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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Friday, July 31, 2020
BREAKING NEWS: Church Updates 15 Chapters of General Church Handbook
As some of you might recall, earlier this year, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve authorized the publication of the new single-volume handbook, which is being made available to all through the Gospel Library section of the Church website.Since that revised single-volume general handbook was first made available, the process of updating it has been somewhat ongoing to varying degrees as changes have been rendered necessary. This post will provide a brief overview of those changes. In the section about stake leadership, clarification has been provided on how stake leaders should work with civic and community leaders on issues impacting their congregations, and how area seventies may invite stake leaders to assist on the coordinating councils that the Church has established within each of its geographical areas.
Next, for both the Elders' Quorum and Relief Society sections, content has been organized to emphasize the role of those organizations' presidencies in congregational efforts relating to salvation and exaltation. As previously noted, more responsibilities once held by the bishop are being delegated to the presidencies of these two organizations to enable bishops to spend more time with the youth. Among other changes, this means that the two presidencies in each congregation will take responsibility for missionary efforts and temple and family history work in their congregations. Additionally, Elders' Quorum and Relief Society presidents may now call coordinators for service and activities.
As a result, the calling of compassionate service leader in each Relief Society has been renamed "service coordinator", with that adjustment intended to further unify coordination between the Elders' Quorum and Relief Society in each congregation. Also, what was formerly known as "additional Relief Society meetings" will now become "Relief Society activities", and direction has been given for the stake presidents to take responsibility for calling and coordinating with the stake Relief Society president, rather than delegating those responsibilities to either of his counselors. For the Primary, minor changes have been noted, with new sections for singing time and nursery. An expanded purpose for Primary, and clarification on Primary day camps have also been provided.
Meanwhile, other major changes have been noted for the Sunday School in each congregation, where the calling of counselors and a secretary in the Sunday School presidency will now be optional and based on the needs and size of each congregation. The Church has discontinued the practice of calling Sunday School class presidents, and teacher council meetings, which have solely focused on teacher improvement methods for organizational teachers in each congregation, have been expanded to include guidance for parents teaching their children in their homes.
And authorization has been given for the organization of a class specifically for new Church members and those returning to Church activity, those learning about the Church, and others as determined by the bishop, with the curriculum for that class being Come Follow Me. Additionally, adaptations that may not apply to some congregations has been placed into a separate section in the Sunday School chapter. The Church has also announced that meetinghouse libraries will be renamed "resource centers" with the calling previously styled "ward librarian" now known as "ward resource center specialists."
For the chapter on Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, a minor update in a new section discusses class options. Meanwhile, the chapter on Teaching the Gospel has consolidated the information about responsibilities of leaders under a new heading, which has been simply entitled, "Leaders' Responsibilities". and a new section focuses on "Home-Centered Gospel Learning and Teaching". Information focusing on the "Teaching the Gospel" course has been replaced by a section covering teacher council meetings. And Primary leaders have been given more flexibility on arranging for their teachers to attend teacher council meetings.
In the section covering "Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings", the Brethren have offered guidance that, when necessary, counselors in a stake, mission, or branch presidency, or bishopric may give approval for some ordinances and blessings in the Church, when they are authorized by the stake, mission, or branch president or bishop to do so in their stead. Minor updates have also been made to the chapters on Preparing and Recommending Missionaries and Temple Recommends, respectively. And for meetings in the Church, a section has been added to explain the coordinating council meetings, including how the councils themselves are formed, who attends the meetings, and the purpose of such meetings. And the Church has updated the chart of callings that is included in a Handbook.
Updated guidelines have also been provided in the sections covering Repentance and Church Membership Councils and Physical Facilities. And the section on Church Polcies and Guidelines has been updated to clarify instruction on unwed parents in the Church, a preface to policies on moral issues, birth control, donating or selling sperm or eggs, fertility treatments, the occult, sex education, suicide, surrogate motherhood, and the usage of medical marijuana. I am grateful to have been able to learn about and share these updates with you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will keep passing those along 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.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
BREAKING TEMPLE UPDATE: KSL Provides Status Update on Tooele Valley Utah Temple
According to the information KSL shared in their on-air story today, the temple had been planned to complement and contribute to the look and feel of that residential development, in such a way that there would be a visual coordination between the two. In the interim, residents have, as previously noted, been working on gathering signatures that would put the residential development on the ballot. What those who are excited about the temple and have no objections to that part of the plan fail to realize is that, if the initiative successfully gets on the ballot, any unity of opposition to the development would in turn impact the design and probable timing for construction of the temple itself.
So where does that initiative stand currently? A fair number of signatures have been gathered already, and the petition is apparently generating support. But the clock is ticking for the signature gathering process, which must be completed and have the signatures appropriately verified by Saturday August 15 to ensure that the initiative is successfully placed on the ballot for community input in the November elections. f the requisite number of signatures are not gathered and verified by that date, then the matter will not be placed on the ballot, and the Church could then have a groundbreaking for the temple as anticipated either in late August or early September, with the development going forward as planned, and the temple keeping its' exterior design.
