BREAKING NEWS: Major Changes Coming to Church Magazines Effective 2021

Hello again, everyoe! Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of most the current Church magazines, which were last renamed in 1971, with the titles thereof being The Ensign, The New Era, and the Friend. Later on, in May 1995, the Liahona as it is currently known was first published as a country-and-area specific magazine with targeted content for the same.

In the years that have passed between 1971 and 1995, and between 1995 and now, those 3 (and later 4) magazi.nes were the normal status quo with long-standing precedent in practice, but not in doctrine. In the interim, we have been the recipients of sieveral significant revelations from our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. And the efforts he has undertaken have attempted to unify and streamline Church policies, procedures, and practices in a time when the reach of the Church is and will be ever further.

With those preceding paragraphs as a preamble to this post, I am pleased to share some breaking news that changes are again coming to the magazines of the Church. In this morning's announcement, the First Presidency noted that, effective January 2021, the Ensign magazine as we know it will be retired. The Liahona will now be the global magazine for all adult members of the Church. Similarly, the New Era name will also be changed, and the magazine for youth will now be known as For the Strength of Youth. The name of the magazine for Primary-aged children will continue to use the moniker: "The Friend."

In accordance with these changes, the length and format of each magazine will also change, with the Church expanding additional content that is available in digital formats. The First Presidency also noted that the now-three monthly magazines will be available in 23 languages, also expanding the Church's global reach. Bimonthly (six times per year), magazine content will be available in 24 other languages, with online content bridging the gap for months when no print edition is available. And in 40 other languages, the Church will provide content solely through digital means. 

The letter and associated FAQs sharing this development also notes subscription-specific information. For current subscribers to any magazines, at the end of this year, the time remaining on all current subscriptions will roll over onto the equivalent magazines. The Church also noted that, because the Liahona will now be the standard magazine for the adults of the Church, the previous content once conttained in the Liahona specifically for the children and youth of the Church will now appear in "For the Strength of Youth" and "The Friend" as part of the Church's process of streamlining all of this.

For that reason, subscriptions to any or all of the now-three magazines will need to be acquired. But if changes are coming to the format and layout of these magazines, and if the Church is reducing the number of magazines from 4 to 3 global editions, there may be adjustments made on the prices for these magazines. In either case, the digital versions will remain accessible to all free of charge. Additional information on these changes willl be made available through the Church's social media channels, through the Church website, and in the December 2020 issues of the current magazines.

It has been somewhat of a whirlwind 16 hours or so since I found out about the two Utah temple groundbreakings. In the interim, the Church has released the renderings for two temples in the Pacific Islands, and now this announcement of the changes to Church magazines. President Nelson truly was not kidding when he noted that things would be moving at an accelerated pace. I look forward to seeing whatever else may be ahead, and I will do my level best to keep bringing word of those to you all here as I become aware of all 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Exterior Renderings Released and Site Locations Confirmed for Two Temples in the Pacific Islands

Hello again, everyone! I am back again now with another breaking temple development. From the Auckland New Zealand Newsroom comes information about the location, size, and renderings for two temples in the Pacific Islands, namely, the Neiafu Tonga and Pago Pago American Samoa Temples. With both temples announced in April 2019, the Church is wasting no time on getting more temples underway ASAP. That said, let's get into specifics about these temples.

The Neiafu Tonga Temple will be a single-story edifice of approximately 17,000 square feet. It will be built on the site of theChurch-owned Saineha High School in Neiafu. The project will also include a distribution center, missionary housing, and a residence for the temple president. It should be noted that none of the buildings pertaining to the high school will be impacted at all by the construction of these additional buildings at that location. Apparently, the high school configuration had been planned with room to grow.

In the meantime, for the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple, it will be built on the site of the Pago Pago Samoa Central Stake Center on Ottoville Road in Tafuna, American Samoa. The same ancillary facilities I described above relative to Tonga's next temple will also all be included in the plans for American Samoa's first temple (missionary housing, temple president's residence, and a distribution center). The Church is planning for the temple in Pago Pago to be a single-story edifice that will also be roughly 17,000 square feet in area.

