Philippines
Three new stakes were created in the Philippines.
The Aparri Philippines Stake was organized from the Aparri Philippines District (organized in 1988) on August 10th. The new stake includes the following five wards and two branches: the Aparri 1st, Aparri 2nd, Camalaniugan 1st, Gattaran, and Lal-Lo Wards and the Camalaniugan 2nd and Magapit Branches. The Aparri Philippines District was one of the oldest districts that had not yet become a stake in the Philippines.
The Muñoz Philippines Stake was organized on August 10th from the Guimba Philippines District (organized in 1992). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Guimba 1st, Guimba 2nd, Muñoz 1st, Muñoz 2nd, and San Antonio Wards and the Guimba 3rd Branch.
The Tarlac Philippines South Stake was organized on August 24th from the Tarlac Philippines Stake (organized in 1981). The new stake includes the following four wards and one branch: the Capas, Concepcion, Lapaz, and Tarlac 5th Wards and the Dap-Dap Branch.
There are now 137 stakes and 51 districts in the Philippines.
Arkansas
A new stake was created in Arkansas on September 14th. The Centerton Arkansas Stake was organized from a division of the Bentonville Arkansas Stake (organized in 2014) and includes the following seven wards: the Centerton 1st, Centerton 2nd, Centerton 3rd, Gravette, Grove, Highlands, and Morningside Wards. The Rogers Arkansas Stake was also realigned with the Bentonville Arkansas Stake as part of the new stake creation.
There are now four stakes in northwestern Arkansas. There are now eight stakes in Arkansas.
Canada
A new stake was created on September 21st in Alberta, Canada. The Beaumont Alberta Stake was organized from a division of the Edmonton Alberta Gateway Stake (organized in 1983) and includes the following seven wards: the Beaumont, Blackmud Creek, Ellerslie, Meadowlark (Tagalog), Rio Vista (Spanish), Wetaskiwin, and Wildrose (Tagalog) Wards. The new stake is the Church's seventh stake in Edmonton and the third new stake organized during the past decade.
There are now 54 stakes and three districts in Canada.
Idaho
A new stake was created in Idaho on August 24th. The Pocatello Idaho Highland South Stake was organized from a division of the Pocatello Highland Stake (organized in 1963). The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Highland 1st, Highland 2nd, Highland 6th, Highland 7th, Highland 8th, Highland 10th, and Highland 14th Wards. This is the first new stake in Pocatello since the late 1990s. There are now 11 stakes in Pocatello.
There are now 146 stakes in Idaho.
Kiribati
A new stake was created in Kiribati on September 14th. The Tarawa Kiribati Betio Stake was organized from the Tarawa Kiribati West Stake (organized in 2007). The new stake includes the following four wards and two branches: the Betio 1st, Betio 2nd, Betio 3rd, and Temakin Wards and the Borotiam and Tabontebike-Abaiang Branches. Reports also suggest that the Tarawa Kiribati North District may become a stake in October, although this has not yet been confirmed.
There are now three stakes and three districts in Kiribati.
Madagascar
A new stake was created in Madagascar on August 3rd. The Antsirabe Madagascar Stake was organized from the Antsirabe Madagascar District (organized in 2010). The new stake includes the following four wards and three branches: the Ambohimena, Antsirabe, Mahazoarivo, and Tomboarivo Wards and the Andranomanelatra, Manandona, and Saradroa Branches. Antsirabe is now the third city in Madagascar to have a stake following Antananarivo and Toamasina.
There are now five stakes and one district in Madagascar.
South Carolina
A new stake was created in South Carolina on August 24th. The Spartanburg South Carolina Stake was organized from the Greenville South Carolina East Stake (organized in 2003). The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Boiling Springs, Gaffney, Inman, Roebuck, Spartanburg, and Tyger River Wards and the Union Branch. There are now three stakes in the greater Greenville area and 11 stakes statewide.
Texas
A new stake was created in Texas on September 14th. The Temple Texas Stake was organized from the Waco Texas Stake (organized in 2010). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Belton, Morgans Point, Salado Creek, Temple 1st, and Temple 2nd Wards.
There are now 83 stakes in Texas.
Brazil
A new district was created in Brazil on September 14th. The Tubarão Brazil District was organized from a division of what was previously known as the Tubarão Brazil Stake (organized in 1993; now renamed the Criciúma Brazil Stake). The new district includes the following four branches: the Bairro São João, Imbituba, Laguna, and Oficinas Branches. There are now 11 stakes and one district in Santa Catarina State.
There are now 288 stakes and 36 districts in Brazil.
Mozambique
A new district was created in Mozambique on August 17th. The Tete Mozambique District was organized from four Mozambique Beira Mission branches in Tete where the first branch was organized in 2005. The new district includes the following four branches: the Matundo, Moatize, Tete, and Zambeze Branches.
There are now eight stakes and three districts in Mozambique.
Utah
A new correctional facility district was created in Utah on August 19th. The Wasatch Range Utah (Correctional Facility) District was organized with correctional facility branches in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new district includes the following six correctional facility branches: the Atherton, Bonneville, Fortitude, Geneva Fields, Glendale, and Orange Street Branches.
There are now six correctional facility districts in Utah.
There are now 644 stakes and seven districts in Utah.
California
A stake was discontinued in California. Organized in 1992, the San Fernando California (Spanish) Stake was discontinued and its units were reassigned to neighboring stakes. As recently as a few years ago, the stake had seven wards and one branch. The decision to consolidate the stake with overlapping stakes was likely rooted in efforts in most areas of the United States to discontinue language-specific stakes and rather have Spanish-speaking congregations assimilate with English-speaking units in the same stakes (a similar decision was made in Houston, Texas several years ago). English-speaking stakes in the area that once covered the San Fernando California (Spanish) Stake have experienced a steady decline in the number of English-speaking congregations for decades.
There are now 145 stakes in California.
New Zealand
A stake was discontinued in New Zealand. The Upper Hutt New Zealand Stake (organized in 1977) was discontinued and consolidated with the neighboring Wellington New Zealand Stake which was renamed the Wellington and Hutt New Zealand Stake. Stakes in the Wellington area have had few congregations for many years, and the decision to consolidate the stake was likely to help conserve limited leadership and prepare to support the future Wellington New Zealand Temple. There are now two stakes in the Wellington area.
There are now 28 stakes and two districts in New Zealand.
Guatemala
A district was discontinued in Guatemala. The Chiquimula Guatemala South District (organized in 2024) was discontinued and three of the district’s four branches were reassigned to the Zacapa Guatemala Stake after the San Luis Branch was closed. The district had been organized approximately 18 months ago. The reasons for the district’s early discontinuation remain unclear
There are now 51 stakes and 10 districts in Guatemala.
278 comments:
1 – 200 of 278 Newer› Newest»Craig Shuler says, I always make 20 temple announcement predictions. These are mine for October Conference:
Delta Utah
Kanab Utah
Bridger Valley Wyoming
Flagstaff Arizona
Longview Texas
San Luis Obispo California
Moscow Idaho
Santa Maria Brazil
Porto Velho Brazil
Georgetown Guyana
Port-of-Spain Trinidad
Kingston Jamaica
Mexico City South
Durango Mexico
London England Hyde Park
Tirana Albania
Bo Sierra Leone
Ibadan Nigeria
Lome Togo or Cotonou Benin
Lusaka Zambia
Like many others, I expect 18 to be announced to make an even 400.
Beaumont Alberta Stake (2300273)
Organized: 21 September 2025
- Beaumont Ward (1000454)
- Blackmud Creek Ward (102857)
- Ellerslie Ward (1957031)
- Meadowlark Ward (Tagalog) (2293269)
- Rio Vista Ward (Spanish) (2144182)
- Wetaskiwin Ward (50822)
- Wild Rose Ward (Tagalog) (2178907)
Assigned Mission: Canada Edmonton Mission (2010674)
Assigned Temple: Edmonton Alberta Temple (706485)
Looking at the map, it's hard for me to picture a lot of Tagalog speakers north of Yellowknife. The Meadowlark Ward covers most of the Northwest Territories practically up to the North Pole. Unless the boundaries are misrepresented on the Meetinghouse map. Isn't Tagalog a language primarily spoken on the Philippines islands?
Wikipedia says : "Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken primarily in the Philippines, serving as the foundation for the national language, Filipino.
Language Classification
Tagalog is a member of the Central Philippine branch of the Austronesian language family. It is closely related to other Philippine languages, such as Bikol and the Bisayan languages (including Cebuano and Hiligaynon)."
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2293269
There are many Tagalog speakers in Canada. Also several in the US. Possibly a majority of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Asia are fluent in Tagalog.
This article https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/lds-church-west-little-rock-land-7m/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYECoTNjI4OTY5ODMxMTgzOTM0ODM2OTIaY2ZkNzI5ZTNkMmExYzMwZTpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AOvVaw0MfZJBDUqeBWPITF4Idnz0 mentions The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints buying land in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. I have hope it will lead to a temple announcement, but I could be wrong or pre-mature.
I am very excited for general conference.
With the number of baptisms recently in Moriba Town, Sierra Leone I have hope it will soon get a stake.
