President Eyring Teaches How to Be Confident Rather Than Self-Doubtful

Hello again, everyone! The Church News continues to report on the addresses given during the Seminar for New Mission Leadership.. Just about an hour ago, this report was published summarizing President Eyring's counsel to those new leaders. His message was on a subject he has covered before, how to be confident instead of self-doubting in assignments and situations that seem beyond an individual.

He spoke of his personal experiences receiving Church callings for which he felt inadequate and, to a certain degree, unworthy. He again highlighted an experience he shared before about how President James E. Faust had called him into his office shortly after then-Elder Eyring's call to the apostleship. He could see that the new apostle was struggling with the magnitude of his new role. Elder Eyring anticipated that the veteran apostle would offer him advice to get through those feelings. But President Faust instead offered this powerful lesson: "Don't ask me. Ask him."

Now-President Eyring went on to talk about how he now occupies the office in which that visit with President Faust occurred. He then noted that at times since that meeting in April 1995, and particularly as he has been called to continue his service in the First Presidency under a third president of the Church, he has kept President Faust's counsel in mind.

He went on to describe his understanding of how those called to preside over missions or serve as Church missionaries may face the same feelings on inadequacy. And he offered some suggestions in terms of how all Church members, in whatever their calling may be, can refocus their attention away from wanting their service to be acceptable to those under whose direction they are called to serve to instead being more concerned about whether that service is acceptable to the Lord.

He pointed out that, of all opinions, our standing with the Lord should be the most important. And he urged mission presidents to encourage their missionaries to serve under the Lord's direction, endorsement, blessing, and approval.

It is a very timely message. In a world dominated by the idea that we need to focus first on pleasing others and ourselves by what we do, we are prone to forget that the Lord's opinion should be the one that matters most. Only He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts, and at the day of judgement, we will not be asked about what we did to be acceptable to our fellow man, but what we did to be accepted of Him, which includes rendering service to those among whom we share our earthly sojourn.

May we all remember the importance of that message. That does it for this post. If you liked what you read here and would like to, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed about new content on this blog. 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.

Exploring Additional Temple Prospects for the Near Future

Hello again, everyone! With the recent discussions that have taken place in previous threads on this blog (which relate to how President Nelson's legacy as a temple-building Church president may outshine and overshadow that of President Hinckley), I have felt impressed to take a look at other potential locations which were not originally on my list for the near future, but which may need to be added in light of that new information.

I should also note that, unlike the locations currently on my list for a potential announcement in October, I am not yet going to add any contextual reasoning behind the inclusion of these sites for the moment, but that if any or all of these prospects do wind up on the list for October's General Conference, I will then be adding my rationale behind their inclusion.

A list of those prospects follows below, again organized first by the area of the Church under which those cities fall, then by potential likelihood within that area. So as not to disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do. That does it for this post. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed on new content as it is posted, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Africa Southeast: Kampala Uganda; Maputo Mozambique; Lubumbashi DR Congo; Cape Town South Africa

Africa West: Monrovia Liberia

Asia: Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Asia North: Kobe/Osaka/Nagoya Japan

Brazil: Florianopolis Brazil

Europe: Edinburgh Scotland; Vienna Austria

North America Central: Wichita Kansas; Green Bay Wisconsin; Council Bluffs Iowa

North America Northeast: Augusta Maine; Morristown/East Brunswick New Jersey; Concord New Hampshire; Montpelier Vermont

North America Southeast: Jacksonville Florida

Pacific: Tarawa Kiribati; Pago Pago American Samoa

Additional Temple Progress Reported

Hello again, everyone! I am pleased to report that, within the last hour, two important temple developments have been reported. We first turn to an update on the renovation process for the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple. A new photograph posted to the LDS Church Temples Facebook page shows that the framing on the temple's exterior has continued to make steady progress.

As I mentioned on this blog earlier this year, the general estimate for that temple's completion was pushed back from mid-2019 to mid-to-late 2019. With that in mind, despite this reported progress, I do not currently see any reason to believe that this temple will be rededicated any sooner than between October and December of next year. But if and when my thoughts change in that regard, I will pass that information along.

And just around half an hour ago, that same page reported a development related to the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. At the site where that is being built, a new photograph shows that preliminary work is underway on the meetinghouse that will be near the temple. As I mentioned previously, when the groundbreaking was held for the Winnipeg temple in December 2016, the Church indicated that the construction process was anticipated to take around 20 months or so.

With that process only having formally begun within the last six weeks, I have offered my estimate (which I will stand by until I see a reason to change it) that if all goes well, construction could conclude for this temple in February or March 2020, with a dedication following in April or May of the same year. Again, if I see any reason to alter that estimate in the future, I will be sure to do so.

