Hello again, everyone! Earlier this month, the Newsroom on the Church's official website shared a story which I neglected to pass along. In ongoing efforts to enhance the established relationship between the Church and the NAACP, the Newsroom reported on Saturday that leaders from both groups again met in Salt Lake City on that day and the day before.
The details can be found in this article, but, in summary, Church leaders invited the NAACP leaders to attend the Saturday Morning Session of General Conference in the Conference Center. Prior to that session, those leaders, including three apostles (Acting Quorum President M. Russell Ballard and Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Gary E. Stevenson), Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse, and Executive Director of the Church Public Affairs Department Elder Jack N. Gerard), among others, hosted a breakfast for the NAACP leaders. It is great to hear of the Church's ongoing efforts to build a good partnership with the NAACP.
In the meantime, the Newsroom also reported earlier today on how Church leaders have joined leaders in the community in a call for measures to prevent child abuse, who have signed a joint statement about this issue. Church leaders who signed included Primary General President Sister Joy D. Jones, and Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., a General Authority Seventy who serves as First Counselor in the Utah Area Presidency.
Before discussing the one other subject I wanted to cover with this post, I wanted to note that the Church News has published an article about how two brothers and WWII veterans recently observed their 100th birthdays. Those brothers offered inspiring insights about how to live as long as they have been able to.
Finally, I wanted to note that Church President Russell M. Nelson will be observing the first prophetic tenure milestone of his presidency tomorrow, as the length of his service will have then been longer than that of President Howard W. Hunter. Also, although in some ways it hasn't seemed that long, and in other ways, it seems like he has been Church President for a longer period, this Sunday, President Nelson will have been President of the Church for 9 full months, to the day.
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. As I mentioned, my plan is to post the next updated apostolic age and tenure information on Sunday November 4. In the meantime, given the extensive amount of new developments reported just within these first 10 days of October, many more developments will likely be reported in the coming days as well, and when anything official is reported, I will devote future posts to those developments as well. And with tomorrow being Thursday, any official Church announcements for this week may come then.
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.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Additional Developments Reported on Newsroom; President Nelson Reaches Prophetic Tenure Milestone
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.
Miscellaneous Church and Temple News
Hello again, everyone! This post will serve the dual-purpose of covering some updated information on temple progress and also some additional Church news developments. Let's get right into all of that.
We start with the temple updates. At the Rome Italy Temple, new information indicates that the monument sign (containing the name of the temple and the Church) has been completed, and that landscaping work has continued at a steady rate, as the installation of flower-beds on the grounds of the temple is making progress. There have also been updates noted on both the Durban South Africa and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples, but I have not been able to ascertain whether these updates are newly-reported developments or simply a reiteration of what has been previously noted. I will do more research on that question and post those developments if they are new.
Turning now to updated Church news stories, we start with a somewhat interesting development. Apparently, around a month ago (just over a month after the August 2018 Area Leadership Assignments became effective), the Church announced a change in the Africa West Area Presidency, which officially became effective yesterday.
While Elder Marcus B. Nash continues to serve as Area President, his First Counselor, Elder Larry S. Kacher, has been released from his area assignment and has returned to Church headquarters to fill a different assignment. Elder Edward Dube, Elder Nash's former Second Counselor, has succeeded Elder Kacher as First Counselor, and Elder Hugo E. Martinez will now serve as the new Second Counselor in that Area Presidency.
As some of you may be aware, Elder Martinez has been serving as the Editor of the Church magazines, so that assignment will be given to someone else. I suppose Elder Kacher could be asked to step into that role, or that any of the advisers to the Church magazines (Elder Randall K. Bennett, who had previously served as Assistant Editor before being reassigned as an adviser; or Elders Randy D. Funk; Donald L. Hallstrom; Erich W. Kopischke; or Lynn G. Robbins). As soon as I have more information on that, I will pass it along.
In the meantime, we turn now to developments reported in the Church News. In response to President Nelson's invitation to the women of the Church to observe a 10-day fast from social media (which was issued during his address at the Women's Session of General Conference), women throughout the world have responded to that invitation with thoughts about why they are following that counsel and what they hope to gain through doing so.
Next, as some of you may know, President Nelson has penned poems, some of which have been set to music as hymns. One of those, which was originally performed following his introduction of it at the conclusion of the April 2003 General Conference, was also performed to close the recent General Conference. The hymn is called "Our Prayer to Thee", and was set to the music of a hymn currently in our hymnbook "O Home Beloved". The Church News has provided this report on the latest performance of that hymn.
