1900th Post: BREAKING NEWS: 4 More Temples to Reopen Nexxt Week Under Phase 1; Several Church Historic Sites Renamed

Hello again, everyone! As hard as it is to believe, this post is my 1900th on this blog. For this milestone post, I am pleased to cover two breaking news developments, which have been reported by the Church today. Firstly, as of totday, the total number of temples open under phase 1 now rises to 89. This morning, the First Presidency announced that 4 more temples will reopen under phase 1 one week from today (June 22). That will bring the total number of temples open under phase 1 to 92. The 4 in question are the Apia Samoa, Brisbane Australia, Paris France, and Santo Domingo Dominican Republic. After several weeks of double-digit temples opening, it's nice to see the Church slowing down a bit. We are clearly not yet at a point anywhere in the world where opening any of the soon-to-be 92 temples under phase 2 is practical as of yet. I think it's wiser to take things more slowly and steadily than it would be to backtrack in that respect. So I appreciate the measured, principle-based approach.And for the second time in many of the last 6 Mondays or so, the temple reopenings do not constitute the only big news from the Church today, As also shared by the Church News, the nnames of several of the Church's historic sites have received minor name changes, With all Church sites still temporarily closed due to COVID-19, the following name changes go into effect: Brigham Young Winter Home will now be known as the Brigham Young Winter Home and Office. Historic Carthage Jail and Visitor's Center has been simpzlified to Cathage Jail. What was once known as Historic Cove Fort will now be known as Cove Fort. The Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site will now be known as the Grandin Building: Book of Mormon Publication Site. The Home of Jacob Hamblin will simply become the Hamblin Home.  Haun's Mill has been renamed Hawn's Mill to reflect the corrected spelling for the name of the owner of the property, Jacob Hawn. The Historic John Johnson Home lis renamed the Johnson Home. The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial is now Joseph Smith Birthplace. Historic Liberty Jail now becomes Liberty Jail. The Historic Isaac Morely Farm will be known as simply the Morley Farm. What has been known as the Joseph Smith Family Farm will be renamed the Sacred Grove, which is more descriptive of what the site honors. A similar adjustment better describes the Peter Whitmer Farm, which will now be known as the Whitmer Farm: Church Organization Site.

For the remaining sites on the lsit, the name adjustments require some context which I hope may be helpful. In the early days of the Church, with members of the Church known colloquially as "Mormons", during the pioneer treks that occurred in the mid-to-late 1800s and beyond, many sites prominent to the process of that trek used the name "Mormon", which became a common identifier to differentiate those landmarks from others more associated with the Oregon Trail or other US trails named after US pionners not so connected with the Church.   

In Honor of Elder David A. Bednar on His 68th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! Given that today is June 15, I wanted to take an opportunity to pay tribute to Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who today is marking his 68th birthday today. So let's get into some details about his life experiences. David Allan Bednar was born in Oakland California on this day in 1952 to Anthony George and Lavina Whitney Bednar. His mother came from a long line of Latter-day Saint ancestors, but his father was not a member of the Church. Despite not having a formal Church membership, Anthony Bednar fully supported the rest of his family participating actively in the Church, and he would often step in and participate in meetings and Church activities, including various service projects, whereby he was in essence functioning in the same supportive way as other Church members did, but as one who was not a Church member. Young David would often ask Anthony when he would be baptized, to which his father replied that he would do so when he felt it was right. Elder Bednar served a mission in southern Germany, during which time, then-Elder Boyd K. Packer visited his mission, and was advised that, in order to get through the necessary border security, he would need money. The future President Packer would later recount in General Conference that a young missionary provided him with the money he needed, and later revealed that Elder Bednar had been that missionary.

Elder Bednar attended BYU-Provo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's in organizational communication. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from the prestigious Purdue University. He met Susan Kae Robinson at an activity for young adults. He recounts that they were playing flag football, and that he threw a pass, which she caught. Susan would later note that, incidentally, that was the only time she could remember catching a pass. That experience left a positive impression on both of them, and the two started dating not long afterward. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and would go on to raise 3 sons together.

