Three Apostles to Mark Their Birthdays This Month/Some Thoughts About Changes in Area Leadership and the Presidency of the Seventy

Hello again, everyone! As longtime readers of my blog may recall, last year, at the beginning of August, I noted that 5 apostles would be celebrating their birthdays during that month. Since that time, two of those apostles with August birthdays (President Thomas S. Monson and Elder Robert D. Hales) have passed away. As neither of the two new apostles have August birthdays, that lowers the number of August apostolic birthdays to 3. So I wanted to post today to provide an overview of which 3 apostles will have a birthday later this month, and when that will happen.

Interestingly, the August apostolic birthdays are each 3 days apart, taking place over a period of six days (from August 6-12). Next Monday, the youngest of those 3, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, will mark his 63rd birthday. 3 days later (Thursday August 9), Elder Neil L. Andersen will celebrate his 67th birthday. And 3 days after that (Sunday August 12), President Dallin H. Oaks, the oldest of the 3, will be observing his 86th birthday. It will be my privilege to post tributes to these Brethren on each of those days. Stay tuned for that.

On an unrelated note, the changes in area leadership, which were announced a few days after the April General Conference, have now gone into effect. This means that the Presidency of the Seventy has now been relieved from their service overseeing the Church's 10 North America areas, which are now under the supervision of 3-man presidencies, two of which are overseeing 2 areas each, and 1 of which will oversee the 3 Utah Areas.

The changes also mean that, for the first time in Church history, the Presidency of the Seventy is comprised of 4 members born outside the United States: Elder Patrick Kearon (who was born in England), Elder Terence M. Vinson (who was born in Australia), Elder Jose A. Teixeira (who was born in Portugal), and Elder Carlos A. Godoy (who was born in Brazil).

As I previously mentioned, Elder L. Whitney Clayton, who serves as the Senior President of the Seventy, will mark his 70th birthday in 2020, which means that, unless Elder Kearon has been released from the Presidency by that time (which does not seem likely), he could become the first foreign-born Senior President of the Seventy at that time.

It is also interesting to note that, with the exception of Elder Clayton, the other 6 members of that Presidency have all come into that assignment within the last year. To have a majority of that Presidency so new to the assignment is significant anyway it's considered.

It will be interesting to see how soon the Church identifies the "other assignments" which the Presidency of the Seventy will be taking on now that they no longer are responsible for the oversight of the North American Areas. Whatever might occur in that regard, you can find more information on that through this blog as I learn of it.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

2019 Mutual Theme Announced

Hello again, everyone! In a letter from the Young Men and Young Women General Presidencies which was sent to leaders around the world, the 2019 Mutual Theme was announced. The theme comes from the words of the Savior in John 14:15, which reads: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." A simple and concise yet powerful injunction, which the leaders hope the youth will keep in mind this year as activities are planned and carried out, and as the Come, Follow Me curriculum is discussed every Sunday. You can read more about this development here.

Two additional Church News stories are significant as well. This one highlights remarks from BYU professor Lori L. Wadsworth, who highlighted 7 ways each of us can recognize the divinity of others. C. S. Lewis, in his "The Weight of Glory", was quoted as saying "It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship." It is a wonderful thought that each of us has a divine nature, heritage, and potential, and the remarks shared during this devotional exemplify these principles.

For those of us who are Church members, we either directly know someone or know someone who knows someone who has, through no fault of their own, had to come home early from their missionary service. One such individual, now a player for an NFL team, shared his experience in that regard, and some insights into how all of us can help such individuals.

I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will pass those along to you all as I receive word of them. I should also note that I am still working on combining the two lists of temple locations, and once I get that done (within the next 2-3 days or so), I will publish that here, so stay tuned for that.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed about newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Miscellaneous Church and Temple News

Hello again, everyone! I am posting again now to pass along miscellaneous Church and temple news. First, regarding temples, I wanted to report that the LDS Church Temples site, which had a massive data loss earlier this year, continues its' restoration process. The updated estimate for when the site might be up and running again is now listed for September. As we continue to unite our prayers in behalf of all of those working on this issue, hopefully it will again be available sooner rather than later.

Next, the updates from the Church News. This article reports on the sacrifices made by Saints in Brazil to reach the first temple in that nation (which was located in Sao Paulo), and talks about how temples have since started dotting that nation. With 6 in operation, 2 under construction, and 2 others announced, and other potential locations have become a real possibility.

I currently have 4 Brazilian candidates on my list for the near future, namely: Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Florianopolis, and a second in the Sao Paulo area).  Thanks to the increase in the number of temples in that nation, hose Saints no longer have to make great sacrifices to attend the temple., and the first South American apostle, Elder Ulisses Soares, comes from Brazil.

As I have previously observed, the Lord seems to be mindful of Brazil, and of how valuable that nation has been in increasing the strength of the Church worldwide in many ways. I am sure we will certainly see many other Brazilian temples announced in the not-too-distant future, and that we might even see a day when the number of temples operating in Brazil matches or exceeds the number of temples in Utah. It will be interesting to see in what manner and how swiftly all of that unfolds.

Salt Lake City, where the Church's worldwide headquarters is located, is home to many "hidden jewels and gems" which are popular attractions for those who are visiting the city, whether for General Conference, the Lights on Temple Square during the Christmas season, or at other times. This article describes some of the most frequently-visited locations which fit that description.

