tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post5256576247163541170..comments2024-03-29T00:47:42.684-06:00Comments on Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church): 2019 Statistical ReportMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030323360917985701noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-58950712947486233432020-04-06T03:46:59.879-06:002020-04-06T03:46:59.879-06:00Does anyone know how many of the 404 new congregat...Does anyone know how many of the 404 new congregations are from Africa? Does the 404 increase take into account the closure of some units?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17091888276463347332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-5980487186405974042020-04-06T02:39:02.231-06:002020-04-06T02:39:02.231-06:00"Not in My house!" is what Dikembe used ..."Not in My house!" is what Dikembe used to say, after he blocked a shot and wagged his finger at the fans. He's got the 4th most blocks in NBA history. Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-52608731839776906962020-04-06T02:16:17.207-06:002020-04-06T02:16:17.207-06:00Gnesileah, thanks for that correction on Brother L...Gnesileah, thanks for that correction on Brother Lund. I had wondered why his picture wasn't ringing any recognition bells for me, and since he is not the son of Gerald N. Lund, and was not a seminary teacher, that's not the same Steven Lund to whom I was referring. I guess I went by the name, not the picture. But it is funny how sometimes, one can come across two different individuals with the exact same name. Just goes to show that it really is a small world. I really should check my facts before asserting things in the future. I'll try to log that away and hope I can find the access button for it when I need it.<br /><br />James G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-23733618445632431492020-04-05T22:04:33.955-06:002020-04-05T22:04:33.955-06:00That second link is to the presentation by Brother...That second link is to the presentation by Brother Bradshaw, referred to earlier by John Pack Lambert.twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-88429049661227337652020-04-05T21:55:59.698-06:002020-04-05T21:55:59.698-06:00Elder Neil L. Andersen's remarks before the te...Elder Neil L. Andersen's remarks before the temple groundbreaking in Kinshasa refer to both Elder Mutombo and his father by name:<br /><br />https://africasoutheast.churchofjesuschrist.org/elder-andersens-talk-and-dedicatory-prayer-at-the-kinshasa-drc-temple-groundbreaking<br /><br />Looking at the wikipedia article for Dikembe Mutombo, they're not brothers but that's all I can find so far. <br /><br />Somehow I had never heard of Dikembe Mutombo (I like basketball but haven't followed the NBA that much throughout my life), but his name came up when I was trying to see what other information there might be on Elder Mutombo.<br /><br />Elder and Sister Mutombo's courtship is mentioned in pages 31-37 of this document about the Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:<br /><br />https://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Stories-of-the-Saints-FairMormon-Transcript-s.pdftwinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-10246548462666278212020-04-05T19:40:59.954-06:002020-04-05T19:40:59.954-06:00I wonder if he's related to Dikembe Mutombo, o...I wonder if he's related to Dikembe Mutombo, or if that's just a common last name where he's from? Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-72770525507854882802020-04-05T18:20:26.525-06:002020-04-05T18:20:26.525-06:00Gnes: Nuskin, right? Downtown Provo, maybe 7 floor...Gnes: Nuskin, right? Downtown Provo, maybe 7 floors high. I don't live near Utah so I don't care about advertising the name. I appreciate your discretion.<br />My dad is a former membership clerk in southern Indiana. He has made a few comments that administrators, maybe more stake officers than ward ones, that were lazy or inefficient at cleaning up membership records. These are not paid clergy, after all. But lazy, sure. Like all of us can be as ministering visitors, or members of the elders quorum not finding our missing, lost, or unknown people on the rolls within our ward boundaries. A lot of these people do not want to deal with any of it, and we call those DNCs, Do Not Contacts.<br />Keep serving and searching, all of us. Online and in person when appropriate.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-46698008192791221292020-04-05T16:37:55.612-06:002020-04-05T16:37:55.612-06:00I think "Mutombo" is the correct spellin...I think "Mutombo" is the correct spelling of his last name.twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-12020489294530719812020-04-05T16:37:26.210-06:002020-04-05T16:37:26.210-06:00I enjoyed your stories about interacting with the ...I enjoyed your stories about interacting with the Lund's, Gnesileah. Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-67666959628645286542020-04-05T16:33:53.939-06:002020-04-05T16:33:53.939-06:00Over the last few years, I have been noticing that...Over the last few years, I have been noticing that the new GA's are getting closer and closer to my age (I am 45). Elder Matumbo will be the first who is actually younger than me. (When I was younger, I thought it strange when GA's were called who were the age of my parents. Last year all the 70's who were my mom's age were given emeritus status.)twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-32249226399562527222020-04-05T15:04:43.866-06:002020-04-05T15:04:43.866-06:00Newly called general authorities began immediately...Newly called general authorities began immediately. I am not sure how soon a replacement will be appointed for him. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-17897323993088705462020-04-05T14:06:18.544-06:002020-04-05T14:06:18.544-06:00Brother Steven J. Lund was in my ward while I was ...Brother Steven J. Lund was in my ward while I was a youth (same ward that Sister Cheryl A. Esplin of the former Primary Presidency resided in too). He and his family are wonderful people. He is not the son of Elder Gerald N. Lund, although maybe they are related somehow. Steve's parents are Jay Norman and Toy Ellen Openshaw Lund. I remember how much the ward family came together when their youngest child, Tanner, was diagnosed with leukemia. My youngest brother was his friend, and when Tanner started chemotherapy and lost his hair, my brother, along with several other boys, shaved their heads too. Sadly, Tanner died after a three-year battle, in 1998, at the age of 12. [https://www.deseret.com/1998/3/1/19366667/death-tanner-christian-lund] I visit his grave whenever I visit Provo.<br /><br />Brother and Sister Lund were ward youth leaders, and once invited the ward youth to their cabin in Park City for an overnight ski trip. My friends and I hunted for a place to sleep, and we found this cool secret room inside their master bathroom, so we slept there (why we thought that was okay, I have no idea). In the morning, we crawled out of this secret room, and passed by Brother and Sister Lund who were standing outside the bedroom in the hallway. I shyly said, "Thanks for letting us sleep in your bathroom." Brother Lund sort of laughed, and I am not sure he even realized that we had been in there (I am sure he had to know -- we were just a bunch of noisy boys), and I have no idea where they slept. They might have slept in another house for all I know.<br /><br />A couple years later, after high school in 1998, I worked as a custodian at a "Utah-based cosmetics company", that at the time Brother Lund was VP of. When I was assigned to clean the top floor, which contained his office and the offices of the other two founders, Blake Roney (who was our ward bishop at the time, and has been serving as an Area Seventy since 2016) and Sandy Tillotson, I was very careful to try and do my best. Brother Lund's office had beautiful executive furniture and oriental rugs. The first time I was assigned to clean his office, I thought I had been told that he didn't want his rugs vacuumed, but he wanted the vacuum lines. So I removed the vacuum attachment and used it to make straight lines across all the rugs, carefully going around all the furniture. The next day, Brother Lund walked in and immediately called my boss, who then frantically called me and asked what I had done, that I should never vacuum the rugs, that it can damage the rug fibers. I told him what I had done and he laughed so hard. He relayed that back to Brother Lund, and they both had a good laugh about it. But I never made that mistake again. He also had a telescope in his office that looked east towards the Wasatch Mountains. One night during a full moon, I looked through it and saw the moon is such incredible detail. It was a spiritual experience for me that left me in awe. Later that night, I passed by a security guard and he asked me where I had been. With a smile on his face, he told me see the other guard in the security office on the 7th floor. I went there, and he just started laughing. I was so confused, until he he finally just told me to go look in the mirror. I had a black ring around my eye. Blake and Steve were always playing jokes on each other. Evidently, Blake had put black shoe polish on the telescope, and I paid the price. Or maybe it was meant for me all along, and I was being secretly recorded. I don't know.<br /><br />Brother Lund was mission president of the Georgia Atlanta Mission from 2003-2006, and an Area Seventy from 2009-2014. I am also really excited about both Ahmad Corbitt and Brad Wilcox -- both excellent choices!Gnesileahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757196258988210760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-90594410977495650172020-04-05T13:46:33.032-06:002020-04-05T13:46:33.032-06:00There was also a young man, Michael Nicholas, who ...There was also a young man, Michael Nicholas, who spoke in October 1982. The three young women, Kristin Banner, Fono Lavatai and Alejandra Hernández, spoke in the Young Women meeting in April (or March?) 1997.twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-52454473943700278302020-04-05T13:28:32.448-06:002020-04-05T13:28:32.448-06:00Terry Haws (who I once lived next door to at BYU) ...Terry Haws (who I once lived next door to at BYU) participated in his grandfather L. Tom Perry's priesthood session talk when he was 12.