Hello again, everyone! Several Church News stories have been reported since my last update on that subject. Let's get right into a discussion of those. First of all, as some of you may recall my mentioning, the Church has recently come out to clearly note that its' leaders support the use of medical marijuana, but cannot get on board with the current wording of a ballot initiative upon which Utahns will vote this November.
The Newsroom on the Church's official website shares this report of how Church leaders and representatives met with online influencers to more fully explain their stance. And in the meantime, at the top of the 10:00 PM newscast on KSL, the top story was this report from the Deseret News, highlighting how both those supporting and opposing the current measure have reached a tentative agreement about how the policy in Utah should eventually look, whether or not the measure passes. That was good to hear.
In the meantime, the Church News reported a few new developments as well, including additional comments from Elders Quentin L. Cook and Dale G. Renlund on why the new narrative history of the Church entitled "Saints" was written for everyone.
In the meantime, as I have previously mentioned, the Primary General Presidency, which was entirely reorganized in April 2016, has since seen numerous changes. While Sister Joy D. Jones has continued to serve as the Primary General President, her first First Counselor, Sister Jean B. Bingham, was called a year later as the new Relief Society General President. Her original Second Counselor, Bonnie H. Cordon, became her First Counselor in April 2017 as a result of Sister Bingham's assignment change. Then, last April, Sister Cordon was called as the new Young Women General President.
During the year in which they served together as a Primary Presidency, a major theme on which they focused their efforts was unity. That theme has continued to serve them well as Sisters Bingham and Cordon have embraced new opportunities to work with their own new auxiliary presidencies. And that unity will continue to serve them as they embrace another change, the opportunity to have the Women's Session of General Conference two hours following the Saturday Afternoon Session. The Church News had an opportunity to interview these three women recently, and that article is well worthy of your time and attention.
And finally, the Church has released another update to the Gospel Library app, which is a special section featuring articles created by young adults and for young adults. The general leadership of the Church has seemed to be increasing their efforts to reach out to youth and young adults and to help them feel wanted, understood, accepted, and appreciated, and it is good to see this development.
In the coming days, particularly as General Conference gets closer and takes place, there will likely be far more to report here in terms of both Church news and temple developments. To the best of my ability, I will continue to do my level best to monitor all of that and bring word of it to you here. I should also perhaps mention that, although the open commenting period for my General Conference predictions has technically ended, if there is nay additional feedback anyone has on those, I will try to take that under advisement as I finalize those predictions in the days ahead.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Additional Church News Reported
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.
Temple Updates Noted
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to share some updated information on temples. Let's get right into all of that. First, a general update: I have previously shared my theory that the Church could have a minimum of 200 operating temples by or before the 200th anniversary of the Church (which will occur on Saturday April 6, 2030), whether or not an official goal is made to do so.
There are now 11.51 years between today and that day. And since the Church would just need to announce and 11 additional temples, in addition to completing the 30 currently in various phases of construction. That could easily be done if 3.56 temples were dedicated each year. And, as I have mentioned, although only 2 temples will be dedicated by the end of this year, 2 temples have already had dedications set for next year, and 4 others are also anticipated to be dedicated next year as well.
We also know that much has been said about President Nelson's extensive plans to expand the number of temples to a degree that will exceed what we previously saw under President Hinckley's divinely-inspired temple-building boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. So I have no doubts that the Church could and likely will have 200 operating temples well before that date.
Moving on, new information I received recently indicates that the tower for the Arequipa Peru Temple is being prepared for the process of stone cladding. Additionally, I don't know whether or not I shared this previously, but, as some of you may recall, a while ago, I switched the order in which the Baton Rouge Louisiana and Raleigh North Carolina Temple were listed on my report because it seemed the former was progressing more consistently than the latter. I determined upon further research that I had done so in error (primarily because stone cladding is making progress in Raleigh but has not yet started in Baton Rouge).
I continue to monitor all temple developments and will do my level best to keep bringing word of those to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any content at any time. 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.
There are now 11.51 years between today and that day. And since the Church would just need to announce and 11 additional temples, in addition to completing the 30 currently in various phases of construction. That could easily be done if 3.56 temples were dedicated each year. And, as I have mentioned, although only 2 temples will be dedicated by the end of this year, 2 temples have already had dedications set for next year, and 4 others are also anticipated to be dedicated next year as well.
We also know that much has been said about President Nelson's extensive plans to expand the number of temples to a degree that will exceed what we previously saw under President Hinckley's divinely-inspired temple-building boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. So I have no doubts that the Church could and likely will have 200 operating temples well before that date.
Moving on, new information I received recently indicates that the tower for the Arequipa Peru Temple is being prepared for the process of stone cladding. Additionally, I don't know whether or not I shared this previously, but, as some of you may recall, a while ago, I switched the order in which the Baton Rouge Louisiana and Raleigh North Carolina Temple were listed on my report because it seemed the former was progressing more consistently than the latter. I determined upon further research that I had done so in error (primarily because stone cladding is making progress in Raleigh but has not yet started in Baton Rouge).
I continue to monitor all temple developments and will do my level best to keep bringing word of those to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any content at any time. 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.
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.
Elder Ulisses Soares Celebrates His 60th Birthday Today
Hello again, everyone! Now that October 2 has officially come around, it is my honor and with great pleasure that I bring you, for the first time, a post to honor Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Elder Soares has a most unique life story and background, and I am grateful to share some thoughts about him with you all now.