And finally, the Church News again reported on "Mormon Night with the Angels", which is a Monday night each July in which members and friends of the LDS Church are given a special opportunity to attend a baseball game for the Los Angeles Angels. The team gives an invitation for  the Church to have one of its' leaders throw out the ceremonial first pitch. This year, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had that honor, which  you can read more about here.

I continue to monitor all temple and Church news and will do my level best to bring word of those to you ASAP after I become aware of these developments. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. 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.

Two Additional Church News Stories Reported

Hello again, everyone! I am back yet again, this time to cover two additional Church news stories which have been published within the last 10 hours or less. The Church News again continues to highlight landmark and significant addresses from Church leaders in their "From the Vault" Series. The focus of this week's article was on an address given by then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 1974 on the campus of BYU-Provo. Although President Hinckley's foremost legacy was his smaller temple-building program, which more than doubled the number of temples in the period of a few short years, he was also well-known as an eternal optimist.

In his aforementioned address, he spoke about how important optimism can be in our daily lives. He also talked about how being pessimistic, especially about things that are outside our ability to control, can dampen our spirits and weigh us down. By focusing on the positive (which does not necessarily mean ignoring the negative, bur rather not letting the good in our lives be outweighed by the bad, difficult, or challenging things), our lives take on a richer quality, and we are better equipped to deal with the hard times when they come. Both the summary of his address and the address itself are well worthy of your time.

The second and final new item I wanted to report on was how two "native sons of St. George", Elders Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Steven E. Snow, Church Historian and Recorder, who is a General Authority Seventy, traveled "back home" to St. George this weekend for the rededication of the St. George Tabernacle. Also in attendance was Bishop Dean M. Davies, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, who had a supervisory role in the tabernacle's renovation process. The Church News summary can find found here, with a more complete summary provided by the Deseret News here.

I continue to monitor all Church news and 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. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to do so, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of new content. 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.

Temple Updates Provided

Hello again, everyone! On this second-to-last day of July, I am pleased to post today to share some updates of which I have become aware in terms of temple developments. Let's get right into it. First, I have mentioned that, especially in view of President Nelson's reportedly extensive plans to expand the number of temples in a short period of time, there seems to be every likelihood that the Church will have at least 200 temples in operation by the 200th anniversary of the Church's reestablishment (which, as I have noted, will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030). With 30 temples in various phases, the Church would just need to complete each of those, and announce and complete 11 others in the 11.68 years between today and that date, which could be done if 3.51 temples were dedicated per year during that time.

As I also mentioned, although only 2 temple dedications will be held this year, there is already 1 temple dedication set for next year, and there are 5 other temples that will almost certainly be dedicated in 2019 as well. And with the 3 others under construction that are currently anticipated to be dedicated within the first 6-8 months of 2020, there will be 170 operating temples by around this time in 2020, by which time several other temples will likely have had a groundbreaking and could be close to dedication as well.

If there are a minimum of 170 temples dedicated by July 30, 2020, that would leave the Church 9 years, 8 months, and 7 days (9.68 decimal years) in which to build and dedicate those 30, which would then lower the number of temples that would need to be dedicated per year to 3.1. And if the initial word on President Nelson's temple-building plans is any indication whatsoever, that will be easy for the Church to do.

That said, let's briefly talk about the temple updates which I have found out about. We start with the Concepcion Chile Temple, where a new series of photographs have been posted on the LDS Church Temples Facebook page. It is good to see the progress on that temple, since its' open house begins in around 6.5 weeks.

We turn now to the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple, where the installation of walkways around temple grounds continues. As we are nearing the end of the typical July recess month for the apostles, I would anticipate that a dedication announcement could be made within the next 2-3 months, but perhaps sooner. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds, and whether or not that temple's dedication could be set to occur prior to the already-scheduled dedication of the Rome Italy Temple.

Next, I wanted to mention that I was able to find an update of sorts on the construction process for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple. I am not entirely sure how reliable the information in this video is, but someone posted what appears to be an update showing progress on this temple through Youtube. If any of you have any information on whether or not the updates in this video are valid, let me know.

A new video and photograph series has been posted on the LDS Church Temples Facebook page, which you can find at the link below. We at long last have an update for the Rio de Janerio Temple, which shows that exterior cladding is underway. Additionally, an article from a local paper about that temple was shared on Facebook earlier today, all of which you can find out more about on the aforementioned Facebook page.

We have yet another update on the Winnipeg Manitoba  Temple, where plies have been installed for the meetinghouse, and where preparation is underway to pour the foundation for that meetinghouse. As I mentioned previously, it is likely that the Church has more imminent need of the meetinghouse while the temple continues its' construction. I will pass along more as I learn of it.

And finally, some of you may have seen a recent comment on this blog from someone living close to the Raleigh North Carolina Temple. According to the information he provided in the comment, exterior framing and sheathing is now complete, weatherproofing has been attached to the temple's exterior, metal supports for stone attachment are being added around the exterior, and waterproofing is underway for the temple's newly-completed tower.

Before ending as I always do, I wanted to note that, while these updates are an encouraging sign, I do not see anything in the new information which would indicate a change is needed on any of the estimates I have previously offered. Stay tuned for more as I hear of it. I continue to monitor all such developments and will do my level best to pass those updates along as I learn 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. If you enjoyed what you read here, please feel free to subscribe to stay informed of newly-added content. 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.