Hello again, everyone! As a result of the release of details on the renovation for the Hong Kong China Temple yesterday, I know there was some discussion in the comments of my last post, on the reasoning behind the removal. My expressed belief at that time was that the removal would be temporary. But as a result of that discussion, I determined to do some more digging on my end. And that additional research has led to some clarification on what is actually happening there and why. So let's talk about that.
First, some background: As previous temples have been dedicated or rededicated, a common question from media representatives is why, if the Church claims that Jesus Christ is the center of our faith, would the statue of the angel Moroni appear on top of such temples. And within the last year, we have seen President Nelson implementing measures to correct the Church's course and to ensure that the role of the Savior is being properly emphasized. With that background in mind, we have also seen recent examples in temple construction where the angel Moroni statue has not been included in the design of those temples. Such examples include the Paris France, Kinshasa DR Congo, Port-au--Prince Haiti, Yigo Guam, Praia Cabo Verde, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Lima Peru Los Oivos Temples.
The factors I have laid out here provide some context, I hope, into why the Church is moving away from having the angel Moroni statue on some temples. And in addition to the other reasons I outlined in the comments section of my last post, I hope my explanation here has provided further illumination, clarification, and correction on this matter. The angel Moroni statues serve a definitive purpose for the temples on which they still exist, and the fact that such a statue will be used on both the Quito Ecuador and Belem Brazil Temples once they are built indicates that in some cases, the Church will still use the statue. But in other cases, in order to send the right message about the proper central focus of our faith, the angel Moroni statue will have filled its' intended purpose for the period of time it was used, and thus may not continue to be used.
In conclusion, and by way of clarification and correction to what I noted yesterday, it is absolutely true that the angel Moroni removal will be permanent for the Hong Kong China Temple, and there may be more to the reasoning about that decision than what I have outlined here. In the meanwhile, I am sure that in some cases, the angel Moroni will continue to be used. And what this comes down to is that the prophets and apostles in our time have determined that the angel Moroni statue on this temple has served its' purpose, and that its' removal is in harmony with the Lord's will for it. I hope with that, we can all be content. I'd also like to apologize for unintentional misleading any of you based on what I said in the comment threads of yesterday's post. It was not my intention to perpetuate inaccurate or false information, and I am committed to being more careful in the future about ascertaining the facts before I offer an opinion or analysis on such things. In the meantime, I continue to monitor all other Church news and temple developments, and will pass word of such things along to you all ASAP through either new posts or via the comments on existing posts.
That does it for now. 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.
On this blog, I, James Stokes, share insights and analysis covering the latest news and developments reported about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My specific emphasis and focus is on the ministry of our current apostles, General Conference, and up-to-date temple information. This site is neither officially owned, operated, or endorsed by the Church, and I, as the autthor thereof, am solely responsible for this content.
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Wednesday, August 7, 2019
CORRECTION: Clarification on Angel Moroni Removal in Hong Kong
Labels:
Church Policies and Major Announcements,
First Presidency,
Scheduled Temple Event,
Sustaining the Brethren,
Temples Undergoing Renovation
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, August 6, 2019
Tribute to Elder Gary E. Stevenson on His 64th Birthday
Hello again, everyone! As we are now just over an hour into August 6, I wanted to go ahead and post a tribute to Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who is marking his 64th birthday today. Let's dive right into that. Gary Evan Stevenson was born in Ogden, Utah in 1955 to Evan and Jean Stevenson. He grew up in the Cache Valley. He served full-time in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, after which he continued his secondary education at Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. During the course of his studies there, he met Lesa Jean Higley, whom he later married in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, and with whom he would raise four sons. He spent his professional career working as the COO of ICON Health & Fitness, and served on both the Marriott School of Management Advisory Council and also the USU Foundation Board.
In the Church, he has served as a bishop and a stake president's counselor. He went on to serve between 2004 and 2007 as the president of the Japan Nagoya Mission. Less than a year after his return, he was among the first general authority seventies called during President Thomas S. Monson's prophetic administration in April 2008. In August of that same year, he was called to serve as First Counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency. The following year, he became the president of that same area, and he served in that assignment until April 2012, at which point, he was released as a General Authority Seventy and sustained as the Church's 14th Presiding Bishop.
In October 2015, with three vacancies in the apostleship due to the deaths of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott, Elder Stevenson was unexpectedly summoned to meet with the First Presidency. He related that he felt sure that he was being notified that one of his counselors (Bishops Gerald Causse or Dean M. Davies) were being called to the apostleship. He was stunned when the apostolic call was instead extended to him. He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015, and was ordained an apostle on October 8, then released as Presiding Bishop one day later. Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Dale G. Renlund, whom he sits between, were called to fill the other two apostolic vacancies, and shared the same sustaining and ordination dates. Although he was the youngest of the three at that time, in a somewhat unusual move, he was called, sustained, and ordained as the senior apostle to Elder Renlund, who is just shy of 3 years older than Elder Stevenson is. Typically, when more than one apostle is ordained at the same time, the oldest one is ordained first. But the last time 3 apostles were called simulatenously was in 1906, at which point, the order in which the 3 (George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay) were called differed from their chronological age order (Orson F. Whitney, George F. Richards, and David O. McKay).
At the age of 60, Elder Stevenson was the youngest man called to the apostleship since Elder David A. Bednar (who was 52 at the time of his October 2004 apostolic call). He would retain his status as the youngest currently-serving apostle until the April 2018 call of Elder Ulisses Soares, who was 59 at the time of his call.
In October 2015, with three vacancies in the apostleship due to the deaths of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott, Elder Stevenson was unexpectedly summoned to meet with the First Presidency. He related that he felt sure that he was being notified that one of his counselors (Bishops Gerald Causse or Dean M. Davies) were being called to the apostleship. He was stunned when the apostolic call was instead extended to him. He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015, and was ordained an apostle on October 8, then released as Presiding Bishop one day later. Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Dale G. Renlund, whom he sits between, were called to fill the other two apostolic vacancies, and shared the same sustaining and ordination dates. Although he was the youngest of the three at that time, in a somewhat unusual move, he was called, sustained, and ordained as the senior apostle to Elder Renlund, who is just shy of 3 years older than Elder Stevenson is. Typically, when more than one apostle is ordained at the same time, the oldest one is ordained first. But the last time 3 apostles were called simulatenously was in 1906, at which point, the order in which the 3 (George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay) were called differed from their chronological age order (Orson F. Whitney, George F. Richards, and David O. McKay).
At the age of 60, Elder Stevenson was the youngest man called to the apostleship since Elder David A. Bednar (who was 52 at the time of his October 2004 apostolic call). He would retain his status as the youngest currently-serving apostle until the April 2018 call of Elder Ulisses Soares, who was 59 at the time of his call.
With the apostolic calls of Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares in April 2018, Elder Stevenson is now the 9th in seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the 12th in seniority among all current apostles. In terms of his age, he is the second-youngest among both the Quorum of the Twelve and the apostles overall. In his 11 years of service as a general authority, he has given 11 addresses in General Conference (1 as a General Authority Seventy, 2 as Presiding Bishop, and 8 since his call to the apostleship). All of these addresses, covering a wide variety of topics, are well worthy of your time, attention and review.