I suppose to help with the confusion, when the Meadowlark Ward was created, they likely used the boundary of the Edmonton AB North Stake, which has the Yellowknife Branch. You can see a similar thing with the Borealis Branch (Spanish) in Alaska, where the boundary also covers the an extensive amount of Alaska Bush communities, but extremely doubtful many Spanish-speakers live there, the reason likely they just used the boundary of the 3 Anchorage stakes as the branch boundary.
Very interesting about the discrepancies between Filipino and Tagalog. On places like Google Translate, Tagalog does not come up as a search option while Filipino does, while on the Meetinghouse Locator, Filipino is not a search option, while all congregations are listed as Tagalog-speaking (same with the Book of Mormon). We talk of a "Filipino Group" in my stake that at some point is going to be a branch, but it will probably be designated as a Tagalog branch once formed. The Church certainly seems to prefer "Tagalog" over "Filipino".
The difference between Filipino and Tagalog is described as the same difference between English spoken in the US and English spoken in the UK, however, there are many that state that is an oversimplification of the differences. As stated by Chris, the Filipino language very much uses Tagalog as its foundation. I wonder if it is similar to Italian - while many people say it has numerous dialects, others firmly state those "dialects" are actually languages.
Flagstaff already has a temple announced.
Also recently organized unknown date :
Orem Utah YSA 5th Stake
Young Single Adult 18-25
English
824 W 800 S
Orem, Utah 84058
United States
Associated Locations
Orem YSA 16th Ward
Orem YSA 19th Ward
Orem YSA 24th Ward
Orem YSA 25th Ward
Orem YSA 27th Ward
Orem YSA 32nd Ward
Orem YSA 33rd Ward
Orem YSA 49th Ward
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2305771
And the Lake Highlands Ward (171603) has been renamed the White Rock Ward (171603)
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/171603
But at the time of posting this, the Garland 1st Ward (90239) was still on the Meetinghouse site.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/90239
Filipino is the "de facto standardized form of Tagalog" spoken in Manilla and other urban areas, with a constitutional mandate to incorporate elements from other languages from the Philippines. So at some level saying units meet in Filipino would be like saying "we are going to use standard New York City English in this ward, not varriant Hill billowy speech, Ebonics or other non-standard English forms". I also think there is a desire not to contrast "Filipino" with "Cenuano" as language choices. I think this especially plays up when units are created overseas. The view is these units are built on language, not ethnic unity, even if the reality is at times a little tricky because families normally choose and are heavily encouraged to go to one ward even though language ability differs.
What is and what is not the same language is a tough think to determine.
Hi just wanted to interject. The Yellowknife Branch used to actually be part of the Gateway Stake, as the only approved method of travel to it by church leaders is air travel so the Edmonton airport is essentially the Yellowknife Branch, making the Gateway Stake the closest one to it. However, just recently, the Yellowknife Branch is now part of the Bonnie Doon Stake. The Yellowknife Branch has, I believe, the largest boundaries in the world, I can't remember if that's true, but yes, it's mainly there to cover the remaining northern areas as everywhere in the world has to be covered by one unit or another, though there are some members of the Yellowknife Branch in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The Tagalog wards and YSA stake have their boundaries match the combined area of the Edmonton stakes so yes, there aren't exactly a lot of Tagalog speakers that far North, they just match the local stake boundaries.
Apologies. I did not double check which stake the Yellowknife Branch belonged to. I guess I just thought "North" made sense.
Finally, the Tarawa Kiribati Betio stake from last week has been updated on the Map.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2308746
Tarawa Kiribati Betio Stake
Kiribati
Associated Locations
Betio 1st Ward
Betio 2nd Ward
Betio 3rd Ward
Borotiam Branch
Tabontebike-Abaiang Branch
Temakin Ward
Tuarabu Ward
And the old Tarawa Kiribati West Stake (525219) has a newer ward, Nanikai Ward (2307537). At least since the last time I checked the Stake earlier this summer.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/525219
With continued growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kiribati I hope that the Marshall Islands will have a temple announced soon.
Idaho Falls Temple celebrating 80 years. https://localnews8.com/news/idaho-falls/2025/09/24/idaho-falls-lds-temple-celebrates-80th-anniversary-of-dedication/
Do we have any idea what YoY congregational growth is looking like so far this year?
Since 19 of the new stakes this year have come from upgraded districts (wow!), we currently have a net of 62 new stakes and -7 districts, for a total net increase of 55 new stakes & districts. If we keep that pace and add another 20 net new stakes/districts through the end of the year, we would need around 580 new units to keep the 7.72 units per stake/district that we are currently at.
We have only been over 400 net new units once the past 20 years and haven't been over 200 since 2019. It previously peaked at 8.17 per stake/district in 2010. Last year was an net increase and four-year high of 186, hopefully this year we can get over 300 and continue the upward unit growth.
Adam, If you are keeping track on the Congregation level. On another site, it was recently reported this week that the Sullivan Hollow 1st Ward (8338), in the Ogden Utah Weber Heights Stake (503002), has been consolidated between neighboring wards.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/503002
And the Sullivan Hollow 2nd Ward (5592) was renamed just Sullivan Hollow Ward (5592), in the process.
Also on the same site, it was reported the both the South Jordan Utah River Stake (516937) and South Jordan Utah River Ridge Stake (524379), each had 2 wards consolidated.
In the River Ridge Stake, the River Ridge 9th Ward (1001000) and the River Ridge 10th Ward (2014076) are no longer on the Meetinghouse site.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/524379
In the River Stake, as of the time of this post, i don't see any changes effected on the Map yet. All 11 Wards and 2 Branches from my list are still on the Map.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/516937
I just came across this well thought out opinion article, on my newsfeed. Not about government politics, but about timing for a resolution to the 70 year old "korea question" as stated in the 1953 Armistice. About bringing 2 peoples together naturally. Not by force.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/why-now-is-the-time-for-a-one-korea-policy/ar-AA1Ne7se?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=68d47f5fb2114adcbab3ef81447b74d6&ei=44
I found it an interesting article to read. Understanding that it was written as an opinion and not any governments doctrine or policy. And taking what was said with that intention. I hope it doesn't offend anyone here. Just putting it up for discussion, or not. Matt can always delete the comment it he feels it's out of place or context.
The Beira Mozambique Stake (423076) just had a stake conference this last weekend. And they have another scheduled for November 29-30, 2025, just 2 months from now (with currently 6 Wards and 1 Branch). Which happens to be the same weekend (November 29-30) as the neighboring Beira Mozambique Munhava Stake (461350), with currently 7 Wards and 4 Branches. I wonder if it will be a Special Conference to organize a 3rd Stake between them. Otherwise the normal 6 month conference for Beira would not be due until at least March 2026 (21st and 22nd to be exact on the schedule). With 18 Congregations between them now (could go 6x3).
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/423076
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/461350
Any thoughts or rumors?
The Beira stakes on paper do not look ready to split. 15 wards would be needed at a minimum, and there are only 13. Ward splitting or upgrading bemranches could be going on.
On the other hand my stake had a stake conference in September 2019, Nov. 2919 and then Feb. 2020. Well I think Feb. 29 and Mar 1. We were the last weekend of stake conferences before the Covid shutdown.
The reason was President Ballard visited in Nov. 2019. Elder Peter M. Johnson had been our visiting general authority in Sep. 2019. That conference was the weekend of President Nelson's 95th birthday.
So it might just be they will have a special visitor in November 2025.
Beira is the temple other than Russia, UAR and Shanghai that has gone the longest without a sight announcement. I hope we get one soon. I am also rooting for Mozambique to become the first country where the first two temples have ground broken the same day.
In the new historic site leaders one is Daniel Rodríguez de Almeida. He and his wife may be the first Latino historic site leaders. They are natives of Uruguay and El Salvador who live in the Salt Lake City area. He has been a mission presidents counselor, stake mission president, high councilor, bishop, temple worker and I think stake clerk. But never a stake president, mission president or such. Sister Rodriguez de Almaeida (I think this is all one last name, since it is tacked on after Flores her maiden name), has been a counselor in a primary Presidency snd an institute teacher and a few other callings, but evidently never a President of anything. She was also a pathways missionary and right now they are family home evening group leaders. I know from having read enough announcements of mission 0resident and temple presidents that these lists of past callings are not always comprehensive (temple leader announcements never list being a mission president and also seem to drop other early callings at times, I can tell because the callings do not match for the sane couples, I assume any calling listed with the temple leader call that was not with the mission leader call happened after the mission leadership. I do not believe there has ever been a case of a former temple president called as a mission president, but just watch it will happen soon). Brother and Sister Rodriguez de Almeida are the parents of 11 chuldren.
He has been a long time DTA for the church in many parts of the world.
The Lone Mountain Nevada Temple had a groundbreaking today. It's unusual to see a groundbreaking unannounced and mid-week on a Thursday. Most likely to avoid drawing any kind of extra unwanted attention and limit some traffic due to those that had opposed for temple.
What is a DTA? Is that director of temporal affairs? I am not fully sure what exactly that entails technically either.
If people have complained that there is going to be too much traffic I can see doing it low key. At the sane time I can see all the people who have put a lit of effort into attending meetings, writing to their city council person, and other things in support of the temple really wanting to be there for the groundbreaking.
