tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post4838019309945099038..comments2024-03-28T17:29:15.006-06:00Comments on Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church): Twelve Missions to Close, Four Missions to Open this July - AnalysisMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030323360917985701noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-85971565916598374972019-01-23T16:27:36.241-07:002019-01-23T16:27:36.241-07:00My parents building can not handle overlap not bec...My parents building can not handle overlap not because of building size but because the parking lot is too small to handle more than one congregation at once. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07776353426882099610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-15275608593388436762019-01-22T08:32:38.242-07:002019-01-22T08:32:38.242-07:00Sure, "smaller" versus "mini" ...Sure, "smaller" versus "mini" is a question that can be debated, but it does not compare to "Mormon" versus "member of Church of Jesus Christ".<br />The original complaint was against the word "tiny" which, agreed, does not capture an accurate description of a structure bigger than 5,000 square feet.<br />The ultimate measure of a temple for me is not square footage but functionalty. The Philly Temple is great but it cannot handle the traffic that is required while the DC and Raleigh temples are down.<br />And Philadelphia is not a smaller temple, but its limits are much more pronounced than what is done at Washington D.C.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-77833478465593896722019-01-19T17:29:54.916-07:002019-01-19T17:29:54.916-07:00There have also been lots of periods of time when ...There have also been lots of periods of time when Church members felt a temple will be built in a certain city, only to have that impression justified by a future official announcement, which will likely also continue to be the case. The Lord is seeing the faith of members worldwide and the way they sacrifice to reach the temple, and is rewarding them for their diligence in that respect, which will also continue to be the case.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-19314374222032306462019-01-19T17:27:52.794-07:002019-01-19T17:27:52.794-07:00Better to use the term "smaller" rather ...Better to use the term "smaller" rather than "mini", since that was the term President Hinckley used in making the announcement. 5,000-some-odd feet cannot be considered mini. President Hinckley focused on smaller temples in remote areas, President Monson focused his temple plans on having each member within 200 miles of a temple, and President Nelson seems to be moving towards using both metrics. So I think that is additional verification that something big is coming down the pike in the future, whether or not the specific extent of those plans is ever outlined officially by him. And many of the temples announced in recent years have been for nations which have been on previous versions of Matt's list of the top 10 nations with the strongest Church presence that do not have a temple in any phase. All of that will continue, of which I have no doubt.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-89422520703003285952019-01-17T19:54:40.841-07:002019-01-17T19:54:40.841-07:00It's pretty cool that we can compare huge grow...It's pretty cool that we can compare huge growth spurts of temples in most of our recent memories.<br />I remember being at that general conference when the mini- temples were first announced. I was hoping that Concepcion would get a temple, as usual, and I was excited to hear that the temple placements were going to the people.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-61811969378090393262019-01-17T14:08:22.405-07:002019-01-17T14:08:22.405-07:00Most buildings are set up to handle multiple wards...Most buildings are set up to handle multiple wards with a three hour block so the transition to the two-hour plan only made things easier, with a half hour between when one ward finishes and another starts while a third is halfway through. One scenario has them going at 9am, 1030am, and noon. <br /><br />But a few older buildings it is not that simple. At 900 West and 100 North, Provo is a rather old building that can only run one ward at a time. The two-hour plan does make that simpler though, the second ward can run earlier. Two YSA wards use that now.James Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12831340842937216806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-44393030947444608772019-01-17T04:01:30.645-07:002019-01-17T04:01:30.645-07:00The aim is also to clear out buildings much earlie...The aim is also to clear out buildings much earlier on in the day. I have mentioned before that the Church building to which my ward is assigned is on the smaller side. So only two wards have met in our building during the almost 3.5 years since we moved to this area. The time for the two Church blocks, up through the end of last year, was 9:00 AM for the first, and 1:00 PM for the second. Starting this year, whichever ward has the latest time will now meet at 11:30 AM, which means that the last Church block will be over in the early afternoon hours. I gather that this will enable building resources (primarily electric and utilities) to be conserved in a very practical way.<br /><br />But we have also been told that the aim in everything the Church does should be with a view of enabling measures which are more geared towards salvation (which we have been told is a personal matter) and exaltation (which, as we've been instructed, is a family matter). The shorter schedule and new resources should enable all of us to increase family unity and spirituality, and focus more fully on making the Sabbath a delight.