I gratefully sustain Elder Stevenson as a prophet, seer, and revelator, and appreciate this opportunity to post this tribute to him for his birthday. I similarly greatly admire and sustain each and every one of the other apostles in their God-given roles and responsibilities, and I am grateful to them for giving their time and talents to build up the kingdom of God, and to go wherever they are sent, bearing witness of the Savior at all times and in all circumstances. I share my witness that these men are called of God, and that we will be blessed as we give heed to their words. That does it for now. 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.
I gratefully sustain Elder Stevenson as a prophet, seer, and revelator, and appreciate this opportunity to post this tribute to him for his birthday. I similarly greatly admire and sustain each and every one of the other apostles in their God-given roles and responsibilities, and I am grateful to them for giving their time and talents to build up the kingdom of God, and to go wherever they are sent, bearing witness of the Savior at all times and in all circumstances. I share my witness that these men are called of God, and that we will be blessed as we give heed to their words. That does it for now. 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones,
Apostolic Ministry & Travels,
General Conference,
Sustaining the Brethren
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, August 4, 2019
Current Apostolic Statistics: Part Two—Updated Ages, Averages & Apostolic Nonagenarians
Hello again, everyone! I am back again now with the second part of this apostolic statistical update, in which we will move on to talk specifics regarding the long-form and decimal ages of our current apostles, which will also include updated information on the average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the 15 apostles as a group, and current and future nonagenarians. So let’s get right into all of that. Again, all data is current as of today (Sunday August 4). There have been no apostolic birthdays since my last update (which was published here on Sunday June 16).
And given the planned timing for my next update (which I will be publishing here on Sunday September 22), a total of five apostles will be observing their birthdays before that update is published. Elder Gary E. Stevenson will celebrate his 64th on Tuesday August 6, followed on Friday August 9 by Elder Neil L. Andersen’s 68th, and President Dallin H. Oaks will mark his 87th birthday on Monday August 12. The remaining two apostles will have back-to-back birthdays in September, with Elder Quentin L. Cook observing his 79th on Sunday September 8, and the 95th birthday of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson following on Monday September 9. During my planned September 22 update for this information, I will outline the details of the next 3 apostolic birthdays (which will be observed in October and November).
Having noted that, we now move on to some exact figures about the ages and average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all 15 apostles as a group. In the Church’s leading Quorum, President Nelson is, as noted towards the end of my previous post, 94 years, 10 months, and 26 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 94.90 years. First Counselor President Oaks (whose birthday will be observed 8 days from now) is 86 years, 11 months, and 23 days old, or 86.98 years. President Eyring, as the junior member of the First Presidency, is now 86 years, 2 months, and 4 days old, which is 86.18 in decimal years.
The First Presidency thus now has a combined 268.06 years of life experience, which results in an average age for each man of 89.35 years. President Nelson remains 5.55 years older than that average, with President Oaks closest to it (he is now 2.37 years younger than that average), which means that President Eyring, at 0.8 years younger than President Oaks, is now 3.17 years below it. Unless there is something of which we are not aware in relation to the health of any of these Brethren, they will continue to set new records for the oldest-serving First Presidency in Church history for the foreseeable future.
Next, let’s turn our attention to the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Ballard’s long-form age now sits at 90 years, 9 months, and 27 days, or 90.82 years. Elder Holland now has a long-form age of 78 years, 8 months, and 1 day, with a resulting 78.67 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf (who is just 4 weeks older than his senior current apostolic seatmate) is now 78 years, 8 months, and 29 days old, which works out to 78.74 years. Elder Bednar has now reached the full age of 67 years, 1 months, and 20 days, which works out to 67.14 decimal years.
Leading off the second third of that Quorum is Elder Cook, who is also the oldest but least senior of the 3 apostles born in 1940. His long-form age is 78 years, 10 months, and 27 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 78.90 years. Elder Christofferson has now reached the age of 74 years, 6 months and 11 days, making his decimal age 74.53 years. Elder Andersen, whose birthday will be observed 5 days from now, is 67 years, 11 months, and 26 days old, and his decimal age is 67.99 years. And, as of today, Elder Rasband is 68 years, 5 months, and 29 days old, or 68.49 decimal years.
As for the final third of the Quorum, Elder Stevenson, who is 4.5 years to the day younger than Elder Rasband and has a birthday now just 2 days away, has a long-form age of 63 years, 11 months, and 29 days, with a decimal age of 63.99 years. Elder Renlund is now 66 years, 8 months, and 22 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 66.72 years. Elder Gong’s long-form age is 65 years, 7 moths, and 12 days old, which works out to 65.61 decimal years. As for Elder Soares, he is now 60 years, 10 months, and 2 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 60.84 years.
Based on those numbers, the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles now have a combined 862.44 years of life experience, which results in an average of 71.87 years per member. Elders Christofferson and Rasband remain respectively above and below that average. Elder Christofferson is now 2.66 years older, while Elder Rasband remains 3.38 years below it. With the information I presented earlier about the First Presidency, the 15 apostles as a group now have a combined 1,130.5 years of life experience, which is an average of 75.37 years. As noted previously, Elder Holland remains 3.3 years older than that average, while Elder Christofferson is 0.84 years younger than that average. Those averages remain the same, but I may have been off by 0.04 decimal points when I last spoke of Elder Christofferson being below that average, for which, if true, I sincerely apologize.
We now move on to the apostolic nonagenarians. As I mentioned in a previous post, President Nelson has moved up into the 6th spot on that list, passing Ezra Taft Benson in early July, and he will not move up thereon again until late August of next year. In the meantime, on the final day of July, President Ballard’s lifespan matched that of President Boyd K. Packer, making President Ballard the 14th oldest apostle in Church history. President Ballard will move up two more spots on that list before President Nelson moves up to his next spot. In the meantime, among the other apostles, President Oaks will join the nonagenarian list in 3 years and 8 days, while Elder Soares will do so in 29 years, 1 month, and 28 days, with the other apostles doing so at other various intervals, which will be detailed more fully as they approach.
I hope that many of you found this information to be interesting, informative, and accurate. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
And given the planned timing for my next update (which I will be publishing here on Sunday September 22), a total of five apostles will be observing their birthdays before that update is published. Elder Gary E. Stevenson will celebrate his 64th on Tuesday August 6, followed on Friday August 9 by Elder Neil L. Andersen’s 68th, and President Dallin H. Oaks will mark his 87th birthday on Monday August 12. The remaining two apostles will have back-to-back birthdays in September, with Elder Quentin L. Cook observing his 79th on Sunday September 8, and the 95th birthday of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson following on Monday September 9. During my planned September 22 update for this information, I will outline the details of the next 3 apostolic birthdays (which will be observed in October and November).
Having noted that, we now move on to some exact figures about the ages and average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all 15 apostles as a group. In the Church’s leading Quorum, President Nelson is, as noted towards the end of my previous post, 94 years, 10 months, and 26 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 94.90 years. First Counselor President Oaks (whose birthday will be observed 8 days from now) is 86 years, 11 months, and 23 days old, or 86.98 years. President Eyring, as the junior member of the First Presidency, is now 86 years, 2 months, and 4 days old, which is 86.18 in decimal years.