Ulisses Soares was born to Apparecido Soares and Mercedes Carecho Soares in Sao Paulo Brazil on October 2, 1958. He has European and Amerindian ancestry. When an aunt joined the Church, that was how the Soares' family first learned of the gospel. His parents, after being taught by the missionaries, were baptized when he was five years old. Elder Soares would later reflect on how his small branch would meet in a tiny rental place that was located above a bakery. He served a full-time mission in Rio de Janeiro,
Upon his return, he connected with Rosana Fernandes Morgado, who had served in the same mission at around the same time, but whom he had not met until after they both had returned. The two were married in the Sao Paulo Temple, and together they raised three children. His academic experience involved studying at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, from which, in 1985, he would receive a bachelor's degree in economics and accounting. He then continued his studies at the National Institute of Postgraduate Study, where he earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
Elder Soares worked for several multi-national companies (one of which was Pirelli Tire Company) as an accountant and an auditor. Donald L. Clark, who at that time was serving as director of temporal affairs for the Church in Brazil, convinced him to take a job with the Church as a senior auditor. When Brother Clark was asked to serve as a mission president, Brother Soares took over for him as director of temporal affairs. He went on to fill a special assignment for the Church's Presiding Bishopric.
Within the Church, Elder Soares has served as an elder's quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, stake high councilman, and as a regional welfare agent. When the São Paulo Brazil Cotia Stake was created in 1995, Elder Soares was called as the first president thereof. 5 years later, he served a three-year term as president of the Porto Portugal Mission. Less than two years after his return (during the April 2005 General Conference), he was called as a General Authority Seventy.
As a General Authority Seventy, he served as First Counselor in the Brazil South Area.from 2005-2007, as First Counselor in the Brazil Area from 2007-2009, and as President of that area from 2009-2011. He served from August 2011-January 2013 as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, at which point he was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, with responsibility for the North America Southeast Area Then, in November 2015, Elder Soares was reassigned to oversee the Idaho and North America Central Areas of the Church. He still had oversight of both of those areas in 2018.
On March 31, 2018, Elder Soares was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he was ordained an apostle on Thursday April 5, 2018. He thus became both the first Latter-day Saint apostle from Brazil and the first one from Latin America. Elder Soares has had much opportunity to grow into his new assignment.
Elder Soares has had 6 opportunities to speak in General Conference so far, with 2 addresses given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 while in the Presidency of the Seventy, and 1 following his call to the apostleship. In order to review any of these wonderful addresses, you can find them here.
Elder Soares is a good man, and although he may never read this, I am grateful to have been able to put this birthday tribute together for him. I hope he has a good day today, and I look forward to hearing his first full address as an apostle in this upcoming General Conference. I wholeheartedly sustain him and all the other prophets, seers, and revelators in their roles and responsibilities as special witnesses of Christ.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
Ulisses Soares was born to Apparecido Soares and Mercedes Carecho Soares in Sao Paulo Brazil on October 2, 1958. He has European and Amerindian ancestry. When an aunt joined the Church, that was how the Soares' family first learned of the gospel. His parents, after being taught by the missionaries, were baptized when he was five years old. Elder Soares would later reflect on how his small branch would meet in a tiny rental place that was located above a bakery. He served a full-time mission in Rio de Janeiro,
Upon his return, he connected with Rosana Fernandes Morgado, who had served in the same mission at around the same time, but whom he had not met until after they both had returned. The two were married in the Sao Paulo Temple, and together they raised three children. His academic experience involved studying at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, from which, in 1985, he would receive a bachelor's degree in economics and accounting. He then continued his studies at the National Institute of Postgraduate Study, where he earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
Elder Soares worked for several multi-national companies (one of which was Pirelli Tire Company) as an accountant and an auditor. Donald L. Clark, who at that time was serving as director of temporal affairs for the Church in Brazil, convinced him to take a job with the Church as a senior auditor. When Brother Clark was asked to serve as a mission president, Brother Soares took over for him as director of temporal affairs. He went on to fill a special assignment for the Church's Presiding Bishopric.
Within the Church, Elder Soares has served as an elder's quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, stake high councilman, and as a regional welfare agent. When the São Paulo Brazil Cotia Stake was created in 1995, Elder Soares was called as the first president thereof. 5 years later, he served a three-year term as president of the Porto Portugal Mission. Less than two years after his return (during the April 2005 General Conference), he was called as a General Authority Seventy.
As a General Authority Seventy, he served as First Counselor in the Brazil South Area.from 2005-2007, as First Counselor in the Brazil Area from 2007-2009, and as President of that area from 2009-2011. He served from August 2011-January 2013 as First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, at which point he was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, with responsibility for the North America Southeast Area Then, in November 2015, Elder Soares was reassigned to oversee the Idaho and North America Central Areas of the Church. He still had oversight of both of those areas in 2018.
On March 31, 2018, Elder Soares was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he was ordained an apostle on Thursday April 5, 2018. He thus became both the first Latter-day Saint apostle from Brazil and the first one from Latin America. Elder Soares has had much opportunity to grow into his new assignment.
Elder Soares has had 6 opportunities to speak in General Conference so far, with 2 addresses given as a General Authority Seventy, 3 while in the Presidency of the Seventy, and 1 following his call to the apostleship. In order to review any of these wonderful addresses, you can find them here.