The two temples have vaguely similar design styles, both to each other and to other temples that have been previously constructed. I will leave it to others far more qualified than I am to provide more specific analysis on these temples' designs. But given the release of these renderings, and the relatively straightforward site plans, it seems possible that one or both of these temples could have a groundbreaking within the next six months or less, if all goes well. In the meantime, that means that the total number of temples originally announced in April 2019 which have not had any official information confirmed yet down to two.

In the meantime, by way of a teaser, t.here are currently 38 announced temples. 6 of those (Orem Utah, San Pedro Sula Honduras, Brasilia Brazil, Taylorsville Utah, and Salta Argentina) have had groundbreakings officially confirmed. 21 of the remaining 32 temples have not yet had any official information confirmed. I do continue to monitor any and all Church news updates and temple developments and will be sure 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Church Announces Groundbreakings for Taylorsville and Red Cliffs Utah Temples

Hello again, everyone! Some of you may have already seen the comment from longtime reader Daniel in the threads of my previous post. For those that haven't yet seen that, and/or are interested in my analysis of the development in question, I am pleased to announce that the Church has set groundbreaking arrangements for two Utah temples, namely, Taylorsville and Red Cliffs. 

In conjunction with the announcement of these arrangements, an exterior rendering has been released for the Taylorsville Utah Temple, and it is another that will not include the Angel Moroni statue, demonstrating that the Church may be moving away from widely using that in the futhre. Today's announcement notes that the two Utah temple groundbreakings will be done by members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Here's the interesting thing, though: for the first time, in conjunction with the groundbreaking announcements, no specific dates have been noted. Rather, the Church has instead indicated that the groundbreaking for the Taylorsville Utah Temple will occur in October, under the direction of Elder Gerrit W. Gong, with attendance at the site by invitation only. With the Taylorsville Utah Temple planned to be roughly 70,000 square feet, I'd estimate construction may take between 2-3 years.

Meanwhile, for the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, which will have a groundbreaking at some point in November, the Church has, as I previously conjectured would be the case, tapped Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a St. George native, to break ground for the city's second temple named after the prominent red cliffs in that area of Southern Utah.  That temple is planned to be roughly 90,000 square feet in area, for which I'd anticipate construction will take somewhere around 3 -4 years to complete.

With these announcements, the number of temple groundbreakings that will have occurred after these two now rises to a total of 11 of the 18 for which groundbreakings were anticipated to occur this year, as Elder Bednar indicated would be the case during General Conference roughly 4 months ago. The interesting thing is that, with no specific dates mentioned in connection with either groundbreaking, pinning down the specific iming for these two or any others this year may have just gotten more tricky.

That being said, with the very recent announcement of the somewhat unexpected timing for the groundbreaking of the Brasilia Brazil Temple, which will have that occurring 5 months after its' rendering was released, I don't think we can count out any international temples from that prospect this year either, whether there has been no information confirmed, a site announced, or a rendering released. I am particularly anticipating that the Phnom Pehn Cambodia Temple, which is set to be built in the nation that has done very well in handling COVID-19, could have a groundbreaking roughly a year after the release of its' rendering. 

We could see a scenario wherein all sorts of surprise announcements of an unexpected nature could be coming down the pike relative to any of the announced temples. It will be interesting to see what happens there. In the interim, while I was putting my thoughts together here, a Church News article covering this latest announcement, and that article noted that Sister Gong is a Taylorsville native, so the fact that Elder Gong is being assigned to preside at this groundbreaking also involves a personal connection.

Additionally, above and beyond that, although Elder D. Todd Christofferson had been originally assigned to preside at the Alabang Philippines Temple groundbreaking when it was to take place in early May, when those plans fell through, the Church has had a season of groundbreakings done by either area presidents or area seventies thus far this year.  So that means that these temples will be the first this year to have groundbreakings at which a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will have presided.

Aside from these notes, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those 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.