The First Presidency thus now has a combined 268.06 years of life experience, which results in an average age for each man of 89.35 years. President Nelson remains 5.55 years older than that average, with President Oaks closest to it (he is now 2.37 years younger than that average), which means that President Eyring, at 0.8 years younger than President Oaks, is now 3.17 years below it. Unless there is something of which we are not aware in relation to the health of any of these Brethren, they will continue to set new records for the oldest-serving First Presidency in Church history for the foreseeable future.
Next, let’s turn our attention to the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Ballard’s long-form age now sits at 90 years, 9 months, and 27 days, or 90.82 years. Elder Holland now has a long-form age of 78 years, 8 months, and 1 day, with a resulting 78.67 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf (who is just 4 weeks older than his senior current apostolic seatmate) is now 78 years, 8 months, and 29 days old, which works out to 78.74 years. Elder Bednar has now reached the full age of 67 years, 1 months, and 20 days, which works out to 67.14 decimal years.
Leading off the second third of that Quorum is Elder Cook, who is also the oldest but least senior of the 3 apostles born in 1940. His long-form age is 78 years, 10 months, and 27 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 78.90 years. Elder Christofferson has now reached the age of 74 years, 6 months and 11 days, making his decimal age 74.53 years. Elder Andersen, whose birthday will be observed 5 days from now, is 67 years, 11 months, and 26 days old, and his decimal age is 67.99 years. And, as of today, Elder Rasband is 68 years, 5 months, and 29 days old, or 68.49 decimal years.
As for the final third of the Quorum, Elder Stevenson, who is 4.5 years to the day younger than Elder Rasband and has a birthday now just 2 days away, has a long-form age of 63 years, 11 months, and 29 days, with a decimal age of 63.99 years. Elder Renlund is now 66 years, 8 months, and 22 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 66.72 years. Elder Gong’s long-form age is 65 years, 7 moths, and 12 days old, which works out to 65.61 decimal years. As for Elder Soares, he is now 60 years, 10 months, and 2 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 60.84 years.
Based on those numbers, the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles now have a combined 862.44 years of life experience, which results in an average of 71.87 years per member. Elders Christofferson and Rasband remain respectively above and below that average. Elder Christofferson is now 2.66 years older, while Elder Rasband remains 3.38 years below it. With the information I presented earlier about the First Presidency, the 15 apostles as a group now have a combined 1,130.5 years of life experience, which is an average of 75.37 years. As noted previously, Elder Holland remains 3.3 years older than that average, while Elder Christofferson is 0.84 years younger than that average. Those averages remain the same, but I may have been off by 0.04 decimal points when I last spoke of Elder Christofferson being below that average, for which, if true, I sincerely apologize.
We now move on to the apostolic nonagenarians. As I mentioned in a previous post, President Nelson has moved up into the 6th spot on that list, passing Ezra Taft Benson in early July, and he will not move up thereon again until late August of next year. In the meantime, on the final day of July, President Ballard’s lifespan matched that of President Boyd K. Packer, making President Ballard the 14th oldest apostle in Church history. President Ballard will move up two more spots on that list before President Nelson moves up to his next spot. In the meantime, among the other apostles, President Oaks will join the nonagenarian list in 3 years and 8 days, while Elder Soares will do so in 29 years, 1 month, and 28 days, with the other apostles doing so at other various intervals, which will be detailed more fully as they approach.
I hope that many of you found this information to be interesting, informative, and accurate. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones,
Church President,
First Presidency,
Sustaining the Brethren
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.
Current Apostolic Statistics: Part One—Updated Data for President Oaks, President Nelson, and Longest-Serving Apostolic Groups
Hello again, everyone! While I continue to welcome comments on any previous posts (particularly any feedback you have on the revised list of locations in which I have felt a temple could be announced), it is time once again to bring you all updated information on the latest apostolic statistics. This data will again be published in two posts. Again, all data is current as of today (Sunday August 4, 2019). As always, it is my sincere hope that most of you will find this information interesting and enlightening. With that said, I am fully aware that some of you may not be interested in this update. Consequently, I will not in any way be offended or bothered if any of you skip over this post and the next one.
This first post, as has been the case for previous updates, will address President Dallin H. Oaks’ tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, then shift to explore where Church President Russell M. Nelson currently stands in terms of his age and tenure length among his prophetic predecessors. That will be followed by some observations about the tenure lengths of our current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all currently-living ordained apostles as a group. The more specific data about upcoming apostolic birthdays, the long-form and decimal ages of our 15 current apostles, and details about current and future apostolic nonagenarians will then follow in a second post, which will be published a few minutes after this one is.
My last such update was posted on Sunday June 16, and my next update will be coming on Sunday September 22. There is a lot to get to, so let’s jump right in. President Oaks has now served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for a period of 1 year, 6 months, and 21 days. As I previously mentioned. President Oaks has moved up two spots on the list of the longest-serving Quorum Presidents, where he is now the 22nd longest-serving Quorum President. His next three milestones as such, as I mentioned in my last such update, will be observed consecutively, with one each in November and December 2019, and one more in January 2020. So it won’t be until my planned November 10 update that I will detail more particulars regarding those milestones.
Turning now to President Nelson, who was ordained and set apart as Church President on the same day he set apart President Oaks as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, his prophetic tenure has spanned 1 year, 6 months, and 21 days as well. He is also now 94 years, 10 months, and 26 days old. In my aforementioned post covering July apostolic milestones, I mentioned that President Nelson was set to observe his only prophetic age and tenure milestones two days apart. President Nelson is thus now the 15th longest-serving Church President, and also the 4th oldest-living Church President. He will not be moving up on either list until next summer.
In the meantime, as also noted previously, I have been keeping lists of the longest-continuously serving First Presidencies, Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, and apostolic groups as a whole. Those lists include 13 of each of those groups that have served together for the longest continuous periods of time. The current First Presidency will only be joining the list of other First Presidencies on Saturday April 20, 2024, so I will be outlining their future milestones on that list closer to the time. As for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the current members will mark 3 years together on March 31, 2021, at which point they will join the list of the longest-serving Quorums of the Twelve Apostles in Church history. I will likewise be providing updates on those future milestones closer to that time.
Interestingly enough, less than two months prior to that, the 15 apostles will make the list of the longest-serving such group (the exact date is February 8, 2021). With that said, I want to conclude this portion of the update. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
This first post, as has been the case for previous updates, will address President Dallin H. Oaks’ tenure as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, then shift to explore where Church President Russell M. Nelson currently stands in terms of his age and tenure length among his prophetic predecessors. That will be followed by some observations about the tenure lengths of our current First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all currently-living ordained apostles as a group. The more specific data about upcoming apostolic birthdays, the long-form and decimal ages of our 15 current apostles, and details about current and future apostolic nonagenarians will then follow in a second post, which will be published a few minutes after this one is.
My last such update was posted on Sunday June 16, and my next update will be coming on Sunday September 22. There is a lot to get to, so let’s jump right in. President Oaks has now served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for a period of 1 year, 6 months, and 21 days. As I previously mentioned. President Oaks has moved up two spots on the list of the longest-serving Quorum Presidents, where he is now the 22nd longest-serving Quorum President. His next three milestones as such, as I mentioned in my last such update, will be observed consecutively, with one each in November and December 2019, and one more in January 2020. So it won’t be until my planned November 10 update that I will detail more particulars regarding those milestones.
