The Church reinstated the Kuopio Finland District in a special conference held on January 12th, 2020. Plans to reinstate the district, which was previously discontinued in 2006, were in the works for more than one year. The original Kuopio Finland District was organized prior to 1980. The reinstated district has four branches within its boundaries (Joensuu, Kuopio, Mikkeli, and Savonlinna - three of which were mission branches previously) and a full district president comprised of local Finnish members. A total of 260 attended the special conference to reinstate the district - approximately 100 more people than average sacrament meeting attendance for the four branches five years ago. Active members moving to Kuopio and recent convert baptisms have appeared primarily responsible for the increase in active membership. More information on the district organization can be found here. More information about the Church in Finland can be found here.
There are now two stakes and three districts in Finland.
71 comments:
Great news about the reinstated district.
The church has also just announced the location and rendering for the Bengaluru India Temple.
https://www.mormonnewsroom.in/article/location-rendering-bengaluru-india-temple
To build on what Eric shared above, I did a post covering that news on my blog not long after the news was first released. That brings the total of temples for which a groundbreaking is pending (with an official announcement expected at some point within the next 6 months or so) to 6, with 6 others that have had preliminary details announced, and more official details will hopefully be announced for up to 7 others in the near future. There are a total of 19 temples that could have a groundbreaking within the next 9-15 months, if all goes well. So it is going to be a busy year, I am sure, for the Church in that respect. With my thanks to Matt for continuing to allow me to do so, I am again posting the web address for my blog with this comment. Thanks. And by the way, Matt, thanks also for this report as well., Awesome news all around!
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/
Looks somewhat like the rendering of the Babcock Thailand temple with some modifications.
L. Chris Jones, I assume you meant "Bangkok". I hate auto-correct and the way it affects some of the content I share on my devices. It appears that these two temples, along with the Phnom Pehn Cambodia Temple, all have similar elements in design:
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/bangkok-thailand-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/bengaluru-india-temple/
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/phnom-penh-cambodia-temple/
There is also, of course, a difference in sizes. And that's a very good thing. I personally will be interested to see if either or both the Cambodia and India Temples might be built and/or dedicated before construction wraps up on the Bangkok Thailand Temple. And hopefully because the queue of Asian temples has been cleared (with the exception of the Okinawa Japan Temple, which is in the Asia North Area), other Asian temples will be coming down the pipeline in the next couple of years. It will be interesting to see how all of that works out.
Good to see for the Finnish saints.
38,670-square-foot is a lot more sizable than I anticipated for the Bengaluru Temple, and shows the confidence the Brethren have for future growth of the Church in India. There will probably be six ordinance rooms to technically allow running sessions every half hour or so. Which, indeed, has me wondering if the Church will be able to finally dedicate more missionary resources to India. Who knows. I think the sheer size and population of the country should make it a quite fertile ground for missionary work once more visa are granted.
Also, great news for Finland! From everything I've heard from my contacts there, things seem to really be looking up for the Church in that country.
As far as India, hopefully more native citizens may serve missions within the country. It seems the government limits missionary/religious visas to all non-Indian citizens?
If it were not for China, Islamic nations and turmoil within religiously oppressive countries, our missionary forces would be vastly undersourced. For every elder and sister who served, there ought to be another one, at least. I can think of many people who came up short on this, including couples.
@Pascal
I was glad to see the India Temple was larger than I expected, as well. More like Thailand.
I hope they can squeeze 6 ordinance rooms in, but I'd be surprised if there were even 4. Plenty of opportunity to build more Indian temples in the coming years.
Does anyone have time to listen to the Philippines Area broadcast? It was posted at the end of December. I was wondering if it contains any information on Church growth or statistics quoted in it. Thanks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IenrdOu-Cqw&feature=youtu.be
In addition to saints from India, the temple will no doubt also serve saints (and corresponding growth potential) from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which probably was another factor in determining the temple's size
As well as saints from (part of) the Middle East
I would be surprised if Pakistan were included in the Bangalore temple district. Currently Pakistan is assigned to the Manila temple and India to the Hong Kong temple. While the India New Delhi Mission does include Pakistan, in many respects it functions as two missions that happen to share a mission president. The mission president does visit Pakistan to train missionaries and district leadership as often as possible, sometimes accompanied by foreign elders (for training only, not for proselyting), but because of difficulties in citizens of those two countries obtaining visas to visit the other country it is rare that a native Indian elder is able too accompany the mission president (the only time that I am aware of was over a decade ago). The geopolitics between the two countries make it quite likely that the Pakistani members will continue to be assigned to the Manila temple district (or perhaps the Bangkok district when that temple is completed).