POSSIBLE BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Annexation of Church-Owned Land May Eliminate Possible Dealys for the Tooele Valley Utah Temple

Hello again, everyone! As some of you may recall, I had recently reported on how citizens in the Tooele Valley who objected to the residential development as planned to surround the Toeele Valley Utah Temple, but who did not necessarily object to the temple itself, were gathering signatures for a possible referendum on the matter for the ballot, which would have potentially delayed the construction process beginning on that temple for as much as a year or more. Today, I have an update to provide on that situation.The Tooele Transcript Bulletin published a new article yesterday on the Church's efforts to strike a compromise in the matter. 

The Church owns additional land in Grantsville, which is immediately adjacent to the planned spot for the temple in Erda. One week ago today, Grantsville approved a Church-sponsored request to annex 548.85 acres from Grantsville over to Erda.

With that request approved by Grantsville, barring any unexpected obstacles, that annexed land can then be used by the Church to spread out the residential development so it's not so compact. which means that, depending on how quickly the Church can submit revised plans for that development to the city of Erda, a groundbreaking could still occur within the next several months, if not more immediately than that. I'd like to accordingly note here that, with two Utah temples (Red Cliffs and Taylrsville) waiting in the wings for a groundbreaking announcement, depending on what happens with the Tooele Valley Utah Temple plans in the interim, there could be a scenario wherein any or all of those three temples could have their groundbreakings at any point between the already-scheduled groundbreakings for the Orem Utah and San Pedro Sula Honduras Temples (both of which are currently set to occur on Saturday September 5) and that of the Brasilia Brazil Temple (which is set to occur on Saturday September 26).

Of course, nothing is official until the Brethren make it so through official announcements, but given my first-hand knowledge of COVID-19 conditions here in Utah (since I monitor the daily reports that are given), the numbers here are trending downward to a degree that temple groundbreakings here in Utah won't need to be delayed in a similar manner to what we saw occur with the Alabang Philippines Temple earlier this year, and the announcement from earlier today relative to the delay for the Salta Argentina Temple's groundbreaking.And, as I have noted very recently as well, I have a feeling that the Lord will reward the efforts and good intentions of the Brethren in planning for 18 temple groundbreakings this year by opening a way for at least that many temples to have a groundbreaking, if not more. Time will tell in that respect.

In the meantime, 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 all 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.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Groundbreaking for Salta Argeinta Temple Delayed Due to COVID-19 Precautions

Hello again, everyone! Breaking temple news has just been reported. Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the First Presidency has rescheduled the groundbreaking for the Salta Argentina Temple. The groundbreaking, which had originally been scheduled to occur this Saturday, August 15, will now take place on Friday October 9, marking the second time this year the Church has rescheduled a previously-announced groundbreaking from a date on a Saturday to a date mid-week. The previous time this occurred was with the groundbreaking for the Alabang Philippines Temple, which had been originally set for Saturday May 2 but was rescheduled to occur on Thursday June 4, when government regulations would allow that to occur.

The scenario is probably similar for the reasoning behind the rescheduling of this temple's groundbreaking. Among other changes, this means that groundbreaking willl take place after the groundbreakings occur for the San Pedro Sula Honduras, Orem Utah, and Brasilia Brazil Temples. It is not yet clear how, if at all, the adjusted timing for this groundbreaking might impact its' anticipated completion. And that measn that the Salta Argentina Temple will become the ninth to have a groundbreaking this year, unlesss any other gjroundbreakings are scheduled to occur between now and then. Other than the date change and the possible resulting delay in the construction timetable, it appears the other arrangements (Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, a General Authority Seventy and President of the South America South Area, will preside, and in-person attendance will be limited due to COVID-19 precautionary measures) remain unchangedc.

I am grateful to have been able to find out about this report and to pass the information on to you all here. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those 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.

