Hello again, everyone! At the top of this breaking news post, I'd be remiss if I did not first take just a brief moment to thank you all for your continued interest, ongoing support, and regular comments. Some of you may have commented earlier today to report the breaking news I will now share, and I will be addressing any comments ASAP this afternoon. In the meantime, let me now share the two breaking news developments reported by the Church today.
First of all, President Nelson is not letting the proverbial grass grow under his feet following the recent historic General Conference weekend. He has made plans for a third 2019 ministry tour as an ongoing effort to enable as many Church members as possible to have the opportunity to see a prophet, and to better acquaint himself with the issues worldwide members are facing. He, accompanied by his wife, Wendy W. Nelson, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Katherine, will travel to Southeast Asia, making four stops in a seven-day period.
The Church leaders will depart from Salt Lake on Friday November 15, returning to Salt Lake on Friday November 22, 6 days before Thanksgiving here in the United States. The first stops will last two days, and see the leaders in Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam. They will stop in Phnom Pehn Cambodia the following day, and I would be shocked if they do not spend part of the time looking at prospective locations for the Phnom Pehn Cambodia Temple, although a potential site has already been identified. The following day, the leaders will travel to Singapore, ending the tour with the last stop in Jakarta Indonesia the following day. So perhaps part of the time may be spent scoping out any of these cities for readiness for a temple of their own.
President Nelson becomes the first Church president to visit these regions of Southeast Asia since President Gordon B. Hinckley visited Vietnam and Cambodia in 1996, and Singapore and Indonesia in 2000. The Newsroom release also notes that the leaders will speak at member meetings to Latter-day Saints and friends of otther faiths, and that they will also pay courtesy calls to government and religious leaders. So stay tuned here for more coverage on that tour as it occurs.
If that were the only breaking news, it would be reason enough to rejoice, but the Church also released earlier today an official exterior rendering for the Layton Utah Temple, as they continue to work with the Layton city government on final approvals for that temple. No groundbreaking date has been announced as of yet, but until further notice, I stand by the estimate I have previously offered. If I am correct in assuming that all temples for which news was reported within the last month or so will have a groundbreaking by this time next year, in addition to the other temples for which I am anxiously awaiting news, then within the next year, we could easily see a minimum of 12 temples have a groundbreaking within that time.
But I anticipate that we may see more temple groundbreakings than that. Although he has not be too specific about the extent or timing of his plans, it is obvious that President Nelson loves temples and wants to bring them to the people so they can experience the blessings thereof. Therefore, in the coming days, weeks, and months, I anticipate many more temple-related announcements, some of which may currently be on nobody's radar, including and especially my own. I will watch for word of all such developments and will bring word of it all to you here as I become aware of it.
Another couple of notes not related to the breaking news developmnts I have reported here. The Newsroom also reported today that the president of the Pacific Islands nation of Kiribati visited Church headquarters today, meeting with the First Presidency and other Church leaders. Additionally, with today being Tuesday October 8, Acting President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is celebrating his 91st birthday today. I will be posting a birthday tribute to him on this blog later this afternoon or evening, just as soon as I catch my breath from the whirlwind influx of Church news that was seen today. Again, I have to echo Elder Holland's statement from the April 2018 General Conference. "What a prophet [we have in President Nelson]!"
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.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson to Minister in Southeast Asia; Rendering Released for the Layton Utah Temple
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Monday, October 7, 2019
Possible Table of Contents for the November 2019 Ensign
Hello again, everyone! As many of you may be aware, the Church News has a time-honored tradition of publishing summaries of each General Conference talk ASAP after they are given. Those summaries include tentative titles for each address which, if later corrected when the actual transcripts are made available a few days following each General Conference, are not too far off from the actual titles of those addresses. As a result of the publication of those summaries online, and due to the fact that the video version of each talk is now available online, I have taken the liberty, based on the length of each such address and the aforementioned tentative titles for each talk, to put together an early draft of what the table of contents for the November 2019 Ensign may wind up looking like.
How I crafted these estimates was approximately estimating that every four minutes of any given address would be the equivalent of roughly one page of content inj the Ensign. Based on the resulting estimates, I have been able to configure what I hope wind up being slightly more accurate page estimates than I have offered in the possible table of content for previous General Conference editions of the Ensign.
It is also worth mentioning that for most of these addresses, the estimates resulted in an average 3 pages for each talk. And I anticipate that, due to the fact that this latest General Conference saw quite a few more developments before and during that weekend, I am fully anticipating that the General Conference Ensign this go-round will feature 144 pages of content. With that introduction out of the way, the mock-up of the potential table of contents follows below.
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 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.
How I crafted these estimates was approximately estimating that every four minutes of any given address would be the equivalent of roughly one page of content inj the Ensign. Based on the resulting estimates, I have been able to configure what I hope wind up being slightly more accurate page estimates than I have offered in the possible table of content for previous General Conference editions of the Ensign.
It is also worth mentioning that for most of these addresses, the estimates resulted in an average 3 pages for each talk. And I anticipate that, due to the fact that this latest General Conference saw quite a few more developments before and during that weekend, I am fully anticipating that the General Conference Ensign this go-round will feature 144 pages of content. With that introduction out of the way, the mock-up of the potential table of contents follows below.
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 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.
Possible Table of Contents for the November 2019 Ensign (Text in parentheses denotes a correction.)
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.
October 2019 General Conference—Lengths of Talks Given by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Hello again, everyone! While I am not quite ready to analyze and score the results of my October 2019 General Conference predictions, I thought it would be a good idea to now publish the record I have assembled of the lengths of each of the talks given by each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As a result of some unexpected developments (including President Nelson's short address in the Saturday Afternoon Session to introduce the youth-related changes, and his subsequent address duringh the Sunday Afteroon Session of General Conference being 2-3 times longer than his addresses closing prior General Conferences have traditionally been), that information this go-round is markedly different.