Turning now to President Nelson, who was ordained and set apart as Church President on the same day he set apart President Oaks as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, his prophetic tenure has spanned 1 year, 6 months, and 21 days as well. He is also now 94 years, 10 months, and 26 days old. In my aforementioned post covering July apostolic milestones, I mentioned that President Nelson was set to observe his only prophetic age and tenure milestones two days apart. President Nelson is thus now the 15th longest-serving Church President, and also the 4th oldest-living Church President. He will not be moving up on either list until next summer.
In the meantime, as also noted previously, I have been keeping lists of the longest-continuously serving First Presidencies, Quorums of the Twelve Apostles, and apostolic groups as a whole. Those lists include 13 of each of those groups that have served together for the longest continuous periods of time. The current First Presidency will only be joining the list of other First Presidencies on Saturday April 20, 2024, so I will be outlining their future milestones on that list closer to the time. As for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the current members will mark 3 years together on March 31, 2021, at which point they will join the list of the longest-serving Quorums of the Twelve Apostles in Church history. I will likewise be providing updates on those future milestones closer to that time.
Interestingly enough, less than two months prior to that, the 15 apostles will make the list of the longest-serving such group (the exact date is February 8, 2021). With that said, I want to conclude this portion of the update. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones,
Church President,
First Presidency,
Sustaining the Brethren
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, August 2, 2019
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking Ceremony Confirmed for the Belem Brazil Temple; Artist's Rendering Released
Hello again, everyone! With the planned groundbreaking for the Belem Brazil Temple set for Saturday August 17 (15 days from now), I have been anxiously awaiting confirmation on the arrangements and the release of the artist's rendering. The wait is finally over. The First Presidency has today confirmed those arrangements, and released the rendering for that temple. From that released information, I cannot tell exactly how big the temple might be, but I imagine on the day of the groundbreaking, if not before, those specifics will be provided.
And barring anything unexpected, I would anticipate that construction of the temple will take between 2-3 years to complete. So I'd like to offer late 2021-early 2022 as a preliminary general estimate for that temple's completion. Based on what all we learn about the temple between now and that groundbreaking, or on the day of the groundbreaking itself, there may be a need to adjust that estimate. If that was the only temple news I had to share today, I'd be content enough therewith.
But there are a few other updates on additional temples which I wanted to share as well, so let's get right into those. At the Pocatello Idaho Temple, while the work of pouring the temple's foundation and footings continues, decorative concrete blocks have arrived on-site for the retaining walls around the temple. If the work on the Pocatello Idaho Temple continues at the same pace it has lately progressed, then I think it very likely that the temple's general completion estimate might be pushed up from late 2021-early 2022 to mid-to-late 2021. But time will tell.
In addition to these developments, early this morning, I was also advised that the Church had purchased land in Moses Lake Washington that may be used for the temple announced in that city by President Nelson last April. Of course, nothing is official in that respect until an announcement from the First Presidency confirms it, but it is an interesting tidbit. And given that a new stake center has been built to house the Okinawa Japan Stake, some speculation points to the idea that the land on which the former stake center sat could potentially be used for the temple in that city. But I have nothing more than speculation on that at this time,which is something someone else suggested, not my own idea.
Either way, if nothing else, I anticipate that at least 2 other temples might possibly also have a groundbreaking between now and the weekend of the October General Conference, but I have nothing more than my own theories in that respect at this time, and nothing more definitive for the moment. Rest assured, however, that I will continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will do my best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
And barring anything unexpected, I would anticipate that construction of the temple will take between 2-3 years to complete. So I'd like to offer late 2021-early 2022 as a preliminary general estimate for that temple's completion. Based on what all we learn about the temple between now and that groundbreaking, or on the day of the groundbreaking itself, there may be a need to adjust that estimate. If that was the only temple news I had to share today, I'd be content enough therewith.
But there are a few other updates on additional temples which I wanted to share as well, so let's get right into those. At the Pocatello Idaho Temple, while the work of pouring the temple's foundation and footings continues, decorative concrete blocks have arrived on-site for the retaining walls around the temple. If the work on the Pocatello Idaho Temple continues at the same pace it has lately progressed, then I think it very likely that the temple's general completion estimate might be pushed up from late 2021-early 2022 to mid-to-late 2021. But time will tell.
In addition to these developments, early this morning, I was also advised that the Church had purchased land in Moses Lake Washington that may be used for the temple announced in that city by President Nelson last April. Of course, nothing is official in that respect until an announcement from the First Presidency confirms it, but it is an interesting tidbit. And given that a new stake center has been built to house the Okinawa Japan Stake, some speculation points to the idea that the land on which the former stake center sat could potentially be used for the temple in that city. But I have nothing more than speculation on that at this time,which is something someone else suggested, not my own idea.
Either way, if nothing else, I anticipate that at least 2 other temples might possibly also have a groundbreaking between now and the weekend of the October General Conference, but I have nothing more than my own theories in that respect at this time, and nothing more definitive for the moment. Rest assured, however, that I will continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will do my best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of it.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Church Policies and Major Announcements,
Estimated Time-frames for Future Temple Events,
Scheduled Temple Event,
Temple Construction Update
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, July 31, 2019
Latest Apostolic Milestone Observed; Upcoming Developments Which Will Be Reported on This Blog
Hello again, everyone! On this last day of July, I would be remiss indeed if I did not focus a new post on upcoming developments which will be a focus of future coverage on this blog. So let's go over those. The highlights will include 3 apostolic birthdays, the beginning of one temple open house, the end of that open house coinciding with the day of the next temple groundbreaking ceremony and the beginning of another open house, and the end of that same open house.
Before we talk specifics about that information, I would also be remiss if I did not note that today, the next apostolic milestone is being marked. As of today, the lifespan of President M. Russell Ballard matches that of President Boyd K. Packer. Barring anything unexpected, President Ballard will still be very much alive tomorrow, so I have moved him ahead of President Packer on the list of apostolic nonagenarians. President Ballard now thus ranks as the 14th oldest apostle overall. His next milestones on that list will be observed roughly three weeks apart in late March and mid-April of next year.
With that sidenote out of the way, let's talk specifics about what will be upcoming. First, I wanted to note that some of these developments will be the focus of new posts on this blog, while others will be merely mentioned in the comments on existing blog posts. I can say that I am planning new posts for the latest apostolic milestone update (a two-part series on that subject will be published on this blog this upcoming Sunday, August 4).
Next, I also intend to provide posts in tribute to the 3 apostles who will have birthdays in August. Two days after my aforementioned apostolic update (on Tuesday August 6), Elder Gary E. Stevenson will be observing his 64th birthday. Just three days later (on Friday August 9), Elder Neil L. Andersen is set to mark his 68th birthday. And three days after that (on Monday August 12), the final August apostolic birthday will be observed: President Dallin H. Oaks' 87th.
In addition to these developments, several temple milestones will be observed as well. On Thursday August 8, the open house for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple will begin. The conclusion of that open house on Saturday August 17 will coincide with two other temple events: the beginning of the open house for the Lisbon Portugal Temple (which will end two weeks later on Saturday August 31) and the groundbreaking for the Belem Brazil Temple.
Regarding the Belem Brazil Temple, with that groundbreaking being 2.5 weeks away, I am more than slightly surprised that we have not yet seen an official acknowledgement of any kind from the Church about this event, nor a release of its' artist's rendering or any indication of how long construction is anticipated to last. It could be that the last two elements may be detailed more fully by Elder Aidukaitis as part of the groundbreaking ceremony itself.
