But something something double digit stake growth every week of our lives??? Yet another GA comment that wasn't truthful when it was said and hasn't aged well.
In addition to the ongoing translation of the Book of Mormon into Kinyarwanda, the Church made progress on translating scriptures into these languages, as well: Book of Mormon • Arabic (1 Nephi - Alma 20), retranslation • Efik (1 Nephi) • Kazakh (1 Nephi) • Maltese (1 Nephi - Alma 20) • Pohnpeian (1 Nephi - Helaman) • Sesotho (1 Nephi - Alma 20) • Urdu (1 Nephi - Alma 14), retranslation
Doctrine and Covenants + Pearl of Great Price • Greek (D&C complete) • Guarani (D&C 1 - 110) • Hindi (D&C 1 - 110) • Macedonian (D&C 1 - 88) • Sinhala (D&C complete, JS-History) • Tamil (Triple Combination completed) • Telegu (Triple Combination completed) • Tok Pisin (D&C 1 - 110) • Turkish (D&C complete, Moses - JS-Matthew)
The Church has stated they will translate the Book of Mormon into Tshiluba, and the Triple Combination into Burmese, Hmong, Lingala, and Navajo, but no material have shown up yet.
Ethan, when that alleged statement was made, that was before a global pandemic that even our prophet didn't see coming. And to my knowledge the statement in question didn't come with a time stamp either. With all due respect, just because something hasn't happened on our mortal timetable yet doesn't automatically imply that it won't in the future. The scriptures are full of examples of people trying to impose their will or their timetable on that Lord, and who ridiculed believers for asserting what would happen in the future, and in many such cases, the Lord subsequently provided irrefutable proof that the statements or prophecies in question are correct, accurate, and inspired.
I seem to recall naysayers on this very blog who assert every 6 months that, in view of a backlog of announced temples in the queue, there would be a slowing in the announcement of new temples, or even a hiatus on such announcements.
I also recall that within the last two years, those of us who suggested higher numbers of temples being announced (and particularly the announcement of 35 temples last year alone) was both unlikely and unreasonable.
Others indicated that, in view of him being 98 years old, seated while speaking in conference, and abnormally emotional during his concluding remarks last October, President Nelson might not have long left and may have been saying goodbye.
But in the intervening 3 months, and heading towards a milestone of 5 years as prophet, President Nelson continues being both hard to keep up with and actively involved in the day-to-day administration of the Church.
With all of that in mind, just because x, y, or z hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. I'd encourage all of us to think twice before assuming that any report about anticipated growth is incorrect. No offense intended and I hope none is taken. Thanks, Matt, for this report.
In reviewing the 2023 Mission Leadership callings posted yesterday, some great news coming out of Nicaragua.
After several years without a Mission President officially called. A couple have been called as President and Companion of the Nicaragua Managua South Mission.
"Nicaragua Managua South José Hernández Mercedes Hernández"
Also it seems that another 4 or 5 Presidents will be released a year or 2 early from their assignments this next July 1st.
And 1 Mission each in Ukraine and Russia have not been officially announced in yesterdays list. Possibly due to security reasons for the conflict or other reasons that the standing President would remain in the calling for a 4th year.
Christopher Duerig, your mention of early releases for 4-5 mission presidents is intriguing. Would you be able to email me with a list of those receiving early releases? I don't know whether that would be of interest to anyone else, but I'd love a chance to look that over. Thanks.
Juan Pablo Villar is a GA Seventy, and when current GA Seventies have received a call as mission presidents, it has only been for 2 years, so that explains that change. Similarly, Alexey V. Samaykin is an area seventy, but is also a member of the Europe East Area presidency, so his release likewise makes sense. He could also be called as a GA Seventy. As for the other anomalies, President Pena or his wife could be called to general Church service. The same could be true of the Madagascar and Arizona changes.
The delay on naming a new president for the Ukraine Mission could be due to the ongoing Russian invasion. Similar concerns could explain delays for Nicaragua and Poland.
Mesquite NV Stake is splitting into Mesquite NV West Stake (new stake) and Mesquite NV East Stake (existing stake) in a special stake conference on January 14-15, 2023.
My best guess is that we're probably exiting a relatively slow phase of stake growth as a result of COVID, and that we will normalize in the 50-100 range over the next decade. Especially later on, the bulk of that growth will probably come out of Africa (where highly dynamic growth continues) and places like the Philippines and Mexico (where the church seems to be doing better at reversing difficulties with activity and leadership development than it has historically).
