Hello again, everyone! With the Barranquilla Colombia Temple open house set to begin this Saturday, today marked the beginning of the VIP/Media Tours for that temple. The Newsroom subpage on the Church's official website shared an overview of that event, and highlighted some of the temple's features and details about what people can expect during the open house.
Having noted that, I wanted to mention here a minor item of personal business. I have continued to make additional tweaks/adjustments to the layout, look and feel of this blog. The latest adjustments have involved my expanding the margins of the blog itself. Hopefully everything is easy for you all to find, but if any of you have any questions regarding what you are looking for, or if you have any feedback on the new look and feel of this blog, please don't hesitate to let me know.
I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to 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. 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 30, 2018
VIP/Media Tours Underway for Barranquilla Colombia Temple; Open House Set to Begin on Saturday
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 29, 2018
Additional Church News Reported (Including Official Statement on Pittsburgh Tragedy)
Hello again, everyone! Some additional Church news has been reported within the last 12 hours or less, which I wanted to pass along today. Most notably, an official statement has been released by the Church in response to this weekend's shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Jewish mosque. Though only two paragraphs in length, the strongly-worded statement expresses prayers and support for those impacted by the tragedy, addresses the violation of the sanctity of houses of worship (which is what happened here), provided a strong and unequivocal condemnation of anti-Semitic attitudes and actions, and spelled out our mutual obligation to protect the rights of people of all faiths to worship as they choose.
This statement appears to me to be the most strongly- and forcefully-worded reaction to such a situation I have seen in any of the wide coverage on this tragic event. The idea that anyone would interfere with another's God-given and (in the United States) constitutionally-protected right to worship as they choose rightly ought to be repulsive to people of all religions or no religion.
We have also seen a sharp increase in politically- and religiously-motivated attacks, and I appreciate the First Presidency issuing this statement, which makes the Church's position on this matter clear. President Nelson has echoed the invitation previously issued by President Hinckley: "Bring all the good you have, and let us see if we can add to it." That invitation still stands, but it is coupled with the doctrine found in the 11th article of faith (which is the only one that does not begin with "We believe"),
That article states the following: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." As the statement capably observed, a threat to the rights of anyone to practice their religion is a threat to the rights of all those who practice any or no religion. The Church's statement is yet another in the series of recent examples demonstrating just how much our apostles and prophets are aware of what's happening in the world, and are thus able to appropriately and unequivocally condemn such behavior.
Moving on to other Church news that has come in, a couple more articles have been released in relation to yesterday's dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple. President Nelson spoke to media representatives following that event, and he made some very interesting observations about how he views the Church, his recent South American trip, and regarding what's ahead for him. Among the things he said was that the Church is still in the process of being restored, and that "there is much more to come."
After sharing the history of the Church in Chile (including that of the Concepcion Chile Temple), the article goes on to talk about how rapidly the Church has expanded in South America since his birth in 1924. There were also insights shared from members whose families were among the first to join the Church as Chilean natives. It was also observed that the Concepcion Chile Temple was built with the view to protecting it from future natural disasters, and the article noted that, in the temple, an earthquake ranking at 10 on the Richter scale would, within the temple walls, only have an impact of 2 on that same scale.
President Nelson then made another remarkable statement. After reiterating the idea that prophets and apostles are called to serve the world, and not just to be special witnesses of Christ to the members of the Church, he said that the 5 countries he visited on this trip were just a "drop in the bucket", or, in other terms, he has barely scratched the surface. He announced his intention to do another leg of his Global Ministry Tour in the near future, and said that, while he may not get a chance to visit each of the over 200 nations in the world, he will get to as many as he can.
Noting that, I ran some calculations, and with President Nelson having visited Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, South America, and various areas of the United States and Canada, about the only regions he hasn't visited as Church president yet are the Pacific Islands (which, by extension, may include the Philippines) and Brazil. If I have any of that information incorrect, please feel free to let me know.