Groundbreaking used yo be open events, where anyone could show up. The Detroit groundbreaking 27 years ago was an invitation only event. I am not sure that has been true of all since, but I believe it has for the last 5 years, but maybe much longer.
Some might ask why have groundbreaking be invitation only of open houses are try and bring as many people as possible.
I do not have all the answers. One is when you have the groundbreaking the parking lot is normally not there. The other is that outdoor gatherings can be seen as more disruptive.
President Freeman and Sister Wright recently ministered to 6 countries in Europe Central Area. Visiting places like Berlin Germany, Warsaw Poland, Rome Italy, Zurich Switzerland, Lyon France, Brussels Belgium and Breda Netherlands.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/09/25/president-freeman-sister-wright-teach-divine-potential-europe-central/
Both Rome and Belgium have a Temple in varying stages. I have had Berlin, Warsaw, Zurich and Lyon on my radar for some time. And I feel its too soon to talk about Breda as a possible 2nd temple site in The Netherlands, after The Hague.
Any comments?
I stand corrected. The River 3rd Ward (238201) and River 9th Ward (426539), are no longer on the Meetinghouse site in the South Jordan Utah River Stake (516937).
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/516937
Also, discontinued in the same stake, the River Crest Branch (Care Center) (1083694).
Other Matt here...
A Las Vegas Bishop relayed this in their ward about the groundbreaking.
"For quite some time, rumors have spread about the status of the Lone Mountain Temple. This morning, we’re pleased to share some real news: At 9:00 AM on September 25, 2025, Elder Michael A. Dunn of the Seventy presided at the official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Nevada Lone Mountain Temple.
To minimize disruption to the neighborhood and recognizing that the rough terrain wasn’t suited for a large gathering, the decision was made to hold a small, abbreviated ceremony. With the groundbreaking complete, construction on the Lone Mountain Temple is set to begin in early October."
I know several years ago in 2017 when Idaho Falls had it's open house prior to the rededication that they had everyone arrive at various different meeting houses around the city and be busssed to the temple to reduce traffic congestion In the neighborhood of the temple. Also when I see traffic around temples it does not seem to be very significant. Even at some of the busiest temples the percentage of traffic associated with the temple is very little Compared to other commuters on the same street or road. Especially because Temple attendance is designed to be spread out throughout the day and throughout the week.
Other Matt here...
Recent purchase of land in Caldwell Idaho rumored to be temple site.
https://boisedev.com/news/2025/09/25/lds-temple-september-2025/
https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/lds-church-west-little-rock-land-7m/
I'm not keeping track of things on the congregational level at all, was just curious if anyone else was. There are far more being created than worldwide, so don't necessarily need to see the individual examples of which ones are closing, was more curious on the cumulative.
Well, looks like Little Rock should be in everyone's top ten. Elder Bednar had a post this morning talking about when he was in town create the Centerton stake.
"I recently returned once more to Arkansas to participate in the creation of a new stake. The growth and strength of the Church in this region—and throughout the world—is evidence of the Lord’s work. But if we are primarily focusing on the number of temples built or stakes organized, we may miss what matters most.
Clearly, the Lord is hastening His work. As He does so, the real question for each of us is this: Are we allowing the Lord to hasten His work within us?"
I doubt Detroit Temple even creates 1% of the traffic on Woodward. It helps it us the busiest road in Metro Detroit, or at least one of 5 (the other 4 being Telegraph, Gratiot, Grand River, and Michigan Avenue, all are designated federal or state highways).
The rogh terrain issue seems to me to be the biggest reason.
The headlines say the Javksonville Temple will cost $27 million. I suspect this excludes the $6 million for the land. It is unclear if it includes any other preliminary costs. I am not sure if it is comparable to the $70 million figure I read for Philadelphia. Nor am I sire Philadelphia stayed in budget. That is a 2009 or so figure so there is inflation. I have no clue what all was covered in either. Washington DC's determined cost in the late 1960s was $15 million. At that time members in the proposed temple district were asked to contribute 1/3 the cost, so collectively $5 million. Jeffrey R. and Patricia T. Holland donated the equivalent of several months expenditures. At the time he was Institute director and a grad student at Yale.
The Laie Temple was built with no local member monetary contributions. Instead it was funded by the operating surplus from the Church's sugar Plantation in Laie.
Sorry I misspelled Jacksonville.
I wonder how much the Salt Lake City Temple rebuild and restoration is costing. I hesitate to guess a number. I suspect the whole project costs several billion dollars, but I have no clue how many.
In relation to the growth of the church in the Grand junction Colorado area and bew temple there. https://www.gjsentinel.com/lifestyle/lds-church-suffered-initial-opposition-then-prospered-in-mesa-county/article_4f661cba-b7d8-4fe9-8f91-4f1ea84df0d1.amp.html
Has anyone heard if any new Stakes / Districts will be organized tomorrow morning?
I realize, as posible, the creation of a new Stake in Curitiba, tomorrow. Stakes Boqueirão and Luz are neighbors and together holding 16 units... just a "bet"...
How many temples do we expect to be dedicated in 2026. Is there a chance that the church has 300 dedicated temples by its 200th anniversary?
Stake Conference dates are assigned by the office of the Quorum of the Twelve. It is not unusual for neighboring stakes to be assigned the same dates, either for ease in scheduling in their system or for other reasons. I would not read too much into adjacent stakes having the same Stake Conference dates generally, although sometimes it can be significant.
If we have 300 dedicated by April 2030, we would need to dedicate 20-21 temples a year between 2026 and 2029 plus a few in the first quarter of 2030. it's doable.
It was announced that President Nelson has died. https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/09/28/president-russell-m-nelson-dies-101/
With the passing of President Nelson I wonder if the planned announcement of new temples will still take place at General Conference.
Good bye President Nelson. You will be remembered.
Well, I don't know if we've ever had a Church President die so close before a General Conference, except maybe George Albert Smith who died on April 4th, not sure what dates that conference was.
I was very sad to see this, I was sent the link to the Church News article by my bishop as he requested to change one of the hymns to be We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet (I am the organist in my ward).
But this could work out timewise, it''s almost a week. They could have his funeral on Thursday or Friday. And then announce the new First Presidency on Friday or at the start of the conference on Saturday.
Either way, I imagine President Oaks will be making the announcements now. I can't see them skipping a conference but he might not move his talk to be at the end.
I maybe wrong, and it's just my speculation, but I think the Marshall islands would have a temple if it wasn't so close to sea level. Population and membership is moving away, and the country maybe gone in 50 years due to rising sea levels.
It also depends on if the wards are large enough and able to split - it is a fast-growing area of the church, but I would have to agree with you that it's unlikely at this time. While five is the minimum, I think 6+ is ideal per stake when splitting.
This maybe possible. On my map, I put the icon on a meetinghouse property that likely has enough land for a temple. Either location would be good, but I think it's a matter of wait-and-see.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1G7hdBBWl07qNmfixCPEyCf7dAOKzzjw&usp=sharing
This conference I would expect a new apostle announced. While President Oaks can change what was to be announced in the way of temples, I would suspect at least for this conference he'll make announcements according to what President Nelson already planned to announce.
To be fair, they said the exact same thing as Kiribati, and that country was even at the forefront of most of the discussions on sea levels, but that didn't stop them from having a temple announced.
Certainly, my comments here are not through any revelation or the mind of wheel of the Lord, but due to the age of President Oak and President iron President Holland, and with Elder Odor, next and seniority after those three, I wouldn’t be surprised if Elder Bednar isn’t called to be a counselor in the first presidency so that he can learn More of the first presidency and the president of the quorum of the 12 work together to magnify their callings of those individual quorum. Because if and when elder Odor is called is the profit elder Bednar would be the president of the quorum of the 12, assuming that presents oaks And Hollander no longer around. It’s never possible to know the mind and well of the Lord without direct revelation, but it humbles me and amazes me how it never matters who he calls, things move forward according to his mind and will and no on him stop the Lord’s work from progressing. I too, could certainly be wrong but considering the fast growth of the church in Africa, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new apostle would be someone with very strong African ties
Dratz, sorry I use talk to text and with my list the words don’t always come out properly so as you read my Previous message, please understand what I’m trying to say not what the words actually show up to be
There’s been a church shooting and fire in Michigan. https://apple.news/AxK1OAmuIThKJBCAXk8SElw
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/church-shooting-fire-michigan-09-28-25
I will miss President Nelson a lot.
President Oaks is old, so there is reason to believe that his presidency will not last decades. But the same could have been said about President Nelson when he became the President of the Church - and look with what an impactful, not exactly short tenure we ended up with.
Elders Stevenson, Bednar and Uchtdorf are in my view the three most likely candidates to join the First Presidency. There are really no major advantages to either of the three, although Elder Stevenson is still quite junior. I am also not completely counting on President Eyring remaining in the First Presidency. Looking at his own advanced age, President Oaks may choose to call two younger counselors who are more mobile and statistically likely to eventually succeed him.
My ward changed the closing hymn to "God be with you til me meet again."
Do we know whether John Pack Lambert is OK?
John Pack Lambert can answer more on this. But he said this happened in the stake just North of his and some of the wards in his stale were let out early. His branch was at the same time this happened and they did not find out untill later.
I agree with L Chris Jones in letting JPL answer. I believe he lives closer to Detroit than this unit. In another comment, he personally stated he was in a branch. There is a hotline set up if you want to find out if friends/loved ones are ok.