While I may only give a passing mention of the open house developments for the Haiti and Portugal Temple open houses, as coverage is made available, I will be sharing analysis of the Belem Brazil Temple groundbreaking. So just with these developments alone, I will be busy providing content for this blog. But I also intend to cover all Church news and other temple developments, either through new posts or through comments on existing posts.
I wanted to note in relation to that temple that new information indicates that the site is being cleared, and that surveyors are staking the site in preparation for that event. Based on the photographs of the process of the site staking, it appears that the Belem Brazil Temple might be slightly larger than I originally thought, which may impact how long the construction process for that temple might take. It was also recently noted that a choir is conducting practice sessions in preparation for their involvement in the groundbreaking ceremony for this temple.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Before we talk specifics about that information, I would also be remiss if I did not note that today, the next apostolic milestone is being marked. As of today, the lifespan of President M. Russell Ballard matches that of President Boyd K. Packer. Barring anything unexpected, President Ballard will still be very much alive tomorrow, so I have moved him ahead of President Packer on the list of apostolic nonagenarians. President Ballard now thus ranks as the 14th oldest apostle overall. His next milestones on that list will be observed roughly three weeks apart in late March and mid-April of next year.
With that sidenote out of the way, let's talk specifics about what will be upcoming. First, I wanted to note that some of these developments will be the focus of new posts on this blog, while others will be merely mentioned in the comments on existing blog posts. I can say that I am planning new posts for the latest apostolic milestone update (a two-part series on that subject will be published on this blog this upcoming Sunday, August 4).
Next, I also intend to provide posts in tribute to the 3 apostles who will have birthdays in August. Two days after my aforementioned apostolic update (on Tuesday August 6), Elder Gary E. Stevenson will be observing his 64th birthday. Just three days later (on Friday August 9), Elder Neil L. Andersen is set to mark his 68th birthday. And three days after that (on Monday August 12), the final August apostolic birthday will be observed: President Dallin H. Oaks' 87th.
In addition to these developments, several temple milestones will be observed as well. On Thursday August 8, the open house for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple will begin. The conclusion of that open house on Saturday August 17 will coincide with two other temple events: the beginning of the open house for the Lisbon Portugal Temple (which will end two weeks later on Saturday August 31) and the groundbreaking for the Belem Brazil Temple.
Regarding the Belem Brazil Temple, with that groundbreaking being 2.5 weeks away, I am more than slightly surprised that we have not yet seen an official acknowledgement of any kind from the Church about this event, nor a release of its' artist's rendering or any indication of how long construction is anticipated to last. It could be that the last two elements may be detailed more fully by Elder Aidukaitis as part of the groundbreaking ceremony itself.
While I may only give a passing mention of the open house developments for the Haiti and Portugal Temple open houses, as coverage is made available, I will be sharing analysis of the Belem Brazil Temple groundbreaking. So just with these developments alone, I will be busy providing content for this blog. But I also intend to cover all Church news and other temple developments, either through new posts or through comments on existing posts.
I wanted to note in relation to that temple that new information indicates that the site is being cleared, and that surveyors are staking the site in preparation for that event. Based on the photographs of the process of the site staking, it appears that the Belem Brazil Temple might be slightly larger than I originally thought, which may impact how long the construction process for that temple might take. It was also recently noted that a choir is conducting practice sessions in preparation for their involvement in the groundbreaking ceremony for this temple.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones,
Church Policies and Major Announcements,
First Presidency,
Scheduled Temple Event,
Temple Construction Update
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, July 26, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: Boundary Changes for Asia & Asia North Areas Announced
Hello again, everyone! Around an hour ago, I was made aware of a breaking news development relating to the Asia and Asia North Areas. In a formal joint letter to members and priesthood leaders from the Asia and Asia North Area Presidency members, with the approval of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and also probably with input from members of the Church's Boundary and Leadership Change Committee, the nation of Mongolia has been officially transferred from the Asia Area, where it had been for at least the last decade or more, to now being part of the Asia North Area.
The move makes perfect sense to me. I also want to note that, as recently as earlier this year, I was almost certain that, at some point within the next 2-3 years or less, the Asia North Area would be merged into the Asia Area. In light of Mongolia's relocation to the Asia North Area, the nation may provide a strong-hold for the area that will put off the need to do that in the shorter or even longer term. And while I don't know at this point whether the offices for the Asia North Area, which are currently based in Tokyo Japan, may be relocated to Ulaanabaatar Mongolia. I shouldn't think that they will, since Mongolia is the geographical downstairs neighbor nation to China, and the headquarters of the Asia Area are in Hong Kong, but I thought I'd mention that thought, since I'd entertained it briefly.
This move will, as I said above, add strength to the Asia North Area, which the nations thereof have lacked to a certain degree in particular ways before now. And since I strongly suspect that Ulaanbaatar Mongolia will be the next Asian city to have a temple announced, I will need to move that prospect from the Asia Area to the Asia North Area for the next time I publish my list. Just as a reminder, I continue to welcome comments on my latest list of future temple prospects until Monday September 30, at which point I will need to finalize that list before the weekend of the October 2019 General Conference.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
The move makes perfect sense to me. I also want to note that, as recently as earlier this year, I was almost certain that, at some point within the next 2-3 years or less, the Asia North Area would be merged into the Asia Area. In light of Mongolia's relocation to the Asia North Area, the nation may provide a strong-hold for the area that will put off the need to do that in the shorter or even longer term. And while I don't know at this point whether the offices for the Asia North Area, which are currently based in Tokyo Japan, may be relocated to Ulaanabaatar Mongolia. I shouldn't think that they will, since Mongolia is the geographical downstairs neighbor nation to China, and the headquarters of the Asia Area are in Hong Kong, but I thought I'd mention that thought, since I'd entertained it briefly.
This move will, as I said above, add strength to the Asia North Area, which the nations thereof have lacked to a certain degree in particular ways before now. And since I strongly suspect that Ulaanbaatar Mongolia will be the next Asian city to have a temple announced, I will need to move that prospect from the Asia Area to the Asia North Area for the next time I publish my list. Just as a reminder, I continue to welcome comments on my latest list of future temple prospects until Monday September 30, at which point I will need to finalize that list before the weekend of the October 2019 General Conference.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Breaking News,
Church Policies and Major Announcements,
General Church News,
General Conference,
Potential Future Temples
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, July 23, 2019
Grand Marshal of the Days of '47 KSL Parade Identified; Preliminary Insights Gleaned From August 2019 Ensign
Hello again, everyone! While I hope any of you will continue to feel free to continued to comment on my revised and expanded list of potential locations for which a temple may be announced in October, I wanted to share two things in this post. First of all, the grand marshal for the "Days of '47" KSL Parade has been identified. In somewhat of a break frrom tradition, neither a member of the First Presidency nor any member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will serve in that capacity this year.
Instead, Elder Craig C. Christensen, a General Authority Seventy with pioneer ancestry, who is also currently serving as President of the Utah Area, has been asked to fill that assignment. KSL carried a one-on-one interview between one of the anchors and Elder Christensen, who discussed the honor he felt at having been asked to represent the Church and the Brethren in responding to this assignment.