President Dallin H. Oaks Observes His 88th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! I am back in the early-morning hours of August 12 to pay tribute to the final apostle who has his birthday this month. President Dallin H. Oaks. He is observing his 87th birthday today. So let's dive right into this tribute post. Dallin Harris Oaks was born to Dr. Lloyd E. and Stella Harris Oaks in Provo, Utah, on this day in 1932. Included in his mother's ancestry is Martin Harris, who, as we know, was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. President Oaks' first name was given in honor of the last name of an artist with whom his mother had worked (as the model) for a statue in Springville Utah. His father was an ophthalmologist, and he died when young Dallin was age 7 from complications of tuberculosis.

Being the oldest child of his family, the death of his father gave him some unique opportunities to help his mother and to be an example to his younger siblings, which was one thing of which he has frequently spoken. After his father died, his mother was able to earn a graduate degree at Columbia University and support her family by working to provide adult education opportunities for those who needed it. She also went to be the first woman elected to Provo's City Council, and she also served for a time as assistant mayor. In the meantime, Elder Oaks attended Brigham Young High School, where he played football and became a certified radio engineer. Once he started attending BYU, he took many opportunities to be the radio announcer at high school games.

At one of those games, he was introduced to June Dixon, whom he would later date and subsequently marry. He was unable to serve as a full-time missionary because he was a member of the National Guard, and there was a possibility he could have been called up to serve during the Korean War. Dallin and June were married in 1952, and he graduated from BYU two years later with a degree in accounting. He went on to study law at the University of Chicago, graduating with his degree 3 years later. He spent the early part of his professional career clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court. After that, he practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis.

He left that job in 1961 to become a professor at Chicago Law, While in that capacity, he served as interim dean. During that same period of time, the University of Chicago was desperate to get Dr. Russell M. Nelson, a renowned heart surgeon, on their staff, and Professor Oaks was asked to represent the university in trying to convince Dr. Nelson to accept the offer. Although those efforts proved unsuccessful, that encounter resulted in lifelong friendships for the Nelsons and the Oaks. He also served on the foundational board of a Mormon thought periodical. He was also chairman of the university's disciplinary committee.

He took a leave of absence from the University while serving as legal counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He left the law school for good in 1971 when he was appointed the new president of BYU (for which many candidates, including Brother Nelson, were considered), a position he held for nine years. He then went on to serve for five years as chairman of the board of directors for PBS, and eight years as chairman of the board of directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. In 1980, he was appointed a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, an office he held for the next four years. He was rumored to have been considered by two US Presidents (Gerald Ford and later Ronald Regan) for a nomination to the US Supreme Court. He had made plans with his wife, June, to serve a mission after he had served on the Utah Supreme Court for a decade.

However, a surprise change in direction for him came in 1984. He was at a law conference fulfilling several judicial obligations when President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor to the ailing Church President, Spencer W. Kimball, tracked him down via phone call. The purpose of the call was to notify him that he'd been selected to become an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the time, there were two vacancies in the Quorum due to the deaths of Elders LeGrand Richards on January 11, 1983, and Mark E. Petersen exactly one year to the day later. Due to the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball, neither vacancy had been filled for over a year prior to April 1984. Elder Oaks became the junior apostle to Elder Russell M. Nelson, though the two were sustained in the same General Conference.

Although both were called at the same time, Elder Oaks was unable to be present at the General Conference at which the two were sustained. President Hinckley, in leading that sustaining, offered the following explanation: "With reference to Dallin Oaks, I should like to say that while we nominate and sustain him today, he will not be ordained to the apostleship, nor will he be set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, nor will he begin his apostolic service, until after he completes his present judicial commitments, which may require several weeks. He is absent from the city, and necessarily absent from the conference. We excuse him."

Elder Oaks was ordained an apostle just short of four weeks after being sustained, having been sustained on April 7 and being subsequently ordained to the apostleship on May 3. He had his first opportunity to respond to his apostolic call six months later, speaking on the importance of witnesses, within the context of his new assignment to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. He has now been an apostle for over 34 years, during which time he has filled a wide variety of assignments, and has had many opportunities to meet with and speak to Church members in various parts of the world. In addition to losing his father early on in his life, Elder Oaks also experienced the death of his wife June, who passed away in 1998.