No disrespect was taken, nor was any intended. But it's a fact that Elder Holland made some really bold claims in 2016 that weren't supported by facts. The link below has context as well as YouTube links where you can hear it in his own voice. He says that the prior Thursday they created a bunch of new stakes, which did not at all correlate to new stakes created and listed on the church website. I don't expect these leaders to see the future or be 100% right on everything, but I also think they need to be held accountable for things they say that just aren't supported by reality.
The development in Gabon is quite encouraging. Is Gabon in the Brazaville Mission?
The development in Rwanda is encouraging. It looks like they have not translated all of the recent general conference to Kirwanda, is this a decision to not translate everything, or did they start with President Nelson's closing talk and are working backwards, and just have not completed everything?
Madagascar getting another stake is quite exciting. Hopefully we get word on an Anatanarivo (I may have butchered the spelling) Temple's exact location soon. I am hoping for temple related announcements tomorrow.
The new district in Ghana is a good sign. I hope the district in Tachiman prompts a return to the sunyasi plan. It is a plan that requires lots of close oversight from mission leadership. Ivory Coast getting a 4th mission will also allow for more outreach. Ivory Coast may be the 1st country to get a 2nd temple announced before the first is complete.
On the other hand with the progress in southern Mozambique it may be the 1st country to get a 2nd temple announced before the ground breaking on the first temple. Keep in mind baptizing people was literally illegal in Mozambique from March 2020 until May 2022.
On the mission change issue, in the past changes caused by new assignments that caused early releases were not announced until after the new assignments were announced. With 2020 calls we do know that Elder and Sister Morrison from Accra, Ghana were first assigned to South Carolina Charleston but ended up actually going to Ghana Cape Coast, which covers the area where they both grew up. Their being native Fante speakers was an asset to leading the mission. I am not sure there is any official way we would know this if it was not for the fact that Elder Morrison was called as a general authority in April 2022, so I wonder if there may have been other pandemic related disruptions we do not officially know of.
I absolutely adore Elder Holland and his teachings-- I bought a book of his thoughts on the New Testament for this year. My eldest is named Jeffrey for reasons loosely-- emphasis on loosely-- linked to him. Please, if you're discouraged, turn to inspired messages by him and President/Elder Uchtdorf. Examples of such balms by Elder Holland are "Cast not away therefore your confidence", "Lessons from Liberty Jail", and "Tomorrow the Lord will work wonders among you."
I don't believe Elder Holland's numerical claims about church growth should be given any deference, unlike the majority of his teachings. These apostles have strengths and weaknesses, and accurately expressing the present state of church growth is one of his weaknesses. Also, recall that men past the age of 60 at times struggle with off-the-cuff recall. I've seen this in a couple men I know personally, and it makes me more patient as I hear of apostles, after giving near-perfect talks, say things that are just factually wrong off-the-cuff.
Elder Semaykin was called as an area seventy last April. So the expected thing would have been for new leaders of the Russia Novosibirsk Mission to have been called last spring. Just as Brother Christopher and Sister Christine Morgan were called to replace the Morrisons in leading the Ghana Cape Coast mission last April even though the Morrison's had only been mission leaders for two years since Elder Morrison was called as a general authority seventy.
Do we know that the Chandlers were actually in Warsaw for 4 years, or is it possible someone else was acting mission president for the last year?
On the other hand I do know Kaplin and Leslie Jones have been president and matron of the Detroit Temple since fall 2019. During their service from March 2020 until July 2021 the temple did only live Ordinances, for several months bring totally closed. Then about 1 week after starting proxy Ordinances the temple was closed for renovations that involved new walls and room arrangements in the front area among other changes, and took about 4 months to complete.
Another example, Thierry and Natalie Mutombo from Kinshasa, DR Congo became the leaders of The Maryland Baltimore Mission on July 1, 2018. Thierry Mutombo was called as a general authority seventy at the beginning of April 2020. New mission leaders, Robert and Jan Nye began their service on April 29, 2020. So the fact that the Novosibirsk Mission did not get new announced leaders in 2022, not in 2023, is the somewhat irregular thing.
My guess is that someone is the acting mission president, possibly Elder Semaykin, with plans to place a permanent mission president when the situation clears.