Elder Soares is a good man, and although he may never read this, I am grateful to have been able to put this birthday tribute together for him. I hope he has a good day today, and I look forward to hearing his first full address as an apostle in this upcoming General Conference. I wholeheartedly sustain him and all the other prophets, seers, and revelators in their roles and responsibilities as special witnesses of Christ.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
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.
Monday, October 1, 2018
BREAKING NEWS: Sister Barbara Ballard Passes Away at Age 86; First Presidency Announces Dedication Information for Kinshasa DR Congo Temple
Hello again, everyone! Though these breaking news developments are a few hours old, in view of some personal illness that has kept me from doing my first check of the Church websites until now, I only found out about two major developments a few moments ago.
First of all, Sister Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of President M. Russell Ballard,, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died earlier today after struggling with many health issues, one of which was Alzheimer's. Further information about her life and thoughts from her family about her legacy can be found in the Church News and via the Newsroom on the Church's official website. Those sources speak for themselves, so I will say no more about them, except that funeral services will be held a week from today, and that I am sorry those will coincide with his birthday, though perhaps that was President Ballard's choice so he could share one last birthday with her. My condolences go out to the Ballard family at this time.
While I don't want to overshadow that news, I am also pleased to report that the First Presidency has announced the open house and dedication dates for the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. The official release about that notes that a public open house will begin for that temple on Tuesday March 12, and will go through Saturday March 30, with the exception of the Sundays of March 17 and 24.
The Church, which will continue the tradition of having a youth devotional instead of a cultural celebration, will have such a gathering for the youth in Kinshasa on Saturday April 13, with the temple dedication to be held the next day in 3 sessions, and will be broadcast to all Saints living in the Kinshasa temple district. But here's the thing that intrigued me most: The release also notes: "Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date." What that means exactly, I don't know.
I would just like to add here that the timing of this dedication was just about when I estimated it would be. When I last posted my estimates for known temple events, I had shared my feelings that this temple could have a dedication in mid-April. But I should also note that I thought that the next big temple news would be either the confirmation of the groundbreaking for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple or the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. There is still time for both of those to be officially confirmed in the near future.
With my thanks to those who commented here earlier today to share these developments with me, and my thanks to all of you for your ongoing interest and support, that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any subject at any time. Thank you for the ongoing additional 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.
First of all, Sister Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of President M. Russell Ballard,, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died earlier today after struggling with many health issues, one of which was Alzheimer's. Further information about her life and thoughts from her family about her legacy can be found in the Church News and via the Newsroom on the Church's official website. Those sources speak for themselves, so I will say no more about them, except that funeral services will be held a week from today, and that I am sorry those will coincide with his birthday, though perhaps that was President Ballard's choice so he could share one last birthday with her. My condolences go out to the Ballard family at this time.
While I don't want to overshadow that news, I am also pleased to report that the First Presidency has announced the open house and dedication dates for the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple. The official release about that notes that a public open house will begin for that temple on Tuesday March 12, and will go through Saturday March 30, with the exception of the Sundays of March 17 and 24.
The Church, which will continue the tradition of having a youth devotional instead of a cultural celebration, will have such a gathering for the youth in Kinshasa on Saturday April 13, with the temple dedication to be held the next day in 3 sessions, and will be broadcast to all Saints living in the Kinshasa temple district. But here's the thing that intrigued me most: The release also notes: "Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date." What that means exactly, I don't know.
I would just like to add here that the timing of this dedication was just about when I estimated it would be. When I last posted my estimates for known temple events, I had shared my feelings that this temple could have a dedication in mid-April. But I should also note that I thought that the next big temple news would be either the confirmation of the groundbreaking for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple or the rededication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. There is still time for both of those to be officially confirmed in the near future.
With my thanks to those who commented here earlier today to share these developments with me, and my thanks to all of you for your ongoing interest and support, that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any subject at any time. Thank you for the ongoing additional 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.
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.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Upcoming Milestones for our Apostles
Hello again, everyone! Hope you all are well. I am posting again now to share information about two apostles who will be observing their birthdays within the next couple of weeks (or less), in addition to two tenure milestones occurring later in the month of October. Let's get right into all of that.
First of all, I wanted to provide a look at the apostles who will observe their birthdays in the month of October. I am mentioning these milestones now because, due to the dates involved, if I were to delay 1-3 days to share this information, at least the first milestone would have come and gone by that time.
That said, two of our apostles have birthdays this month, and those will be marked within the first ten days of the month. First, our junior apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, will mark his 60th birthday on Tuesday October 2. When that occurs, all apostles will be in their 60s or older.
And then, just 6 days later (on Monday October 8, the day after General Conference concludes), Acting President M. Russell Ballard will, as also previously noted, be observing his 90th birthday. As a result of those birthdays, the 15 apostles will then include 2 nonagenarians, 2 octogenarians, 4 septuagenarians, and 7 sexagenarians. And that may be the first time the Church has ever had this kind of breakdown of the apostle's ages.
But it doesn't stop there. Later on in October, both President Nelson and President Oaks will be observing additional milestones in their tenure-length over the next little while. First, on Thursday October 11, the length of President Nelson's prophetic administration will be longer than that of President Howard W. Hunter. He will thus be the 16th longest-serving Church president in history.
11 days later (on Monday October 22), the length of President Oaks' tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will have exceeded that of President Gordon B. Hinckley, and he (President Oaks) will thus become the 25th longest-serving Quorum President in the history of the Church.
It is fun for me to monitor this information, and I have appreciated having the chance to pass it on to you all here. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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 fee 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.