One major highlight of Elder Bednar's life came long after his marriage. Anthony called his son one day and asked, "Would you be free on (and he named a date in the near future)? I would like you to come and baptize me." He was able to baptize and confirm his father, and also ordained him to the priesthood. He spent his vocational career as an educator at several secondary schools. For a four-year period (1980-1984), he was an assistant professor of management at what was then the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. He spent the next two years as an assistant professor at Texas Tech University, after which he returned to Arkansas, where he served first as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, then the Director of the Management Decision-Making Lab. During this time, he was recognized as being an outstanding educator through the receipt of many prestigious awards and honors. He also had a few ecclesiastical responsibilities within the Church at around the same time.

He spent several months as a bishop, then went on to serve first as the president of what was then the Fort Smith Arkansas Stake, then as the first president of the newly-established Rogers Arkansas Stake. During the final months of his service as a stake president, he was called to serve as a regional representative. In 1997, he was among the first men called to serve in the new position of area seventy. That same year, he was also called by the Church Board of Education to serve as president of Ricks College, during which time he led the transition of that college to BYU-Idaho. In October 2004, as a result of the apostolic vacancies created from the July deaths of Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight (which occurred 10 days apart), Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the vacancies would be filled by Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar.

Interestingly enough, Elder Bednar joined only two other current apostles (now-Presidents Nelson and Oaks) who were called to the apostleship without having previously served as a general authority. At the time of his call to the apostleship, Elder Bednar, who was 52 at that time, was the youngest apostle to have been called since then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks (who had been called to the apostleship in 1984 Although he immediately commenced his service in the apostleship, he also continued to serve as president of BYU-Idaho for several weeks prior to the appointment of an interim president. Elder Bednar's tenure as an educator has molded how he speaks and ministers as an apostle. One of his common traditions as he speaks in General Conference is to invite the Holy Ghost to bless him and the rest of us as we listen to his remarks.

Because he will have been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 16 years in October, he has given 32 General Conference addresses, which are always well crafted and insightful, and are well worthy of review by all of us. He is currently the fourth-most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (which, including the current members of the First Presidency, makes him the seventh in apostolic seniority), and is still among the younger apostles, being the fifth-youngest both among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and all 15 ordained apostles as well. While I have never had the honor of personally meeting him, from the moment his apostolic call was first announced and onward since then, I have had a testimony that his apostolic call has been inspired and directed by the Lord, which I reiterate to you all today

Given his relatively younger age in comparison to both the six apostles senior to him, and four of the eight apostles who are junior to him, I fully believe that, at some point in the future, Elder Bednar may serve as Church President. That, of course, will be up to the Lord’s will and the health and longevity of Presidents Nelson, Oaks, Eyring, and Ballard, and that of Elders Holland and Uchtdorf. And I want to make it very clear that such a prospect is merely my own personal opinion, and not anything I can attribute to anyone else. As the Lord himself reminds us, he days of each apostle are known, and their years shall not be numbered less. I hope this post has served as a fitting tribute to this remarkable servant of the Lord.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Exceptions Approved for Male Missionary Attire