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-43772095370705384362019-01-16T22:19:19.663-07:002019-01-16T22:19:19.663-07:00One of the Draper Stakes in actually in Utah count...One of the Draper Stakes in actually in Utah county. I don't remember which one. It was split off from a Alpine Utah Stake a few years back.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-68208762430517806122019-01-16T22:16:15.761-07:002019-01-16T22:16:15.761-07:00My impression is that the push is to have church a...My impression is that the push is to have church as early as possible and use the rest of the day for religious study. This indicates to me the brethren do not want to use the new schedule as a reason to delay new buildings. It may mean in some places wards will be split sooner where in the past a new building would have been waited on, but I am not even convinced of that. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-74770987456994638242019-01-16T22:11:54.867-07:002019-01-16T22:11:54.867-07:00In my mission we would generally leave Church afte...In my mission we would generally leave Church after the second hour if we did not have any investigators there. We also often covered two wards, so we would be in Church 4 hours a Sunday even that way. When we covered just one ward we would normally stay the whole 3 hours.<br /><br />I personally like that we no longer shunt investigators and new converts off in a seperate class. That system made intergrating new converts into the Church difficult. The new system will call on them to prepare more, but as done Gospel Principals was not really preparing some at all for understanding in the Church.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-65684139155302785792019-01-15T07:53:53.547-07:002019-01-15T07:53:53.547-07:00Funny that of the twelve missions closing, one was...Funny that of the twelve missions closing, one was my brother's (Macon, Georgia) and another was my brother-in-law's (Utica, New York). In fact, this will be the second time since he served (2002 to 2004) that the Georgia Macon mission has been dissolved. I don't know if the same is true for Utica. Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-5956776743067941482019-01-15T07:09:22.647-07:002019-01-15T07:09:22.647-07:00In case anyone is interested in the mew mission bo...In case anyone is interested in the mew mission boundaries due to the closing of the Florida Tallahassee an Georgia Macon missions:<br /><br />https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10216740169791840&set=gm.10156801859374654&type=3&theater&ifg=1<br /><br />Tallahassee and Panama City Stakes will be joining the Florida Jacksonville Mission, and the rest of the stakes from Tallahassee will go to Alabama Birmingham. Jacksonville is also absorbing most of the stakes from Georgia Macon.The Shradershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08502928107838242129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-54482639326828024382019-01-14T23:52:01.648-07:002019-01-14T23:52:01.648-07:00Also, Frederick, you are correct that Daggett and ...Also, Frederick, you are correct that Daggett and Piute are the two counties here in Utah which do not have a stake. That is confirmed via the web page below:<br /><br />http://mormon.wikia.com/wiki/Utah_List_of_Stakes_of_the_ChurchJames G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-81358318020115611892019-01-14T20:39:48.205-07:002019-01-14T20:39:48.205-07:00phxmars: If you look at the news release again, it...phxmars: If you look at the news release again, it actually says that the temple will be built at 123 Calle Ronda Urb Villa Andalucía in the Trujillo Alto area of San Juan, and that the meetinghouse that will be adjacent to it will be built as part of the construction process. There is no meetinghouse currently at that location. But it is very common for the Church to find sufficient land on which to build both a temple and an adjacent meetinghouse. Some have compared the size of this Puerto Rico Temple to the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, which could mean it might be constructed more quickly than the 2-year period the Church offered in the release, but I am not so sure about that. Until something more definitive is mentioned, all we do know is the address and what the exterior will look like, that there will be an adjacent meetinghouse, and that construction will be under way on that temple later this year.<br /><br />But perhaps if most of the temples President Nelson announced last year are on the smaller side of the scale, we may see quite a few of them built and dedicated relatively quickly. I imagine that Puerto Rico's status as a US territory has helped accelerate the approval process. In addition to the already-scheduled groundbreakings for the Urdaneta Philippines and Bangkok Thailand Temples (which will both occur within the next two weeks), we know that ground will be broken at some point this year for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple and the Pocatello Idaho Temple.