Reuniting Korea without force, interesting. Since USSR liberated Korea from Japan (and US wanted to keep Korea as part of Japan after WW2, looking at the Cairo Conference), which govt do you think should be in charge of a united Korea? The one aligned with Russia or the one aligned with the U.S., who has been working towards Japan just taking it all?
When you know you're not wanted, ...
I live in Detroit, so I am much closer to Detroit than Grand Blanc is, where the shooting happened. Grand Blanc is a suburb of Flint. The stake is called the Grand Blanc Michigan Stake, but I really think it should be named the Flint Michigan Stake. I also think the three stakes in Metro Detroit (all of which include parts of the city) should be the Detroit Michigan North Stake, the Detroit Michigan West Stake and the Detroit Michigan Northwest Stake. Either that or call the two West and Northwest and just call my stake the Detroit Michigan Stake (which was its name). The reason we do not have those names is negative associations with crime of both Detroit and Flint plus the 1970s decision to name all stakes after the city where the stake center was. They have since backed down from always doing that. Thus the Ann Arbor Stake has that name even though its stake center is in Saline, Michigan, and 2 stakes in Massachusetts as well as some elsewhere are not even named after cities. The Detroit Michigan Northwest Stake was created in 2021 (actual name Farmington Hills Michigan Stake). However it would not have made sense to name it that unless the renamed Westland and Bloomfield Hills to have Detroit in their name.
Back to the issue at hand. I have been to the building that was attacked and burned by the shooter/arsonist a few times. Most of them in the 1990s for multi-stake youth dances. I think the last time I was there was about 2007 for a YSA activity but we were outside.
My brother-in-law lived in a ward that attended that building part of the time he was growing up. Him and my sister and his parents live in the White Lake Ward, which was formed from the Clarkston Ward and then sent to the Farmington Hills Stake a week later in 2021. Before that they were in the Clarkston Ward in the Grand Blanc Stake, which borders the Grand Blanc Stake to the south. My father-in-law was on the High Council in the Grand Blanc Stake from roughly 2015-2020.
Since I am a temple worker at the Detroit Temple it is possible I have met some of the people who died, and I know some people who were in the stake. I used to be the hometeacher of the stake young women president in that stake when she lived in the Sterling Heights Ward before moving north into Grand Blanc Stake. It was a while ago since I was her hometeacher.
My heart is still heavy from President Nelson's passing. I have to admit I really hoped he would live to rededicate the Salt Lake Temple. Although even if he had lived that long there was no guarantee he would be healthy enough to do so.
I have to admit I love President Oaks though. Some of his talks from years ago, especially his date do not hang out talk to Young Single Adults, were very impactful. I also remember his talk on singing in the church and also his talk to the young single adults on the gifts of the spirt, that I believe he gave in May 2000. There are others.
President Oaks was president of the Philippines Area from 2002-2004. He is the first president of the Church to have been a resident area president abroad since Ezra Taft Benson. Technically that was not President Benson;s title when he was in Europe in the mid-1960s. He was president of the European Mission, which oversaw the other missions in Europe, but basically Elder Benson was resident area president. I am not sure he had counselors though.
I have to wonder if President Oaks will implement any rules he had for the Philippines for the whole church. On the other hand because of the way the Church is run by the First Presidency and not much by the President of the church acting unilaterally, it is hard to say how much President Oaks will change things. most everything done for the last 7 years he has been a key advisor on. This may or may not explain why President Nelson instituted more changes during his first conference as president of the church than either President Monson or President Hinckley, since both had been counselors to multiple church presidents (3 in each case) before become president of the church.
On the specific issue of temples, I listened to a church news podcast where President Oaks said that in many ways it surprised him how large of temples and in what areas they were making decisions to build them, but he also made it clear that he felt this was the direction of the Lord on where and at what scale to build temples. So nothing indicates to me President Oaks is likely to slow down. I always hope temple building speeds up, but we are probably announcing them at about the reasonable limit at present. There is always a temptation to announce 32 at once, at least in the abstract, as President Hinckley did, but only 27 temple locations were announced in 1998, which is less than have been announced in any year from 2021 to 2024.
How soon the temple announcements are decided is unclear. At this point I would guess at least a general idea of at least a preliminary set is probably known. I would guess President Oaks would stay with that, although he might run it by the whole quorum more than in the past since they are collectively the governing body of the Church at this time, which might result in some revisions or otherwise impact the final decision. While preparing for the funeral and choosing his new counselors and a new apostle, this may impact the amount of time and deliberation available for temple decisions. However I suspect 18 will be announced, and suspect if it is not that number it might be a number higher.
I am going to be bold and predict the new apostle will be Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela. I have other thoughts, but I think he is the most likely. My next most likely guess is Carl B. Cook. Elder Edward Dube and Elder Michael T. Ringwood are outside possibilities. Others I have considered are Bishop Causse, Elder Montoya, Elder Hugo Martinez, Elder Peter M. Johnson and Elder Ahmad Corbitt. Most aposltes called since 2000 were members of the Presidency of the 70 (8 of 11), the other 3 were Elder Bednar, who was an area seventy and president of BYU-Idaho, Elder Stevenson who was presiding bishop and previously a general authority seventy, and Elder Renlund, who was an area president and general authority seventy.
So to flesh out my list I probably should add Elder Kyungu, Elder Mutombo and every other area president, possibly all past area presidents who are currently general authority seventies, and Elder John Kauwe III, president of BYU-Hawaii and an area seventy. Although with all that said, it might be someone who does not fit any of the critieria I can determine for the aposltes since 2000. It could be Kevin J Worthen, or any of the current general authority seventies or someone who will surprise me even more. There is nothing that would prevent the call of an emeritus general authority seventy. None have been called to the 12, but Elder George Q. Morris and Elder Hugh B. Brown would have been emeritus under the current rules at the time of their call to the 12. Alfred Kyungu actually seems quite likely the more I think about it. We will see.
Sorry I have posted so much.
On what will happen with the First Presidency I have even less idea. One big questions in my mind is will President Eyring be retained. Since President Brown and President Romney were released at the passing of the previous president in part due to issues of health and age, I could see President Oaks choosing two new counselors.
I actually think it is somewhat likely that President Oaks will call Elder Gong as one of his counselors. The fact that President Oaks mentioned Elder Gong in his journal back when President Oaks was president of BYU (Rhodes Scholars are not that common so the BYU president takes note). Elder Gong's expertise in international relations is a needed thing in this day and time. Plus having more dad jokes is always better (OK, that was probably a lame dad joke).
More I am wondering if we will first learn the first presidency at the start of general conference, or if it will be announced earlier than that. I have no clue but we will see.
I have heard that the funeral will be after general conference and the new prophet and first presidency will be announced after the funeral sometime. It makes a lot of sense to me to do it this way.
I’m so happy to hear this! I grew up in the Little Rock stake and the drive to any temple from my former home is at least 3 hours. I hope it is announced at conference.
Funeral arrangements are still pending, per official Church sources, so it's a near certainty that General Conference will be under the direction of the now 14 members of the Quorum of the Twelve, with President Oaks presiding thereover. I'd still count on new temples. But the last apostolic interregnum was 12 days, so I wouldn't count on a new First Presidency until President Nelson is laid to rest, which isn't likely to occur before General Conference this weekend.
George Albert Smith actually died DURING conference if I recall, and they delayed the final session to hold a solemn assembly after reorganizing the First Presidency.
There is precedent for General Conference with no First Presidency, and I'm sure the Quorum of the Twelve is grieving just as much as the rest of the Church.
It seems like President Eyring has slowed down fairly substantially over the last year, and I definitely think the precedent with Hugh B. Brown weighs against him being retained, but it's entirely possible that President Oaks opts for continuity.
Ultimately, I think we just have to wait and see what happens. The Lord has prepared President Oaks for this exact moment, and I am certain he will do as directed.
Agreed, Noah. Well said.
Other Matt here..
Locally in Southern California, Good news.
Cerritos 3rd Branch (Tagalog), Cerritos CA Stake was upgraded to a ward last Sunday. (Now Cerritos 3rd Ward)
This Tagalog branch was just organized a few years ago.
What percentage of temples have been announced outside of general conference?. Or at least what percentage of temples before President Nelson or President Monson? President Nelson announced I think only one temple outside of general conference and that was the Ephraim Utah Temple. So is it possible that they could hold off on announcing temples during conference until after President oakes is ordained and set apart? And then in the coming weeks see temple announcements. This conference will be a pretty somber one with the death of our prophet president just before conference. And the tragedy that happened to members of our church and one of our sacred worship spaces.
I imagine they will reorganize prior to conference. I can imagine no circumstances where a conference would be conducted without a beloved prophet. Yes, it would be fun for the people like us who read this blog to have the Twelve be in charge—but imagine being a new, unsophisticated convert or investigator in DR Congo, Peru, or a U.S. inner city who got promised a prophet and got an apostle instead.
When George Albert Smith died the Wednesday before conference, the funeral was conducted as part of the Saturday sessions and the solemn assembly occurred on Sunday. This may be a viable option, but considering how much more regimented conference is these days compared to then it may not be possible.
Either way, I’ll be watching!