Just over two years later, Elder Oaks married Kristen M. McMain, who has been by his side ever since. In 2002, he and Elder Holland were asked to be the first apostles in around 100 years to live on-location in two of the Church's geographical areas, with then-Elder Oaks being based in the Philippines, and Elder Holland being assigned to preside in Chile. With the death of President Thomas S. Monson in January 2018, Elder Oaks became the second most-senior apostle. With President Nelson becoming the new Church president, he felt impressed to call his apostolic seat-mate, to serve as First Counselor in the First Presidency. He was set apart in both that capacity and as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 14, 2018.

President Oaks has given a total of 82 addresses in General Conference, which includes 1 that was given during his service as BYU-Provo President. Interestingly enough, that address from the early 1970s is somehow not listed in the Church's repository webpage of his General Conference addresses), 68 as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and 13 (so far) as a member of the First Presidency.

He currently ranks as both the second most senior member and the second oldest member of the First Presidency, while he is the second in overall apostolic seniority, and the third oldest apostle who is currently serving. I am grateful to have been able to take the opportunity to share more about President Dallin H. Oaks on this, his 87th birthday. I testify that his apostolic call, along with the calls of all other apostles, has indeed been divinely directed and inspired, as has how and when they have each moved up in the ranks thereof.

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.

Tribute to Elder Neil L. Andersen, Who Marks His 69th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! With today being August 9, Elder Neil L. Andersen is celebrating his 69h birthday today. So I wanted to post and share some highlights of his life and ministry in the Church. Let's get right into all of that. Neil Linden Andersen was born in Logan, Utah on this day in 1951 to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen. His family relocated to Pocatello when he was five to run a dairy farm. He served a full-time mission in France, then obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, eventually earning his MBA from Harvard, also in economics. During his time at BYU, he met and married his wife, Kathy Sue Anderson, and together they raised four children. He spent his professional career working various jobs. At the pinnacle of his career, he was Vice President of the Morton Plant Health System. He has served in the Church as a stake president’s counselor, stake president and mission president (assigned to the France Bordeaux Mission) from 1989-1992. Less than a year after his return, he was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Interestingly, his call as a General Authority occurred in the same conference as that of his future apostolic seatmate, Elder D. Todd Christofferson.

Through the next couple of decades as a Seventy, he served in a wide variety of Church assignments, including as executive director of the church's Audiovisual Department, assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department, and in the presidencies of the following areas: Europe West ,Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and the Brazil South Area (during which time he also served as the area president). In 2005, Elder Andersen was called to the Presidency of the Seventy, where he was assigned to preside over the Idaho Area (from 2005-2007). By the time his stewardship switched to the North Am erica Southwest Area (2007-2009), he had gone from being the second-least senior member of that Presidency to being the third-most-senior member. In 2008, with Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in April) and the release of Senior President Elder Earl C. Tingey (in August, in preparation for his being granted emeritus status in the October General Conference), Elder Andersen then became the Senior President of the Seventy, a role in which he would only serve for around 8 months.

With the December 2008 death of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Elder Andersen was subsequently called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the April 2009 General Conference. An interesting bit of trivia is the fact that Elders Christofferson, Andersen, and Rasband were all seatmates in the Presidency of the Seventy as of August 2007, and they would all go on to be apostolic seatmates, with their apostolic calls occurring in April 2008, April 2009, and October 2015 respectively. Since Elder Andersen's original call as a General Authority Seventy in April 1993, he has given a total of 28 addresses in General Conference (3 of which he gave as a General Authority Seventy, with 2 others given while he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 23 since his call to the QuorIum of the Twelve Apostles).

Elder Andersen continues to serve as the seventh in both senirotiy and chronological birth order among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ranks tenth among the 15 total apostles in both seniority and birth chronology. I gladly sustain him and each of his 14 apostolic colleagues as prophets, seers, and revelators, and am grateful to have been able to publish this tribute in honor of his birthday today. 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: Documents About the Temple Construction Program of the Church

Hello again, everyone! Given the updates this week on the timing for the groundbreakings of the San Pedro Sula Honduras and Brasília Brazil Temples,  I knew I had to again revisit my previously-offered thoughts given in several temple files.  Although I had last done so just two weeks ago, things have vastly changed within that time. Without further ado, let’s get right into all of those updated files once again.