First of all, I wanted to provide a look at the apostles who will observe their birthdays in the month of October. I am mentioning these milestones now because, due to the dates involved, if I were to delay 1-3 days to share this information, at least the first milestone would have come and gone by that time.
That said, two of our apostles have birthdays this month, and those will be marked within the first ten days of the month. First, our junior apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, will mark his 60th birthday on Tuesday October 2. When that occurs, all apostles will be in their 60s or older.
And then, just 6 days later (on Monday October 8, the day after General Conference concludes), Acting President M. Russell Ballard will, as also previously noted, be observing his 90th birthday. As a result of those birthdays, the 15 apostles will then include 2 nonagenarians, 2 octogenarians, 4 septuagenarians, and 7 sexagenarians. And that may be the first time the Church has ever had this kind of breakdown of the apostle's ages.
But it doesn't stop there. Later on in October, both President Nelson and President Oaks will be observing additional milestones in their tenure-length over the next little while. First, on Thursday October 11, the length of President Nelson's prophetic administration will be longer than that of President Howard W. Hunter. He will thus be the 16th longest-serving Church president in history.
11 days later (on Monday October 22), the length of President Oaks' tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will have exceeded that of President Gordon B. Hinckley, and he (President Oaks) will thus become the 25th longest-serving Quorum President in the history of the Church.
It is fun for me to monitor this information, and I have appreciated having the chance to pass it on to you all here. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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 fee 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.
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, September 28, 2018
Additional Church News Reported
Hello again, everyone! I am back to report some additional Church news. I would have done so earlier today when many of these developments first came to my attention, but I had to take care of some health-related issues. We will begin with articles posted both on the LDS Church news website and on the Newsroom of the Church's official website, then move to two more articles posted just on the Newsroom, and finish with stories unique to the Church News website. Let's get into all of those articles.
The Newsroom and the Church News noted today that, in an effort to increase safety and efficiency, and for the purpose of enhancing the experience for General Conference attendees, new security measures are going into effect during the upcoming General Conference weekend. The sources cited above speak for themselves, so I will not comment further on them.
Next, additional stories from the Newsroom: the first highlight how Elder Uchtdorf, in a recent tour of Europe, became the first apostle to visit the Polish city of Gdańsk. He also made additional stops in London, Frankfurt (where a temple is in the concluding stages of its' renovation), Moscow (which, in my opinion, is the top candidate for the temple announced in Russia), and Kaliningrad.
The second story continues highlighting articles from other Church Newsrooms around the world, with today's edition featuring developments reported from Europe (with a copy of that article appearing on the Newsrooms for Ireland, Finland, Hungary, Poland, and Portugal), Guatemala, Ukraine, and Ghana.
We conclude now with articles featured on the Church News website. First is an article about a little-known Church calling, a position entitled disability specialist. Although not a lot has been shared about this position in the Church, there have been a number of people with disabilities that have benefited from the efforts of those whose work it is to see about providing accommodations for those who are disabled.
And the Church News continued to provide additional details of the recent address Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave at the G20 summit, in this article (providing the complete transcript of remarks he gave in Spanish on Thursday September 27, in which he covered the topic of the crucial role of religious freedom in today's society) and this one (providing the complete transcript of remarks he gave in English on Wednesday September 26, in which he covered the topic of the Church's efforts to give worldwide assistance to those who are less fortunate).
This leads me to an interesting point that I had not considered very thoroughly: the recent changes in Church leadership mean that we have several among the current apostles who speak more than one language fluently. And if that is not an accurate reflection of the fact that the Church is truly more international now than it ever has been, I don't know what is.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your rime. 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.
The Newsroom and the Church News noted today that, in an effort to increase safety and efficiency, and for the purpose of enhancing the experience for General Conference attendees, new security measures are going into effect during the upcoming General Conference weekend. The sources cited above speak for themselves, so I will not comment further on them.
Next, additional stories from the Newsroom: the first highlight how Elder Uchtdorf, in a recent tour of Europe, became the first apostle to visit the Polish city of Gdańsk. He also made additional stops in London, Frankfurt (where a temple is in the concluding stages of its' renovation), Moscow (which, in my opinion, is the top candidate for the temple announced in Russia), and Kaliningrad.
The second story continues highlighting articles from other Church Newsrooms around the world, with today's edition featuring developments reported from Europe (with a copy of that article appearing on the Newsrooms for Ireland, Finland, Hungary, Poland, and Portugal), Guatemala, Ukraine, and Ghana.
We conclude now with articles featured on the Church News website. First is an article about a little-known Church calling, a position entitled disability specialist. Although not a lot has been shared about this position in the Church, there have been a number of people with disabilities that have benefited from the efforts of those whose work it is to see about providing accommodations for those who are disabled.
And the Church News continued to provide additional details of the recent address Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave at the G20 summit, in this article (providing the complete transcript of remarks he gave in Spanish on Thursday September 27, in which he covered the topic of the crucial role of religious freedom in today's society) and this one (providing the complete transcript of remarks he gave in English on Wednesday September 26, in which he covered the topic of the Church's efforts to give worldwide assistance to those who are less fortunate).
This leads me to an interesting point that I had not considered very thoroughly: the recent changes in Church leadership mean that we have several among the current apostles who speak more than one language fluently. And if that is not an accurate reflection of the fact that the Church is truly more international now than it ever has been, I don't know what is.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your rime. 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.
