Several More Church News Items Reported

Hello again, everyone! This will be the first post I publish to kick off a big weekend of new content for this blog. In this post, I will be covering several additional Church news stories which have been reported. That will be followed in around 1.5 hours with the publication of a post I have prepared in tribute to Elder David A. Bednar, who will be observing his 67th birthday tomorrow. Then this weekend,I will provide coverage of the rededication for the Oakland California Temple (over which President Dallin H. Oaks will preside, in company with his wife, Kristen M. Oaks, and Elder David A. Bednar and his wife, Susan, along with at least one representative from the Temple Department.

But I will also have the latest apostolic statistics published on this blog on Sunday as well.  At some point, I hope to provide temple updates, either through another new post, or through the comments on existing posts. With that said, let's dive right in to the Church news updates. We start with the Church News website, where the latest edition of "This Week on Social" features posts on a wide variety of topics from the following leaders:

*From the First Presidency: President Russell M. Nelson and his First Counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks.
*From the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Acting President M. Russell Ballard, and Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Dale G. Renlund, and Gerrit W. Gong
*From the general officers of the Church: Sister Reyna I. Aburto, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency; Sisters Joy D. Jones, Primary General President, and her First Counselor Lisa L. Harkness; and Sister Becky Craven, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency..

The Church News also reported several updates on the ministry of our apostles: President Nelson visited Florida and shared 7 truths that can change lives; President Oaks spoke at BYU-Hawaii, and Elder Holland spoke to CES instructors, In addition, several apostles have been spread across the world recently, with Elder Holland in Mexico; Elder Cook in Kuwait, where he thanked the govermnent for officially recognizing the Church as approved for religious activy; Elder Christofferson in West Africa;  and Elder Gong who both spoke at a Japanese Interfaith Forum recently and personal apostolic contribution to the ongoing  "Special Witnesses of Christ" video series.

Meanwhile, in other news, highlights include articles on how a Latter-day Saint beatboxer has received the national spotlight; how the impact of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple is already being felt; the new southernmost stake of the Church being established in Tierra del Fuego Argentina (for which further coverage can be found on the Church Growth Blog) and the lesson on enduring which the Church News editor learned while covering President Nelson's Pacific Ministry Tour; and an article about the Church's first African-American general authority, Elder Peter M. Johnson.

Additional news includes coverage on the June 8 groundbreaking for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple; remarks made at the aforementioned Interfaith Forum by Sister Sharon Eubank; coverage of remarks made by emeritus General Authority Elder Kent F. Richards at a devotional held at LDS Business College;. You can find additional Church news coverage which I have not mentioned herein on the Church News website, as well as the News & Events page on the Church's webiste and the official Newsroom.

In the meantime, I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments, and will do my level best to keep passing along word of those to you all as I become aware of such things. That does it for this post. 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 nof 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.

President M. Russell Ballard Observes His Third 2019 Nonagenarian Milestone

Hello again, everyone! With today being Sunday June 9, 2019, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is observing his third 2019 apostolic nonagenarian milestone. The length of his life to-date is now 90 years, 8 months, and 1 day. His lifespan thus currently matches that of President Marion G. Romney, who, at the time of his passing, had been serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But because President Romney had been experiencing the effects of advancing age between mid-1981 and his death in mid-May 1988, President Howard W. Hunter had been designated Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

An additional note on President Romney is that he had, prior to returning to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and being designated its' president, served as Second Counselor to 11th Church President Harold B. Lee, and retained that assignment throughout most of the tenure of 12th Church President Spencer W. Kimball. When First Counselor President N. Eldon Tanner passed away in late November 1982, President Kimball designated President Romney as his First Counselor, with President Gordon B. Hinckley, who had joined the First Presidency in mid-July 1981 due to the infirmity and old age of Presidents Kimball, Tanner, and Romney, designated as Second Counselor to President Kimball.

Getting back to President Ballard, though, the length of his lifespan as nf today merely matches that of President Romney. But unless something significant happens and President Ballard were to pass away before tomorrow, since he continues to live and serve as an apostolic nonagenarian, I have moved him up to President Romney's previous spot on the list of apostolic nonagenarians. President Romney thus now ranks as the 16th oldest apostle in Church history, with President Ballard having now become the 15th oldest apostle in Church history.

Just as a reminder about other upcoming apostolic milestones, Elder David A. Bednar will be observing his 67th birthday this Saturday (June 15), and I will be posting a birthday tribute to him at some point on that date. The next day, I will be posting my fourth 2019 apostolic milestone update, which I am very excited about, given all that has changed or will be changing before that update is posted.

Looking ahead to July, President Nelson will be observing his only 2019 prophetic tenure length and age milestones 2 days apart. On Wednesday July 3, he will have served as long as Harold B. Lee, and will thus become the 15th longest-serving prophet in Church history. On Friday July 5, the length of President Nelson's lifespan will have matched that of Ezra Taft Benson, making President Nelson the 4th oldest Church President. That same day, President Nelson will also take President Benson's place as the 6th oldest nonagenarian apostle.