We start, as always, with the updated sections of my temple construction progress report. The second document this go-round is a new one that I just put together earlier today. It details some general observations about the Church’s progress on breaking ground for the 18 temples this year, as Elder David A. Bednar had outlined 4 months ago.during General Conference.

The next document details the probable timing for temple groundbreakings that will or could take place within the next year or so,. I have also updated my list of temples that could have a groundbreaking this year and next year.
Similarly, I have updated the documents showing the probable timing for all known temple events and the document showing some data about temples for which no official information has been announced yet. In the interim, with today (August 6) marking Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s 65th birthday, on Sunday, Elder Neil L. Andersen will observe his 69th, and on Wednesday of next week, President Dallin H. Oaks will be celebrating his 88th.Having said all of that, I continue to also monitor all Church news and temple developments, and will be sure to bring word of those 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.

BREKING TEMPLE NEWS: First Presidency Announces Groundbreaking for the Brasilia Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! Yesterday, we got the news of the groundbreaking for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple. Roughly 24 hours later, more breaking temple news has been reported. The groundbreaking for the Brasilia Brazil Temnple has been set. Brzil's newest temple will have its' groundbreaking on Saturday September 26. Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, who became the President of the Church's Brazil Area on August 1 of this year, will preside thereat.

With the rendering havng been released for that temple in February of this year, the size of this temple has already been specified as "a single-story temple of approximately 25,000 square feet", with plans for a new meetinghouse and paron housing being included with the temple. I threfore anticipate that the construction process will take between 2-3 years to complete. This groundbreaking will also mark the first time since May of last year that more than two temples have had a groundbreaking on any given month. Additionally, the Brasilia Brazil Temple groundbreaking will be both the tenth in Brazil and the nintth temple to have a groundbreaking in 2020. I am hopeful for one or two other grounct.Idbreaking announcements to come down the pike and be set for September or October, but we'll see what happens in that respect. In the meantime, this means I have additional updates to make on my many temple files. In the meantime, I continue to monitor all Church news updates and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all 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.

Happy Birthday to Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Who Is 65 Today

Hello again, everyone! In these mid-morning hours of August 6,2020, per my customary tradition, I wanted to go ahead and post a tribute to Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who is 65 years old as of today. Let's dive right into thuis birthday tribute. 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. From 2004-2007, he and his wife presided over 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, marking his third return to Japan as a representative of the Church. 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 personally. 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. His call to the apostleship marked the second time a current General Authority who had subsequently been called as Presiding Bishop was also eventually called to the apostleship. Previously, that had been the case with Elder Robert D. Hales, who was called as a General Authority in 1975, and as Presiding Bishop of the Church in 1985 before being called to the apostleship in 1994. Those two former Presiding Bishops of the Church would serve together in the apostleship for approximately two years before Elder Hales' passing on October 1, 2017.

2015 marked the first time since 1906 that the Church needed to fill more than two apostolic vacancies. 1906 that the Church had more than two apostolic vacancies to fill at the same time. In 1906, following the resignations of Matthias F. Cowley and John W. Taylor over the Church's repeal of the doctrine of plural marriage, and the death of another apostle, Marriner W. Merrill, the Church called George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, and David O. McKay, Of the three, Then-Elder McKay was the youngest, with Elder Whitney being the oldest, and Elder Richards fell in age between the two. This was an exception to the gneral rule that when more than one apostle was called on the same day, they are typically ordained in order from oldest to youngest. The three apostolic calls in 2015 saw a similar anomaly in that respect. Although Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund were all called to the apostleship on the same day of the week in the week prior to General Conference, Elder Rasband is the oldest, Elder Stevenson is the youngest, and Elder Renlund is in the middle of those three.

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 (another apostle with strong connections to Asia) 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 13 addresses in General Conference (1 as a General Authority Seventy, 2 as Presiding Bishop, and 10 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.