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15033416229070502669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-31824906153749589182020-04-05T13:25:18.180-06:002020-04-05T13:25:18.180-06:00If 18 temples have groundbreaking this year, that ...If 18 temples have groundbreaking this year, that will be just over half of the 35 temples announced in previous years that have not yet had groundbreaking. twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-39576116751952535372020-04-05T12:43:29.172-06:002020-04-05T12:43:29.172-06:00I wonder who will replace Pres. Thierry K. Matumbo...I wonder who will replace Pres. Thierry K. Matumbo this July as President of the Maryland Baltimore Mission? Since he has been the Mission President only 2 years, as stated above. If he is beginning his tenure as a General Authority Seventy beginning in August.Chris D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05948306098284454259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-84014150576733922252020-04-05T12:15:52.628-06:002020-04-05T12:15:52.628-06:00Yes, 4 temples have so far been announced for a gr...Yes, 4 temples have so far been announced for a groundbreaking starting with Richmond next week. Alabang,Layton, and Auckland are the other three.<br /><br />There are 10 temples which have had sites confirmed via Newsroom announcements (Tooele Valley, Feather River, Moses Lake, Washington County, Phnom Penh, Orem, Taylorsville, McAllen, Bengaluru, and Brasilia). Many of those seem likely to be among the remaining 14.<br /><br />There are also several more temples with sites possibly identified. I hope the two remaining Monson Temple announcements have groundbreakings this year (Nairobi and Harare).<br /><br />Will be exciting to see what temples have groundbreakings this year!Eric S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10166885374836645257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-10153001695073523362020-04-05T12:10:25.397-06:002020-04-05T12:10:25.397-06:00I remember once back in the 1990s President Hinckl...I remember once back in the 1990s President Hinckley went over in priesthood meeting.<br /><br />I hate to be the one, and I loved the proclamation and the hosanna shout. I am hoping President Nelson announces more temples in the last session.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-28122582900287200632020-04-05T12:08:21.074-06:002020-04-05T12:08:21.074-06:00You are correct. He also just gave the closing pra...You are correct. He also just gave the closing prayer. He spoke last October and this July will start as mission president of the England Manchester Mission. He is one of two general authorities called this year as a mission president. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-63262904474263743452020-04-05T11:19:50.566-06:002020-04-05T11:19:50.566-06:00Elder Bednar just said that 18 temples will have g...Elder Bednar just said that 18 temples will have groundbreaking this year- I believe only 4 have had dates announced.twinnumerounohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339551175116474947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-64798237568198418472020-04-05T09:58:36.132-06:002020-04-05T09:58:36.132-06:00I had a friend whose father-in-law showed up in Ch...I had a friend whose father-in-law showed up in Church files as dead years before they died.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-85767703874157772202020-04-05T09:57:47.045-06:002020-04-05T09:57:47.045-06:00Elder Matumbo was baptized in 1986. Sorry for that...Elder Matumbo was baptized in 1986. Sorry for that typo. His wife served as a missionary in her native Congo and she first met his parents when she was a missionary and his mom started telling him he should marry her. I learned this from Brother Bradshaw's presentation to FairMormon. Bradshaw was mission president in Kinshasa.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-65851159485292537632020-04-05T09:54:13.412-06:002020-04-05T09:54:13.412-06:00In 1998 three young women spoke at the young women...In 1998 three young women spoke at the young women's session. Whether that was fully general conference I do not know.<br /><br />I believe both Jeffrey and Matthew Holland both spoke. At the time Jeffrey R. Holland was president of BYU.<br /><br />Peter Vidmar and David Durrant both spoke in the 1980s but they were in their 20s. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-86587866857189787092020-04-05T09:28:27.784-06:002020-04-05T09:28:27.784-06:00Saturday evenings have not always gone the full tw...Saturday evenings have not always gone the full two hours, most end a few minutes early anyway.<br /><br />This timme though, there is less of a gap between speakers, where one is leaving and the other one is coming up. Also the short gaps where the choir would rise and ready itself for what they would sing given the archived nature of the music this time arounjd, and less tech switching needed behind the sceness.James Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12831340842937216806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-6485357531355051842020-04-05T09:13:06.259-06:002020-04-05T09:13:06.259-06:00Yes. Ahmad Corbitt is a general officer, not a Gen...Yes. Ahmad Corbitt is a general officer, not a General Authority.Christopher Nicholsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00582245548922025033noreply@blogger.com