Full knowledge on acting mission presidents takes close looking. We know Elder Kyungu, the other general authority seventy from DR Congo, was both the first president of the Mbuji-Maye DR Congo mission for 3 years, and later for a time acting president of one of the Kinshasa Missions while also serving as an area seventy, he was also an area seventy before he was ever mission president.
There was a couple from my stake that one year it was announced they would lead a mission in Taiwan, bit for some reason that did not happen. The next year it was announced they would lead the Munich Germany Austria Mission. That was roughly 2004.
My best guess is that health or family circumstances probably contributed to the other early changes.
"The prior Thursday, they created a bunch of new stakes" isn't a lie, Ethan. Let me tell you why: Thursday is the common day for decision-making meetings at Church headquarters. One of those includes the Boundary and Leadership Change Committee, where the approval of new leaders and units is given at Church Headquarters. That includes new stakes. But as we know, most stake conferences are held on Sunday, so Elder Holland's reference to creating a bunch of stakes on Thursday obviously refers to those that were approved for creation. As we saw from the pandemic, things happen that can impact the timing whereby approved plans (temple dedications and stake conferences or the actual implementation of an approved stake split or creation) can and will be delayed. Elder Holland, as the resident apostolic scholar he is, would not have bogged down his remarks to explain what he meant by that, and would have assumed his audience knew enough about how the Church works to understand what he was indicating. And at the time he offered the remarks in question, that was obviously true. It's only been within this digital age where people seem to assume they know how things work in the Church, but do not take time to learn about or inform themselves on the matter. When that happens, it's easier for some to find fault with what was said or how it was said by whoever said it than it is for people to actually research what someone meant when they said it. I think that explains why the Church News has continued covering an ongoing video series "Inside Church Headquarters", because the information that series provides about the inner workings of the Church is not as understood in 2023 as it may have been in the 1990s, wherein I picked up a lot of information about Church headquarters during many quiet Sundays perusing old Church magazines in my parent's basement. To you and anyone else who may see contradictions in what the apostles say and how they saw it, I'd encourage a careful watching of those videos and reading the accompanying articles. Even as one familiar with how the Church works, the videos and articles were edifying and illuminating for me:
Whatever man - happy to agree to disagree. We clearly look at the same situation and draw two drastically different conclusions, which is fine. I hold space for anyone else to see things differently than I do, and only ask the same in return.
Of course, Ethan. I edit Wikipedia, where I adopted the maxim that "we can disagree without becoming disagreeable". I am glad we're on the same page there at least. And the beauty of the discussions on this thread is that no two of us see anything under discussion exactly the same way. If we did, the discussions would hardly be as robust and informative as they are. Thank you for your willingness to engage with me on this matter. If you haven't yet seen those videos, there are a lot of them, but they are only a few minutes each. Whether or not you choose to watch them is up to you. In the meantime, thanks again and Godspeed, good brother!
You had the right spelling for Antananarivo, JPL. Elder Samaykin was sustained as an area seventy for the second time in March of last year, after previously serving for the first time from April 2014- October 2020. I believe he was released originally to fill a short-term interim assignment as a mission president. He currently serves as the president of the Europe East Area, an assignment he was given in August of last year. So between August 2022-July 2023, he's been an area seventy, area president, and mission president. The Church is likely trying to cut his load back a bit.
He was 45 last year when his second stint as an area seventy began. If he's now 46, that's on the lower end of the target age range at which new GA Seventies are called. Hope that helps.
John Pack Lambert - regarding your question about the Chandlers serving 4 years, I can verify that they have been in Poland serving for 3 1/2 years as mission president and companion and they will return home after serving 4 years. He announced a year ago on his facebook page that they had been asked to extend for a year and were thrilled to be able to do so. Both he and his wife served in the Poland Warsaw Mission in the early 90s. My guess as to why they stayed an extra year is the difficulty in finding a Polish speaking mission president and the fact that the Chandlers have been doing great work in Poland.
The newly announced mission president for the Mozambique Maputo Mission is David Valletta. I wonder if he is the same David Valletta I knew in New Delhi back in 2008. He was an American government employee stationed in New Delhi at the time and served as a counselor in the mission presidency to President Gary Ricks, the first mission president of the India New Delhi Mission. I can't remember his wife's name (the wife of the newly called mission president for Maputo is named Janet), so I can't say for sure whether or not this is the same David Valleta, but would not be surprised if he is.
Having a mission president who is fluent in the language of the mission is not actually required, although it may have some help.
My guess is the number one reason that the Chandlers stayed longer is that Covid-related travel disruptions made leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints want to not have more changes than needed.