I continue to monitor all temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you as I receive them. That does it for this post. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. 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 Bednar Shares 5 Vital Lessons on Revelation and Its' Role in Missionary Work

Hello again, everyone! Elder David A. Bednar's recent address at the Seminar for New Mission Leadership was shared today in this article. He focused his remarks on 5 principles that should be vital lessons about the way revelation works, and spoke of how those connect to missionary work. As part of his remarks, he took time to debunk some common misconceptions on the subject of revelation that he had heard exist on a wide scale both in and out of the Church.

This is a timely message, not just for those involved in the missionary work of the Church, but for every Church member, especially those in leadership positions. I have had the opportunity to serve in Aaronic Priesthood Quorum presidencies, and have also served in the Ward Sunday School Presidency. And I can attest firsthand to the revelation that comes in those callings when the right questions are asked at the right time.

The Brethren have recently reiterated the importance of revelation in the lives of each member of the Church. That was the subject of the first address given by President Nelson to the entire Church in General Conference last April. The overwhelming sense I get from these messages is that the Lord is very anxious to speak to us about the important decisions in our lives, and that we need to keep ourselves open to those promptings as they come.

Everything we have seen occur during President Nelson's prophetic administration (which will have spanned a full half-year this Saturday) indicates that he knows how to receive revelation, and that the Lord is motivating through inspiration given to his servant those changes that will allow us as Saints to better care for one another, and to be united in the work.

We live in a significant period of time, where we are hearing more about the regular revelation that is coming at Church headquarters than I can ever remember previously occurring. So I fully believe the Church's best and most significant revelations are yet to come, and I am committed to continue to bring coverage of those developments to you all as I become aware of them.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to, feel free to subscribe for notification of new content on this blog, whether future posts or comment threads. 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 Musings

Hello again, everyone! Though news of updates on our current temples has slowed in recent days, I wanted to post right now to share an update on the status of the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple, interspersed with additional musings I have had about temple progress in general. So without further ado, let's get right into all of that.

First, there has been increased discussion on this blog in recent days, both by me and by many of you, regarding the ambitious temple-building plans that, by all reports, President Nelson is frequently discussing with other leaders. In summary of those discussions, those who have talked to him about that are reporting that his prophetic legacy as a temple-builder will by far outshine and overshadow that of President Gordon B. Hinckley. As we know, President Hinckley announced an ambitious plan in the late 1990s that would more than double the number of temples within the following 10 years.

If President Nelson's plans will truly outpace President Hinckley's ambitious vision, then there is every likelihood that the number of operating temples could more than double again within the next few years, which would be amazing to think about.  I will speak more of that plan later on.

But the reason I mentioned it at the outset is to provide an update on what I have shared before: my belief that the Church will almost certainly have 200 operating temples by Saturday April 6, 2030, which will mark the Church's bicentennial anniversary. With 30 total temples in various stages of the construction process currently, the Church would merely need to complete each of those and announce and complete 11 others.

As of today, 11.74 years remain until that 200th anniversary, so the Church would just need to dedicate roughly 3.49 temples per year. As I have also noted, the two set for dedication this year means 2018 will fall below that average in this regard, but for next year, 1 such dedication has already been set, with 5 others that are also anticipated to be dedicated during 2019. And there are already 3 that we know of which are currently anticipated to be dedicated in the first half of 2020.

As we also know, there are currently two temples that we know of that are very close to a groundbreaking, and there are several others that may also have a groundbreaking within the next year or two. If President Nelson does start announcing temples en masse, then he will also surely want to do anything he can to quickly move the temples that are currently or will shortly be announced into the construction process.

In the earlier posts I have done, I noted that 2018 and 2019 were anticipated to be big years for temple groundbreakings, and while it is rare to get to early July without any occurring, that does not rule out the possibility that the last 5 months of this year may see several groundbreakings take place, especially if the October General Conference results in another massive and significant amount of new temple announcements.

That said, I am also pleased to provide an update I just learned of relating to progress that has been made on the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple. A report shared less than 2 hours ago via the LDS Church Temples Facebook page indicates that work continues to advance on driveways, walkways, and lampposts on the grounds of the temple, and that interior work is also progressing at a steady rate.

With that being the case, depending on what's left to be done on this temple, the Church could (and possibly will) announce the open house and dedication information before the October General Conference, and I have previously offered my opinion that that dedication could take place within the month or two following the already-scheduled 8-day dedication of the Rome Italy Temple. There are also other new temples and those undergoing renovation that could similarly have their dedications or rededications announced soon and set for the first 6-8 months of 2019.

All these things considered, it is apparent that the next two 2+ years are shaping up to be full of temple events. I continue to monitor all such developments and am committed to continuing to bring those to you ASAP. That does it for this post. If you enjoyed this content and would like to stay informed of new content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.