And Presidents Oaks and Ballard will also observe some apostolic milestones in July as well. On Sunday July 7, the length of President Oaks' tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will match that of President Spencer W. Kimball, and will thus assume President Kimball's spot on that list. He will move up on the list again two days later (on Tuesday July 9), when the length of his tenure will match the second (and longest) tenure of President Brigham Young Jr., who is the only man to have his tenure as Quorum President interrupted by the service of another Quorum President.

The unique circumstances between President Young Jr.'s two separate tenures as Quorum President came into play during the Church Presidency of Lorenzo Snow. At the time of Brigham Jr.'s first appointment as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he was seen as more senior in the apostleship than George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, who were President Snow's counselors in the First Presidency due to having been ordained as an apostle prior to Presidents Cannon and Smith.

But within less than a year, President Snow determined that the relevant date which should come into play for the seniority of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the date on which they joined the Quorum, rather than the date on which they were ordained apostles. Since Brigham Young Jr.'s appointment to the Quorum of the Twelve came after that of Presidents Cannon and Smith, President Snow adjusted his seniority, making Brigham Young Jr. the fourth most senior apostle.

Based on that adjusted seniority, if the practice as understood today had been followed, President Young Jr. would have been designated Acting President of the Quorum, with the assignment of Quorum President being held first by President Cannon until his death in mid-April 1901, then by President Smith until the reorganization of the First Presidency following the  mid-October 1901 death of President Snow.

With the calling of an Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles only beginning to be  implemented during President Joseph F. Smith's prophetic tenure, as a result, Brigham Young Jr. initially served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from mid-December 1899 to mid-October 1901. When President Snow passed away, President Smith then served as Quorum President for the 7 days between that and his ordination as Church President. Brigham Young Jr. went on to serve a second time as Quorum President from mid-October 1901 until his own death in mid-April 1903.

Having noted that, President Oaks' July 9 Quorum Presidential milestone will be marked when the length thereof matches the aforementioned second tenure of Brigham Young Jr., and President Oaks will thus become the 22nd longest-serving Quorum President in Church history. Then, on the last day of July (Wednesday the 31st), President M. Russell Ballard will be observing his fourth (and final) 2019 nonagenarian milestone. On that date, his lifespan will then match that of President Boyd K. Packer, and President Ballard will thus become the 14th oldest apostle of this dispensation. Be on the lookout for reports of these milestones as they are observed.

I also continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such things. That does it for this post. 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.

Groundbreaking Held for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple Today

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post again now to note that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was held earlier today. Contrary to what I had supposed, it turns out that ceremony was held not at 10:00 AM, but rather at 3:00 PM Peruvian time, which was 2:00 PM here in Utah. The news release I cited above not only notes the remarks that were given by the members of the South America Northwest Area Presidency, but also gave a glimpse at some of the other Church, government, or civic leaders who were in attendance at the ceremony.

According to the article, construction on the temple is projected to take roughly 36 months (around 3 years) to complete. So unless delays occur to push that back, or if construction proceeds ahead of schedule, it seems safe to assume that the temple's dedication is likely to either be held in mid-June or in August or September 2022. I have no way to verify this will occur, but it is my hope that full-scale construction efforts can get underway for that temple within this next week.

Likewise, I am hoping that, since both the Quito Ecuador and Bangkok Thailand Temples finally got out of their "Construction pending" status this week, that this next week will also see the commencement of full-scale construction for the Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples at some point this upcoming week as well.  It is also my fervet hope that we may hear an official announcement within the next 3 weeks or so of additional temple groundbreakings being set to occur in August or September, along with the announcement of the open house and dedication arrangements for the Durban South Africa Temple.

Based on my analysis of the latest information on that temple, the dedication could either be set to occur during the final Sunday of this year, or on the second Sunday in January of next year. In view of all the recently reported temple developments, I will likely probably have to revisit my estimates for known temple events at some point within the next couple of weeks. And in the interim, I will be publishing a new post within the next 12 hours or less to highlight President Ballard's next apostolic nonagenarian milestone, and will also have a report on the Nelsons and Uchtdorfs' visit to Florida within the next 36 hours or so, as that coverage becomes available.

Looking ahead to the next week or so, I will also be publishing a tribute to Elder Bednar one week from today (which willl mark his 67th birthday), and both my latest apostolic milestone updates and a report on the rededication for the Oakland California Temple next Sunday. I will also, of course, be publishing new content to cover any major Church news or temple developments, or will leave comments about more minor updates in the threads for exisiting posts as I receive word of such things.

It promises to be a very busy remainder of the month for me as far as publishing new content, but I will certainly try to keep abreast of it all, to the best of my ability. In the meantime, just a reminder that I will continue to accept feedback on my latest list of prospective locations for which a temple may be announced during the upcoming October 2019 General Conference, and that open commenting period remains in effect until Monday September 30, at which point I will need to make any final adjustments to the list prior to that General Conference, which will occur the following weekend.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made inf 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.