My second guess is that having a mission president and wife who both have experice as missionaries in Poland is rare and church leaders wanted to utilize that more.
I have to admit my favorite part of the year starts when the first new mission president bios roll out and ends when the last new general officer or temple president and matron bios roll out.
28 comments:
But something something double digit stake growth every week of our lives??? Yet another GA comment that wasn't truthful when it was said and hasn't aged well.
In addition to the ongoing translation of the Book of Mormon into Kinyarwanda, the Church made progress on translating scriptures into these languages, as well:
Book of Mormon
• Arabic (1 Nephi - Alma 20), retranslation
• Efik (1 Nephi)
• Kazakh (1 Nephi)
• Maltese (1 Nephi - Alma 20)
• Pohnpeian (1 Nephi - Helaman)
• Sesotho (1 Nephi - Alma 20)
• Urdu (1 Nephi - Alma 14), retranslation
Doctrine and Covenants + Pearl of Great Price
• Greek (D&C complete)
• Guarani (D&C 1 - 110)
• Hindi (D&C 1 - 110)
• Macedonian (D&C 1 - 88)
• Sinhala (D&C complete, JS-History)
• Tamil (Triple Combination completed)
• Telegu (Triple Combination completed)
• Tok Pisin (D&C 1 - 110)
• Turkish (D&C complete, Moses - JS-Matthew)
The Church has stated they will translate the Book of Mormon into Tshiluba, and the Triple Combination into Burmese, Hmong, Lingala, and Navajo, but no material have shown up yet.
Ethan, when that alleged statement was made, that was before a global pandemic that even our prophet didn't see coming. And to my knowledge the statement in question didn't come with a time stamp either. With all due respect, just because something hasn't happened on our mortal timetable yet doesn't automatically imply that it won't in the future. The scriptures are full of examples of people trying to impose their will or their timetable on that Lord, and who ridiculed believers for asserting what would happen in the future, and in many such cases, the Lord subsequently provided irrefutable proof that the statements or prophecies in question are correct, accurate, and inspired.
I seem to recall naysayers on this very blog who assert every 6 months that, in view of a backlog of announced temples in the queue, there would be a slowing in the announcement of new temples, or even a hiatus on such announcements.
I also recall that within the last two years, those of us who suggested higher numbers of temples being announced (and particularly the announcement of 35 temples last year alone) was both unlikely and unreasonable.
Others indicated that, in view of him being 98 years old, seated while speaking in conference, and abnormally emotional during his concluding remarks last October, President Nelson might not have long left and may have been saying goodbye.
But in the intervening 3 months, and heading towards a milestone of 5 years as prophet, President Nelson continues being both hard to keep up with and actively involved in the day-to-day administration of the Church.
With all of that in mind, just because x, y, or z hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. I'd encourage all of us to think twice before assuming that any report about anticipated growth is incorrect. No offense intended and I hope none is taken. Thanks, Matt, for this report.
In reviewing the 2023 Mission Leadership callings posted yesterday, some great news coming out of Nicaragua.
After several years without a Mission President officially called. A couple have been called as President and Companion of the Nicaragua Managua South Mission.
"Nicaragua Managua South José Hernández Mercedes Hernández"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/mission-presidents/2023#Central%20America
Also it seems that another 4 or 5 Presidents will be released a year or 2 early from their assignments this next July 1st.
And 1 Mission each in Ukraine and Russia have not been officially announced in yesterdays list. Possibly due to security reasons for the conflict or other reasons that the standing President would remain in the calling for a 4th year.
Christopher Duerig, your mention of early releases for 4-5 mission presidents is intriguing. Would you be able to email me with a list of those receiving early releases? I don't know whether that would be of interest to anyone else, but I'd love a chance to look that over. Thanks.
SPAIN BARCELONA 2021-2023 (2 yrs) JUAN PABLO VILLAR
SPAIN BARCELONA 2023-2026 Frank Heckmann
VENEZUELA MARACAIBO 2021-2023 (2 yrs) HERNAN PEÑA
VENEZUELA MARACAIBO 2023-2026 Euvel Rodríguez
BRAZIL CAMPINAS 2018-2021 JOHN TAGGART MARSH
BRAZIL CAMPINAS 2021-2023 (2 yrs) ???
