, was the youngest apostle to have been called since then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to the apostleship at age 51 in 1984. He is currently the fourth most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (which makes him the 7th in overall apostolic seniority), and is the eighth oldest current member of the Quorum (which means he is the 11th oldest current apostle).

While I have never had the honor to meet him personally, I can fully attest to the validity and inspiration of his apostolic call, and it is significant that after just 14 years in the apostleship, he is within the senior ranks of that apostleship. Some have voiced their opinion that Elder Bednar might one day preside over the Church, and I concur that that is a very likely prospect. Given that he is in such a senior position at this point, and given that only six current apostles are more senior to him, unless something very unexpected happens, he is sure to be with us for at least the next two or three decades.

I hope this post has served as a fitting tribute to this remarkable servant of the Lord. 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.

Elder Cook Visits Saints in Belo Horizonte Brazil; Some Musings About Temple Progress & Future Announcements

Hello again, everyone! It has been a big day for updates on the worldwide ministry of our apostles, and I have found yet another one. Elder Quentin L. Cook spent some time in Brazil recently. More specifically, he visited and held meetings with the Saints and missionaries in the city of Belo Horizonte. LDS Church News has shared this account of what he did during that trip. The article also features quotes from the members of the Brazil Area presidency, as well as Elder Cook's fellow apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, who served his mission  in the Belo Horizonte region.

With this report in mind, that brings up an interesting question. First, the background for why it came to mind: As some of you may recall my mentioning, Elder Ronald A. Rasband visited the Philippines Area of the Church earlier this year before General Conference. And while I would have to double check my facts in this regard, he may have spent some of that time in Cagayan de Oro, and, as we know, a temple was announced for that city during the April General Conference.

While writing the above paragraph, more than one question came to mind, so here they all are: Is it possible that, as part of Elder Cook's time in Belo Horizonte, he may have spent time scouting out potential locations for a temple there? Would the fact that a temple in that city would be significant and personal to his fellow apostle Elder Soares have any impact on how soon a temple might be built there?

And finally, does Elder Cook's visit and Elder Soares's connection to this city indicate in any way that a temple may be more imminent for Belo Horizonte than Salvador? As I mentioned, I am in the very preliminary stages of trying to gather data for my next series of posts on potential future temples, which I hope to start before the end of this month.

In preparing this post and the questions above, I looked back into the history of my posts on this blog, and it appears that I have had Belo Horizonte on my list of potential future temple locations for just about as long as I have been sharing my thoughts on future temple prospects. As we also know, temples have been announced between now and then for both Belem and Brasilia.\

One other thought about all of this: President Nelson has shown a willingness to be very proactive about moving the Church forward. We saw many things happen in his first General Conference as our Church president. In one weekend, he was able to call two new apostles, make the other changes in Church leadership, announce the combination of all Melchizedek Priesthood bearers into one Elders' Quorum, retire home and visiting teaching and implement ministering, and announce 7 temples, 1 of which he was prompted to announce the night before General Conference began.

All of thisdemonstrates that he knows how to get and receive revelation. He also is impressing on us as members the importance of the temple, since his first address as Church president to Church membership was made from a temple.

With that in mind, and coupled with the statement I have previously referenced from Elder Larry Y. Wilson (who said in late April 2017 that there was a list of 80 potential temple locations that were under consideration for an official announcement within the 15 years after he made that statement, this suggests that, for as long as President Nelson presides over the Church, one of his main priorities will be bringing temples to the people.

That said, I also know that there are now 19 temples that have not gone beyond being announced, and we have seen times in the past when temple announcements were temporarily suspended to allow the Church to clear the backlog. So it may be that no temples will be announced during the October 2018 General Conference.