Several Church News Items Reported

Hello again, everyone! Several Church news items have been reported within the last 72 hours or so. Given the nature of their importance and significance, I wanted to share them with you all here now. So let's get right into it all. First, and most importantly, the URL for the Church's official Newsroom and all its' subpages (including articles on the main page and at least some of the international newsroom sites) has officially been moved to the new URL that Church leaders previously referenced. I cannot say that all country Newsroom sites have experienced the same exact changes, but if any of those contry sites retain the present URL, they are on track to get those changes made in the days and weeks ahead.

Next, I wanted to mention that many of the foreign language Newsrooms have offered an increasing number of reports on the ministry of Church leaders in several of those locations. It particularly appears that many of our apostles have been outside the United States in recent days and weeks, and I'd encourage any who are interested in such reports to check them out on the individual Newsrooms. For those of us who have trouble reading material that was not originally in our native languages, in most web browsers, the option to translate such pages into the languages we use will be presented upon navigating to those pages.

Having said that, I wanted to focus my first set of shared articles from the main English Newsroom. The highlights include that the entire First Presidency, in company with Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is our apostle with Asian ancestry, welcomed a delegation from Vietnam's Committee for Religious Affairs, and they discussed, among other things, how the Church and the Committee can streamline efforts to enable the gospel to spread through Vietnam. With the Church having obtained official recognition from that nation roughly 3 years or so ago, it is good to see those cooperative efforts continuing and expanding.

And Elder Quentin L. Cook, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was recently in Jerusalem, where he spoke to a gathering of Latter-day Saints and Jewish leaders, where he encouraged interfaith listening and learning, Elder D. Todd Christofferson was in West Africa recently, during which government leaders praised the Church's focus on family and humanitarian work, while it has also been reported that Church members in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world have been  involved in projects to help in the aftermath of the mosque shooting in Christchurch New Zealand.

Meanwhile, on the official website for Church News and Events page, the details of the November Face-to-Face event for children and youth ages 3-17, their teachers, their leaders, and their parents, which will feature Elder Gong and the entire Primary, Young Men, and Young Women General Presidencies. We now turn in conclusion to a few Church News articles that have been published recently, which include articles highlighting how 3 Latter-day Saint female athletes are living and sharing their faith while at universities that are not predominantly made up of Latter-day Saints.

Also, Sister Reyna I. Aubrto, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke at this week's BYU-Idaho devotional, while Sisters Lisa L. Harkness, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, and Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, spoke to the Church News about their recent ministry tour through several nations within the Africa Southeast Area.  The Church News also shared recollections from Hugh B. Brown, who served in WWII, and would subsequently serve as an apostle and, for a time, as a member of the First Presidency, as the world celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-day.

Additionally, the proprietors of an art-glass studio based in Lehi, Utah, have spoken to the Church News about how contributing to temple construction has had a positive influence in their lives and on the success of their business. I was pleased to be able to bring these updates to you all here today. I will continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep doing 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, 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Full-Scale Construction Efforts Underway on Quito Ecuador Temple

Hello again, everyone! I have some breaking temple news to report. New information of which I was made aware today indicates that full-scale construction efforts are now underway on the Quito Ecuador Temple. The latest update I have on that temple is that construction equipment is on site, that the outline of the temple has been marked, and that excavation is now underway for the footings and foundation of that temple.

It is wonderful to hear of these developments, especially since the groundbreaking for that temple occurred less than a month ago. With construction having commenced, some sources from which I gather the bulk of the temple information which I share here have indicated that construction on the Quito Ecuador Temple is now anticipated to wrap up sometime during 2021, which puts its' completion after that of the Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, and San Juan Puerto Rico Temples, but prior to that of the Pocatello Idaho and Urdaneta Philippines Temples.

And based on my own analysis, I am confident enough to offer a more specific completion estimate of mid-to-late 2021 for that temple. Given that within the last couple of weeks, we have seen this temple and the Bangkok Thailand Temple finally get out of their "full-scale construction pending" status, it is my hope that we will soon see full scale work get underway for the Yigo, Praia, and San Juan Temples, although how quickly that may occur could be anyone's guess.

With that said, I did want to note that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple will be held two days from now. And additionally, an update has also crossed my radar relating to the renovation process for the Washington D.C. Temple, where work has progressed on both the temple's interior and exterior. Aside from these updates, I wanted to also note that I am still hoping that another announced temple or two may have its' groundbreaking arrangements announced within the next week or two.

And I also wanted to mention as well that President Russell M. Nelson, his wife, Wendy W. Nelson, and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Harriet R. Uchtdorf, are preparing to visit Orlando Florida, where they will speak at an evening devotional this weekend. The Church News has published an article on how a Disney show director has been given the opportunity to prepare the Amway Center for that devotional this weekend.

I have other Church news stories to report, but will defer that for the moment. That does it for this post. 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.