Potential Apostolic Speaking Order for the April 2019 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! As I mentioned in my previous post, aside from what I noted about the potential speaking order, I wanted to share with you all now the 3 scenarios I see as possibilities for the April 2019 General Conference. Since I already set the stage in the last post regarding how many apostles might speak in each session, I will merely post each one now and provide brief comments about each.

Scenario #1: The one I currently include with my predictions

	SAM	SAA	PH	SUM	SUA
Ballard	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Apr 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Holland	Oct 2017	Apr 2017*	Oct 2016	Oct 2018	Apr 2018
Uchtdorf	Oct 2017 (FP)*	Oct 2018	Oct 2017 (FP)	Apr 2017 (FP)	Apr 2018
Bednar	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2017	Oct 2016*
Cook	Oct 2018	Oct 2017*	Oct 2014	Apr 2016	Apr 2018
Christofferson	Oct 2017	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2016*	Apr 2017
Andersen	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Oct 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Rasband	Oct 2018	Oct 2017	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2016*
Stevenson	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2012 (PB)*	Oct 2015	Oct 2018
Renlund	Apr 2017	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2015*	Oct 2018
Gong	N/A*	Oct 2018	N/A	N/A	Apr 2018
Soares	Apr 2017 (70 Pres)	Oct 2018	Apr 2015 (70 Pres)	N/A*	Apr 2018

Ballard	SAA1	SAM	Uchtdorf (3 is 1)
Holland	SAA4		Gong (11 is 2)
Uchtdorf	SAM1	SAA	Ballard (1 is 3)
Bednar	SUA1		Cook (5 is 4)
Cook	SAA2		Andersen (7 is 5)
Christofferson	SUM1		Holland (2 is 6)
Andersen	SAA3	SPH	Stevenson (9 is 7)
Rasband	SUA2	SUM	Christofferson (6 is 8)
Stevenson	SPH		Soares (12 is 9)
Renlund	SUM3		Renlund (10 is 10)*
Gong	SAM2	SUA	Bednar (4 is 11)
Soares	SUM2		Rasband (8 is 12)

I like this one, because following the October 2015 calls of Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund, it took around two years for any of them to speak in the Priesthood Session. Since Elders Renlund and Rasband did so in October 2017 and April 2018 respectively, it would make sense if Elder Stevenson did so this go-round. With the other sessions, I focused on having the apostles that had spoken in each session least recently speak in those sessions this go-round. The order of those speakers in each session is based on several determinations, and I welcome questions if there are any on those.

Scenario #2

	SAM	SAA	PH	SUM	SUA
Ballard	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Apr 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Holland	Oct 2017	Apr 2017*	Oct 2016	Oct 2018	Apr 2018
Uchtdorf	Oct 2017 (FP)*	Oct 2018	Oct 2017 (FP)	Apr 2017 (FP)	Apr 2018
Bednar	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2017	Oct 2016*
Cook	Oct 2018	Oct 2017*	Oct 2014	Apr 2016	Apr 2018
Christofferson	Oct 2017	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2016*	Apr 2017
Andersen	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Oct 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Rasband	Oct 2018	Oct 2017	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2016*
Stevenson	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2012 (PB)	Oct 2015*	Oct 2018
Renlund	Apr 2017*	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2015	Oct 2018
Gong	N/A	Oct 2018	N/A*	N/A	Apr 2018
Soares	Apr 2017 (70 Pres)	Oct 2018	Apr 2015 (70 Pres)	N/A*	Apr 2018

Ballard	SAA1	SAM	Uchtdorf (3 is 1)
Holland	SAA4		Renlund (10 is 2)
Uchtdorf	SAM1	SAA	Ballard (1 is 3)
Bednar	SUA1		Andersen (7 is 4)
Cook	SAA3		Cook (5 is 5)*
Christofferson	SUM1		Holland (2 is 6)
Andersen	SAA2	SPH	Gong (11 is 7)
Rasband	SUA2	SUM	Christofferson (6 is 8)
Stevenson	SUM3		Soares (12 is 9)
Renlund	SAM2		Stevenson (9 is 10)
Gong	SPH	SUA	Bednar (4 is 11)
Soares	SUM2		Rasband (8 is 12)

The main perk of this scenario is that Elder Gong has a chance to speak in the Priesthood Session, which he has not done at all since his call in April 2010. And I would be happy to clarify my thought process on this scenario as well if there are any such questions.