BRAZIL CAMPINAS 2023-2026 Adam B. Harker
UKRAINE KYIV/MOLDOVA 2020-2023 IVAN STRATOV
UKRAINE KYIV/MOLDOVA 2023-2026 ???
NICARAGUA MANAGUA SOUTH 2016-2019 MARK STEVEN BROWN
NICARAGUA MANAGUA SOUTH 2019-2023 (4 yrs)???
NICARAGUA MANAGUA SOUTH 2023-2026 José Hernández
POLAND WARSAW 2019-2023 (4 yrs) DAVID L. CHANDLER
POLAND WARSAW 2023-2026 Gregory D. Roney
RUSSIA NOVOSIBIRSK 2020-2023 ALEXEY V. SAMAYKIN
RUSSIA NOVOSIBIRSK 2023-2026 ???
MADAGASCAR ANTANANARIVO 2021-2023 (2 yrs) HERY F. RAKOTOARIVELO
MADAGASCAR ANTANANARIVO 2023-2026 Deryl Eastman
ARIZONA SCOTTSDALE 2021-2023 (2 yrs) D. MICK SMITH
ARIZONA SCOTTSDALE 2023-2026 Scott Stratton
Juan Pablo Villar is a GA Seventy, and when current GA Seventies have received a call as mission presidents, it has only been for 2 years, so that explains that change. Similarly, Alexey V. Samaykin is an area seventy, but is also a member of the Europe East Area presidency, so his release likewise makes sense. He could also be called as a GA Seventy. As for the other anomalies, President Pena or his wife could be called to general Church service. The same could be true of the Madagascar and Arizona changes.
The delay on naming a new president for the Ukraine Mission could be due to the ongoing Russian invasion. Similar concerns could explain delays for Nicaragua and Poland.
Hope these additional musings are helpful.
Mesquite NV Stake is splitting into Mesquite NV West Stake (new stake) and Mesquite NV East Stake (existing stake) in a special stake conference on January 14-15, 2023.
Toamasina Madagascar District was made a Stake on the 11th of December 2022 not sure if that has been noted
My best guess is that we're probably exiting a relatively slow phase of stake growth as a result of COVID, and that we will normalize in the 50-100 range over the next decade. Especially later on, the bulk of that growth will probably come out of Africa (where highly dynamic growth continues) and places like the Philippines and Mexico (where the church seems to be doing better at reversing difficulties with activity and leadership development than it has historically).
Toamasina Madagascar Stake confirmed on Meetinghouse Locator wrbsite.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/meetinghouses/@-18.148657,49.404178,14s&id=ward:424773
@Matt, Do you know yet which of these Wards/Branches will be assigned to each of the Mesquite Nevada East and West Stakes next sunday, 01/15/2023?
Bunkerville 1st, 2nd, Littlefield, Mesquite 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, Scenic Wards and Mesquite 8th (Retirement), Virgin Valley (Spanish), Virgin Valley YSA Branches.
@Christopher
Mesquite Nevada East Stake
Formerly: Mesquite Nevada Stake
Littlefield Ward
Mesquite 2nd / Valley View Ward
Mesquite 4th / Old Mill Ward
Mesquite 5th / Summer Crest Ward
Mesquite 7th / Vistas Ward
Scenic Ward
Virgin Valley YSA Branch
Mesquite Nevada West Stake (new)
Bunkerville 1st Ward
Bunkerville 2nd Ward
Mesquite 1st / Arrowhead Ward
Mesquite 3rd / Heritage Ward
Mesquite 6th / Willows Ward
Mesquite 8th (Retirement) /
Anthem Ward (Retirement)
Virgin Valley Branch (Spanish)
Mesquite 8th (Retirement) Branch will be upgraded to a Ward. Then all Mesquite Wards will be renamed.
Retirement wards (rather than branches) are largely unheard of. I wonder if this may be a first??
No disrespect was taken, nor was any intended. But it's a fact that Elder Holland made some really bold claims in 2016 that weren't supported by facts. The link below has context as well as YouTube links where you can hear it in his own voice. He says that the prior Thursday they created a bunch of new stakes, which did not at all correlate to new stakes created and listed on the church website. I don't expect these leaders to see the future or be 100% right on everything, but I also think they need to be held accountable for things they say that just aren't supported by reality.
https://missedinsunday.com/memes/other/staggering-growth/
The development in Gabon is quite encouraging. Is Gabon in the Brazaville Mission?