But it is also true that within the next two years, all temples currently under construction are anticipated to be dedicated. And although getting to the mid-point of any given year without a temple groundbreaking is rare for the Church, I would anticipate that we will hear of at least one temple groundbreaking (for the Bangkok Thailand Temple) at some point in the near future, and that that groundbreaking will occur prior to the end of the year, whether or not any other groundbreakings are announced or take place by the end of this year. But whatever happens in that regard, 2019 and the years following may be full of temple groundbreakings.

So I imagine President Nelson will also do what he can to clear the backlog of announced temples, and that by the time all temples currently under construction are dedicated, others that currently have a groundbreaking pending will have had that occur and will be under construction. I am likewise confident that President Nelson continues to seek the Lord's will regarding temple locations and the timing within which those might be announced, which is why I include temple possibilities in every one of my General Conference predictions.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of them to you as I find out about 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 Reported

Hello again, everyone! Within the last couple of hours, the Church News has shared a couple of other articles that I could not wait to pass along. So let's discuss them both now. As I may have previously mentioned, as part of his worldwide address on Sunday June 3, President Nelson issued a challenge to the youth of the Church to hold themselves to a 7-day fast from social media, or, as it has otherwise been termed, to "take a break from fake." The Church News shared feedback from the youth who took the challenge with these 10 responses on the difference that made.

On a personal note, when I first joined Facebook, I spent a great deal more time on that site than I do now. About a year or so ago, when my health began to be more of a problem, I determined that cutting back my time on social media would be appropriate. While I still check in periodically, I have found that I don't miss it very much, and that I have been able to spend time on more important things, not the least of which is keeping you, my readers, in the loop about the latest Church and temple news.

That is not to say that social media is not an important way to keep in touch, especially with those you may not see very often. And it has been an outlet for many of us to hear uplifting thoughts from our apostles who post regularly about their ministry and share insights into how we can become better people.

So social media has its' importance in its' proper place, but too much of anything is never a good thing. Just as the youth of the Church have been blessed by responding to the prophet's challenge and participating in their social media fasts, sometimes, it is good to take a step back from such things.

The subject of the apostles' posts on social media is an appropriate segue to the second and final subject which I wanted to cover in this post. In an exciting development, the Church News today noted that they would be doing a new series of articles focusing on each of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and that these articles would include tributes to them from the other members of that Quorum. The first of those articles, published about 90 minutes ago, focuses on President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve.

With the knowledge that this new series will be published over the next little while, I continue to monitor all Church News developments and will pass those along as I receive word 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.

Elder & Sister Renlund Speak to CES Instructors; Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! This post will cover two subjects, namely: the devotional for CES Instructors and some temple updates. First, as some of you may be aware, the Church holds an annual broadcast for those who teach seminary and institute and their spouses.

The speakers this year included Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Ruth, Elder Kim B. Clark, General Authority Seventy and Commissioner of Church Education, and Chad Webb, director of Seminaries and Institutes.

As some of you may also be aware, one of Elder Renlund's many apostolic assignments is to serve on the Church Board of Education. It was therefore fitting that he and his wife participated in this broadcast. The Church News provided this summary of that devotional.

We now conclude with the temple updates I referenced. I have previously shared on numerous occasions my feeling that the Church could (and likely will) have at least 200 temples in operation by or before the day on which the Church marks its' bicentennial anniversary (which will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030). And I have also shared that this could happen whether or not an official goal is set to do so.

As of today, there are 11.81 years left until that day, which means that the Church would need to dedicate roughly 3.47 temples per year. As I also noted previously, there will only be 2 temples dedicated this year, which is below that average. But with 6 temples anticipated to be dedicated in 2019, and at least 3 that we know of (so far) that may be dedicated in 2020, by the time those are dedicated, the average number of temples that would need to be completed per year will likely go down quite a bit.

That said, let's talk about two temples which have had progress reported. We start with the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. Recent information of which I have become aware notes that the exterior of that temple is nearing completion, and that a coat of white paint has been added to the temple's entry way.

I cannot say for certain that this will be the case, but I would imagine that the Church could potentially announce a dedication for that temple within the next four months or so, and I have offered my opinion recently that that could occur in mid-April 2019. It will be interesting to see what happens in that regard.