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, September 27, 2018
Additional Church News and Temple Developments Reported
Hello again, everyone! As the title of this blog post implies, I am posting today to share some additional Church news and temple developments which have been reported. First, on the temple news front: The construction crews working on the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple have made the exterior lighting operational. Although the Lord may have different timing in mind, it would not in any way surprise me at all if we were to hear an announcement of the open house and dedication information within the next 2-4 months, or if that was set to occur between February and May of next year. Time will tell.
In the meantime, moving on: The G20 Interfaith Forum has continued. Just in summary, two articles have been focused on that, with a summary of Elder Christofferson's remarks during that forum featured here, and with him addressing the question of why protecting religious freedom is so important here.
And the Church announced today some updates to their guidelines on food storage and the emergency preparedness program. You can more details in the Church News and via the official Newsroom on the Church website.
In continuing coverage of the relief efforts in which the Church is involved following Hurricane Florence, there is a report of how Christmas in September was possible for those Saints in view of a miraculous donation. And the Church News also reported how Elder David F. Evans, a General Authority Seventy, was able to craft a powerful message as a result of an unintentional General Conference blooper.
I am keeping my eyes on all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to continue passing word on either or both fronts as I receive word of them. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
In the meantime, moving on: The G20 Interfaith Forum has continued. Just in summary, two articles have been focused on that, with a summary of Elder Christofferson's remarks during that forum featured here, and with him addressing the question of why protecting religious freedom is so important here.
And the Church announced today some updates to their guidelines on food storage and the emergency preparedness program. You can more details in the Church News and via the official Newsroom on the Church website.
In continuing coverage of the relief efforts in which the Church is involved following Hurricane Florence, there is a report of how Christmas in September was possible for those Saints in view of a miraculous donation. And the Church News also reported how Elder David F. Evans, a General Authority Seventy, was able to craft a powerful message as a result of an unintentional General Conference blooper.
I am keeping my eyes on all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to continue passing word on either or both fronts as I receive word of them. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
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.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Miscellaneous Church and Temple News Provided
Hello again, everyone! Within the last hour or so, I have become aware of several significant temple developments and additional Church News. This post will serve to share all of those developments. We start with the temple developments. First and foremost, the Facebook page from which I have continued to pull recent temple updates shared here has shared an article in Spanish which indicates that President Nelson will preside at the dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple, the first new temple dedicated during his prophetic administration. I had thought that would be the case.
While I am not definitively sure who else might be in attendance from general Church leadership, since Elder Jeffrey R. Holland served for two years (from August 2002-August 2004) as president of what was then the Chile Area, it would not surprise me if he is the one accompanying President Nelson to this dedication. But since the country of Chile also falls under the South America South Area, over which Elder Ronald A. Rasband currently has a supervisory role, he could be the accompanying apostle as well. I will share more information on all of this as I find out more.
In the meantime, while the open house for the Concepcion Chile Temple continues, the open house for the Barranquilla Colombia Temple will begin in roughly 5.5 weeks. And new information received about the Lisbon Portugal Temple indicates that trees and plants are being added to the grounds of that temple.
I also have found an update on the Raleigh North Carolina Temple, where the process of cladding the exterior in stone continues. I should interject here that I have made yet another change to the section of my temple construction progress report which lists the temples currently undergoing renovation. Although the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple has seemed to make more consistent progress, the process of stone cladding for that temple has not yet begun. Given the fact that stone cladding has not only begun but is making significant progress on the Raleigh Temple, I have switched the two back to the original anticipated completion order.
That concludes the temple updates portion of this post. Let's move on now to the general Church news I wanted to pass along. Many of you may recall from Church history accounts that one of the first black members of the Church after its' restoration was Jane Manning (who later married and had the last name James). When she first joined the Church and sought refuge with the Saints, Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet Joseph, not only took her in, but befriended her. The friendship of the two women would continue to last through the aftermath of the Prophet's martyrdom. As her husband's death shook her to the core, Emma found comfort in the quiet reassurance of her friend, Jane Manning James. The unlikely friendship of these two women is highlighted and underscored in a new movie, entitled "Jane and Emma". The article about the movie is well worthy of your attention.
The Church has released a new website that is designed to help individuals and families affected by the use of pornography. More details on that site are provided by the Newsroom on lds.org. And the Church continues to announce new members of the auxiliary boards, reporting that 2 men have been called to the Young Men General Board.
Also from the Newsroom was another article I may or may not have previously shared, describing how members of the Church (Latter-day Saints) in North Carolina are serving their neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. And, a final story, from the "News & Events" page on the Church website, shares how Elder Dale G. Renlund (who has responsibilities for the South America Northwest Area) visited Peru and Bolivia recently. He made stops in Iquitos and Lima (where he may have stopped off to see how work was progressing towards getting work started on the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple) and in El Alto, La Paz, and Santa Cruz Bolivia.
Quick interjection here: I have previously referenced the fact that a second temple for Bolivia seems likely, and Santa Cruz and La Paz seem like the most likely candidates for such a temple. Of the two, Santa Cruz may have somewhat of an "edge" or stronger case, but I would anticipate temples in both places within the next 15-30 years or less, depending on the extent of President Nelson's temple plans. And, from what I understand, a temple in La Paz would serve the El Alto region, since the two are close.
That said, Elder Renlund and his wife, Ruth, were accompanied by Elder Jose A. Teixeira of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife Filomena, and also by the members of the South America Northwest Area Presidency (Elders Enrique R. Falabella, Hugo Montoya, and Mathias Held). The News & Events page has provided a full summary of what occurred during this visit.