In the meantime, the man who wrote a recent biography for Pope Francis had the opportunity to sit down with and interview President Nelson during this leg of his South American trip, and noted some insights he gained through both scenarios about why leaders need to get close to the people they serve. And a photographer has provided some insight into what it is like to travel with the prophet. All of these news stories are well worthy of your time and attention, and I can recommend them to you all without reservation. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news stories and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to pass those along to you all as I receive word of 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.
This statement appears to me to be the most strongly- and forcefully-worded reaction to such a situation I have seen in any of the wide coverage on this tragic event. The idea that anyone would interfere with another's God-given and (in the United States) constitutionally-protected right to worship as they choose rightly ought to be repulsive to people of all religions or no religion.
We have also seen a sharp increase in politically- and religiously-motivated attacks, and I appreciate the First Presidency issuing this statement, which makes the Church's position on this matter clear. President Nelson has echoed the invitation previously issued by President Hinckley: "Bring all the good you have, and let us see if we can add to it." That invitation still stands, but it is coupled with the doctrine found in the 11th article of faith (which is the only one that does not begin with "We believe"),
That article states the following: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." As the statement capably observed, a threat to the rights of anyone to practice their religion is a threat to the rights of all those who practice any or no religion. The Church's statement is yet another in the series of recent examples demonstrating just how much our apostles and prophets are aware of what's happening in the world, and are thus able to appropriately and unequivocally condemn such behavior.
Moving on to other Church news that has come in, a couple more articles have been released in relation to yesterday's dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple. President Nelson spoke to media representatives following that event, and he made some very interesting observations about how he views the Church, his recent South American trip, and regarding what's ahead for him. Among the things he said was that the Church is still in the process of being restored, and that "there is much more to come."
After sharing the history of the Church in Chile (including that of the Concepcion Chile Temple), the article goes on to talk about how rapidly the Church has expanded in South America since his birth in 1924. There were also insights shared from members whose families were among the first to join the Church as Chilean natives. It was also observed that the Concepcion Chile Temple was built with the view to protecting it from future natural disasters, and the article noted that, in the temple, an earthquake ranking at 10 on the Richter scale would, within the temple walls, only have an impact of 2 on that same scale.
President Nelson then made another remarkable statement. After reiterating the idea that prophets and apostles are called to serve the world, and not just to be special witnesses of Christ to the members of the Church, he said that the 5 countries he visited on this trip were just a "drop in the bucket", or, in other terms, he has barely scratched the surface. He announced his intention to do another leg of his Global Ministry Tour in the near future, and said that, while he may not get a chance to visit each of the over 200 nations in the world, he will get to as many as he can.
Noting that, I ran some calculations, and with President Nelson having visited Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, South America, and various areas of the United States and Canada, about the only regions he hasn't visited as Church president yet are the Pacific Islands (which, by extension, may include the Philippines) and Brazil. If I have any of that information incorrect, please feel free to let me know.
In the meantime, the man who wrote a recent biography for Pope Francis had the opportunity to sit down with and interview President Nelson during this leg of his South American trip, and noted some insights he gained through both scenarios about why leaders need to get close to the people they serve. And a photographer has provided some insight into what it is like to travel with the prophet. All of these news stories are well worthy of your time and attention, and I can recommend them to you all without reservation. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news stories and temple developments and will keep doing my level best to pass those along to you all as I receive word of 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.
Further Changes On the Design and Layout of This Blog
Hello again, everyone! This will just be a quick post to note that I have continued to make periodic tweaks to the look, layout, and configuration of this blog. The layout as it now stands will hopefully provide a better experience for all of you who read it. A comment on content I posted several hours ago alerted me to some issues with some of the things I had tried to adjust, and hopefully I have fixed that issue, and no further tweaks will be necessary for the next little while.
That said, if any of you have any feedback for me on what is working and what isn't in relation to this new look and feel, I'd especially appreciate hearing from you. I am constantly gratified to know that my thoughts, such as they are, regarding things I feel impressed to "sound off" about are contributing, in some small way, to the ongoing discussion of Church news and temple developments.