Given the dissolution of the First Presidency with the death of President Nelson, there will likely not be any major temple construction announcement on this Monday as has been customary. But the Church released an official statement from President Oaks' as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on both President Nelson's death and the tragedy in Michigan. The release of such a statement can and should be taken as a sign that, even without a prophet, the Church is never without leadership. And these circumstances give missionaries the unique opportunity to explain how succession in the presidency works to all who may be curious. So I don't think not having a prophet would be a deal-breaker. The Newsroom release announcing President Nelson's death states that a successor is not expected to be announced until after President Nelson's funeral takes place. I'm sure the Apostles need time to grieve just as much as the rest of the Church. And there is precedent for holding General Conference without a prophet, even if that precedent is a few centuries back. I'll be keeping an eye on what the Church does for sure.
Having conference without a First Presidency is unusal, but not unheard of. The other option is to push General Conference back a week, but that seems the least likely prospect. I'm sure President Oaks knows what he's doing. I look forward to seeing where we go from here.
Askd and answered: General Conference will proceed as scheduled, and there will be an "In Memorium" broadcast before General Conference, with the funeral services following afterward. And since the news release on President Nelson's death said that "a successor is not expected to be named until after the funeral services", we are unlikely to see the First Presidency reorganized until after President Nelson's funeral:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-tribute-funeral-plans
Other than the mention of having announced 185 temples (which is now outdated) everything in the temple section on the article on Russell M. Nelson on Wikipedia is things in April 2020 or earlier. No temples mentioned after that date evidently merit mention. Nor do any temple dedications, even ones done by him. The article looks to be frozen in time. I keep hoping if I make this issue public it will be resolved. I thought his death might spur editing, but it has not yet. I am hoping someone sees this notice and acts.
The section on President Nelson's church leadership ends in 2019 and on his ministry in late 2918. The Wikipedia article on Russell M. Nelson needs to be updated.
And to expand on that theme the funeral will be next Tuesday, October 7th at noon. "This weekend’s 195th Semiannual General Conference will continue as scheduled. Before the conference and before the funeral, a special tribute broadcast will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 1. This broadcast will feature remarks by several Church leaders and a tribute from The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, reported a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org."
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/09/29/president-russell-m-nelson-funeral-arrangements-live-broadcast/
Disagree. I think the memorial service gives enough cover to make it socially appropriate to reorganize the FP prior to conference. Again, in no world would the modern Church have conference without a beloved prophet. It’s too central to the brand.
The only stake change this week :
"Name change of Nuku'alofa Tonga North Stake > Nuku'alofa Tonga Kolomotu'a Stake."
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/516589
In the process, the Sopu Ward (482838), has been renamed the Sopu 'o Taufa'ahau 1st Ward (482838). And the 'Isileli Ward (256757) has been renamed the Sopu 'o Taufa'ahau 2nd Ward.
But the official news release on his death notes point blank that 'A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Nelson’s funeral
That wording has not been updated. Therefore, the earliest the First Presidency will likely be reorganized is October 8. And that would put the apostolic interregnum at 11 days. This has nothing to do with "branding", but is just common sense and traditional. The Church isn't rushing towards new leadership, and President Oaks at the head of the Quorum has more than sufficient apostolic authority to authorize whatever the Church needs until after the funeral. The Church is being wise in not rushing the process. As someone who has studied apostolic interregnums consistently, I'm glad of that fact. It's quite comforting, really.
Well, when you’re wrong you’ll think of me :)
Respectfully, the Cairo Conference didn't mention Korea, rather it advocated stripping Japan of its conquered territories. No U.S. administration has ever advocated for merging Korea and Japan. The very idea is frankly rather weird. The U.S. HAS maintained a one Korea policy since the armistice was signed, as have both Koreas (though South Korea has no stated or even suspected desire to reconquer the north). At this point the two Koreas are so different politically, socially, and economically that reuniting them would be a near impossibility.
I think your suspicion is likely correct, and I think you will see at least a few and maybe several new wards created in the process. That seems to be a common theme in many stake divisions lately.
I'll second your proposal of Elder Gong, and I hope Elder Eyring gets a break and returns to the quorum. I hope Elder Uchtdorf returns to the first presidency. I'm not sure what the gambling odds are.
I hope the memorial service does lead to a reorganization of the first presidency. Personally, I think it would be very empowering to announce the new first presidency at the beginning of general conference.
Good point Ryan
JPL, I'm glad you're doing well
I think calling calling a president of the church after the previous president's funeral is tradition more than doctrine. Also, traditionally the president of the church or the first presidency as a whole announces new temples. If there's no funeral before conference, one of these traditions will be broken.
Do you think there's a possibility President Nelson may have prerecorded his closing speech and temple announcements?
Outside of this, a tradition will likely be broke (wait till after stake conference to announce temples or temples being announced without a first presidency) as I don't think the brethren will allow the delay of temples being announced.
Well we do have a prophet. 14 of them in fact. All of the apostles are ordained as prophets, seers, and revelators. Only one of them has the authority to exercise all the keys of the priesthood. Collectively they have all of the keys of the priesthood. So I think Dallan H. Oaks will just be set apart as the the president of the church or presiding authority authorized to use all priesthood keys, since he has already been ordained and set apart as a prophet, seer, and revelator.
David O. McKay was set apart as president of the Church on April 9, 1951. At that time general conference always had a session in April on April 6th no matter what day of the week the 6th was on. George Albert Smith died on Wednesday. It would have been 3 days after general conference ended how things are scheduled today, but I think the plan then may have been to do conference April 6th (Friday), 7th (Saturday) and April 8th (Sunday). Let me see what else I can learn.
I found the 1951 conference report here https://archiveviewer.org/viewer/church-history-library/0480ab3f-05ad-42cd-901e-58ef4ed72be7/0. A few things. The conference was Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. George Albert Smith's funeral was on Saturday and is included in that conference report. Conference would not be translated until 1961, and it is not clear it was being broadcasted by nationality stations yet at that time. The broadcasters were mainly church owned stations or other Utah stations that could accommodate quick changes.
The vacancy in the 12 was not filled at general conference.
Marion G. Romney is more recent than Hugh B. Brown, but his health I believe was much worse than Henry B. Eyring's is now at the time of Spencer W. Kimball's death.
Despite it somewhat going against precedent of the 1951 case at the death of President George Albert Smith, I suspect we will have a solute assembly and a new apostle called before the funeral of President Nelson. I could easily be wrong though.
Prior to President Nelson and even President Monson, I think a majority of temples were announced outside of conference. So is it possible that they can delay temple announcements until after the funeral, or spread them out over the coming weeks and months? Does anyone have any data on how many temples were announced in conference versus which ones were not? I also don't think there's been a time in this dispensation that we have been without a prophet. Because all the apostles are set apart as prophets, seers, and revelators.
President Monson announced 3 temples for Arizona in early 2008 not at general conference. President Hinckley announced plans to build 32 temples in general conference but did not specify where (except Fiji, but even that was not really meant to be a specific one). The Tokyo Temple was announced at an Area Conference in Japan. Other temples were announced to regional leaders.
While 199 of the 200 temples announced by President Nelson were announced in general conference, so that is already over half, I belive pre-2018 the percentage announced in general conference may have been under half.
It gets tricky to count because Oresident Kimball announced his record breaking 7 temples in 1980 at a press conference that preceeded general conference. Does that count for our purposes? Does Fiji count or do we insist on counting when the Suva Fiji site was announced?
Before he let the flood gates open with 32 locations without specifics, President Hinckley had announced most temples at general conference. He announced 5 locations at general priesthood meeting in October 1997 general conference. In I believe April 1997 general conference he gave an opening talk where he gave the names and decided their general state of progress of every temple then in any stage of planning. That might be the same talk that included the announcement of the conference center. If President Oaks were yo try that, saying these temples we have dedication dates gor, these are almost ready to dedicate, these are in progress, these we will soon break ground on, these we are mov8ng forward yo prepare the dates, these we are in earlier stages of site preparation, and then tacked on the temples newly being announced, he would probably have a talk taking close to an hour, and say very little else in the talk. It would be a great talk to probably get 5 new dedication announcements, 5 new groundbreaking announcements, and 20 plus temples announced, and I would live it forever, but I am not sure it would be the best use of a talk, especially his inaugural talk as prophet, and having to name 190 to 210 temples would be a gargantuan task.
The final states for President Nelson's Presidency are 200 temples announced, 100 groundbreakings and 49 dedications. That would be a good addition to his Wikipedia article.
There are over 100 temples awaiting groundbreaking since some of those 100 groundbreakings were for temples announced by President Monson.
This article gives the numbers just of the status of the 200 temples announced by President Nelson. https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/09/29/temples-current-status-200-announced-president-nelson/
I have to admit I have a strong hope that more temples will be rebuilt on the Anchorage plan. We need more temples, but dome existing temples are not adequate to the demands placed on them.
I think my idea of renaming the Manila Temple to Quezon City and having a temple announced for the city of Msnila proper is a little more likely now, even if Aan José del Monte seems yo make that less likely.
President Oaks is the first President of the Church raised outside Salt Lake County in 30 years.