Hello again, everyone! Some of you might recall that in December 2018, the First Presidency had approved some attire exceptions for young sister missionaries, where climate, culture, or tradition made it a logical move. At the time that change was announced, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf had remarked that such changes were part of the history of the Church, as previous adjustments had been made when practical, feasuble, or neccessary. He also indicated at that time that further adjustments would come in the future as necessary. Fast forward to today: In another First Presidency announcement, as corroborated by both the Newsroom and the Church News, and as again contextualized through comments from Elder Uchtdorf, adjustments were announced for male missionary attire, where approved by area presidencies. Although minor adjustments have been made to missionary attire for young males where cultural, climate, or political situations have necessitated that, the latest adjustments are meant to present general acceptable options the area presidency can consider for the young men serving in their areas. These changes include an allowance for the wearing of white or blue dress shirts with or without ties. This does not change the standard that, in most areas where there is no need for them, continues to be a white shirt and tie, with or without a suit jacket. That attire continues to apply specifically when young elders participate in mission conferences at any level, for attendance at baptisms, in temple worship, and during the weekly worship services. And only after very careful consideration would these exceptions be used. As seen recently with new editions of the scriptures, and changes in missionary contact regulations, it is neither recommended or required that current missionaries granted the exception to the standard missionary dress purchase new clothes right away based on these changes. Instead, as wear and tear occur in current attire, the new clothes can be rotated in. The coverage of this announcement also provides an overview of other changes to missionary attire made by area since 2010. Further contextual comments from Elder Uchtdorf describe this change as an opening, rather than a downgrade or diminishing of the long-standing practices related to male missionary attire. He also noted that the hope is that these exceptions may, in some cases, extend and expand opportunities for community outreach and for missionaries to connect and interact with individuals and families.

On a personal note, I have some experience with a non-standard missionary dress scenario. Although I obviously wore a white shirt when engaged in my six years of service as a temple worker. when it came to my Welfare Services missionary labors, a butto-up shirt of any style was the standard. It makes snese that missionary dress standards continue to be adjusted as necessary or advisable. As with other new changes which have been announced.Toccurred to me that it is amazing that, in the midst of managing the impacts of a global pandemic, including a phased reopening of temples, announcements continue to be made about weekly worship services, temple events, General Conference, and so many other aspects related to the work. The laser-sharp focus on the most important matters relating to the work continues to amaze, astound, and astonish me. We are truly seeing, as President Nelson noted two years ago in Rome Italy, that the work is moving at an accelerated pace, and that unfolding revelation continues to further that work in all facets relating thereunto. For my part, to the very best of my ability, I will keep monitoring all such developments and will pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Alabang Philippines Temple Groundbreaking Occurs Later Than Scheduled But Earlier Than Its' Rescheduled Plans

Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, the groundbreaking for the Alabang Philippines Temple was originally scheduled to occur on Saturday May 2, with Elder D. Todd Christofferson presiding thereat. But COVID-19 put the kibosh on that, and the Church of Jesus Christ Temples page for that temple, along with comments on the Philippines Area Facebook page, announced the postponement of that groundbreaking until early June on the recommendation of the First Presidency based on governmental direction. A tentative date for that groundbreaking was announced as being today (Saturday June 6), though that date was tentative, and it was unclear who would preside at that groundbreaking. That was primarily because it seemed unlikely that Elder Christofferson would be sent while governmental restrictions impacted travel regulations from Salt Lake City to the Philippines. In the interim, the First Presidency had also announced the 2020 area leadership assignments, and among the changes that were announced was, that Elder Evan A. Schmutz would be released as the area president, along with resulting changes in that presidency.  With those changes in mind, I offered my theory that outgoing president Evan A. Schmutz might be the one to preside at the groundbreaking for the Alabang Philippines, as one of his final actions (if not indeed the final major one) before he left that assignment.

Anyways, fast forward to today. The Church of Jesus Christ Temples page for this temple reported that the groundbreaking had taken place in early June, but not this morning. Instead, it took place on Thursday June 4.  And instead of Elder Schmutz as the outgoing president of the area overseeing the groundbreaking, his current First Counselor, who will take over as president in August of this year, oversaw that groundbreaking on Thursday. The temple is anticipated to have its' construction wrap up sometime in 2023. So that leaves only two questions:

How soon will full-scale construction be able to begin? And will the same governmental restrictions currently impacting the construction of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple have a similar impact on the construction process for this temple? Either way, the groundbreaking for the Alabang Temple marks the first time ever the Church has had two temples in the Philippines simultaneously under construction, something that will continue to be true through at least 2022. That said, I am hopeful that at least one or two of the other three temples for the Philippines (which have all been announced by President Nelson) might have a groundbreaking within that time, leaving the trend to continue for a longer term. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such things.

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.