It will be interesting to see if parts of the Middle East are assigned to the Bangalore temple or continue following the patter thus far of assignments to European temple districts.
The case of Pakistan saints not being able to go to India will hopefully get fixed with a temple in the Persian Gulf, probably the United Arab Emirates. Then, of course, there is the possibility that a temple in Pakistan gets built. A temple in the U.A.E. seems far more likely for the time being, I believe. My hope is both Pakistan and The Gulf get a temple soon.
I'm thinking the temple is going to be significantly bigger because India is going to be more receptive in very short order.
Also to consider are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Middle East. I honestly don't think Pakistan gets included in the district because relations are not at their best with India right now, especially with a president there that is increasing stoking up Hindu nationalism at the expense of Muslims (though not at the expense of other faiths, yet).
The midle section of that Philippines broadcast outlines a new and significant program to reach families with only some in that family in the church. Was discussed between the area presidency and the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. Over the years there have been efforts but this one just might do more in a hopefully accelerated way.
The temple's size doesn't surprise me as much as the fact that it was announced at all. It will cover a vast geographical area, yes, but very, very few members within that area will be anywhere near close enough to attend with any frequency. We talk about trying to get members within two hundred miles of a temple, but none of India's four stakes are even within two hundred miles of *each other*.
I'm not an expert on India-Pakistan relations but I believe they're somewhat comparable to the level of animosity between the US and Russia a few decades ago, nuclear arms race and all.
@Pascal
Both the Rome and Paris Temple are larger but only have one (1 room first part of endowment and 1 room for the second part) ordinance room.
So i doubt there will be more than 2 ordinance rooms int the India temple.
Most of the temples in the Church that are between 34,000-42,000 square feet in size have two ordinances rooms. I think it will either have two small (stationary) endowment rooms or a two-stage progressive setup. Just my guess.
The Bengaluru temple will have almost exactly the same square footage as the Vernal temple, which as I have pointed out is the 3rd smallest in Utah, after Monticello and Brigham City. In the case of Vernal, the temple is rather narrow and built on 3 floors, having been built in the shell of an existing building, the Uintah Tabernacle. The middle floor has a two-stage endowment leading to the celestial room, which is all there is on the floor. (On a side note, I read somewhere that the two-stage progressive endowment was an adaptation originally made for Vernal. I'm not sure if that's correct and don't remember the source.)
I have also been to the Fort Collins temple, which is not a whole lot bigger in floor space. It seemed a lot more spacious, but being all on one floor, some of that was probably higher ceilings and wider halls.
The other temple closest in square footage to what Bengaluru will be is the one in Tucson, but there are several others that are close. (My information about temple dimensions is from Rick's site, churchofjesuschristtemples.org. If you go to this page and click on Square Footage, you will get a sorted list: https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/dimensions/)
The image for Bengaluru looks more square than Vernal but definitely seems like it will be a multi-floor temple.
Given the small footprint, Bengaluru will have at least four above-ground levels, you can see about how many in the rendering based on the entrance and the window openings seen on the front. I expect the baptistry to be near the entrance to one side just below and the rest of the basement to be mechanical systems
That's an interesting overview -- thanks for sharing!
Our own temple in Frankfurt has four ordinance and four sealing rooms, at just under 33,000 sqft. I guess the 10,000 sqft per ordinance room that I always went with doesn't hold up for most temples.
Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency announced this morning some minor adjustments to ceremonial clothing worn in the temple. The official statement and a letter about the changes, which includes a list of FAQs members might have about these adjustments:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-ceremonial-clothing-adjustments-2020
And for anyone who would like to read my take on this development, and on others I have covered recently in new posts or in the comments of previous posts, you can do so at the following web address:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/
My thanks once again to Matt for allowing me to share such updates here, and to all of you for the contributions you make to my understanding of subjects we discuss here.
Bangladesh too. That puts the served population at over 1.8 billion.
Do not forget Nepal. The temple will be the only one in south Asia and also cover part of south-east Asia.
Thus non-Muslims coming from Pakistan to India are in a different situation. So Pakistan keeping out Indians does not necessarily mean the later.