I do continue to monitor all such things on an ongoing basis, and will, to the best of my ability, keep passing 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.
That said, if any of you have any feedback for me on what is working and what isn't in relation to this new look and feel, I'd especially appreciate hearing from you. I am constantly gratified to know that my thoughts, such as they are, regarding things I feel impressed to "sound off" about are contributing, in some small way, to the ongoing discussion of Church news and temple developments.
I do continue to monitor all such things on an ongoing basis, and will, to the best of my ability, keep passing 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.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
An Interesting Tidbit I Picked Up On/Upcoming Apostolic Birthdays
Hello again, everyone! While I am still planning on posting any updates I find regarding the dedication held earlier today for the Concepcion Chile Temple, I wanted to switch gears here for a minute and address a somewhat interesting tidbit I picked up on as I recently began scanning Church leader's biographies for any noted assignment changes.
As some of you might recall my mentioning previously here, the apostles (particularly the members of the Quorum of the Twelve) are given responsibility for the worldwide administration of the Church, and part of that involves having specific apostles assigned to specific areas. Such assignments are made and altered at the discretion of the President of the Church.
For a few years now at least, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has had a role in supervising the Middle East/Africa North Area (which is done from headquarters). And Elder L. Whitney Clayton has been assisting him with this assignment. But a recent recheck of Elder Clayton's biography notes that he now assists Elder David A. Bednar in the supervision of that area.
So what does that tell us? Different people might come to different conclusions in that regard. But it seems to me to be a safe assumption that the transferal of that assignment from Elder Holland to Elder Bednar may be because President M. Russell Ballard, the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is now 90 years of age, and if and when he passes away (assuming no other changes in the apostleship between now and that time), Elder Holland will, as the next in line, take over that assignment.
It appears that Elder Holland still has a role serving on the Church Board of Education, but perhaps this change indicates the First Presidency may want Elder Holland to be ready if he needs to take on that role in the future, which seems more likely than not. Of course, until anything official is announced, this is mainly just my personal opinion, and may be totally incorrect or not accounting for information that is unknown about this development.
That said, it wouldn't shock me to find out that I am correct in this theory. Currently, all 15 of our apostles appear to be in very good health, and 11 of the 15 are under 80 right now, while 7 of those 11 are under 70. Still, President Nelson has shown a willingness to tweak things now to prepare for the future, so I could see the wisdom in planning ahead for the future leadership of the Quorum if and when that becomes necessary.
In the meantime, as October winds to a close and November begins by the end of this week, I wanted to note that we have two apostles whose birthdays are coming up in November. On Tuesday November 6 (which coincides with Election Day here in the United States), Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf will be celebrating his 78th birthday. Exactly one week later, on Tuesday November 13, Elder Dale G. Renlund will observe his 66th birthday. You can count on my providing posts in honor of these two apostles on those dates.
I also continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of 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.
As some of you might recall my mentioning previously here, the apostles (particularly the members of the Quorum of the Twelve) are given responsibility for the worldwide administration of the Church, and part of that involves having specific apostles assigned to specific areas. Such assignments are made and altered at the discretion of the President of the Church.
For a few years now at least, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has had a role in supervising the Middle East/Africa North Area (which is done from headquarters). And Elder L. Whitney Clayton has been assisting him with this assignment. But a recent recheck of Elder Clayton's biography notes that he now assists Elder David A. Bednar in the supervision of that area.
So what does that tell us? Different people might come to different conclusions in that regard. But it seems to me to be a safe assumption that the transferal of that assignment from Elder Holland to Elder Bednar may be because President M. Russell Ballard, the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is now 90 years of age, and if and when he passes away (assuming no other changes in the apostleship between now and that time), Elder Holland will, as the next in line, take over that assignment.
It appears that Elder Holland still has a role serving on the Church Board of Education, but perhaps this change indicates the First Presidency may want Elder Holland to be ready if he needs to take on that role in the future, which seems more likely than not. Of course, until anything official is announced, this is mainly just my personal opinion, and may be totally incorrect or not accounting for information that is unknown about this development.