Updated Observations and Information About the Temple Construction Program of the Church Over the Next Two Years

Hello again, everyone! Information of which I became aware a while ago through the comments on the Church Growth Blog indicated that President Nelson's immediate goal was to have a total of 300 temples in any phse by the end of 2025. Following the discovery of that information, I had run the numbers, and if President Nelson continues to announce at least 8 temples every 6 months, the Church will reach a minimum of 300 temples in any phase following the announcement of new temples during the October 2025 General Conference. Based on that, I conducted further analysis on the likely developments for the temple construction program of the Church. I assembled those thoughts in several documents, including one that shows the updated sections of my temple construction progress report,  some analysis on what may be needed for the Church to fulfill the goal of breaking ground on 18 temples before the end of this year, a revised list of temples for which I have felt a groundbreaking could occur this year and next year, and a look at the temples for which official information has not yet been confirmed.

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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Reconfirms the Groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple

Hello again, everyone! As some of you might recall, in an earlier post this month, I had shared the report about the groundbreaking being set for the Salta Argentina Temple, and provided details about the temple at that time. Subsequently, the news release about that groundbreaking seemed to disappear, and I was not sure why that was. Then today, the Church News and the Newsroom provided the information again, with the Church Temples site providing additional context and corroboration. Aside from these corroborations, the releases additionally provided insight into how the Church will handle the groundbreaking in the midst of COVID-19. So, to sum up, the groundbreaking will take place on Sautrday August 15. The rendering is the same as it was at the time of the orignial release of this information. I still anticipate construction taking 2.5-3 years or so, based on the rendering of the temple, which will put its' general completion sometime around mid-2023 And the temple will be built on the location that had previously been widely speculated as the spot for it: a large grassy field across the street from the airport in southern Salta. It is good to have this gorundbreaking reconfirmed today through multiple sources. I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will bring you all word of those as I become aware of such things.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Preliminary Changes to October 2020 General Conference

Hello again, everyone! Just under an hour ago, the First Presidency announced that the October 2020 General Conference will follow the same health parameters of the April 2020 General Conference, with the conference originating from a small auditorium on Temple Square, and only those speaking or praying invited to attend each session. This is being done out of an abudance of caution as COVID-19 conditions continue to widely impact the world. Additional details will be announced at at later date. There are at this point a few unknowns in that respect. First, the First Presidency earlier this year had announced the six-month postponement of General Conference Leadership meetings, usually held before the April General Conference each year. I am assuming this announcement will delay those meetings another six months, or that the information may be disseminated in pre-recordedmay take  material. I am also assuming that the music will be prerecorded from prior performances, and that leaders serving outside the United States would again be excused from coming.

But perhaps the biggest unknown in all of this is whether another adult session held on Saturday evening will replace the traditional Women's Session. If that happens, then we could be looking at an entirely different format from either of the scenarios I have previously presented. I assume here as well that the intent was to put the information out there with what could be announced at this time, with other announcements in the coming days clarifying more on that. And if this announcement is being made 4 months prior to General Conference, that suggests to me that there may be quite a bit more information forthcoming about that, but it also suggests that most of the traditional training sessions, usually held later this year, for mission and temple leadership, among others,  may similarly take a small-scale virtual format. So these are just a few of the thoughts I had at the time I read the announcement.

As I wind down on my coverage of this development, I wanted to thank regular commenter Nigel for sharing this news in the threads of another post. Nigel, your comment was made not long after I got the information from a Church News alert on my phone, so I appreciate you sharing that there.  Just a quick update from me as well about ongoing comment moderation: It appears that that process has, for the moment, put a stop to the frequent spam comments that had been coming in. But I don't feel at this point as though pausiing or discontinuing comment moderation would be a wise move until I am sure there will be no further problems. With that in mind, my thanks to all of you for your patience in terms of giving me time to find and approve the genuine comments, especially those from my regular readers who comment frequently. I wish I could pull the plug on moderation now for the time being, but want to be cautious with it and ensure that there will be no opportunity for the same kind of spam comments I was getting en masse before I determined to enable that moderation.