On the other hand Hindu nationalists have no inherent love for Christians. It is because of that feeling in part we have so few missionaries in India.
Actually some statements recently may indicate that President Nelson has a goal lower than 200 miles. He did say he was inspired to announce the Bangalaru temple the night before he did.
Well, there are enough unknowns that I have no actual prediction. It will be interesting to see what size Lagos Temple is.
If it dwarfs Aba, which it almost certainly will, we will have the smaller temple nearer the much larger number of members. Although that is currently the case in Peru.
I see the that the church changed the LDS Map features. No More right clicking on the map to see all the wards and the google image.
Boo!
Just as a curious sidenote, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has announced his ambitious plans for 30 years from now in 2050, yesterday.
https://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-drops-details-for-spacexs-million-person-mars-mega-colony/
We may need to open a Martian Mission in a few years?
Any opinions?
I think that once humans have been established on Mars, travel would dictate that any evangelizers should be contained there. Too long and far to do fulltime missions from Earth to there and back.
Chris, it's an interesting thought, but I doubt that will occur. First of all, the whole "colonization of Mars" idea has been floating around for at least the last 1.5 decades (from the time when I was in junior high and high school), and none of the plans proposed within that time have come to fruition. And in the unlikely event that a colonization of Mars does happen in my lifetime (which, though I'm not a man of great sciene or astronomological knowledge or understanding, seems highly improbable), I don't see a scenario where the Church would ever look at establishing a formal presence on the planet, at least not until after the Savior's return. I say that for three reasons: First, I fully believe that the gospel will need to go to all nations of this world before the Church ever considers trying to establish a presence on other planets. Secondly, the efforts that would be required to train and transport a sufficient missionary force via space, and the journey itself, would yield precious little time to actually effectively do anything as far as missionary work on another planet, unless a typical 2-year call is at least doubled in length. Mind you, this opinion is only given based on a limited understanding of science in general, and space in particular, combined with a more specific knowledge about the Church's missionary efforts and the ways new fields of labor are established in the Church. This is no more and no less than my own opinion here, which anyone who reads it can take or leave as they may choose to do so.
It's been a while since I've done this, but I had a minute this morning to take a closer look at units in the Philippines. A part of the world I'm distinctly not familiar with. But to me, it looks like there would be at least 18 districts or so that should become stakes very soon, in addition to those that have matured in the last two years or so. In some cases, I really have no idea what is holding them back (it may just be numbers of Priesthood holders). In either case, 2020 should definitely be a good year for stake creation.
Most east Asian countries have really high tobacco rates. I would wager that there would be a million more Filipino priesthood holders if it were not for the requirements of no smoking. Not to say that there are not a few priesthood holders who may have their occasional cigarrette in Phillipines or Taiwan, whatever, but I think that also alcohol prevents more women in countries the world over from joining in. Not to mention coffee and tea, which millions of people dismiss out of hand as absurd and extreme...These standards and demands are difficult expectations for many, many.
But, the work moves on. And we are better for it.
I say if they wanna go to Mars, let 'em.
The Martian Jehovah's Witnesses and Martian Seventh Day Adventists will beat us there, anyway. Just like they did to India, Africa and practically everywhere else.
I have decided that I will put Ikot Eyo on my list of temple predictions. That is the place where the line of people getting baptized that an oft repeated picture of is from. Back in 2004 the local bishop got a monument put at the cite. Sister Pingree also mentioned the faithfulness in getting temple recommends by people in Ikot Eyo back in the 1990s when the nearest temple was 3000 miles away. I know it is only 63 miles from Aba, but Akwa Ibom state alone has 11 or more stakes, and that would leave 15 stakes with Aba Temple even if Benin City gets one. Also 63 miles is nothing to sneeze at with few cars and mud roads.
In her talk today at my branch the temple matron told of her families 1964 journey to be sealed in the temple. They came from Arlington, Virginia and camp on their way to the Salt Lake Temple. However it was closed for cleaning so they went to Logan instead. My first reaction was that means passing 3 other temples today. Oh how things have changed.