Additionally, I was pleasntly surprised this go-round by something else related to these addresses. Within the last decade or so, it has traditionally been the case that there is a somewhat significant lag between when each apostle spoke and how soon after the video versions thereof are published. Particularly, with the Saturday and Sunday sessions, it has not been uncommon for there to be as much of a one-day lag between when at least one apostle spoke and when the video version of their talks are up. In previous years, that fact has resulted in my somehow omitting the information for at least one of those talks.
But for the first time this weekend, I kept a careful watch, and waited until now to post this information so that I could be sure I hadn't overlooked anything. Between our 15 apostles, 21 General Conference addresses were given this go-round. Without further ado, that information follows below. In the meantime, I do 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 receive 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 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.
Additionally, I was pleasntly surprised this go-round by something else related to these addresses. Within the last decade or so, it has traditionally been the case that there is a somewhat significant lag between when each apostle spoke and how soon after the video versions thereof are published. Particularly, with the Saturday and Sunday sessions, it has not been uncommon for there to be as much of a one-day lag between when at least one apostle spoke and when the video version of their talks are up. In previous years, that fact has resulted in my somehow omitting the information for at least one of those talks.
But for the first time this weekend, I kept a careful watch, and waited until now to post this information so that I could be sure I hadn't overlooked anything. Between our 15 apostles, 21 General Conference addresses were given this go-round. Without further ado, that information follows below. In the meantime, I do 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 receive 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 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.
Lengths of Talks Given by First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles During the October
2019 General Conference
2019 General Conference
18:56—President Henry B. Eyring (SUA)
18:27—President Russell M. Nelson (SUM)
18:17—President Russell M. Nelson (GW)
17:58—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
15:59—Elder David A. Bednar
15:36—President M. Russell Ballard
15:14—Elders Gary E. Stevenson and Gerrit W. Gong
14:47—President Dallin H. Oaks (SAM) & Elder Ulisses Soares
14:46—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
14:39—Elder Ronald A. Rasband
14:32—Elder D. Todd Christofferson
13:52—Elder Dale G. Renlund
13:28—Elder Neil L. Andersen
12:47—President Dallin H. Oaks (GW)
12:29—Elder Quentin L. Cook
12:17—President Henry B. Eyring (GW)
11:44—President Russell M. Nelson (SUA)
7:10—President Henry B. Eyring (SAA; Sustaining of Church Officers)
4:02—President Russell M. Nelson (SAA; Youth Announcement)
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: President Nelson Announces Changes In Temple Recommend Interview Questions; Designates 2020 as a Bicentennial Celebration Year for the Church
Hello again, everyone! The October 2019 General Conference has just wrapped up, and more breaking news has been reported. First, President Nelson highlighted upcoming temple open houses, dedications, and rededications, urging the Church to use those as opportunities to teach our friends of other faiths about the importance of the work done in temples. He went on to further announce updates and revisions to the standard temple recommend questions, which clarify what is required to worthily enter the temple.
Above and beyond that, however, he noted that next year would be designated a bicentennial celebration year to mark the anniversaries of important milestones in the restoration of the Savior's Church. Among those milestones he mentioned that would be a focus are the First Vision, the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, the publication of the Book of Mormon, and the reestablishment of the Church. He went on to note that the April 2020 General Conference would be unlike any other the Church has ever seen before in its' history. So between these developments, there is a lot to which we as members of the Church can look forward.
While I don't know exactly what might make the April 2020 General Conference so unique, I have a few thoughts, which I will want to mull over before I share anything solid. There are, however, two things I can say with absolute certainty: first, per a letter from the Church Communication Department (which had been sent out on September 13 of this year), the April 2020 General Conference will convene on Saturday and Sunday April 4 and 5, 2020, and that I will be making the April 2020 General Conference predictions unique as a result of the anticipated uniqueness of that Conference to which President Nelson referred.
In fact, I already have more than a few ideas in that respect. But I will be taking my time putting those together. Meanwhile, I will also be monitoring all Church news and temple updates. I am anticipating that at least 3 items of temple news will be coming down the pike over the next several weeks, given what President Nelson noted during his concluding remarks about temple construction, open houses, dedications, and renovations. Stay tuned for more on those developments as well as I learn more about them.
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.
Above and beyond that, however, he noted that next year would be designated a bicentennial celebration year to mark the anniversaries of important milestones in the restoration of the Savior's Church. Among those milestones he mentioned that would be a focus are the First Vision, the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, the publication of the Book of Mormon, and the reestablishment of the Church. He went on to note that the April 2020 General Conference would be unlike any other the Church has ever seen before in its' history. So between these developments, there is a lot to which we as members of the Church can look forward.
While I don't know exactly what might make the April 2020 General Conference so unique, I have a few thoughts, which I will want to mull over before I share anything solid. There are, however, two things I can say with absolute certainty: first, per a letter from the Church Communication Department (which had been sent out on September 13 of this year), the April 2020 General Conference will convene on Saturday and Sunday April 4 and 5, 2020, and that I will be making the April 2020 General Conference predictions unique as a result of the anticipated uniqueness of that Conference to which President Nelson referred.
In fact, I already have more than a few ideas in that respect. But I will be taking my time putting those together. Meanwhile, I will also be monitoring all Church news and temple updates. I am anticipating that at least 3 items of temple news will be coming down the pike over the next several weeks, given what President Nelson noted during his concluding remarks about temple construction, open houses, dedications, and renovations. Stay tuned for more on those developments as well as I learn more about them.
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 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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