Conversely, if sufficient signatures are gathered and certified by that August 15 deadline, then the initiative would likely be put to a vote in November. In the interim, the Church would then have two options.
The first would be to wait on the outcome of the vote before adjusting the design of the residential development (which might perhaps also involve a redesign of the temple's exterior becoming necessary). The second option may be to initiate the process of making those changes to the plans so that, regardless of the outcome of that election, the Church would be ready to act ASAP on beginning construction for both the temple and the community. The key to the timing and details of the temple's construction appears to be dependent on the outcome of the initiative. As I noted earlier, some residents have made it clear that they want the temple, and are pleased with the interior and exterior renderings for it, but that they worry that a high-density residential community being built in conjunction with the temple would cause Erda to lose much of its' small-town way of life.
I guess I can understand that part of the argument. However, what I don't get is wwhy, when community input has been sought in every stage of this project's approval, there seems to be wide-spread objection to the overall plan for that part of Erda where there did not seem to be any of that before. Again, I will either update this post or provide a follow-up comment in the threads thereof once I have the KSL report on this story that was provided on-air today. In the meantime, I do continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates, including the latest on this Tooele Valley Utah Temple process, and will be sure to bring word of those to you all here as I become aware of such developments.
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.
Monday, July 20, 2020
POSSIBLE BREAKING NEWS: Potential Arrangements Detailed for the October 2020 General Conference?
That was a theory I could not directly corroborate at the time. Later on, the event listing for that conference had shown that it would follow a similar pattern to April, but the page in question had listed the April dates in reference to the October 2020 General Conference. So I wasn't sure and wanted to wait for anything more official. Today, when I happened to again be checking that particular entry, the dates in question were updated to be correct for October, and included the detail that the Saturday evening session would be "for all members and friends of the Church".
I want to be very clear here that unless and until this information is confirmed, denied, corrected, or clarified through an official announcement on the Newsroom website from the Brethren, anything that has not been officially announced should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. That being said, a couple of principles may be worth mentioning here. In Doctrine and Covenants 68:4-5, the Lord provides Hris definition of what constitutes scripture. In an earlier revelation, the Lord also explained the link between His voice and the voice of His servants.
With those scriptures in mind, I'd also like to cite a statement made by prolific apostle Elder Bruce R. Mcconkie, who noted the following in his scholarly work entitled Doctrines of the Restoration: "The proper course for all of us is to stay in the mainstream of the Church. This is the Lord’s Church, and it is led by the spirit of inspiration, and the practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scripture."
So, what I'm trying to convey here is that, if prophets speak for the Lord, as a result of which anything they say when moved upon by the Holy Ghost is scripture, and if the practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scripture, then it follows that, in most cases, updates to announcements or entries on the official Church website, when done with the approval of the Brethren, constitutes confirmation of the same, perhaps even of information not yet officially confirmed.
As a result, subject to any First Presidency correction or clarification, my assumption is that only the First Presidency (and some or all of the apostles) will attend each session, that only those other leaders who are speaking or praying will attend, that those leaders serving outside North America will be excused from attending, that the leadership sessions will again be postponed, that the music will again be pre-recorded, that the Saturday evening session will be for all members and friends of the Church, and that the conference itself will originate from the small auditorium in the Church Office building.
It will be interesting to see what happens in that respect.. And I will cover all new developments as I learn about 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.
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: 3 Temples to Begin Phase 1 Reopening; 12 to Move to Phase 2; Changes Announced for Endowment Ceremony
Sunday, July 12, 2020
UPDATED: Current Apostolic Statistics
Saturday, July 11, 2020
BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Official Name Released for the Washington County Utah Temple
I am grateful that my theory that the Washington County name would not stick has proven correct. And I am grateful for the First Presidency's sensitivity to local culture in honoring southern Utah in general and the St. George region thereof in particular with a second temple that has an inspired new name. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all 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.
Friday, July 10, 2020
BREAKING NEWS: Churchwide Youth Music Festival to be Held Virtually for the First Time Ever
The event, being prerecorded, will be 40 minutes in length, and air at 6:00 PM MDT, through Youtube's "Strive to Be" page, Facebook's Church of Jesus Christ page, and through the Church's official Broadcasts page.The article inviting youth to participate in this event shares quotes from the Young Women General President, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, and the newly-called Young Men General President, Brother Steven J. Lund. I am grateful to have been able to find out about this development, and to have been able to pass it along here to you all.
I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple updates, and will continue to pass along anything in that respect 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 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, June 30, 2020
Review of Temple Construction Progress During the Second Quarter of 2020
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Some Thoughts About Church Growth (or the Lack Thereof) in Certain Areas
Before I get into that topic today, I also wanted to note that I'm specifically anticipating the announcement of at least 2 temple groundbreakings, and maybe also the new announcement of 1 or more temple sites and/or the release of one or more additional temple renderings. and that additional developments may be reported on one or two other fronts as well, what I wanted to focus a new post on today couldn't wait at all.