President Oaks was born and lived his very early years in Provo, then went to Twin Falls. After his father died he was shunted between relatives in Vernal and Payson while his mom got a college degree. Some of that time he lived with his mom. I think it was more the rural farm country outside Oayson where he lived. Payson was a small city very far from and distinct from Provo in those days. He spent his last two years of high school in Provo. President Hinckley, Monson and Bekson grew up in Salt Lake City.
The differences seem small to those of us who live outside Utah, and President Oaks is unlike our other prophet-lawyer , Howard W. Hunter in many ways. President Hunter was raised in Bouse, especially then very much not a central area of the church, and moved to the Los Angeles area as a young adult.
President Oaks after graduating from BYU lived in Chicsgo as a law student, Washington DC as a law clerk to the US chief justice, then went back to Chicago and worked 3 years at a large law firm (Bork was a lawyer he worked with closely there), then he was a law professor at the University of Chicsgo. In 1965 he and his wife June tried to convince Russell M. Nelson to come to the University of Chicago, June trying to convince Danzel to come. President McKay advised Russell M. Nelson to stay in Utah. If he had not Spencer W. Kimball most likely would have died before Harold B. Lee.
President Oaks was a stake mission president and then a counselor in a stake Presidency in Chicsgo. He also dpent a summer living in Ann Arbor Michigan as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. He was then President of BYU and later a Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
President Hunter was a musician, who then turned to jobs that were more family friendly, ending up a banker and did night law school to become a lawyer. As a lawyer hos role was less high end then President Oaks time at his first law firm. President Oaks was a Supreme Court law clerk, a law professor and a judge, state Supreme Court Judge. He was considered at times for the US Supreme Court.
On the other hand President Hunter was a stake president when called as an apostle. President Oaks was a ward Sunday School teacher, and points out in Rome wats the first time he was President in the Church was when he was president of the Philippines Area. He had never been a bishop, mission president, or stake president.
The last President of the Church who this was the case for was Joseph Firlding Smith. Everyone since was a stake president, except President Monson, but he was both bishop and mission president. Joseph Fielding Smith was temple president of the Salt Lake Temple, and of course President Oaks was president of BYU and stake mission president (and a counselor to a stake president).
President Oaks is maybe only the second president of the Church whose wife while he was president had been a full-time missionary. The first was Ezra Taft Benson. President Harold B. Lee met his first wife while they were both missionaries but she died before he became the president of the Church. President George Albert Smith's wife Lucy Woodruff Smith served with him for half of his mission to the southern states, which started very soon after thry married, but she died in 1935.
President George Albert Smith never remarried. He is to date the only president of the Church who had no living rife the entire time he was president of the Church.
I strongly suspect President Oaks will dedicate the Burley Idaho Temple. He partly grew up in Twin Falls not far from there. Ot also has no dedicated announced. Although they could switch out and hsvd him dedicate Grand Junction or Bahia Blanca, and I am sure people either place would love that, I would be surprised if it happens. Lots of things surprise me though.
Looking at the list of announcement dates, prior to 1950, there were 8 out of 11 temples that were announced outside of Conference (including Kirtland and Nauvoo, I don't know if Logan, Laie, and Mesa were announced AT Conference, but was announced around the time Conference would have been).
Between 1950 - 1979, only one temple (Mexico City) was announced at a time Conference would have been held out of 13. Thus far, that's 20 announced outside of Conference and 4 that were announced around when Conference would have been held.
1980 was the first year we start seeing bulk announcements of temples around Conference time. 37 temples were announced near Conference from 1980-1999 with 55 announced outside of Conference. New total: 75 outside, 41 near.
2000-2009: 18 announced outside, 19 announced around Conference, bringing the total to 93 outside and 60 near.
From 2010-present, I only see 2 temples announced outside of Conference: Payson and Ephraim. That would only make 95 temples announced outside of Conference from 382 total (which reminder - included Kirtland and original Nauvoo), meaning 287 have been announced with Conference.
The Wikipedia article on Russell M. Nelson does not mention him speaking in 2019 to the national assembly of the NAACP. This is a major oversight that needs to be corrected. Here is a source not controlled by either the NAACP or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that covered the event. https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/07/22/naacp-convention-lds/
Matt, FYI, a quick reminder, when you go to update the Stakes in the sidebar. #66, Should now read Orem Utah YSA 5th - September 21, 2025. That i posted last week.
Ryan, thank you for the analysis.
In theory they could announce temples at President Nelson's funeral. As I m we ntiomed before at least the 1980 ones were announced at a press conference before general conference.
Paris France complicates things. It was basically leaked by a French newspaper before intended, so President Monson announced it in general conference but the church had already publicly acknowledged the plan.
White Plaines New York was announced in conference. I am not sure about Hartford I and Pago Pago I, both relocated at conference time but also both reannounced at conference later. So the last temple to be announced by President Kimball to be dedicated is technically Pago Pago American Samoa. That temple had its ground broken after Nairobi, the last temple announced by President Monson to have ground broken. It appears Pago Pago will also be dedicated after Harare Zimbabwe the last temple announced by President Monson to be dedicated.
James Stokes, with just a few days left before conference. Have you made any recent adjustments to your list of possible Temple announcements for this conference?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/167yYyARci-WW20ifvzCc9o1T0MLRqy3sZh5OZmYdsbY/edit?tab=t.0
If president Nelson pre-recorded his talk. Could they share it during his tribute memorial broadcast or during his funeral? Could it include temple announcements? Could they still show it as his last prepared talk during conference?
If i'm not mistaken, the Huddersfield England Stake (503606) just had a Stake Conference 2 days ago, but I see it also has another in 5 weeks on November 9th. Maybe for a special guest speaker. Who knows. I don't see any other stakes nearby with a conference scheduled for November 9th. And it only has 6 Wards. Not enough to justify splitting. It's just a curiosity of mine.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/503606
That stake president was called shortly after he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and he has served for about 5 years. I could see a visiting authority or just time for him to be released and focus on his family and health.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/04/25gong?lang=eng
I found it. Here is a full article on President Nelson's military service. https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/09/29/remembering-president-nelson-military-service-korean-war-mash/ There was a debate in the Wikipedia article comments if he served in the army or the navy. Per this article he was in the Navy reserve from 1945-1947, and then during the Korean War joined the army. So he was actually in both. I hope someone uses this article to add a few needed details (such as his time in the Navy Reserve) to the Wikipedia article on President Nelson.
If I recall, Paris wasn't ever formally "announced" because before the Church could announce it, a Paris magazine leaked the details of the zoning approvals for the temple. President Monson just announced that they were confirming previously reported plans for the temple, or something like that.
Yeah, I recall some confusion over when the Paris France Temple was actually announced, the list I took all the figures from state the temple was formally announced on October 1st, 2011.
This is my reference: https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/milestones/announcement/
5 new branches created in the Moriba Town Sierra Leone District this past Sunday, doubling the number of branches in the district from 5 to 10.
Per the Wikipedia article The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement July 15, 2011 declaring an intent to build a temple in Paris. President Monson officially announced the Paris France Temple in October general conference 2011.
If President Nelson pre-recorded a message it could be used in many ways. That is a big if.
Moriba Town doubling the number of branches is a good development. I wonder if it will at some point become a stake or if they will split the district first.
I am starting to realized that President Nelson being in the naval reserves from q945-1947 is a,key detail to understand him that has not been covered or considered enough.
Sorry about the typo in my last post. President Nelson was in the US Naval reserve 1945-1947. He got married the end of August 1947. I am not sure when he entered the Naval Reserve.
It is possible the next apostle will be the first one not to have a Wikipedia article at the time of his call since Elder Cook was called in October 2006. It is also possible the new apostle could be another person whose Wikipedia article was first created by me. I am not sure if Elder Valenzuela would be both, since I was not able to figure out how to uncover the edit history for the article that previously existed on him. We will see what happens at whatever point a new apostle is called.
For a time, around 2017 Wikipedia had articles on all current general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most past general authorities as well. A major campaign was waged against such articles mainly in 2019. Several of the articles were deleted. I was having 5 or so articles I had created nominated fir deletion a day. I still think that the decision to mass delete the articles on Grneral Authority Seventies and leave in place a theory that every Catholic bishop everywhere is notable is not justified. It is rooted in a prejudice in Wikipedia against sources created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that does not exist most other institutional sources.
The fact is that there are thousands of articles on Catholic bishops sources only to a blog that does not give text on each bishop, just a bullet point timeline.
Things that should have counted, like articles in the Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History were ignored because of confusion between editorial control of Press ownership issues.
A few articles survived the large scale destruction, such as the one on Taniela Wakolo. This was in part because the paper of record of Fiji ran an in depth article on him. I believe the journalist who wrote that article was a Latter-day Saint. If the New York Times ran an independent news article on a newly called General Authority Seventy (in a slightly different world they might have done one of Ahmed S. Corbitt) that would have been enough to preserve the Wikipedia article. It at least should have not mattered the religious background, or length of time the writer knew the general authority. Since the article would have been reviewed and approved through multiple editors.
The articles of Ulisses Soares and Gerrit W. Gong survived 2019 deletion attempts. Elder Soares because I was able to muster enough coverage from top notch international newspapers no where near the time he was called as an apostle to make the claim his article did not pass the Biography of living people 1 event guidelines be shown as the silly claim it was. Elder Gong we never got that far because a book he wrote that was published in 1982 was widely enough reviewed that he passed Wikipedia's author guidelines.