An interesting video on the state of affairs in Kazahkstan, and why a foreign church (such as ours) trying to make inroads there during this current political climate may be difficult.
https://youtu.be/hZ310om9JCY
I have a question regarding today's Church News article about the first 16 Biographies of the 2020 Mission Presidents called last week.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2020-01-19/new-mission-presidents-july-2020-171831
According to the biographies posted :
"Dale S. Cook, 58, and Kathleen A. Cook, four children, Tokyo 1st Ward, Tokyo Japan South Stake: Japan Tokyo North Mission, succeeding President Osamu Sekiguchi and Sister Takako Sekiguchi."
but according to my research and records, Pres. Cook is succeeding "Pres. JON ROSS KIMO ESPLIN", according this article posted in 25 May 2018 :
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/2018-mission-presidents-called-to-serve-in-australia-cambodia-japan-and-more?lang=eng
Was Pres. Kimo Esplin reassigned this last year to another assignment instead?
The old Japan Tokyo Mission was renamed Tokyo North last year with the consolidations.
Chris, I am not quite sure what to make of the sources I am finding. I consulted the website Lifey, and found the following resources listing the associated mission presidents:
http://lifey.org/japan-tokyo-mission/#presidents
http://lifey.org/japan-tokyo-north-mission/#presidents (that one shows no updates in mission presidents since 2006, with information overlapping regarding the service of Henry J. Eyring from the previous source)
http://lifey.org/japan-tokyo-south-mission/#presidents
Above and beyond that, however, I found the following Church news article from late October of last year, which shows President Sekiguchi listed as the president of that mission:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2019-10-28/typhoon-hagibis-tokyo-asia-japan-lds-165590
But here's the interesting thing: With the noted release of President Warnick last year as president of Japan Tokyo South Mission, no replacement is listed. So if I had to venture a guess, I'd wager that Brother Kimo Esplin was transferred to that mision sometime within the last 18 months. I haven't found any sources to substantiate that, but that would be my guess. Of course, an internet search on Brother Kimo Esplin does show his residence in the Salt Lake Valley, and some sources on first apppearances imply that is his current residence. But until we hear otherwise, it's my assumption he is now 0residing over the other Tokyo Mission.
Thank you, James for your feedback. I had come to the same conclusion. Also, it may just be a church news writer/editor error in research. Pres. Dale Cook in biography is listed as residing in "Tokyo Japan South" Stake. And editor may have confused the North and South Mission Presidents being replaced.
Chris, based on your indication of what may have happened, I went back to the main list of 2020 Mission Leadership Assignments, and according to that information, President and Sister Cook are going to have oversight for the Japan Tokyo North Mission. So the most likely scenario is that it was not a misprint, since the assignments are identical between the two articles:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2020-01-19/new-mission-presidents-july-2020-171831
https://www.thechurchnews.com/mission-presidents
So I'd bet anything that President Kimo Esplin was reassigned to the other mission. Hope this additional information is likewise helpful.
Tokyo Japan South Stake is the English speaking stake in Japan if I remember correctly.
More interesting to me is that Isaac K. Morrison will be president of the South Carolina Columbia Mission. I didn't catch this at first, since Brother Morrison has a name that looks like he could be from the US, and his wife's name of Hannah gives us no clue either. However they are in fact from the greater Accra region, although Brother Morrison is originally from Takoradi, the largest city in Ghana's western region. At least as of 2 years ago when he was called as an area seventy he was the Area Naterials Management Manager for the Africa West Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a little at a loss as to exactly what such a job entails.
Both Brother and Sister Morrison served as missionaries in Nigeria. Brother Morrison in the Port Harcourt and Uyo Missions, thus having served where the Church was established, maybe even part of his time in Ekot Iyo where the photo of the hundreds lined up for baptisms comes from. Sister Morrison served in both the Lagosand Ibadan missions. Brother Morrison is 46 so he probably was a missionary about 1994. George and Anne Pingree presided over the Port Harcourt Mission from 1995-1998, so they may have had Morrison as one of their missionaries. Sister Pingree would later be in the relief society general presidency with Sister Parkin.
Some of me sees sending a black African as mission president to South Carolina as pretty bold. On the other hand South Carolina has a black senator, so this clearly is not 1964.
One of the new mission presidents was born in Turkmenistan. He will preside over the Russia Novosibirsk Mission. He was born in about 1977. That is Alexey V. Samaykin who currently lives in Moscow and is an area seventy. Brother Samaykin served his mission in the Rostov Mission. His wife who was born in Moscow served her mission in Seattle, Washington.