All of these articles are well worthy of your attention. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. Since tomorrow is Thursday, and since we have seen other major news come from the Church on Thursdays in recent weeks, I would anticipate that, if confirmation is going to be provided soon about the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple groundbreaking, that will occur tomorrow. I will be sure to pass along such news whenever it might come, along with any other breaking developments ASAP.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
While I am not definitively sure who else might be in attendance from general Church leadership, since Elder Jeffrey R. Holland served for two years (from August 2002-August 2004) as president of what was then the Chile Area, it would not surprise me if he is the one accompanying President Nelson to this dedication. But since the country of Chile also falls under the South America South Area, over which Elder Ronald A. Rasband currently has a supervisory role, he could be the accompanying apostle as well. I will share more information on all of this as I find out more.
In the meantime, while the open house for the Concepcion Chile Temple continues, the open house for the Barranquilla Colombia Temple will begin in roughly 5.5 weeks. And new information received about the Lisbon Portugal Temple indicates that trees and plants are being added to the grounds of that temple.
I also have found an update on the Raleigh North Carolina Temple, where the process of cladding the exterior in stone continues. I should interject here that I have made yet another change to the section of my temple construction progress report which lists the temples currently undergoing renovation. Although the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple has seemed to make more consistent progress, the process of stone cladding for that temple has not yet begun. Given the fact that stone cladding has not only begun but is making significant progress on the Raleigh Temple, I have switched the two back to the original anticipated completion order.
That concludes the temple updates portion of this post. Let's move on now to the general Church news I wanted to pass along. Many of you may recall from Church history accounts that one of the first black members of the Church after its' restoration was Jane Manning (who later married and had the last name James). When she first joined the Church and sought refuge with the Saints, Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet Joseph, not only took her in, but befriended her. The friendship of the two women would continue to last through the aftermath of the Prophet's martyrdom. As her husband's death shook her to the core, Emma found comfort in the quiet reassurance of her friend, Jane Manning James. The unlikely friendship of these two women is highlighted and underscored in a new movie, entitled "Jane and Emma". The article about the movie is well worthy of your attention.
The Church has released a new website that is designed to help individuals and families affected by the use of pornography. More details on that site are provided by the Newsroom on lds.org. And the Church continues to announce new members of the auxiliary boards, reporting that 2 men have been called to the Young Men General Board.
Also from the Newsroom was another article I may or may not have previously shared, describing how members of the Church (Latter-day Saints) in North Carolina are serving their neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. And, a final story, from the "News & Events" page on the Church website, shares how Elder Dale G. Renlund (who has responsibilities for the South America Northwest Area) visited Peru and Bolivia recently. He made stops in Iquitos and Lima (where he may have stopped off to see how work was progressing towards getting work started on the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple) and in El Alto, La Paz, and Santa Cruz Bolivia.
Quick interjection here: I have previously referenced the fact that a second temple for Bolivia seems likely, and Santa Cruz and La Paz seem like the most likely candidates for such a temple. Of the two, Santa Cruz may have somewhat of an "edge" or stronger case, but I would anticipate temples in both places within the next 15-30 years or less, depending on the extent of President Nelson's temple plans. And, from what I understand, a temple in La Paz would serve the El Alto region, since the two are close.
That said, Elder Renlund and his wife, Ruth, were accompanied by Elder Jose A. Teixeira of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife Filomena, and also by the members of the South America Northwest Area Presidency (Elders Enrique R. Falabella, Hugo Montoya, and Mathias Held). The News & Events page has provided a full summary of what occurred during this visit.
All of these articles are well worthy of your attention. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. Since tomorrow is Thursday, and since we have seen other major news come from the Church on Thursdays in recent weeks, I would anticipate that, if confirmation is going to be provided soon about the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple groundbreaking, that will occur tomorrow. I will be sure to pass along such news whenever it might come, along with any other breaking developments ASAP.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
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.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Additional Church News Reported
Hello again, everyone! While I hope the conversation and main focus will continue to center on the predictions I put together for the upcoming General Conference (for which I will, as noted, be continuing to accept feedback for the next week or so) and on the game-changing temple developments reported today, I wanted to pass along some of the latest Church news stories which have come to my attention. We begin by talking about newly-reported developments on the Newsroom of the Church's official website, and then move to stories from the LDS Church News website. But I will also be noting stories posted on both websites where applicable. Let's get right into all of that.
While official confirmation of those latest temple developments is pending, both the Newsroom and Church News reported a new video series in support of those feeling suicidal, entitled: "Choose to Stay". The Church has recently taken greater steps to emphasize how precious and fleeting life is, and to urge those struggling with negative thoughts that lead to suicidal feelings to seek help, and to talk to those they love about how they are feeling. Given that none of us knows what is going through the heads of others unless they choose to share such information, anyone in tune with the Spirit can help minister to those who may feel lost, worthless, hopeless, or that life is no longer worth living.
But there has also been an increased emphasis by the Church about the fact that we don't know the exact situation of those who do take their own lives, and that's why it is important for all of us to leave the judgement of such people and their situations in the hands of the Lord.. That said, there seems to have been a greater emphasis by the Church that preventing anyone from getting to the point where they are determined to go through with taking their own lives is always the best option. I hope we will heed the counsel of these leaders and look out for those who may be troubled to that degree.