Additionally, I have a couple of preliminary insights to offer due to the August 2019 Ensign being made available in its' HTML format earlier this afternoon. As has been the tradition for at least the last 20 years or so, the area leadership assignments, as they were announced in late April, were confirmed therein. Two takeaways from that: For the first time in a year or two, there have been no changes whatsoever in those assignments since the original announcement was made.
Also, beyond a general statement confirming the merging of seven North American areas into three, the specifics were not spelled out. One or two sidenotes as well: first, for the last several years, the August edition of the Ensign has featured the area leadership assignments on pages 14-15, but this year, that edition of the Ensign has those featured on pages 36-37, which I assume is where they had space for them.
And secondly, until the PDF version of the magazine is made available, there is no way currently to tell if there has been any change in the magazine editors and advisers, as has typically been the case each year. But I will be watching for that information and will pass it along here once I learn of it. In that respect, I am only anticipating 3 changes.
Brian K. Ashton, who served as Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency until April of this year, was released as an adviser to the Church magazines as a result of his release as a general officer of the Church, so he is likely to be replaced by a new member of that same presidency. Last month, Elder Erich W. Kopischke was also released as an adviser to the Church magazines, in view of his new assignment ias a member of the Europe Area Presidency.
And Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, who has been an adviser to the Church magazines for a couple of years now, will observe his 70th birthday in just 4 days. Since he will likely be granted emeritus status during the upcoming October 2019 General Conference, I would anticipate his release as an adviser has occurred as a result. Insofar as I have been able to ascertain, official confirmation of this information is still pending. But when I find anything more solid in that respect, I will be sure to bring it up here.
I continue to also monitor any and all Church news and temple updates and will bring word of the significant highlights to you all here as well. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Instead, Elder Craig C. Christensen, a General Authority Seventy with pioneer ancestry, who is also currently serving as President of the Utah Area, has been asked to fill that assignment. KSL carried a one-on-one interview between one of the anchors and Elder Christensen, who discussed the honor he felt at having been asked to represent the Church and the Brethren in responding to this assignment.
Additionally, I have a couple of preliminary insights to offer due to the August 2019 Ensign being made available in its' HTML format earlier this afternoon. As has been the tradition for at least the last 20 years or so, the area leadership assignments, as they were announced in late April, were confirmed therein. Two takeaways from that: For the first time in a year or two, there have been no changes whatsoever in those assignments since the original announcement was made.
Also, beyond a general statement confirming the merging of seven North American areas into three, the specifics were not spelled out. One or two sidenotes as well: first, for the last several years, the August edition of the Ensign has featured the area leadership assignments on pages 14-15, but this year, that edition of the Ensign has those featured on pages 36-37, which I assume is where they had space for them.
And secondly, until the PDF version of the magazine is made available, there is no way currently to tell if there has been any change in the magazine editors and advisers, as has typically been the case each year. But I will be watching for that information and will pass it along here once I learn of it. In that respect, I am only anticipating 3 changes.
Brian K. Ashton, who served as Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency until April of this year, was released as an adviser to the Church magazines as a result of his release as a general officer of the Church, so he is likely to be replaced by a new member of that same presidency. Last month, Elder Erich W. Kopischke was also released as an adviser to the Church magazines, in view of his new assignment ias a member of the Europe Area Presidency.
And Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, who has been an adviser to the Church magazines for a couple of years now, will observe his 70th birthday in just 4 days. Since he will likely be granted emeritus status during the upcoming October 2019 General Conference, I would anticipate his release as an adviser has occurred as a result. Insofar as I have been able to ascertain, official confirmation of this information is still pending. But when I find anything more solid in that respect, I will be sure to bring it up here.
I continue to also monitor any and all Church news and temple updates and will bring word of the significant highlights to you all here as well. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I
will end here as I always do: That does it for now. Any and all comments are,
as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such
feedback is in compliance 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.
Labels:
Apostolic Ministry & Travels,
First Presidency,
General Church News,
General Conference,
Sustaining the Brethren
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, July 19, 2019
Revised and Expanded List of Potential Locations in Which a Temple Could Be Announced During the October 2019 General Conference
Hello again, everyone! As I previously mentioned, I have, over the last little wile, been working on a mass and large-scale revision process (which included some degree of expansion) for my list of potential locations in which a temple could be announced during the October 2019 General Conference. As a result of my completing that process earlier this evening, I am keeping my promise to share those updates here. The list, along with the relevant notes for it, follows below. An open commenting period for it continues to be in effect on this blog until Monday September 30,at which point I will take that week to put the finishing touches on it before General Conference begins the following Saturday.
In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do: That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
In order to not disturb the flow of that information, I will end here as I always do: That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such feedback is in compliance 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.
Temple
predictions: 14-16 new temples announced for any of the following locations[1]:
Africa
Southeast[2]: Antananarivo Madagascar;
Second DR Congo Temple (in Mbuji-Mayi or Lubumbashi); Maputo Mozambique;
Kampala Uganda; Cape Town South Africa
Africa
West[3]: Freetown Sierra Leone;
Kumasi Ghana; Monrovia Liberia; Benin City Nigeria; Yamoussoukro Ivory Coast
Asia[4]: Ulaanbaatar Mongolia;
Jakarta Indonesia; Singapore; Taichung Taiwan; Hanoi Vietnam
Asia
North[5]: Osaka Japan
Brazil[6]: Belo Horizonte,
Florianopolis, João Pessoa, or Ribeirão Preto Brazil
Caribbean:
Kingston Jamaica[7]
Central
America[8]: Coban Guatemala
Europe[9]: Edinburgh Scotland; Berlin
Germany; Barcelona Spain; Oslo Norway; Vienna Austria
Europe
East[10]: Vilnius Lithuania
Mexico[11]: Torreon or Queretaro
Mexico
Middle
East/Africa North[12]:
Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
Pacific[13]: Port Moresby Papua New
Guinea; Tarawa Kiribati; Savaii Samoa; Christchurch New Zealand
Philippines[14]: Tacloban or Bacolod Philippines
South America
Northwest[15]:
Santa Cruz Bolivia; Iquitos Peru; Cali Colombia; Maracaibo Venezuela
South
America South[16]:
Bahia Blanca Argentina; Vina del Mar Chile; Ciudad del Este Paraguay
North America
(including the United States and Canada)[17]:
North
America Central[18]:
Missoula Montana; Green Bay Wisconsin; Wichita Kansas; Des Moines Iowa; Pueblo Colorado;
Rapid City South Dakota
North
America Northeast[19]:
Cleveland Ohio; East Brunswick New Jersey; Montpelier Vermont;
Augusta
Maine
North
America Southeast[20]:
Jackson Mississippi; Knoxville Tennessee; Savannah Georgia; Jacksonville
Florida; Charlotte North Carolina Shreveport Louisiana
North
America Southwest[21]:
Bentonville Arkansas; Fort Worth Texas; Las Cruces New Mexico; Queen Creek
Arizona; Elko Nevada
North
America West[22]:
Victoria British Columbia; Fairbanks Alaska; Bakersfield California
Utah[23]: Herriman Utah; Evanston
Wyoming or Preston Idaho; Heber City Utah; Washington County Utah (Third
Temple)
[1]Having announced a record-breaking
27 new temples during his first 3 General Conferences as Church President, some
have suggested that President Nelson could focus on clearing the existing
backlog, which could result in a hiatus on temple announcements. While I
understand that opinion to a certain degree, we have heard much more from apostles,
other Church leaders, and those privy to such information regarding President
Nelson’s plans to expand the number of temples. With that in mind, I believe at
least as many temples as I have suggested here may be announced, though it
could be more. I also believe that the expansion of the number of temples will
be done with wisdom, order, and common sense, which may mean that President
Nelson might not explain his plans for the near future, and instead focus on
gradually implementing them with the end result in mind that the number of
temples will ultimately include a ten-fold increase. The locations named below
seem to be the most likely to be announced during this conference, based on the
reasons I will detail in subsequent notes.