That said, it wouldn't shock me to find out that I am correct in this theory. Currently, all 15 of our apostles appear to be in very good health, and 11 of the 15 are under 80 right now, while 7 of those 11 are under 70. Still, President Nelson has shown a willingness to tweak things now to prepare for the future, so I could see the wisdom in planning ahead for the future leadership of the Quorum if and when that becomes necessary.
In the meantime, as October winds to a close and November begins by the end of this week, I wanted to note that we have two apostles whose birthdays are coming up in November. On Tuesday November 6 (which coincides with Election Day here in the United States), Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf will be celebrating his 78th birthday. Exactly one week later, on Tuesday November 13, Elder Dale G. Renlund will observe his 66th birthday. You can count on my providing posts in honor of these two apostles on those dates.
I also continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I become aware of 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.
Concepcion Chile Temple Dedicated as 160th Operating Temple by President Russell M. Nelson
Hello again, everyone! Given that it is now just after 1:00 PM Utah time, it is just after 4:00 PM Chilean time. This means that the third and final dedicatory session for the Concepcion Chile Temple is either still underway or nearing its' conclusion. The dedication of this temple is the culmination of President Russell M. Nelson's first South American leg of his ongoing Global Ministry Tour.
Church leaders in attendance at today's dedication included President Nelson and his wife Wendy W. Nelson, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Lesa (who were the prophet's traveling companions during this trip), Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse and his wife Valerie, and General Authority Seventy Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who serves as the Executive Director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Lynda. Reportedly, other Church leaders were also in attendance, but I have not yet ascertained who those might have been.
Further information about this temple's dedication will be forthcoming throughout the day today, and I will bring that to you all as I receive word of it. For now, I wanted to pass along this article from the Newsroom website. It is touching to read about how kind Church leaders are to the young children they invite to help place mortar around the cornerstone.
Although this leg of the tour has gone on for a 9-day period, President Nelson shows no signs of fatigue or wanting to rest. As many of his traveling companions have observed throughout his ongoing Global Ministry Tour, as he speaks to and interacts with Church members around the world, he looks to be about 20-30 years younger than his actual age (94). And all agree that he has shown an incredible increase in energy and stamina as he has been out and about among the membership of the Church.
We are truly seeing a miraculous fulfillment of the promise contained in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, as President Nelson has indeed been "sanctified by the Spirit to the renewal of [his] body." I share the hope of his Brethren that he will be around for the next decade or two. Whatever might occur with his ongoing ministry, you can count on my bringing a report of it to you all here as I become aware of such developments. In the meantime, I also continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple updates, and will pass those along as well in the future.
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.
Church leaders in attendance at today's dedication included President Nelson and his wife Wendy W. Nelson, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Lesa (who were the prophet's traveling companions during this trip), Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse and his wife Valerie, and General Authority Seventy Elder Larry Y. Wilson, who serves as the Executive Director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Lynda. Reportedly, other Church leaders were also in attendance, but I have not yet ascertained who those might have been.
Further information about this temple's dedication will be forthcoming throughout the day today, and I will bring that to you all as I receive word of it. For now, I wanted to pass along this article from the Newsroom website. It is touching to read about how kind Church leaders are to the young children they invite to help place mortar around the cornerstone.
Although this leg of the tour has gone on for a 9-day period, President Nelson shows no signs of fatigue or wanting to rest. As many of his traveling companions have observed throughout his ongoing Global Ministry Tour, as he speaks to and interacts with Church members around the world, he looks to be about 20-30 years younger than his actual age (94). And all agree that he has shown an incredible increase in energy and stamina as he has been out and about among the membership of the Church.
We are truly seeing a miraculous fulfillment of the promise contained in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, as President Nelson has indeed been "sanctified by the Spirit to the renewal of [his] body." I share the hope of his Brethren that he will be around for the next decade or two. Whatever might occur with his ongoing ministry, you can count on my bringing a report of it to you all here as I become aware of such developments. In the meantime, I also continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple updates, and will pass those along as well in the future.
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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