And the reports of Church members ministering in their communities and elsewhere to individuals and locations devastated by recent storms continues with a report highlighting ongoing relief efforts, with accounts of how both those devastated by the storms and those in neighboring regions have come together to help clean up and repair the devastated regions, and the hearts of those affected by such disasters.
Turning now to the Church News, roughly 1.5 years since the scripture mastery program was replaced by doctrinal mastery for seminary students around the world, the Church News provides a look at how the initiative has had a positive influence on the lives of the youth and seminary teachers around the world.
The Church News continued their "From the Vault" series highlighting classic addresses given by Church leaders and their spouses over the years. There have been many summaries of amazing addresses shared recently, and I encourage each of you to peruse that section as time allows. It is well worth your time.
Speaking at the weekly devotional for LDS Business College at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City, Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse unexpectedly surprised those in a attendance by briefly performing a piano duet with one of the faculty members. The Church News provides these details about that impromptu performance and the counsel he provided to those students during that time.
And finally, during a visit to the South America South Area (over which he has a supervisory role), Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reflected on how he was able to pass on a lesson he had learned from another Church leader.
Elder Rasband, as most or all of you may recall, has served as a General Authority since April 2000, becoming a member of the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, and going on to become the Senior President of the Seventy less than four years later, in April 2009. He would still be serving in that capacity at the time of his call to the apostleship in October 2015.
Anyways, he recalled traveling on one occasion with Elder Richard G. Scott to Argentina (where the latter had served as a mission president years before, and where, as some of you may recall, one of his missionaries was a future apostolic colleague, Elder D. Todd Christofferson). On that occasion, when Elders Scott and Rasband found they were on a tight schedule, Elder Rasband suggested to Elder Scott that they forgo sharing handshakes with the members in consideration of the time limit. Elder Scott grabbed him by the lapel of his suit and explained that part of his role as an apostle was to greet the members, look into their eyes, and shake their hands. He went on to say that if time was truly an issue, he would keep his remarks brief to allow time to greet the members, and that's exactly what occurred.
During Elder Rasband's visit to the South America South Area, his General Authority companion, Elder Carlos A. Godoy, who, as a new member of the Presidency of the Seventy, now assists Elder Rasband with the supervision of that area, noticed a similar time constraint and essentially made the same suggestion. Remembering Elder Scott's words and example to him from years earlier, Elder Rasband did the same thing, gently grabbing Elder Godoy by the lapel, while explaining that part of his role was to greet the Saints, shake their hands, and look into their eyes, and that he would, if need be, cut his remarks short to allow that to occur.
I love accounts like this, where the memory of instruction from an apostle who has since passed away blesses not only a newer apostle who takes it to heart, but also blesses the future leaders of the Church, particularly members of the Presidency of the Seventy, many of whom have been "apostles-in-training" (by which I mean that 8 of our 15 current apostles were serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of their calls, so that Presidency is a prime place from which apostolic candidates are selected).
And even for those members of the Presidency of the Seventy that do not go on to serve as apostles, their divinely appointed roles, along with their General Authority Seventy counter-parts, is that they "instead of any others", should be called upon to "assist the Twelve" as the need arises and as the work requires. Therefore, in a very real sense, the ministry of all men ordained to the office of seventy, either as a general authority or area seventy, is an extension of the ministry of the apostles worldwide.
It has been my honor to bring summaries of these developments to you all at this time. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news stories, in addition to temple developments, and am committed to bringing word of those to you as I receive it.
As a quick closing note, I am working as I can on updating my previously-provided estimates for known future temple-related events. Based on the newest milestones and updates that I have heard of and which I have found, I will be hoping to post that here hopefully before the end of this month. I also continue to accept any and all comments on my predictions for next General Conference until Monday October 1, so continued feedback is welcome specifically on that.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
While official confirmation of those latest temple developments is pending, both the Newsroom and Church News reported a new video series in support of those feeling suicidal, entitled: "Choose to Stay". The Church has recently taken greater steps to emphasize how precious and fleeting life is, and to urge those struggling with negative thoughts that lead to suicidal feelings to seek help, and to talk to those they love about how they are feeling. Given that none of us knows what is going through the heads of others unless they choose to share such information, anyone in tune with the Spirit can help minister to those who may feel lost, worthless, hopeless, or that life is no longer worth living.
But there has also been an increased emphasis by the Church about the fact that we don't know the exact situation of those who do take their own lives, and that's why it is important for all of us to leave the judgement of such people and their situations in the hands of the Lord.. That said, there seems to have been a greater emphasis by the Church that preventing anyone from getting to the point where they are determined to go through with taking their own lives is always the best option. I hope we will heed the counsel of these leaders and look out for those who may be troubled to that degree.
And the reports of Church members ministering in their communities and elsewhere to individuals and locations devastated by recent storms continues with a report highlighting ongoing relief efforts, with accounts of how both those devastated by the storms and those in neighboring regions have come together to help clean up and repair the devastated regions, and the hearts of those affected by such disasters.
Turning now to the Church News, roughly 1.5 years since the scripture mastery program was replaced by doctrinal mastery for seminary students around the world, the Church News provides a look at how the initiative has had a positive influence on the lives of the youth and seminary teachers around the world.
The Church News continued their "From the Vault" series highlighting classic addresses given by Church leaders and their spouses over the years. There have been many summaries of amazing addresses shared recently, and I encourage each of you to peruse that section as time allows. It is well worth your time.
Speaking at the weekly devotional for LDS Business College at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City, Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse unexpectedly surprised those in a attendance by briefly performing a piano duet with one of the faculty members. The Church News provides these details about that impromptu performance and the counsel he provided to those students during that time.