[2]The Africa Southeast Area
has experienced significant Church growth. In fact, the degree to which such
growth has occurred resulted in the First Presidency announcing the division of
this area on June 28, 2019, which will go into effect in August 2020. There are
currently 2 operating temples which are serving this area, with the Durban
South Africa Temple set to be dedicated in February of next year. With 2 other
announced temples for which a site confirmation or groundbreaking are pending,
I have found 6 additional cities which could get a temple in the near future.
Most of these candidates are on the list based on either the mileage to the
current temple(s), travel rigor, or oversized temple districts. Additionally,
Uganda, Mozambique, and Madagascar are fourth, sixth, and seventh respectively
on the list of top ten nations with the strongest Church presence that do not
have a temple in any phase. Due to its’ isolation from the rest of the African
continent, Madagascar is my top pick for this area. And in reference to a
second DR Congo Temple, I have personally favored Lubumbashi, but a recent
report on the Church Growth Blog pointed to the idea that a temple in
Mbuji-Mayi might be more imminently needed, so both are on this list. Moreover,
a temple in Mbuji-Mayi would fulfill the public proposal of a temple for the
Kasai region, which was made by Elder Andersen in 2016. For some of these
locations which are in political, moral, or other turmoil, the temples
mentioned could provide a welcome refuge.
[3]The same factors I
referenced in note 7 above (about significant Church growth, the mileage and
rigors involved, and temple district sizes) also applies to the Africa West
Area, as reflected by the 5 candidate cities listed here. With only 2 temples
currently operating, 1 more under construction, and 1 which has been announced,
the Church Growth Blog has noted that West Africa could have at least 13
operating temples by 2030. Only two of the five candidate locations in this
area do not have a temple in any phase: Sierra Leone and Liberia, which rank as
the second and fifth respectively on the aforementioned top ten list.
Sierra Leone is my top pick for this area, and also for Africa overall. And
while it may be difficult to know how soon a second Ivory Coast temple and a
third Nigerian temple may be announced, I have felt confident enough in these
picks to include them here.
[4]The Asian Saints, whose
ability to practice their faith has been somewhat limited at times by
governmental regulations, are nonetheless very faithful, as evidenced by recent
temple announcements for that continent. With 2 temples currently serving the
Saints in this area, one other is under construction, and two more have been
announced. The factors first mentioned in previous notes above also apply to
the Asia Area, which is the largest geographically in the Church. Of the
locations listed, Mongolia is my favored pick, since that nation is eighth on
the aforementioned top ten list. Additionally, President Hinckley publicly
proposed a temple in Singapore around 2 decades ago, and Vietnam is a
dark-horse pick that I included based on reports of Church growth in the area.
[5]The Asia North Area of the
Church has seen some stagnated growth. But President Nelson announced a temple
for Yigo Guam in October 2018, and a temple for Okinawa Japan last April. As a
result, Osaka is on my list, with the main reasoning being that the Saints in
Osaka are roughly 1.5 times further away from their temple than the 200-mile
distance specified by previous prophets.
[6]Brazil has been a Church
stronghold for a while now. With seven temples currently in operation, the Rio
de Janeiro Brazil Temple will be dedicated within the next 4-8 months. The Belem
Brazil Temple had a groundbreaking ceremony 7 weeks prior to this General
Conference, and the Brasilia Brazil Temple is anticipated to have a
groundbreaking prior to the end of this year. One other temple (in Salvador
Brazil) is awaiting a site announcement and groundbreaking. Although any or all
of the candidate cities I listed above appear to be likely prospects for the
immediate or near future, President Nelson visited Saints living in the Sao
Paulo region roughly 5 weeks prior to this General Conference, so another
temple in that area may be the priority.
[7]This city is another
dark-horse pick, but is on the list due to the factors mentioned previously,
and also because someone suggested it elsewhere. And given what President
Nelson has done in terms of the 27 temples he has announced thus far, Kingston
could be another location for a smaller temple. I say that because the Kingston
Jamaica Saints travel 298 miles one-way overseas to worship at their assigned
temple (in Port-au-Prince Haiti, which was dedicated 5 weeks before this
General Conference). Given President Nelson’s attention to remote areas, it
seems more likely than not that a temple in Jamaica may be in the works for
either the immediate or near future.
[8]I have previously
referenced information on prospective temples in Central America from someone
who lives and works in Guatemala. Based on the information received from that
individual, when Guatemala receives a third temple, the best way to split the
current Guatemala City district would be for a temple to be built in Coban. My
personal research has confirmed that opinion. But above and beyond that, during
the same tour that saw President Nelson in Brazil, he also made a stop in
Guatemala, and could perhaps have been assessing Coban as a temple prospect. So
a temple in that city may simply be a matter of time.
[9]The situation of Saints
living on the European continent is somewhat interesting. Where there are
centers of strength, significant growth has occurred. But there has been some
stagnant growth through the continent in recent years. Having said that, both
the Rome Italy and Lisbon Portugal Temples were dedicated this year, while
construction is underway on the Praia Cabo Verde Temple (which falls under the
Europe Area, even though it is geographically closer to West Africa), another
temple has been announced in Budapest Hungary. And most or all of the factors I
have mentioned previously apply in equal measure to the Europe Area, making it
likely that any of the 5 locations I mentioned here could get a temple this
go-round. With Barcelona and Berlin being new additions to this list, I have
prioritized the latter over the former due to Elder Uchtdorf’s recent visit
there. And the odds of a temple in Austria, which was also visited by Elder
Uchtdorf recently, may depend on how soon work is able to get underway on the
temple in Budapest, which is Austria’s closest neighbor with a temple in any
phase.
[10]The Church in Eastern
Europe is an interesting case to consider. With one temple currently operating
in Kyiv Ukraine, one other has been announced for a major, yet-to-be-determined
city in Russia. Based on the political climate of Russia, it may take a while
for the Church to get the temple there approved and built. In the interim, a
temple in Lithuania, which, insofar as I can tell, would have no political
obstacles, may be the best option to help with the currently-reported activity
levels at the Kyiv temple. Additionally, although no stakes are currently
established in Lithuania, which would make the nation more of a dark-horse
pick, there have been recent examples of President Nelson announcing temples
for other cities where no stakes are established. Above and beyond that, in the
mid-1990s, then-Elder M. Russell Ballard visited the Saints in Lithuania and
publicly proposed a temple there, so I have felt confident enough to list such
a prospect here this go-round.
[11]Mexico presents an
interesting anomaly. With some significant growth in areas of strength, the
mass consolidation of units in that nation continues. A temple was announced in
Puebla last October, and it is difficult to know how soon another temple may be
announced for that nation. But the cities of Queretaro and Torreon have been
identified by a Church member living in Mexico as likely to get a temple in the
near future, so both are on this list.