No other members of the Quorum of the 12 apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints past or present have ever faced attempts to delete the Wikipedia article on then.
Wikipedia has an article on Michelle Amos, the wife of Elder John Amos who was the head engineer on the Mars rover project, although she stepped down to become a mission leader with her husband in 2020 before the Rover launched. She was also chronicled in an article in the Friend. Now someone needs to write a paper explaining the deeper meaning of the Friend writing an article on a little girl who grew up to fulfill her dream of being an engineer but then stepped down because she valued following a call from an apostle of the Lord more.
The issue with the article on Michelle Amos is that it is written as if she is still one of the leaders of the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission. The Amos's finished that assignment in 2023 with Elder Amos called as an area seventy before their mission was over. The article mentions John Amos, but not his call as an area seventy and not his April 2025 call as a general authority seventy. I keep hoping if I post about this enough times enough places someone will update the article.
I follow the blog of the Mission leaders in Bo; they mentioned the hope to create a stake in Moriba Town next year. That said, if they keep baptizing 100+ converts every few weeks, it might be possible to both organize the more "mature" branches into a stake and also retain a district. It seems to be something the Church is doing on some occasions if the geographic boundaries make sense (e.g. Dar Es Salaam or more prospectively Kisangani). That said, Moriba Town is pretty rural compared to those places.
All, this was an awesome interview with Brother Wilson. It’s a must watch for us growth people! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqnTubnxnk
JPL, This Wikipedia article doesn't have much information from the Way Back Machine archives, of Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela. If this is what you were looking for.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170416070610/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulfo_Valenzuela
The Church News recently posted this article of several World Leaders honoring and paying their respects to the late President Nelson. Including our local President Donald J Trump.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2025/09/30/global-leaders-honor-president-russell-m-nelson/
Looks like you created the page in May 2013. According to this review history link.
https://web.archive.org/web/20161023173416/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arnulfo_Valenzuela&action=history
While we are on the subject of Church articles found on the Wikipedia, this article on the Seventies has not been updated in some time.
It lists the old names under the Seventh Quorum, as Europe Area and Europe East Area. Needs to be updated to the new names "Eurasian, Europe Central and Europe North Areas".
And the Tenth Quorum names, of North America Central, North America Northeast and North America Southeast Areas, need updated to United States Central, United States Northeast and United States Southeast Areas.
And the Eleventh Quorum names of North America Southwest and North America West Areas to United States Southwest and United States West Areas.
And the new Canada Area needs added to the corresponding Quorum assigned. Possibly the Tenth Quorum due to geographical closeness to the United States Central and Northeast Areas. Unknown to me which it was assigned to.
Chris, what's the other site?
My temple predictions for this conference (assuming they announce them -- I have no idea whether President Nelson's passing will have any impact on that or not):
Bo, Sierra Leone
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Resistencia, Argentina
Tacna, Peru
Poza Rica, Mexico
Lome, Togo
Sorocaba, Brazil
Neuquen, Argentina
Lyman, Wyoming (or maybe Evanston, WY instead)
Machala, Ecuador
Eastern part of Kinshasa, DRC
Little Rock, Arkansas
Angeles City/Olongapo, Philippines (or somewhere between the two)
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Longview, Texas
Passo Fundo, Brazil
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Christchurch, New Zealand
--Felix
I was recently told that the church has received FCRA approval from the Indian government, valid for the next five years. This is a big deal, because it makes possible the transfer of money from headquarters to the church in India (in its absence, the church has had to rely on tithing money generated within India to operate, necessitating the termination of leases for some places of worship and a pause on the construction of the temple because). If true, this will open the way for the resumption of construction on the Bangalore temple in the near future. I have not been able to independently verify if this is true, but the person who told me is in a better position to know about such matters than most people, so I think it more likely true than not.
--Felix
For the sake of getting temples closer, I think it would be more beneficial to add additional temples to an area. However, this could be the case for poorly built temples with a lot of upkeep.
I was at the Memphis Temple last weekend. Most of the north side exterior as well as some other areas was all cracked up. It's about to close for renovations for a couple of months. However, it wasn't that long ago that they had to bring the building down to its studs and rebuild it.
My Temple Wishlist (w/ Expected/Possible Timeframes):
Starting April, 2023
(When I first created the list.)
1-3 Years from April, 2023:
(Oct. ‘23 to Apr. ‘26)
-More in Utah/Idaho (1-3):
-Weber County 2nd:
-North Ogden/West Weber County (announced after Syracuse & Layton Completed) (1-3)
-Possibilities:
-West Haven
and/or
-Pleasant View/North Ogden
-Rigby, Idaho (1-3)
-More in USA/Canada (1-3):
-Jackson, Mississippi (1-3)
-(last temple in the U.S. South predicted by Vaughn J. Featherstone)
https://yourfriendlymormonneighbor.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/vision-of-the-south-vaughn-j-featherstone.pdf
-More in Brazil/South America (1-3):
-Triple Frontier/Foz do Iguaçu (3 stakes, 3 districts) (State of Paraná) or Ciudad del Este (1 stake, 1 district), Paraguay (Triple Fronteira/Triple Corner/Triple Border of Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina)
(Foz do Iguaçu/Puerto Iguazu/Ciudad del Este) (PY/AR/BR) (1-3)
-Rio Branco (State of Acre), or Porto Velho (State of Rondônia), Brazil (1-3)
-More in Africa (1-3):
-Lome, Togo (1-3) (3 stakes, 2 districts) (The President of the Africa West Area recently visited with Government officials in Togo. - Mar ‘25)
-Cotonou, Benin (1-3) (2 Stakes & 1 district as of July ‘24)
-Yamoussoukro/Daloa/Gagnoa, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) (4 stakes, 7 districts - Sep ‘23) (far) (central) (1-3)
-or Western Abidjan
-Port Harcourt, Nigeria Metro - 8 stakes, 2 districts - as of Sep ‘24) (not too far from Aba) (1-3)
-Bo, Sierra Leone (4 stakes) (1-3) (or perhaps after Freetown is completed?)
-More in Europe (1-3):
-Cardiff, Wales (3 stakes - Sep ‘23) (1-3)
1-5 Years:
(Oct. ‘23 to Apr. ‘28)
-More in Oceania/Philippines (1-5):
-Majuro, Marshall Islands (1-5)
-Puerto Princesa (Palawan Island), Philippines (1 stake, 2 districts as of Nov ‘24) (far distance) (1-5)
-More in Europe (1-5):
-Tirana, Albania (1-5)
-More in Mexico/The Caribbean (1-5):
-Poza Rica or Papantla, Mexico (6 stakes, 1 district) (1-5)
-Kingston, Jamaica (1-5) (Elder Kearon visited Kingston in Feb ‘25)
-Port of Spain, Trinidad (1 stake, 7 districts - as of Sep ‘23) (1-5)
-More in Brazil/South America (1-5):
-Sorocaba, Brazil (Western São Paulo State) (5 stakes, 2 districts - as of Sep 23) (not too far from Sao Paulo & Campinas) (1-5)
-Tacna, Peru (southern tip of Peru/border w/ Chile) (1-5)
-Santa Maria, Brazil (8 Stakes, 2 Districts - as of Sep '23) (Santa Maria - large number of stakes in central and western Rio Grande do Sul State, two stakes now in Santa Maria, large number of stakes (29) assigned to the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple) or Passo Fundo, Brazil (5 Stakes - as of Sep '23) (also in Rio Grande do Sul and Far from Porto Alegre) (1-5)
-Cuiabá, Brazil (2 stakes, 2 districts) (remote) (State of Mato Grosso) (1-5)
-Sucre or Tarija, Bolivia (2 stakes, 5 districts) (far) (south) (1-5)
-Central Chile:
-Temuco, Chile (3 stakes, 3 districts as of Feb ‘24) (south-central Chile - far - in between Concepción and Puerto Montt) or Los Ángeles (close to Concepción) or Valdivia (close to Osorno) (1-5)
-More in Asia (1-5):
-Hanoi, Vietnam (Elder Christofferson visited Vietnam in Oct ‘19) (Elder Rasband visited members in Vietnam in late Oct '23) (Sister Wright visited Vietnam in June ‘24) (1-5)
Thanks Felix
AND MY ULTIMATE LONG-TERM TEMPLE WISHLIST/MY MOST WANTED (w/o exact timeframes)
-PERSONAL CONNECTIONS
KALISPELL, MT
WEBER COUNTY 2ND, UT
LEXINGTON, KY
EVANSVILLE, IN
GREAT FALLS, MT
BOZEMAN, MT
SPRINGVILLE, UT
CARDIFF, WALES
RIGBY, ID
BLACKFOOT, ID
AMMON, ID
UTICA/UPSTATE NEW YORK #2
-NEW US STATES
-Providence, Rhode Island?
-Sharon, Vermont?
-Montpelier/Concord, New Hampshire?
-Dover, Delaware?
-Charleston, West Virginia?
-Jackson, Mississippi?
-Augusta/Portland/Bangor, Maine?
-Baltimore, Maryland?