I will, of course, be monitoring any and all Church news and temple updates and will bring you all word of such developments as I learn 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.

BREAKING NEWS: Multiple Church and Temple News Developments Reported; Changes in Area Seventies Quorums to Go Into Effect Today

Hello again, everyone! As you'll notice from this post's title, multiple developments have been noted by the Church today. Let's get right into all of those developments. Firstly, it appears that around 5 days ago, the Church noted in some respect that the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple will occur on Saturday August 15, with Elder Bejamin De Hoyos, president of the Soutth America South Area, presiding. The Newsroom had published that release on their main page earlier today to note that officially, but it appears that the release has since been taken down from its' original location on the website. 

As a result, in order to confirm this information, I refer you to the relevant news page for that temple from the Church Temples site. Hopefully the Church will fix that release at some point later today, and when that happens, I will provide that update through an edit to this post or through a comment hereon. Based on the rendering provided on that page, I am estimating that construction will take 2.5-3 years or so. That news will necessiate another revision to any previous thoughts about temple events this year that I have provided up to this point. Stay tuned for more on that as I figure it all out. In the meantime, the Church News website has reported that the phased reopening of temples will continue, with 11 more temples set to reopen next Monday. 

This latest announcement will bring the number of temples open under phase 1 to a total of 77 by Monday June 8. Among those reopening next week will include the sole temples in Ghana, Nigeria, Portugal, and Tahiti,  and the temples in Sapporo Japan; Fort Lauiderdale Florida; Meridian and Rexburg Idaho; Indianapolis India; Lubbock Texas; and Reno Nevada. I love to see how the Church is truly being cautious when it comes to the approach towards reopening temples. Hopefully in the coming weeks, others will move into phase 1, while some which have successfully been in phase 1 for a while may be able to go to phase 2. Stay tuned for more information as I become aware of such newsx on that front.

Let's turn now to the last new development. Earlier today, the Newsroom announced a streamlining to the process whereby Church news will be covered thereon. The previously-separate News and Events page has been absorbed into the Newsroom page, where all News and Events will now be featured. Additionally, some coverage provided by the Church News will be shared in that central Newsroom page, which will now in essence become the main hub for all such developments. The image posted with this announcement showed Elder Soares, apparently seen somewhere in Latin America. I am not sure if that is meant to indicate that Elder Soares now has some role in the Church Public Affairs Department, but that is a possibility.

And the final item I wanted to mention in this post is regarding a previously-announced development.  On May 19, the First Presidency had announced changes in the demographic composition of Area Seventies' Quorums, along with the creation of 4 new Quorums of the Seventy. Since that announcement noted that those changes would take effect on June 1, they have now become official. Although the Church website staff may be busy making other updaites that are needed relating to the other developments reported in this post, it's my hope that the official list of area seventies might soon be updated.

In conclusion, I want to note that when President Nelson mentioned things moving foroward at an accelerated pace, he was definitively not kidding. I look forward to seeing whatever may be next in that respect.  