[12]The bulk of Church
membership in this geographical area is comprised of US military personnel. The
fact that such personnel are only there for a comparatively short amount of
time led me to conclude for a while that a temple for this area would not occur
for a decade or more from now. But given the unprecedented, out-of-the-box
thinking President Nelson has demonstrated in the temples he has announced
(particularly in announcing temples in locations that I felt were unlikely to
see a temple for another decade or more), and given the fact that the UAE
represents a Church stronghold in the area, I have put a temple for that nation
on this list. And although it seemed that there was an equally-likely chance
such a temple could be built in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, after further
research on my part, I have concluded that the latter is the more
imminently-likely prospect.
[13]The Pacific area is
another stronghold of Church growth. With 10 temples currently operating there
(and 3 others announced), it seems logical to assume that other temples will be
needed to serve the area. Most (if not all) of the factors I mentioned
previously apply equally to this area. Additionally, New Guinea, and Kiribati
are ranked first and third respectively on the aforementioned top ten list of
nations. So I have no doubt the Pacific Area will see temples announced in each
of these cities within the next 5-7 years, if not sooner.
[14]The Church has two
operating temples in the Philippines (Manila and Cebu City). The temple
announced in October 2010 for Urdaneta is now under construction, with three
more announced for Muntinlupa City, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. If that is any
indication of what might happen in the future, then other temples may be needed
for the Philippines, and the cities mentioned here seem to have the highest
likelihood of having a temple announced, due to difficult travel which may
constitute an undue hardship for reasons outlined in prior notes.
[15] The entire South American
continent has experienced massive Church growth. Having previously discussed
Brazil, in reference to the South America Northwest Area, I wanted to observe
that there are 7 operating temples there. 1 more is currently under
construction in Arequipa Peru (for which a dedication is anticipated before the
end of this year) Two others, the Lima Peru Los Olivos and Quito Ecuador
Temples, are both now under construction. And while I have personally-favored
La Paz as the candidate for Bolivia’s second temple, my research shows one in
Santa Cruz may be more crucially needed. And although I had two candidate
cities each for Peru and Colombia, further research has enabled me to narrow
each down to the most likely location. Also, President Hinckley publicly
proposed a temple in Maracaibo, and further research on my part suggests the
time may be right for that prospect.
[16]The South America South
Area has likewise seen very significant and rapidly expanding growth. So again,
with President Nelson’s extensive temple-building plans in mind, I have
considered the most imminent prospects for future temples in this area, and the
factors mentioned in previous notes hold true here as well. Currently, this
area of the Church is served by 6 operating temples (1 of which is closed for
renovation), and there were 2 more announced for this area last year. With that
in mind, the 3 locations listed in this section seem to have the strongest case
in their favor of a temple announced in the near future. In reference to
Argentina, I received word of a report that Saints in the city of Bahia Blanca were
lobbying Salt Lake City for a temple of their own. And in view of President
Nelson’s visit to the Buenos Aires area 5 weeks before this General Conference,
it seems probable he went there in order to personally assess such a prospect
in addition to visiting with Church members there.
[17]Although the North
American continent (primarily in the United States) has seen somewhat of a
stagnating growth situation, in light of the recent increased mentions of
President Nelson’s ambitious temple-building plans, the likelihood is extremely
high that the US and Canada will be included in whatever the plans are to
expand the number of temples worldwide. The locations listed below represent
what I believe are the most imminent prospects for each of the now-6 North
American areas of the Church.
[18]As mentioned in previous
notes, on the one hand, it may be difficult (if not impossible) to gauge the
imminent likelihood of any locations. But as also mentioned, in view of some of
the relevant factors, I can see the merits of each location listed here.
Particularly, I heard a report of a public proposal of a temple for Missoula
Montana. Pueblo made the list due to a report I received of high attendance
numbers at the Denver Colorado Temple. For Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota,
mileage is the main factor driving my choices, and a temple (if only a smaller
one) seems likely for all three states in the near future. And a temple in Iowa
could be named for Mount Pisgah, a significant landmark in the pioneer history
of the Church.
[19] Given the steady growth
of the Church in Ohio and Pennsylvania, second temples for each seem to be
likely sooner rather than later. And New Jersey, Maine, and Vermont may each be
eligible for a temple of their own given the distance factor, and the rigors of
travel involved in getting to their currently assigned temples.
[20]Since the Saints in
Jackson currently have an arduous journey to get to their assigned temple, it
is my opinion that a temple will be announced in that city sooner rather than
later. And an arduous journey also factors in to my reasoning for temples in
Shreveport, Jacksonville, Knoxville, and Savannah. If, as I anticipate,
President Nelson plans to prioritize the mileage factor and also filling in the
gaps that exist in temple district coverage, then any or all of these may simply
be a matter of time.
[21] For this area of the
Church, the Saints in some cities currently assigned to temples across the
Mexican border may, depending on what happens in the future, have a hard time
reaching those temples. With that said, I am basing my theories on the
potential location of an Arkansas temple on information from a friend indicating
that land has been held in reserve for a temple in Bentonville for several
years now. And I am basing my picks for temples in Texas and New Mexico on the
opinion of someone living within the current Dallas Texas Temple district. This
individual noted that Fort Worth would almost certainly be the next city in
Texas to get a temple. So if border issues arise, those could be ameliorated by
a temple in Las Cruces, which would likely also cover El Paso for the time
being. Arizona and Nevada both fall under the “Mormon corridor”, and, based on
further research on my part, I have prioritized Queen Creek due to recent
growth in that city. And although Elko and Ely Nevada once seemed to have an
equal likelihood of having a temple announced, after further research on my
part, I have chosen to prioritize Elko this go-round.
[22]With this area having been
consolidated in August of this year with the North America Northwest Area,
there are a total of 3 locations for which I feel a temple announcement is most
likely. Victoria was mentioned by name to me by someone living there, who
reports the hardship of rigorous travel and the expense involved, which makes a
temple a feasible prospect. Fairbanks is one of two Alaskan cities for which I
anticipate a temple will be announced in the near future (the other being
Juneau), but my research shows the former as being the more imminent prospect.
And although there has recently been some stagnant growth in California,
Bakersfield has been on my radar for a variety of reasons, many of which have
been explained in previous notes. Additionally, in my opinion, the fact that a
temple was announced in Yuba City last October does not at this time eliminate the
likely imminence of a temple for Bakersfield.
[23]Since one new temple has
been announced in the Utah Area of the Church within each of the last four sets
of announcements, more are surely in the works. Particularly, a temple site was
publicly mentioned as being held in reserve in April 2005 for a temple in the
Southwest Salt Lake Valley. Though no official confirmation has occurred, if my
research is correct, the land in question has been the subject of a border
dispute between Herriman and Bluffdale cities, but is currently owned by the
city of Herriman. For Heber City, Preston, and Evanston, they all seem to have
an equal likelihood of having a temple announced in the near future. And Elder
Steven E. Snow, who was born in Washington County, recently told the Saints
there at a stake conference that someone from the Temple Department had
indicated to him that a third Washington County temple would be needed in the
not-too-distant future. For these reasons, I couldn’t narrow any of these
selections down, at least not for the moment.
Labels:
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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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