And finally, during a visit to the South America South Area (over which he has a supervisory role), Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reflected on how he was able to pass on a lesson he had learned from another Church leader.
Elder Rasband, as most or all of you may recall, has served as a General Authority since April 2000, becoming a member of the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, and going on to become the Senior President of the Seventy less than four years later, in April 2009. He would still be serving in that capacity at the time of his call to the apostleship in October 2015.
Anyways, he recalled traveling on one occasion with Elder Richard G. Scott to Argentina (where the latter had served as a mission president years before, and where, as some of you may recall, one of his missionaries was a future apostolic colleague, Elder D. Todd Christofferson). On that occasion, when Elders Scott and Rasband found they were on a tight schedule, Elder Rasband suggested to Elder Scott that they forgo sharing handshakes with the members in consideration of the time limit. Elder Scott grabbed him by the lapel of his suit and explained that part of his role as an apostle was to greet the members, look into their eyes, and shake their hands. He went on to say that if time was truly an issue, he would keep his remarks brief to allow time to greet the members, and that's exactly what occurred.
During Elder Rasband's visit to the South America South Area, his General Authority companion, Elder Carlos A. Godoy, who, as a new member of the Presidency of the Seventy, now assists Elder Rasband with the supervision of that area, noticed a similar time constraint and essentially made the same suggestion. Remembering Elder Scott's words and example to him from years earlier, Elder Rasband did the same thing, gently grabbing Elder Godoy by the lapel, while explaining that part of his role was to greet the Saints, shake their hands, and look into their eyes, and that he would, if need be, cut his remarks short to allow that to occur.
I love accounts like this, where the memory of instruction from an apostle who has since passed away blesses not only a newer apostle who takes it to heart, but also blesses the future leaders of the Church, particularly members of the Presidency of the Seventy, many of whom have been "apostles-in-training" (by which I mean that 8 of our 15 current apostles were serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of their calls, so that Presidency is a prime place from which apostolic candidates are selected).
And even for those members of the Presidency of the Seventy that do not go on to serve as apostles, their divinely appointed roles, along with their General Authority Seventy counter-parts, is that they "instead of any others", should be called upon to "assist the Twelve" as the need arises and as the work requires. Therefore, in a very real sense, the ministry of all men ordained to the office of seventy, either as a general authority or area seventy, is an extension of the ministry of the apostles worldwide.
It has been my honor to bring summaries of these developments to you all at this time. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news stories, in addition to temple developments, and am committed to bringing word of those to you as I receive it.
As a quick closing note, I am working as I can on updating my previously-provided estimates for known future temple-related events. Based on the newest milestones and updates that I have heard of and which I have found, I will be hoping to post that here hopefully before the end of this month. I also continue to accept any and all comments on my predictions for next General Conference until Monday October 1, so continued feedback is welcome specifically on that.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
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.
Temple Updates Provided
Hello again, everyone! There have been a few more temple updates reported in the last several hours. I think I can pass them along without having to post my entire report again. So let's get right into all of them. We start with an update on the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple, which will, if all goes well, be the next to have a dedication scheduled. On the grounds of that temple, the installation of pavers and plants continues at a steady rate. The general time-frame for that temple's completion remains early-to-mid 2019, and I have ventured my opinion that a dedication is possible in mid-April.
At the Raleigh North Carolina Temple, stone cladding continues at a steady pace. As some of you may recall, a while ago, based on the progress I saw with the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple, which has seemed to progress more consistently than the Raleigh Temple, I switched the two. Given the fact that we have seen an increased number of updates on the Raleigh renovation recently, I may be rethinking that.
Now to the big news: According to a report from a Church member in the Abidjan Ivory Coast, a groundbreaking for that temple is anticipated to be held on November 8 of this year. I hope that turns out to be the case. However, I looked for verification of this on the Church News website, and on the Church's official website (on both the News & Events page and the Newsroom), and I even consulted the Newsroom page for the Ivory Coast, which I had Google translate from French to English. The long and the short of it is that I have not yet found confirmation that this report is accurate. And there has been no release of an artist's rendering or an official site announcement.
I hope that this report does turn out to be true. That would give me hope that the Abidjan temple will have a groundbreaking this year in addition to the one in Bangkok. However, until this is officially confirmed in some way through official Church sources, I am taking this information with a grain of salt.
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
At the Raleigh North Carolina Temple, stone cladding continues at a steady pace. As some of you may recall, a while ago, based on the progress I saw with the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple, which has seemed to progress more consistently than the Raleigh Temple, I switched the two. Given the fact that we have seen an increased number of updates on the Raleigh renovation recently, I may be rethinking that.
Now to the big news: According to a report from a Church member in the Abidjan Ivory Coast, a groundbreaking for that temple is anticipated to be held on November 8 of this year. I hope that turns out to be the case. However, I looked for verification of this on the Church News website, and on the Church's official website (on both the News & Events page and the Newsroom), and I even consulted the Newsroom page for the Ivory Coast, which I had Google translate from French to English. The long and the short of it is that I have not yet found confirmation that this report is accurate. And there has been no release of an artist's rendering or an official site announcement.
I hope that this report does turn out to be true. That would give me hope that the Abidjan temple will have a groundbreaking this year in addition to the one in Bangkok. However, until this is officially confirmed in some way through official Church sources, I am taking this information with a grain of salt.
I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I receive it. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. 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.
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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