The development in Rwanda is encouraging. It looks like they have not translated all of the recent general conference to Kirwanda, is this a decision to not translate everything, or did they start with President Nelson's closing talk and are working backwards, and just have not completed everything?
Madagascar getting another stake is quite exciting. Hopefully we get word on an Anatanarivo (I may have butchered the spelling) Temple's exact location soon. I am hoping for temple related announcements tomorrow.
The new district in Ghana is a good sign. I hope the district in Tachiman prompts a return to the sunyasi plan. It is a plan that requires lots of close oversight from mission leadership. Ivory Coast getting a 4th mission will also allow for more outreach. Ivory Coast may be the 1st country to get a 2nd temple announced before the first is complete.
On the other hand with the progress in southern Mozambique it may be the 1st country to get a 2nd temple announced before the ground breaking on the first temple. Keep in mind baptizing people was literally illegal in Mozambique from March 2020 until May 2022.
On the mission change issue, in the past changes caused by new assignments that caused early releases were not announced until after the new assignments were announced. With 2020 calls we do know that Elder and Sister Morrison from Accra, Ghana were first assigned to South Carolina Charleston but ended up actually going to Ghana Cape Coast, which covers the area where they both grew up. Their being native Fante speakers was an asset to leading the mission. I am not sure there is any official way we would know this if it was not for the fact that Elder Morrison was called as a general authority in April 2022, so I wonder if there may have been other pandemic related disruptions we do not officially know of.
When did Elder Samaykin become an area seventy?
I absolutely adore Elder Holland and his teachings-- I bought a book of his thoughts on the New Testament for this year. My eldest is named Jeffrey for reasons loosely-- emphasis on loosely-- linked to him. Please, if you're discouraged, turn to inspired messages by him and President/Elder Uchtdorf. Examples of such balms by Elder Holland are "Cast not away therefore your confidence", "Lessons from Liberty Jail", and "Tomorrow the Lord will work wonders among you."
I don't believe Elder Holland's numerical claims about church growth should be given any deference, unlike the majority of his teachings. These apostles have strengths and weaknesses, and accurately expressing the present state of church growth is one of his weaknesses. Also, recall that men past the age of 60 at times struggle with off-the-cuff recall. I've seen this in a couple men I know personally, and it makes me more patient as I hear of apostles, after giving near-perfect talks, say things that are just factually wrong off-the-cuff.
Elder Semaykin was called as an area seventy last April. So the expected thing would have been for new leaders of the Russia Novosibirsk Mission to have been called last spring. Just as Brother Christopher and Sister Christine Morgan were called to replace the Morrisons in leading the Ghana Cape Coast mission last April even though the Morrison's had only been mission leaders for two years since Elder Morrison was called as a general authority seventy.
Do we know that the Chandlers were actually in Warsaw for 4 years, or is it possible someone else was acting mission president for the last year?
On the other hand I do know Kaplin and Leslie Jones have been president and matron of the Detroit Temple since fall 2019. During their service from March 2020 until July 2021 the temple did only live Ordinances, for several months bring totally closed. Then about 1 week after starting proxy Ordinances the temple was closed for renovations that involved new walls and room arrangements in the front area among other changes, and took about 4 months to complete.
Another example, Thierry and Natalie Mutombo from Kinshasa, DR Congo became the leaders of The Maryland Baltimore Mission on July 1, 2018. Thierry Mutombo was called as a general authority seventy at the beginning of April 2020. New mission leaders, Robert and Jan Nye began their service on April 29, 2020. So the fact that the Novosibirsk Mission did not get new announced leaders in 2022, not in 2023, is the somewhat irregular thing.
My guess is that someone is the acting mission president, possibly Elder Semaykin, with plans to place a permanent mission president when the situation clears.
Full knowledge on acting mission presidents takes close looking. We know Elder Kyungu, the other general authority seventy from DR Congo, was both the first president of the Mbuji-Maye DR Congo mission for 3 years, and later for a time acting president of one of the Kinshasa Missions while also serving as an area seventy, he was also an area seventy before he was ever mission president.
There was a couple from my stake that one year it was announced they would lead a mission in Taiwan, bit for some reason that did not happen. The next year it was announced they would lead the Munich Germany Austria Mission. That was roughly 2004.
My best guess is that health or family circumstances probably contributed to the other early changes.