<br /><br />I also found out that the fence recently installed around the Brasilia Brazil Temple is a property fence rather than a construction fence, which means that the groundbreaking for that temple may not be as imminent as any of us recently thought. We do know, however, that the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple is in the government approval phase, so I imagine we will see a groundbreaking for that one later this year as well. And as Elder Andersen told the Vice President of Zimbabwe, the Church plans to break ground for the Harare temple in late 2019. It will be interesting for sure to see which other temples will see construction begin this year.<br /><br />In the meantime, the Church News and the Newsroom on lds.org have released extensive coverage on the Rome Italy Temple, for which media and VIP tours began earlier today. There is and will be a lot to look forward to in terms of temple developments later this year, and I can't wait to see what's next.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-56982599402340337332019-01-14T11:47:26.054-07:002019-01-14T11:47:26.054-07:00For taking the gospel to all nations - Name the tw...For taking the gospel to all nations - Name the two counties in the state of Utah that do not have an organized LDS stake or district. Do they have any church units?<br /><br />|My guess is Paiute and Daggett Counties. I have no idea if they have church units. I presume they do. I just know that both counties are extremely small. Fredrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00877765826416836325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-9008898855914625562019-01-14T08:48:22.428-07:002019-01-14T08:48:22.428-07:00Th San Juan temple will be on or near the Trujillo...Th San Juan temple will be on or near the Trujillo Alto Chapel. That is the address that was on the announcement. phxmarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10279036728548934651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-75653019055434490982019-01-13T15:21:49.152-07:002019-01-13T15:21:49.152-07:00Thank you, Eduardo. It is interesting to observe t...Thank you, Eduardo. It is interesting to observe the degrees to which people in leadership positions do or do not have sufficient sensitivity to those with great difficulties. I have been in wards where the leadership was fully aware of such individuals, but I have also been in wards where the outreach and understanding is severely lacking for those who are struggling a lot. I have often thought that it is easy for any of us (myself included) to see what is and is not working in terms of our individual congregations and to think about how we might do differently than that, if given the chance. <br /><br />But it is also true that only the Lord knows the circumstances of each individual member and the leaders who have stewardship over them. I am glad He will be the one judging such individuals and situations. Interesting to hear about the pilot Church block in Chile in 2005. My thanks to you also, Eduardo, for your well wishes. Trials persist for me personally, and for my wife, but there is a lot of truth in the phrase: "Trials make our faith grow stronger." <br /><br />However, that does come with a caveat: That can only happen if we allow it to. I have unfortunately seen far too many who throw in the towel when the difficulties in their own lives become too severe for them to handle, and as a result, choose to abandon their faith instead of using those circumstances as a way to strengthen their faith. And that's always hard to watch. That said, hopefully things are starting to look up. Progress is slow, but remains steady. Thanks again. James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-90070680042955939182019-01-13T05:10:21.135-07:002019-01-13T05:10:21.135-07:00Barbara Geddes if you wish to look her up. Inciden...Barbara Geddes if you wish to look her up. Incidentally, two childhood friends to possibly look up: Jacob Smith at Northwestern and Joseph Hill in Alberta.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-82654989732298589902019-01-13T05:07:54.280-07:002019-01-13T05:07:54.280-07:00No worries, James. No offense taken. My main wish ...No worries, James. No offense taken. My main wish is that people, especially our Church leaders making policy decisions, think of those with difficulties and try to ameliorate problems. Maybe blogging about it helps? I wonder how it may be in other countries. Each region has its own issues.<br />Incidentally, I attended the 2 hour 10 minute pilot block in Chile back in 2005. That was after Elder Holland had been there for two years.<br />I wonder how many chapels he attended in uncomfortable conditions.<br />Definitely empathize with your discomfort James; I admire your faith, verve, and tenacity, and pray you more health and ease of difficulties.<br />I don't mind loquaciousness as long ad there is substance, or as my UCLA professor would say, "there is 'there' there."<br />Happy Sabbath.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-91445950502974930272019-01-12T21:54:45.205-07:002019-01-12T21:54:45.205-07:00I can think of half a dozen others (at minimum) wh...I can think of half a dozen others (at minimum) which will likely also have a groundbreaking within the next year or two. Particularly if sites are confirmed soon after the temple is announced (as was the case for the Salta and Mendoza Argentina Temples), that speeds things up as well. Many other temples have had a likely or definitive site confirmed. We are likely entering an era when the wait between announcement and groundbreaking for the temples announced by President Nelson is closer to one year than 2-3 years. We may even revert back to the Hinckley-years practice of announcing, constructing, and dedicating a temple can occur in the period of a year or less. If that turns out to be the case, we are sure to see many more temples dedicated in the coming years, perhaps as many or more than were dedicated in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It will be awesome to see it all unfold.