Scenario #3

	SAM	SAA	PH	SUM	SUA
Ballard	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Apr 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Holland	Oct 2017	Apr 2017*	Oct 2016	Oct 2018	Apr 2018
Uchtdorf	Oct 2017 (FP)*	Oct 2018	Oct 2017 (FP)	Apr 2017 (FP)	Apr 2018
Bednar	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2017	Oct 2016*
Cook	Oct 2018	Oct 2017*	Oct 2014	Apr 2016	Apr 2018
Christofferson	Oct 2017	Oct 2018	Apr 2018	Apr 2016*	Apr 2017
Andersen	Apr 2018	Apr 2017*	Oct 2015	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Rasband	Oct 2018	Oct 2017	Apr 2018	Apr 2017	Oct 2016*
Stevenson	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2012 (PB)*	Oct 2015*	Oct 2018
Renlund	Apr 2017*	Apr 2018	Oct 2017	Oct 2015	Oct 2018
Gong	N/A	Oct 2018	N/A*	N/A	Apr 2018
Soares	Apr 2017 (70 Pres)	Oct 2018	Apr 2015 (70 Pres)	N/A*	Apr 2018

Ballard	SAA1	SAM	Uchtdorf (3 is 1)
Holland	SAA4		Renlund (10 is 2)
Uchtdorf	SAM1	SAA	Ballard (1 is 3)
Bednar	SUA1		Andersen (7 is 4)
Cook	SAA3		Cook (5 is 5)*
Christofferson	SUM2		Holland (2 is 6)
Andersen	SAA2	SPH	Stevenson (9 is 7)
Rasband	SUA2		Gong (11 is 8)
Stevenson	SPH1	SUM	Soares (12 is 9)
Renlund	SAM2		Christofferson (6 is 10)
Gong	SPH2	SUA	Bednar (4 is 11)
Soares	SUM1		Rasband (8 is 12)

If another historic announcement is made during the Priesthood Session this go-round, I could see two apostles being asked to speak to explain it. I like this scenario because it allows one of our new apostles who has not spoken in that session at all to do so, along with allowing the only other apostle who has not spoken during that session since his apostolic call (Elder Stevenson) to do so.

Now, as some of you may also notice, there are common elements in each of the 3 scenarios. Elder Uchtdorf is the first speaker in the Saturday Morning Session for all 3. Given that I correctly predicted that he would speak in the Saturday Afternoon Session last time, I thought I would go next for one of the remaining three in which he spoke last as a member of the First Presidency, and the Saturday Morning Session seemed to be a good place to start. 

Each scenario also features Elders Bednar and Rasband as the speakers from the Quorum in the Sunday Afternoon Session, in that order. In that regard, that is proceeding on the assumption that President Oaks will be the first speaker for the Sunday Afternoon Session, since President Eyring did so last October, which would result in only two Quorum members speaking in that session.

President Ballard and Elder Holland are the first and last speakers respectively in the Saturday Afternoon Session in each scenario, and Elders Cook and Andersen feature as the middle speakers in that session for each as well, with the order only differing slightly for the first as compared to the other two. The final thing I want to note is that I will need to format the order of other speakers if the third scenario is used, and if, as expected in that scenario, President Oaks is the first speaker during the Sunday Afternoon Session.

So there you have it. A brief exploration of the three scenarios and the rationale behind each. Please let me know in the comments below whether any of you have thoughts on any of the three scenarios. Your comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines.

That does it for this post. 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.

Some Preliminary Observations About the Potential Speaking Order for General Conference

Hello again, everyone! I am back, as promised earlier this afternoon with some revised observations about the potential speaking order for General Conference. First, by way of review, you can find the speaking order on those predictions as they currently stand here. Turning to details of that order, since President Nelson only conducted 1 General Conference session last April (the Sunday Morning Session), and opted to have his counselors conduct the four general sessions in October (since the Women's Session continues to be conducted by one of the three female auxiliary General Presidents), I think the scenario that applied last April will again apply for this upcoming General Conference, with his counselors conducting two sessions each, and President Nelson conducting the Sunday Morning Session.