"The prior Thursday, they created a bunch of new stakes" isn't a lie, Ethan. Let me tell you why: Thursday is the common day for decision-making meetings at Church headquarters. One of those includes the Boundary and Leadership Change Committee, where the approval of new leaders and units is given at Church Headquarters. That includes new stakes. But as we know, most stake conferences are held on Sunday, so Elder Holland's reference to creating a bunch of stakes on Thursday obviously refers to those that were approved for creation. As we saw from the pandemic, things happen that can impact the timing whereby approved plans (temple dedications and stake conferences or the actual implementation of an approved stake split or creation) can and will be delayed. Elder Holland, as the resident apostolic scholar he is, would not have bogged down his remarks to explain what he meant by that, and would have assumed his audience knew enough about how the Church works to understand what he was indicating. And at the time he offered the remarks in question, that was obviously true. It's only been within this digital age where people seem to assume they know how things work in the Church, but do not take time to learn about or inform themselves on the matter. When that happens, it's easier for some to find fault with what was said or how it was said by whoever said it than it is for people to actually research what someone meant when they said it. I think that explains why the Church News has continued covering an ongoing video series "Inside Church Headquarters", because the information that series provides about the inner workings of the Church is not as understood in 2023 as it may have been in the 1990s, wherein I picked up a lot of information about Church headquarters during many quiet Sundays perusing old Church magazines in my parent's basement. To you and anyone else who may see contradictions in what the apostles say and how they saw it, I'd encourage a careful watching of those videos and reading the accompanying articles. Even as one familiar with how the Church works, the videos and articles were edifying and illuminating for me:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/inside-church-headquarters
Whatever man - happy to agree to disagree. We clearly look at the same situation and draw two drastically different conclusions, which is fine. I hold space for anyone else to see things differently than I do, and only ask the same in return.
Of course, Ethan. I edit Wikipedia, where I adopted the maxim that "we can disagree without becoming disagreeable". I am glad we're on the same page there at least. And the beauty of the discussions on this thread is that no two of us see anything under discussion exactly the same way. If we did, the discussions would hardly be as robust and informative as they are. Thank you for your willingness to engage with me on this matter. If you haven't yet seen those videos, there are a lot of them, but they are only a few minutes each. Whether or not you choose to watch them is up to you. In the meantime, thanks again and Godspeed, good brother!
You had the right spelling for Antananarivo, JPL. Elder Samaykin was sustained as an area seventy for the second time in March of last year, after previously serving for the first time from April 2014- October 2020. I believe he was released originally to fill a short-term interim assignment as a mission president. He currently serves as the president of the Europe East Area, an assignment he was given in August of last year. So between August 2022-July 2023, he's been an area seventy, area president, and mission president. The Church is likely trying to cut his load back a bit.
He was 45 last year when his second stint as an area seventy began. If he's now 46, that's on the lower end of the target age range at which new GA Seventies are called. Hope that helps.
John Pack Lambert - regarding your question about the Chandlers serving 4 years, I can verify that they have been in Poland serving for 3 1/2 years as mission president and companion and they will return home after serving 4 years. He announced a year ago on his facebook page that they had been asked to extend for a year and were thrilled to be able to do so. Both he and his wife served in the Poland Warsaw Mission in the early 90s. My guess as to why they stayed an extra year is the difficulty in finding a Polish speaking mission president and the fact that the Chandlers have been doing great work in Poland.
The newly announced mission president for the Mozambique Maputo Mission is David Valletta. I wonder if he is the same David Valletta I knew in New Delhi back in 2008. He was an American government employee stationed in New Delhi at the time and served as a counselor in the mission presidency to President Gary Ricks, the first mission president of the India New Delhi Mission. I can't remember his wife's name (the wife of the newly called mission president for Maputo is named Janet), so I can't say for sure whether or not this is the same David Valleta, but would not be surprised if he is.
--Felix
Having a mission president who is fluent in the language of the mission is not actually required, although it may have some help.
My guess is the number one reason that the Chandlers stayed longer is that Covid-related travel disruptions made leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints want to not have more changes than needed.
My second guess is that having a mission president and wife who both have experice as missionaries in Poland is rare and church leaders wanted to utilize that more.
I have to admit my favorite part of the year starts when the first new mission president bios roll out and ends when the last new general officer or temple president and matron bios roll out.
@Michael Worley
Thanks for listing those Elder Holland talks. I've added them to one of my Inspirational Playlists. :)
@DeeAnn
There's a young man from my ward who was originally called to Ukraine (right before the war broke out), but was reassigned to Poland.
The Chandlers would be his leaders, then.
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