And finally, for purposes of clarification, the Church News has given a week-by-week breakdown of what the Church schedule will look like on a two-hour Church schedule. In a time when the Church is reducing and simplifying the work of its' leaders and members, this latest development will help alleviate some of the burden on the time of Church members worldwide, and will allow Church members to spend more time as families on a weekly basis, for which I am profoundly grateful.
I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments on an ongoing basis and will, to the best of my ability, bring 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 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 fre 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.
We start with the temple updates. At the Rome Italy Temple, new information indicates that the monument sign (containing the name of the temple and the Church) has been completed, and that landscaping work has continued at a steady rate, as the installation of flower-beds on the grounds of the temple is making progress. There have also been updates noted on both the Durban South Africa and Port-au-Prince Haiti Temples, but I have not been able to ascertain whether these updates are newly-reported developments or simply a reiteration of what has been previously noted. I will do more research on that question and post those developments if they are new.
Turning now to updated Church news stories, we start with a somewhat interesting development. Apparently, around a month ago (just over a month after the August 2018 Area Leadership Assignments became effective), the Church announced a change in the Africa West Area Presidency, which officially became effective yesterday.
While Elder Marcus B. Nash continues to serve as Area President, his First Counselor, Elder Larry S. Kacher, has been released from his area assignment and has returned to Church headquarters to fill a different assignment. Elder Edward Dube, Elder Nash's former Second Counselor, has succeeded Elder Kacher as First Counselor, and Elder Hugo E. Martinez will now serve as the new Second Counselor in that Area Presidency.
As some of you may be aware, Elder Martinez has been serving as the Editor of the Church magazines, so that assignment will be given to someone else. I suppose Elder Kacher could be asked to step into that role, or that any of the advisers to the Church magazines (Elder Randall K. Bennett, who had previously served as Assistant Editor before being reassigned as an adviser; or Elders Randy D. Funk; Donald L. Hallstrom; Erich W. Kopischke; or Lynn G. Robbins). As soon as I have more information on that, I will pass it along.
In the meantime, we turn now to developments reported in the Church News. In response to President Nelson's invitation to the women of the Church to observe a 10-day fast from social media (which was issued during his address at the Women's Session of General Conference), women throughout the world have responded to that invitation with thoughts about why they are following that counsel and what they hope to gain through doing so.
Next, as some of you may know, President Nelson has penned poems, some of which have been set to music as hymns. One of those, which was originally performed following his introduction of it at the conclusion of the April 2003 General Conference, was also performed to close the recent General Conference. The hymn is called "Our Prayer to Thee", and was set to the music of a hymn currently in our hymnbook "O Home Beloved". The Church News has provided this report on the latest performance of that hymn.
And finally, for purposes of clarification, the Church News has given a week-by-week breakdown of what the Church schedule will look like on a two-hour Church schedule. In a time when the Church is reducing and simplifying the work of its' leaders and members, this latest development will help alleviate some of the burden on the time of Church members worldwide, and will allow Church members to spend more time as families on a weekly basis, for which I am profoundly grateful.
I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments on an ongoing basis and will, to the best of my ability, bring 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 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 fre 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, October 9, 2018
BREAKING NEWS: Transcripts of October 2018 General Conference Talks Now Available Online
Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post briefly to pass along more breaking news of which I just became aware. The transcripts of the talks given during the October 2018 General Conference are now available online for review. We live in a wonderful age indeed where the address given during General Conference every six months are available within roughly 60 hours of when the last session ends. These talks are well worthy of review.
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.
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.
BREAKING NEWS: President & Sister Nelson Plan to Continue Global Ministry Tour in South America
Hello again, everyone! The Newsroom on the Church's website has announced that Church President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy W. Nelson will continue their global ministry tour by traveling through several locations in South America later this month. Accompanied by Elder Gary E. Stevenson and his wife, Lesa, they will visit five countries in nine days.
This will give them opportunities to meet with missionaries, Church members, and governmental leaders. The tour, set to run from October 19-28, will include stops in the cities of Lima Peru on Sunday October 21, La Paz Bolivia the following day, and Asuncion Paraguay the day after that.
After a three-day hiatus, they will then go to Montevideo Uruguay on Thursday October 25, and will end the tour in Concepcion Chile on Saturday and Sunday October 27 & 28, which will coincide with the dedication of the temple that same weekend.
Thus we see that President Nelson continues to stop at home just long enough to rest, take care of important Church business, pick up a new apostolic companion
The Newsroom also promised to carry ongoing coverage of this leg of the Nelsons' Global Ministry Tour as it occurs, and I will do the same. In the meantime, the Newsroom website provided a look at previous visits which President Nelson and Elder Stevenson have individually made to the same locations, and which Church Presidents have visited these same cities and when.