I also became aware of an update on the Arequipa Peru Temple. Recently obtained information shows that work on the temple's exterior is making steady progress. That temple is anticipated to be dedicated in early 2020. The interesting thing about this temple, the Rio de Janeiro Brazil & Winnipeg Manitoba Temple is that they all have a general completion estimate of early 2020. In some ways, the order in which they could be completed may be somewhat interchangeable.

To the best of my ability, I continue to monitor all Church news and 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.

1300th Blog Post: Church News Updates

Hello again, everyone! After giving myself around a week to deal with some ongoing health issues, I am back again today to share some interesting Church News stories that have crossed my radar within this last week. This will be focused mainly on apostolic ministry updates, with a few other subjects mentioned in passing. There is a lot to talk about, so let's get right into all of that.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was recently on assignment in the South America South Area. While there, he spoke to Jewish leaders about how history, powerful doctrines, and ancient beliefs connect the history of Latter-day Saints with that of those of the Jewish faith. He also was able to share the Family Proclamation with those who serve in Argentina's congress.

As many of you may be aware, Elder Holland has a connection with the South America South Area, since he spent a two-year period (from 2002-2004) on assignment as president of the Church's now-defunct Chile Area, so he knows this area well, and it was great to hear about his chance to return to it.

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, recently spoke at a program honoring the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, since he has devoted his life to Deity and to defending religious freedom. What he said on that occasion can be found here.

Elder Ulisses Soares, who, as some of you may recall, served as president of the Church's Africa Southeast Area prior to his call to the Presidency of the Seventy in 2013, which in turn preceded his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, recently returned to the African continent with Elder Neil L. Andersen. The two apostles visited the Africa West Area. The Church News shares this report of their ministry efforts during that trip.

The Church News also interviewed Elder Soares about his personal experiences relating to how the priesthood revelation affected both his homeland of Brazil, and his ability to teach more people the gospel during his mission in that same nation.

The Church News additionally reported this information about the time Elder David A. Bednar and his wife recently spent in the Church's Asia Area, which included a first for the couple: visiting Cambodia, India, and Mongolia.

Elder Quentin L. Cook was the featured speaker at a BYU-Idaho Devotional earlier today. He shared some exciting insights into how recent developments and publications, particularly the Joseph Smith Papers project and the new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants has helped increase many misunderstandings both within the Church and outside of it about certain aspects of the Church's history. The snippets of his address that are quoted in that article are well worthy of your attention.

In continuing her articles that take a retroactive look at her storied career reporting Church news, from former Church News editor Gerry Avant, we have this article which recounts how President Monson revisited a sacred site in Germany.

Turning our attention now to Mormon Newsroom, two recent articles were published highlighting President Nelson's recent ministry efforts. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering work as a heart surgeon. He and his wife also joined Elder and Sister Ronald A. Rasband in ministering to Church members in Canada.

A few other articles may be of interest to some of you: As you may be aware, in light of the Church replacing home and visiting teaching with the ministering program, the Church News noted that monthly ministering principles will be published in the Ensign from now on. I am grateful that the Church has taken the steps to replace home and visiting teaching. The ministering approach will allow Church members to minister to our brothers and sisters more through the promptings sent by the Spirit, which will put the responsibility of how best to implement such principles squarely on our shoulders.

The First Counselors in the Sunday School and Young Men General Presidencies (Douglas D. Holmes and Devin G. Durrant) recently visited South Africa to share some insight into the changes that will be coming to the curriculum and youth programs. Apparently, starting next year, the curriculum for Sunday School that will focus more on individual preparation by class members for the Sunday School hour of Church. More details can be found in this article.

And we conclude with this inspiring article from the Church News, which describes how a senior sister missionary completed her missionary service following her husband's unexpected and sudden passing.

I can recommend all of these articles to you without reservation. That does it for this post. Anyh 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.