Second, since President Eyring will likely be the concluding speaker for the Saturday Morning Session (as President Oaks was last October), I feel confident that President Oaks will conduct that session. If he does, since President Eyring led the Sustaining of Church Officers in the Saturday Afternoon Session last October (while President Oaks conducted that session) and since that was reversed last April (with President Eyring conducting the session and President Oaks leading the sustaining), last April's scenario seems likely to be repeated.

Since President Eyring conducted the Priesthood Session last April, I think it is safe to assume that President Oaks will do so this go-round. President Nelson would then conduct the Sunday Morning Session, and President Eyring will likely conduct the Sunday Afternoon Session. Barring anything unexpected, I would anticipate President Nelson speaking at least 4 times (at the beginning of the Saturday Morning Session, and the ends of the Priesthood Session and the Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions, but he could speak more than that, if any other major announcements are coming down the pike.

I would also assume that the entire First Presidency will speak in the Priesthood Session. And if President Eyring does speak to conclude the Saturday Morning Session, President Oaks could do so at the top of either the Sunday Morning or Sunday Afternoon Sessions. Since Easter Sunday does not coincide with General Conference Sunday this year as it did last year, I am not anticipating that the entire First Presidency will speak to conclude the Sunday Morning Session.

As for the Quorum of the Twelve, I can see a minimum of 3 possible scenarios in terms of their speaking order. Each of those scenarios has 2 members speaking in both the Saturday Morning and Sunday Afternoon Sessions, with 4 more speaking on Saturday Afternoon. The first and second scenarios feature two different members of the Quorum speaking during the Priesthood Session, with 3 others speaking during the Sunday Morning Session. The third scenario features both of the apostles from the other two scenarios speaking in the Priesthood Session (which would allow for any unexpected announcements during that session), with the remaining two apostles speaking on Sunday Morning.

Other than that, the speaking order I am anticipating isn't changed at all in any of the three scenarios. Of course, depending on which of the three scenarios I use, some alterations might be necessary. I am anticipating that the member of the Presiding Bishopric who will speak to us will be Second Counselor Bishop W. Christopher Waddell. I am likewise anticipating two members of the Presidency of the Seventy will speak to us, and I believe those two will be Elders Terence M. Vinson and Elder Carlos A. Godoy in the Saturday and Sunday Morning Sessions respectively. Elder Vinson has only given 1 talk since his call as a General Authority (in October 2013) and Elder Godoy has only spoken twice since his call as a General Authority (in October 2008 following his call as a General Authority, and in October 2014).

It has been a little difficult in recent years to know how many general officers of the Church might speak during General Conference. When President Monson reduced his speaking load in April 2015, the general officers were tapped with extra speaking opportunities to fill the time. Given that the Women's Session will not be held this go-round, I am anticipating that Sister Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, will speak in the Saturday Morning Session, that Young Men General President Stephen W. Owen will do so in the Priesthood Session, that Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, will do so in the Sunday Morning Session, and that Sunday School General President Tad R. Callister will speak during the Sunday Afternoon Session, following his likely release the previous afternoon.

It is even more difficult to know which General Authority Seventies might speak to us. After researching the matter, I have none speaking in the Saturday Morning Session, Elder Scott D. Whiting giving his second talk along with Elder Mathias Held's first in the Saturday Afternoon Session, and the first talk for Elder David P. Homer occurring during the Priesthood Session, Elders Marcus B. Nash and Anthony D. Perkins giving their third talks in the Sunday Morning and Afternoon Sessions respectively, with Elder Kyle S. McKay giving his first talk in the Sunday Afternoon Session.

I also have Elder David S. Baxter giving his third talk in the Sunday Afternoon Session after speaking previously in the April 2012 and October 2006 General Conferences. That said, I wanted to note that his biography on the Church website notes that he is currently on medical leave from his Salt Lake headquarters assignments, and unless I am mistaken, he is dealing with cancer, which, if that is still true, may prevent him from speaking during this General Conference. And in reference to these predicted speakers, I wanted to reach out to you, Scott Shipley, because I believe you had indicated that you were keeping a database on General Authority Seventies, and if I am missing anything in this paragraph about any of the GA Seventies who haven't spoken in a while (or at all) that may do so during this General Conference. Thanks in advance for the information.

In the meantime, that does it for this post. I will be posting again shortly to provide a more specific look at the three potential scenarios I see as possibilities in terms of apostolic speaking order. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. 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.