This will be a development to keep an eye on for sure. Could the time spent in Lima Peru involve breaking ground for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple? Possibly, but that seems unlikely. Could the time in Asuncion Paraguay involve seeing what (if anything) can be done to expedite the process of getting the renovation process finally started on that temple? That's a definite maybe as well. More will be reported in the coming days on this trip, and it will be interesting to see what happens during this leg of that tour.
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.
This will give them opportunities to meet with missionaries, Church members, and governmental leaders. The tour, set to run from October 19-28, will include stops in the cities of Lima Peru on Sunday October 21, La Paz Bolivia the following day, and Asuncion Paraguay the day after that.
After a three-day hiatus, they will then go to Montevideo Uruguay on Thursday October 25, and will end the tour in Concepcion Chile on Saturday and Sunday October 27 & 28, which will coincide with the dedication of the temple that same weekend.
Thus we see that President Nelson continues to stop at home just long enough to rest, take care of important Church business, pick up a new apostolic companion
The Newsroom also promised to carry ongoing coverage of this leg of the Nelsons' Global Ministry Tour as it occurs, and I will do the same. In the meantime, the Newsroom website provided a look at previous visits which President Nelson and Elder Stevenson have individually made to the same locations, and which Church Presidents have visited these same cities and when.
This will be a development to keep an eye on for sure. Could the time spent in Lima Peru involve breaking ground for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple? Possibly, but that seems unlikely. Could the time in Asuncion Paraguay involve seeing what (if anything) can be done to expedite the process of getting the renovation process finally started on that temple? That's a definite maybe as well. More will be reported in the coming days on this trip, and it will be interesting to see what happens during this leg of that tour.
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 8, 2018
BREAKING NEWS: Groundbreaking Confirmed for Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple
Hello again, everyone! As indicated by the Church of Jesus Christ Temples webpage for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple, the groundbreaking for that temple has been confirmed. This confirmation has not yet been posted on the main English edition of the Newsroom on the Church's website, but was posted 4 days ago on the edition of the Newsroom for Ghana. I imagine therefore that the confirmation from the main newsroom will occur within the next few days. The ceremony is set to occur on November 8, 2018, at 10:00 AM Ivory Coast time (which is 4:00 AM on the same day here in Utah)..
It is nice to have this confirmed. From the image of this temple, it appears to be a smaller one, which may take between 18-24 months to construct. For that reason, I will be adding a potential initial completion estimate for that temple to my report, and I will set it to mid-to-late 2020.
I also wanted to note as well that I do not yet have any additional word on anything else upcoming in terms of future temple groundbreakings, but if President Nelson felt impressed to announce 19 temples this year, then I am sure he will likewise be putting into place something to enable temples to move more swiftly from announcement to groundbreaking to dedication.
And it would not surprise me if all of the temples currently announced (with the definite exception of Bangkok Thailand and Pocatello Idaho, and the possible exception of 2-3 others), were to be on that smaller side. Some will certainly need to be larger, but if the Church can do so, I believe that the most feasible option would be to rapidly build a bunch of smaller temples.
From what we also know (in view of recent developments) at least the Nairobi Kenya Temple, for which land has been selected but not yet publicly identified, that temple is anticipated to be dedicated at some point in 2021. So that one is almost sure to have a groundbreaking within the next 6-8 months if not sooner. I continue to monitor all such developments and will post word of them here as they are disclosed.
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.
It is nice to have this confirmed. From the image of this temple, it appears to be a smaller one, which may take between 18-24 months to construct. For that reason, I will be adding a potential initial completion estimate for that temple to my report, and I will set it to mid-to-late 2020.
I also wanted to note as well that I do not yet have any additional word on anything else upcoming in terms of future temple groundbreakings, but if President Nelson felt impressed to announce 19 temples this year, then I am sure he will likewise be putting into place something to enable temples to move more swiftly from announcement to groundbreaking to dedication.
And it would not surprise me if all of the temples currently announced (with the definite exception of Bangkok Thailand and Pocatello Idaho, and the possible exception of 2-3 others), were to be on that smaller side. Some will certainly need to be larger, but if the Church can do so, I believe that the most feasible option would be to rapidly build a bunch of smaller temples.
From what we also know (in view of recent developments) at least the Nairobi Kenya Temple, for which land has been selected but not yet publicly identified, that temple is anticipated to be dedicated at some point in 2021. So that one is almost sure to have a groundbreaking within the next 6-8 months if not sooner. I continue to monitor all such developments and will post word of them here as they are disclosed.
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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