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-64344897996343997812019-01-12T20:55:31.817-07:002019-01-12T20:55:31.817-07:00Back when the Richmond Virginia Temple was announc...Back when the Richmond Virginia Temple was announced, one of the of the many excited comments on my mission's Facebook page (I served in Virginia) mentioned that they had a friend or someone they knew who worked in the temple department that knew a temple would be announced there several months beforehand. Based on that, I would suspect it is possible that in some (or maybe most) cases temples are being planned well before they are officially announced. That would make sense since there are many temples that have been announced between sessions of conference or in the case of the Paris France Temple, the local media broke the news of the plan to build the temple before the Church officially announced it. <br /><br />The site for the San Juan Temple is also located next to an existing chapel and a building that housed the offices for both the local mission and the Caribbean Area. So having an existing site to work with certainly helps in speeding up the process to get the temple built. <br /><br />Whatever the case is, it is certainly exciting news! Makes me wonder if we may see some of the other temples announced in 2018 have a rendering released and possible groundbreaking this year. Urdaneta has its groundbreaking this Wednesday and Bangkok follows 10 days later. Both Pocatello and now San Juan are anticipated to have a groundbreaking sometime this year. A construction fence is now up around the site for the Brasília temple and, according to a Newsroom article, Elder Anderson mentioned in a meeting with the Vice President of Zimbabwe that the temple in Harare is expected to begin later this year. So that is at least 6 temples which could have a groundbreaking this year. Eric S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10166885374836645257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-45851072330761763622019-01-12T20:34:56.940-07:002019-01-12T20:34:56.940-07:00Eduardo, I had no idea that you were speaking of t...Eduardo, I had no idea that you were speaking of the discomfort of meeting conditions, and not what is expected of Church members when they are not in Church. Although I do not have first-hand experience in the matter of meeting in uncomfortable conditions such as what you described, my mother's family, during their time in South Africa, met in many locations, and in one of those, they had to come in early (which entailed an arduous journey one-way) and sweep out beer bottles from the partying in one venue before it was fit for their branch to meet in. My sister and her husband, who lived on the island of St. Kitts and Nevis while my brother-in-law attended medical school, constituted most of the membership of the local branch, which also had to meet many times in less-than-ideal conditions. I have heard reports of many missionary friends of mine that talk about uncomfortable meeting conditions as well. And I have indirect personal experience with a degree of discomfort in meeting conditions. I have spent many Sundays lying in a hospital bed, and having the Sacrament administered to me in my hospital room. My latest such experience occurred in mid-November, during which time I was hooked up to quite a bit of equipment, and had to push past my discomfort and the pain to focus on the ordinance of the Sacrament. Had I known that was the context of your comment, my reply would have been markedly different. I apologize for mistaking what you meant. For anyone else offended by anything I have said, I apologize to you all as well. Any one of you can feel free to bypass any of my comments which, according to the most recent comment by "Anonymous", would fall under the textbook definition of "not concise." Brevity is not my strong suit. Again, my apologies to you all, and to you especially, Eduardo, for any offense I have given.James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-87928295246487854132019-01-12T19:23:35.680-07:002019-01-12T19:23:35.680-07:00(Sorry, not finally). Many people can blame teachi...(Sorry, not finally). Many people can blame teaching and baptizing policies that were too hasty or unsure in the mass conversion of Chileans until the 2000s. But I am pretty sure that cold, wet winters of Chile combined with little proper church heating had a bit to do with many people not attending and falling away.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-9811973016586135532019-01-12T19:13:50.992-07:002019-01-12T19:13:50.992-07:00Finally, who here has ever attended church service...Finally, who here has ever attended church services in sub 50, sub 40 degrees for an hour, two hours, three hours? If you did I think you would remember it it especially with elderly, infirm, youth and disabled with you.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-67794105069186757192019-01-12T19:05:28.472-07:002019-01-12T19:05:28.472-07:00Or in other words, James, it was really demanding ...Or in other words, James, it was really demanding to expect thousands of Chileans to sit in unheated pews and cold rooms, often after arriving wet and tired from walking (no cars, little transportation due to cost). It was phyically difficult to go to and be at church, especially in the winter.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.com