Over the last few months since the April 2020 General Conference was held, as a result of the Church subsequently releasing quite a bit more in the way of nation-by-nation statistics that were updated as of year-end 2019, Matthew Martinich, who maintains the Church Growth blog, has been in the process of overhauling the content he provides in his "Reaching the Nations" profiles through cumorah.com.
Through his blog, he has shared links to many of those updated profiles. And with that focus (and the ensuing comments in the associated threads thereof) in mind, I wanted to post some thoughts from me here about Church growth (or the lack thereof) in certain areas. Some of the most recent posts shared by Matt with the updated profiles focus on nations within Europe, Asia, and South America. In many of those recent threads, problems related to Church growth across those continents were detailed.
Between 2002 and now, the Church has called 10 new apostles (Elders Uchtdorf, Bednar, Cook, Christofferson, Andersen, Rasband, Stevenson, Renlund, Gong, and Soares). Of those 10, five have connections to Europe (with Elder Uchtdorf being a native German, and Elders Bednar, Cook and Andersen having served in European missions, while Elder Soares has been a mission president in Portugal), two have connections to Asia (with Elders Stevenson and Gong both having served missions in Asian ntions, and both having served in Asia Area presidencies, while Elder Stevenson has also served as president of a mission in Asia), and 3 or 4 have served missions, in area presidencies, or as mission presidents in South American nations (namely Elders Christofferson, Andersen, Soares, and perhaps also Elder Rasband).
So I have a couple of theories here. First, many of the latest comments on the Church Growth blog have suggested something that I believe will absolutely be true, that COVID-19 conditions may ultimately lead the Church to see greater success in nations currently experiencing struggles with growth-related issues. I definitely hope that will be the case, and could see it happening. At the same time, however, a part of me wonders whether President Nelson, whose right-hand man President Oaks had the experience of previously presiding over an international area of the Church, may choose at some point in the near future to send one or more apostles out to any of these struggling areas and to take oversight thereof for a period of one to two years.
It may not happen, especially since the apostles have been utilized more frequently of late in performing duties typically done by the president of the Church or his counselors. But on the other hand, having such apostles in such areas would enable them to personally oversee some of those assignments while serving for a time as presidents of those areas.. And the apostles have been commanded in scripture to "send" the word and their representatives abroad rather than filling long-term assignments abroad themselves. There's a lot to consider about this scenario that may or may not occur again in the near future, just as it had been utilized in the early 2000s.
I will be interested to see if the current conditions impacting the growth of the Church on the Asian, European, and South American continents resolve themselves following the elimination of COVID-19 as a factor, and whether or not the Church needs to take action on any of these issues at that time. I also continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates, and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of such things.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
BREAKING NEWS: Church to Hold Condensed Online-Only Training for New 2020 Mission Leadership
Hello again, everyone! More breaking news has been reported by the Church News within the last few minutes. As a result of COVID-19 conditions worldwide, the 2020 Seminar for all new mission leaders who will begin their service on July 1 of this year will be conducted entirely online and with a condensed schedule. The seminar, usually spanning 3-4 days towards the end of June, will be held this weekend.
This continues the Church's efforts to be good neighbors who earnestly consider the health of those over whom they have stewardship.The seminar usually includes a high degree of participation from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in addition to all who serve on the Missionary Executive Council (that includes Elders Uchtdorf, Christofferson, Andersen, and Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, at least one member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and at least 2-3 general officers of the Church (at last notified check, that included Sisters Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, and Cristina B. Franco, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency).
By definition, those GA Seventies serving in the Missionary Department are there as well. Ordinarily, that includes Elder Brent H. Nielson, who has served as Executive Director of that Department for the last several years, and those who serve as Assistant Executive Directors, which, at last check, included Elders W. Mark Bassett, Craig C. Chirstensen, Weatherford T. Clayton, James B. Martino, and S. Gifford Nielsen.
But Elder Nielson has been called to the Presidency of the Seventy, so unless he is assigned to continue serving on the Missionary Executive Council in that new role, he has been or will be released as the Executive Director of that Department. Of the Assistant Executive Directors listed above, only Elders Bassett and Clayton are not currently serving as president of any area of the Church. And of the two, it seems more likely to me that Elder Clayton will succeed Elder Nielson as the Executive Director of that Department. But time will tell in that respect.
I am grateful that the Church is continuing to roll with the punches when it comes to the COVID-19 adjustments that have become necessary in consideration of the health of Church members worldwide.And it is also wonderful that modern technology can make it possible for the Church to provide virtual training.
It's likely that the October 2020 General Conference Leadership sessions will go forward as planned, but be provided through virtual methods to eliminate the need for in-person attendance. Still no word on specific arrangements/additional changes for that General Conference, but it will be interesting to see what happens with all such developments. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will be sure to pass word of all such things along as I become aware of those developments.
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.