President Henry B. Eyring Celebrates His 87th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am grateful for the opportunity I have to pay tribute to President Henry B. Eyring, who is celebrating his 87th birthday today. There is a lot to discuss about his life, so let's get right into it. Henry Bennion Eyring was born on rhis day in 1933, in Princeton New Jersey, to well-known physicist Henry Eyring and Mildred Bennion. As I previously noted, his father's sister, Camilla Eyring, married Spencer W. Kimball, while his father's first cousin was Marion G. Romney. Young "Hal", as he was known, was generally a very good student. At one point, his father was explaining a scientific concept to him when he noted that Hal seemed to not be interested in it. He asked his son what he thought about when he had nothing else to consider, and told him that he should pursue that subject. This led young Hal to an eventual career as an educator and academic administrator. His family would later relocate from New Jersey to Salt Lake City, Utah. Although he did not serve a full-time mission, he was an active member of the U. S. Air Force, and was stationed in New Mexico, where he served as a liaison between military officers and scientists, where he was responsible for analyzing data from tests done on nuclear weapons. Prior to his military service, he had earned a degree in physics from the University of Utah. He also studied at Harvard, where he eventually earned both a masters' and doctoral degrees in Business Administration. While he was highly sought after by business owners who admired his analytical work, he chose to continue to pursue his education. In the meantime, it was not until 1960 (when Hal was 26 or 27 and serving in a district presidency) that he met Kathleen Johnson at a YSA meeting in New Hampshire. She was born in Palo Alto California, and had studied at Stanford before coming to Harvard. She also spent some time studying at the Universities of Vienna and Paris. Because Hal was serving as a counselor in the district presidency, his district president (Wilbur Cox) adjusted his assignments to accommodate his desire to date Kathleen. They dated over that summer, and continued their courtship long-distance, with Kathleen making several cross-country trips prior to their engagement in the early months of 1961.They continued their courtship for the next year or so, until they were married in the Logan Utah Temple on July 27, 1962, by which time Hal was 29 years old. Their marriage was solemnized by his uncle, then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Their family would eventually include six children (four sons and two daughters). Two of their sons are Henry J. Eyring (who current serves as president of BYU-Idaho and as an area seventy) and Matthew J. Eyring (who is a Chief Strategy Innovation Officer with Vivint, a company specializing in home automation, who served previously as an area seventy as well.). Hal eventually became a professor at Stanford University. He continued his career as an associate professor at the Stanford School of Business for 9 years (between 1972 and 1981), and went on to be a Sloan Visiting Faculty Fellow at MIT, during which time he also took courses in human behavior. Sometime between late 1970 and early 1971, his wife asked him if he shouldn't be studying with Neal A. Maxwell, who was serving at that time as Commissioner of Church Education. After considering her question and following a lot of reflection, Hal accepted an offer to become president of Ricks College. Although other job offers came his way during his 6 year tenure at the college, he continued to serve until his release in 1977.. His previous Church callings included being a bishop, serving as a member of the Sunday School General Board, and as a regional representative.

In 1980, Hal was called to serve as the Commissioner of Church Education, succeeding Jeffrey R. Holland. He would continue to serve in that capacity until 1986. When the Church reorganized the Presiding Bishopric in April 1985, Robert D. Hales was called as the new Presiding Bishop, and he recommended that Hal serve as his First Counselor. After serving in that capacity for 7.5 years, he was called in October 1992 to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. When he began his new assignment, he was called for a second time to seerve as the Commissioner of Church Education, an assignment in which he would continue until 2004. Before that time, following the passing of Church president Howard W. Hunter and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency in March 1995, new Church president Gordon B. Hinckley called Elder Eyring to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 12.5 years later, following the death of President James E. Faust, who had served as Second Counselor to President Hinckley, Elder Eyring was invited to join Presidents Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson in the First Presidency. The way that came about is an interesting story. Elder Eyring had taken the phone call from President Hinckley and had heard his invitation to join the First Presidency, but because he had occasionally taken calls on the Church's phone system that were meant for some of his apostolic colleagues, he asked President Hinckley if he was sure he was talking to the right person. "This is Hal Eyring." he said. President Hinckley quickly responded, "I know who this is." Thus it was that the first apostle appointed during President Hinckley's administration was called to serve in the First Presidency for an almost four-month period prior to President Hinckley's passing.