Then there is President Stratov called to preside over the Ukraine Kiev Mission. He is from Australia but his wife is from Russia. He served in the Finland Helsinki and Austria Vienna East Missions while his wife, whose last name is rendered Stratova, served in the Russia St. Petersburg Mission. 2 of the 16 couples comes from the Roswell Georgia Stake.
As I may have mentioned earlier, another interesting tidbit about Elder Samaykin is that he has also been serving as a member of the Europe East Area Presidency for the last couple of years, and is one of two current area seventies serving in an area presidency. The other is the Second Counselor in the Middle East/Africa North Area, and is the only member of that presidency who is living in the Middle East. The other two presidency members (both GA Seventies) administer that area from Church HQ. That aside, getting back to Elder Samaykin, he and Elder Morrison are two of a total of 7 current area seventies who have been called to serve as mission presidents.
Above and beyond that, I became aware of new information today regarding the second Manila Philippines temple. You can find the latest on that at the following web address:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2020/01/first-presidency-announces-adjustments.html?showComment=1579550838225#c6416473270623212434
And I have also provided further context elsewhere on my blog:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2020/01/revisited-updated-sections-of-my-temple.html
Once again, my continued thanks to Matt for allowing me to share such information here, and to all of you for all you do to contribute to my understanding of subjects we discuss on this thread.
Thanks for info on Manila X2, Jimbo!
No problem. Additional information and context from the Church temples site indicates that auditions are being held for the choir that will perform at the groundbreaking. Once those rehearsals begin, they are expected to be held for 3 months, so I'd put a more specific estimate for that temple's groundbreaking as being in early May at earliest. And given the fact that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Auckland New Zealand Temple is anticipated to be held before the end of summer in New Zealand, it looks like the groundbreaking for that temple will take place before the end of March. If all goes well, I could see at least 2, or perhaps 3, temples having a groundbreaking prior to General Conference. But that will depend on what happens between now and then.
I am particularly watching for updates on the following temples: Harare Zimbabwe, Nairobi Kenya, and Brasilia Brazil. For Harare, Elder Andersen told Zimbabwe's Vice President in November of 2018 that the Church hoped to break ground for that temple before the end of last year. That didn't happen, so hopefully it will soon. For Nairobi, a construction contract was awarded in the middle of last year, so that's another one to watch. And suspected concept designs have been reportedly floating around social media for the Brasilia Brazil Temple, so if the Church officially verifies them, there could be action taken there soon as well.
I should also mention that I hope to see the open house and dedication information released for the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple within the next 2 weeks or less, if all goes well. And given the many temple-related announcements that were made within the last year, I hope other announcements will similarly be coming down the pike. Hope this additional information is helpful.
Very excited to hear this for the members in Finland!
A few weeks ago, I read a news article reporting that the United Methodist Church will be proposing a split between the Church relating to the issue of same-sex marriage. It's predicted that a small number of conservative congregations will break away, primarily in the US and Africa. The UMC has 7,679,850 members in the US followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 6,681,829 members (LDS numbers came from the Newsroom site, UMC numbers came from the World Methodist Council). We will no doubt see a slight increase in members at General Conference. With the potential loss of members in the UMC, could the Church of Jesus Christ be poised to replace the UMC as the third-largest Christian denomination in the US?
Groundbreaking dates have been announced for the Richmond Virginia (April 11), Alabang Philippines (May 2- No rendering yet) and Layton Utah (May 30) Temples!
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/groundbreaking-dates-richmond-alabang-layton
St. George Utah Temple Renovation News with pictures and video: https://www.cedarcityutah.com/news/archive/2020/01/21/mgk-temple-demolition-draws-crowds-as-west-end-torn-down-as-part-of-renovation-project/?fbclid=IwAR1f8CCnbiKD-yqovbawdIaoJhTW9m3ndO1Xsv-83F2XwQhD4sWdEdLWbgs#.XitBOjhlA0M
Francesca, I think you're right. There will be some of the more conservative congregations in the US that will resist this movement, and the US membership of the UMC has been declining for several years. Most of the African congregations will certainly want to break away. The UMC has grown much more secular than in the days of its founders, John and Charles Wesley, who came to the US in 1736 to establish Methodism here. Charles Wesley composed several of our hymns, including "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "Jesus, Lover of My Soul."
Correction to my previous post. The Wesleys were ordained Deacons in the Church of England (for which their father was a cleric) and came to the colonies to spread the gospel. On the way, they met a group of Moravians who impressed them by their righteous behavior, and on returning to Britain in 1738 set up many congregations that met with their zeal. It wasn't until late in the 18th century that they formally broke with the Church of England. To say Charles Wesley was a prolific composer of hymns would be a huge understatement. In his lifetime he composed 6,500 hymns.
The believers in the efficacy of scripture continually win the policy votes in the UMC. This leads to a big question of why then are they the ones breaking off. The answer is that the seminaries and central administration is controlled by those who reject the normative power of scripture, and the believers in scripture do not want to fight the long conflict for assets as was seen in the Episcopal Church.
Same gender attraction and transgender identity issues seem to be establishing a wheat and chaff scenario throughout religions worlwide. Not to come across as mean or judgmental, but that appears as a reality in a world of modern "correct" versus historicity of religious norms and values.
My best friend, whose amazing testimony I leaned on many times during my own faith crises over the years, recently left the Church after her sister came out as gay. I don't mind saying that many of the people we're losing over this issue are not "chaff" or "tares" but some of our best and brightest, and the Church is worse off for their absence. They're not leaving because of political correctness. They're leaving because their understanding of love and compassion is inconsistent with a God who creates gay people and then tells them to ignore their most basic human feelings and choose to be alone and celibate until they die (which, contrary to what many straight people think, is NOT the same situation as straight people who are allowed to act on their feelings but don't manage to get married). Frankly I'm not okay with it either and haven't been for a long time but I stay because my testimony of the Book of Mormon and other principles is too strong. I know the Church can't change its doctrine on this but something desperately needs to be done to make a more comfortable space for LGBT people and those who love them. Apologies for the soapbox but this is very relevant to church growth since it has a very detrimental impact in Western nations and that's not going to slow down or reverse anytime soon.
Christopher, we had a speaker in Church recently who was very inspiring. He had not been to Church in 30 years until, in relocating to Cheyenne, Wyoming, a local Bishop met him and invited him to take a calling in the ward. He refused, but the Bishop was persistent. He finally accepted on the presumption he would do the work required and then leave immediately for home. Over time he became more and more involved in activity in the ward and he and his family were restored to full activity. That has been many years ago, and since them he has brought over 2 dozen of his own and his extended family back to Church, resulting in many mission calls and temple marriages. His talk was entitled "The cake is not baked yet." Your good friend is experiencing sadness because of her sister, but she should consider becoming an ally of the LGBT community. She should look into the organization known as "Mormons Building Bridges." This will help her achieve reconciliation and be of service to others. For her, "the cake is not baked yet."
Christopher, I can understand how profoundly the Church's stance on same-gender attraction can impact their perspective on and attitude towards the Church. I have mentioned previously in the threads of this blog that, in his teenage years, my brother gradually pulled away from the Church due to my parents' well-intentioned efforts to keep his life on track. He wound up getting married a couple of years after I did so. His wife is one whose brother deals with same-gender atraction, and who has since married his boyfriend. But because of my sister-in-law's firsthand experience of having the Church's stance on that and other issues directly impact her family in a negative way, as her relationship with my brother got more serious and resulted in marriage, my brother continued to pull away from the Church, and announced several years ago on Facebook that he was withdrawing his membership from the records of the Church.
Since such an issue has impacted my own family, I can see how, on the surface, the Church's seemingly-controversial stance related to those who struggle with same-gender attraction can be a point of contention that is uncomfortable for many, both inside and outside of the CHurch, to understand, appreciate, and support. But I am similarly grateful for the reminders Church leaders have given in recent years about the importance of the love of God versus the laws of God. At the forefront of those reminders most recently have been a BYU-Provo Devotional address given by our prophet, President RUssell M. Nelson and 2 General Conference addresses by President Dallin H. Oaks (from the October 2018 General Conference) :
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell-m-nelson/love-laws-god/
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stud/general-conference/2018/10/truth-and-the-plan?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/parents-and-children?lang=eng
In relation to those last two, in a Salt Lake Tribune editorial piece, David Noyce covered what he saw as the paradox between the tone and substance of the two addreswes in question:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/10/10/gehrke-dallin-oaks-hard/
It appears that the substance and tone of that opinion piece is based on common misconceptions about the Church's attitude towards those who struggle with same-gender attraction. Unfortunately, even with President Nelson's recent efforts in the aforementioned BYU devotional address, so many seem to misunderstand the Church's stance. Such misunderstrandings are all too common. The difficulty for most members, I believe, in relation to understanding the Church's position on that issue, is figuring out how to balance assertions that "the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" against the admonition to "hate the sin, but love the sinner."