When the First Presidency was reorganized, new Church president Thomas S. Monson called President Eyring to continue serving in the First Presidency, this time as his First Counselor. While in that capacity, President Eyring has dedicated 8 temples (San Salvador El Salvador, Gilbert Arizona, Payson Utah, Indianapolis Indiana, Philadelphia Pennsylvania (for which he had also presided at the groundbreaking), Hartford Connecticut, Paris France, and Cedar City Utah). The dedication of the Gilbert Arizona Temple was an interesting anomaly. Although President Monson presided at all three sessions, he requested that President Eyring read the prayer during the first session, so that was one recent example of how the dedication duties were shared by two apostles. President Eyring also rededicated seven temples (Ogden Utah, Buenos Aires Argentina Mexico City Mexico, Montreal Quebec, Suva Fiji, Idaho Falls Idaho, and Jordan River Utah Temple). The Ogden Utah Temple rededication is another interesting case. President Eyring conducted all three sessions and presided at the final two sessions, in which he also offered the dedicatory prayer, with President Monson having presided at and offering the dedicatory prayer in the first session. As we also know, around two years ago (on May 23, 2017), the Church announced that President Monson would be stepping back from an active role in the day-to-day administration of the Church.

Following the release of that statement, Presidents Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf assumed oversight of all decisions except for those requiring the prophet's direct approval. Following President Monson's passing last year on January 2, the First Presidency was reorganized on January 14, at which time President Eyring was called to continue his service in the First Presidency, and is serving as Second Counselor a second time, working with Church President Russell M. Nelson and his First Counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks. For the last several years, President Eyring's wife has been in ill health, and he has done a wonderful job of balancing his responsibilities in the First Presidency with his role being his wife's caregiver. Because President Eyring has a familial connection to both Presidents Spencer W. Kimball and Marion G. Romney, who were involved in the 1981 dedication of the Jordan River Utah Temple, President Nelson asked President Eyring to preside over its' recent rededication on May 20, 2018. As noted in an earlier post, President Eyring drew heavily on the original dedicatory prayer in composing the dedicatory prayer for that temple. He went on just one after that (a year ago from today) to preside over the one-session private rededication for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple, since he also has ancestral connections to that temple. Although he is now 87 years old, by all accounts, he continues to be in good health.

His lifelong devotion to education and his decades of committed Church service is an inspiration to all. I had the opportunity to attend a stake conference around 14 years ago, over which then-Elder Eyring presided. His message to us at that time focused on unity. It is a message he has since shared repeatedly in several General Conference addresses, a focus that has since been adopted by the current First Presidency, with multiple efforts underway to unify the Church on a global scale and to streamline and standardize policies and procedures. That message of unity was particularly poignant during the October 2017 General Conference, when he, as First Counselor to the ailing President Monson, served as the de facto presiding authority, since his talks highlighted the important concept that the Lord is at the helm of His work, and that, regardless of the health of His chosen prophet, He continues to move the work forward. To date, President Eyring has given a total of 103 addresses in General Conference.

Of those, 4 were given during his 7 years in the Presiding Bishopric (including his first which, for unknown reasons, is not in the main repository page where his other talks can be found), 25 others during his 12.5 years in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the remaining 75 since he was first called to the First Presidency in October 2007. During his apostolic tenure thus far, he has served as a counselor to 3 Church Presidents. Aside from his being the junior and youngest member of the current First Presidency, he is the fifth-most senior apostle and the fourth oldest overall. Among his other fellow apostles, President Eyring has been one who has clearly shown when the feeling behind the message he is giving during each General Conference has had a direct impact on him. We are blessed to see how deeply he wants to convey such ideas, thoughts, and feelings to each of us. I am grateful for the life, ministry, and service of this amazing man, whom I sustain with all my heart, and for the opportunity I have had in this small way to pay tribute to him on this day as he celebrate his 87th birthday. That does if 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.

Blog Commenting Issues Leading to a Temporary Change

Hello again, everyone! There has been an influx of spam comments on this blog recently, all of a similar nature. As time and circumstances have allowed, I have looked for a reasonable solution, but dealing with this problem is taking too much of my focus. As a consequence, I have had to reort to enabling full moderation on all comments published on this blog for the time being. This means that even for those who regularly comment, I will need to grant approval for all such comments. I regret having to take this course of action, but the nature of the massive spam comments has left me no other alternative for the time being. But I will do my best to quickly approve all valid comments ASAP after I receive word of them. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding at this time regarding this highly irregular situation. 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. As those comments will now of necessity be moderated, I appreciate your patience for the time being. 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