But by the same token, the Church has, in recent years, taken steps to clear up and reconcile those misunderstandings. Those efforts have included the issuance of numerous official statements on the matter, policy adjustments, where prtactical, and increased efforts to clearly and respectfully explain the doctrine behind the Church's stance. I know of quite a few people with whom I went to high school that have since entered same-gender marriages. And on the other side of that coin, I know of several Church members who struggle with same-gender attraction, but for whom their testimonies of the gospel and an eternal perspective on the matter give them strength to continue to faithfully and fully participate in Church, to keep their testimonies brightly burning, and to recognize that, even if they don't know the reasons they have that struggle, someday, it will all make sense. And the same is true for many who do not properly understand the Church's stance, and who are thus adversely affected thereby.
With those Church members, their understandding and testimony of the gospel enables them to say, "I don't understand all the reasons for the Church's stance on this, but that's okay. Someday, it will make sense. And in the meantime, I'll do the best I can based on what I do know, and will leave the rest to the Lord." That kind of approach is something I'd heartily and without reserve recommend to anyone struggling with any aspect of Chruch doctrine, policy, or practice. For all such individuals, on any issue, the Spirit can and will say, as Elder Andersen put it, "You don't know everything, but you know enough." Sorry for this lengthy comment, but I hope the substance, tone, insights, and resources I have provided herein are helpful to you, Christopher, and to others who may be struggling with any issue relating to the Church, but particularly regarding the stance on same-gender attraction.
The next group of 16 Biographies of 2020 Mission Presidents called was posted to on the Desert News "Church News" website.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2020-01-26/16-new-mission-leaders-england-brazil-california-venezuela-mexico-temple-square-172497
Point well taken about wheat and chaff. Those who have a testimony, attend the temple, sacrament, try hard to be examples and servants, and are true Latter-day Saints are the wheat, no matter who they are attracted to or how they identify as a man, woman, asexual, or whatever.
However, the chaff part comes in when any of the above people, to include any heterosexual or monogamous person, who OPPOSE the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its doctrines due to their direct opposition to the commitments necessary for salvation and exaltation through Jesus Christ.
The Bible has it right. Wheat and tares are a true parable.
WE might be looking at wheat and tares too simplistically specifically, if you are with us, you are wheat (good), if you are against us, you are tares (bad). There are many (wheat) who are well intentioned and whose heart is in the right place but are being choked by the tares (philosophies of men).
God knows peoples hearts and will given everyone a chance to see the light and make a clear choice (like Saul, Alma, Cain, etc...) Those who are like Abraham, who must have really agonized about being commanded to sacrifice his son, show or find the faith to perservere till the end will receive the greatest prize, exaltation. Those that fall short can still receive celestial and terrestial glory depending on their level of faithfulness. Those that knowing reject and fight against will find the telestial kingdom or be a son of perdition.
Those who currently struggle or who have left the church are not yet lost. Some will fall into strange paths and some will see what they lost and came back. God is trying all of us to see if "we will do whatsoever the Lord commands." LGBT may be the current stumbling block, but there will be others that President Nelson warned we can overcome without "the constant guiding influence of the Holy Ghost." which can only be done through frequent scripture study, prayer, having questions taken to the Lord, and being faithful to follow where the Lord leads us (like Abraham.)
I think it is an interesting thing to note that in my associations, I am meeting more and more people who are openly part of the LGBT community (most of whom are acting on their attractions) who have chosen to stay involved with the church and have it be a part of their lives. I personally know at least 20 that match this description. I dont have any statement to give about their actions being right or wrong, but it does lead me to believe that as we strengthen the testimonies of our youth and help them to build personal conversion, even when faced with tremendous challenges like same-sex attraction, they will not be able to leave the truths they know or the hope that comes from the savior. In the past I have seen similar situations with active people who struggle with word of wisdom issues or dont pay tithing but still come to church. In all of these situations, it is important for us to welcome everyone to our meetings, invite all to feel the love of the savior and hear the message of the gospel, and give the person the space they need to deal with their own struggles without the added weight of our judgement.
Very well said, David.
I wonder how hetero-sexual and homo-sexual attraction is related to the fall.
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