-NEW COUNTRIES
-SOONER
ZIMBABWE
MALAWI
BENIN
TOGO
TANZANIA
BOTSWANA
ZAMBIA
CAMEROON
RWANDA
JAMAICA
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
GUYANA
PAKISTAN
VIETNAM
MALAYSIA
ALBANIA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
-LATER
TURKEY
ARMENIA
CZECHIA
LITHUANIA/LATVIA/ESTONIA
BELIZE
MICRONESIA
-MUCH LATER
CUBA
ETHIOPIA
EGYPT
MOROCCO
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
MALI
SENEGAL
KAZAKHSTAN
GEORGIA
POLAND
ROMANIA
SRI LANKA
SAUDI ARABIA
BAHRAIN
QATAR
KUWAIT
-FAR DISTANCE
TIERRA DEL FUEGO, SOUTHERN PATAGONIA
PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINES
RIO BRANCO, BRAZIL
HOBART, TASMANIA
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND
CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN
JUNEAU, ALASKA
PRINCE GEORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA
-CAPITALS
NEW DELHI, INDIA
BEIJING, CHINA
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
-JOSEPH SMITH ANNOUNCED
FAR WEST, MISSOURI
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN, MISSOURI
-ANCIENT PROPHECY
JERUSALEM
-CHURCH HISTORY SITES
SHARON, VERMONT
PRIESTHOOD RESTORATION SITE ("SUSQUEHANNA RIVER," PENNSYLVANIA)
Matt S., if you had studied apostolic interregnums since 1970, as I have, you'd know that it has been customary for the seat of a Church President to be empty at his funeral, with his counselors on either side of the empty chair.
And President Nelson's funeral proper will only occur after General Conference. There's a tradition and custom there that should not and will not be disregarded by President Oaks. So when you're wrong, you'll think of me.
A few. But not many. The most significant change was adding Little Rock Arkansas and projecting that as the most likely prospect for a new temple this go-round, in view of the reports indicating that the Church had procured a site for such a prospect. Thanks for the inquiry.
So, when the Declaration signed by participants at the Cairo Conference (except USSR) says "in due course, Korea shall become free and independent", that's not a mention of Korea -- and def. not leaving Koreans as slaves to Japan for the duration until "due course" is achieved. And when Biden hauls in Korea's Pres. to meet and make nice with Japan's Pres, that is not subjugating Korea to Japan again. Got it. You're not bright.
If it is true that thinks have worked out to allow the resumption of construction on the Bangalore India Temple I am very glad.
After watching the rememberance ceremony for President Oaks I am back to my first thought that Arnulfo Valenzuela will be the next apostle, but I could be wrong.
President Oaks talk was very good. I especially liked the inclusion of a picture of Russell M. Nelson and Amos Brown.
I am wondering who the speaker was that Elder Eyring mentioned hearing at a district conference in New Jersey. I am thinking the most likely person is Joseph Fielding Smith, since it was before the war. The other possibility is George Albert Smith, or maybe David O. McKay, but it would seem odd to refer to him twice but not make it clear it was the same person. I am guessing it was Joseph Fielding Smith. Then Elder Smith would have been about 63 or so.
My very late prediction/wish list, after watching this thrilling, nostalgic video of Pres. Nelson announcing all 200 of his total temples up to the present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-9PA4S65Qs&t=4s
Ushuaia, Argentina
Herriman, Utah
Belmopan, Belize
Cancun, Mexico
Poza Rica, Mexico
Otavalo, Ecuador
La Ceiba, Honduras
San Luis Valley, CO
Tirana, Albania
Augusta, Maine
My list is very short, as I am now spending almost every waking moment preparing for the opening of our beautiful temple in Grand Junction, Colorado. Hallelujah! It is still fun to wish for and predict, especially for locations I have connections to. Many of these would fall in the 'less-likely' category, for that reason. What a legacy our prophet and president has left us.
President Oaks mentioning that he and now Elder Eyring had told President Nelson at their meeting last Thursday (that is what 2 days before President Nelson's passing would be) that they would implement the changes he had approved made me wonder if this included temple announcements. If they do announce temples at conference we will not know if A-this is the set they may have approved at that meeting or other times B-it is a smaller set C-it is some sub-set of that and additional temples or D-it is the set approved plus additional temples. Unless President Oaks when he announces them chooses to tell us, which could happen.
Chris D. thankyou for finding that article and for determining I created it. I read it before I saw your post. It is true it is not very in-depth, but it is by no means the shortest article that ever exited on Wikipedia. If he is called to be an apostle I think people will be able to write a longer article. We will see. At some point. Either this week, or maybe not for six months.
I was actually fearing the article on the Seventies might be more outdated than that.
In the case of Wikipedia it is actually not just Wikipedia that is outdated. Here https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/area-seventies?lang=eng is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' own page on area seventies. It does list Europe North, so that could be updated in Wikipedia using this as a source (although sources not published by the Church are often needed to clearly show something connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is notable, the Church itself is a reliable source on its organization, structure and doctrine, and so points within articles can be updated and augmented with such sources). However that webpage has not been updated to use the United States Northeast, etc. names nor does it list the Canada Area.
When I did a google search that asked "What quorum of the Seventy is the Canada Area assigned to?" it told me they are assigned to the 6th quorum of the 70. Which would mean that would have Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Canada. A non-contiguous area, but it makes it so all non-United States areas are seperate from United States ones. I did a deeper search with AI and it told me this "The Canada Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is assigned to the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy.
This is part of a geographical realignment of the Quorums of the Seventy that took effect on June 1, 2020. The Tenth Quorum includes Area Seventies from the following areas:
Canada Area
United States Central Area
United States Northeast Area
United States Southeast Area"
Clearly that is not right and it looks like it is being sourced to Wikipedia, which does not say it. The Canada assignment listed here may be correct, but it has not existed since 2020 since the Canada Area did not exist until 2025.
Someone has to know. Hopefully the Church pages with this information will be updated soon.
I love this article https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/10/01/remembering-president-russell-m-nelson-interactions-children/ although I have to say to President Nelson "you are more like a Great Grandfather".
Other Noah here.
Nancy, it's wonderful the Grand Junction Colorado Temple's dedication is right by the corner! Just to let you know, the Cancún México Temple was announced by Pres. Nelson on October 2023
JPL, here is a paste from the India FCRA website (recall that India's date format is DD/MM/YYYY):
FCRA Registration:
Association Name
Indian Society Of Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints
Last Renewed Date
03/06/2025
FCRA Certificate Validity
From : 01/07/2025
To : 30/06/2030
I think this article https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/10/01/president-russell-m-nelson-look-at-prophetic-leadership/ could serve as a guide and starting point in editing and expanding the coverage of President Nelson's time as president of the Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wikipedia.
Interesting. If the license has been valid since July, that would imply that construction of the temple should have resumed by now. I wonder when new photos of the construction will be posted.
After the death of the first three prophets conferences were conducted for some time with just the twelve. Since Wilford Woodruffs death the interregnum has been brief. I think Lorenzo Snow died around conference.
George Albert Smiths funeral and solemn assembly was held during conference time. I think Lorenzo Snow called Rudger Clawson as counselor but he died before Elder Clawson could be sustained so he never served 8n the first presidency.
Brigham Young ordained several people as apostles without them being put in the twelve. David O Mckay was the last prophet to do that with Alvin R. Dyer.
Brigham Young Jr. was ordained an apostle before Joseph F. Smith. However Joseph F. Smith was called to the twelve sooner. So he became president. Seniority adjusted there.
John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff were called to the apostleship after Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt. However seniority was adjusted for them. I don’t know if either Orson’s were excommunicated or disfellowshipped. Both had brief periods were they came against Joseph Smith, but repented fully. Were they o even out of the twelve and put back in? That was seniority, we’re they were in time of reinstatement. Otherwise both Orson’s would of been President. They were humble about there readjustment too.
This explainer from the Deseret News provides perspective about this particular apostolic interregnum we are currently in.
Quoting from the relevant portions: "In the past, out of respect for the deceased church president, the First Presidency has not been reorganized until after his funeral. President Nelson’s funeral is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
"President Ballard talked about that respect in a Deseret News interview during the last apostolic interregnum in 2018.
'In reverence to the deceased president, we just don’t do much prior to the funeral,' he said.
"Part of the reason is also respect for the following First Presidency, he said.
'There’s not much to talk about, really, not much you can say or do or decide because there will be a new First Presidency,' he said.
"In 2018, after the death of President Thomas S. Monson, the apostolic interregnum lasted for 12 days.
"That was the longest interregnum since the church’s pioneer days. (See chart at bottom.)
"That 2018 interregnum ended when the Quorum of the Twelve set apart President Nelson as President Monson’s successor during a Sunday morning meeting in the Salt Lake Temple.
"If the quorum again chooses to hold its succession meeting the Sunday after the funeral, a new president might not be announced until Oct. 12, 13 or 14, due to this weekend’s general conference meetings."
President Oaks has a clear sense of precedent and history, and I doubt he would want to buck that trend. As the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he has ample apostolic authority to preside at this weekend's General Conference without first reorganizing the First Presidency. And, as he himself observed in the tribute broadcast for President Nelson this morning, he and now-Elder Eyring promised President Nelson that they would adhere to the plans he made for General Conference to the letter. Between the article I cited and that assertion from President Oaks and Elder Eyring, I would only anticipate the First Presidency reorganization about when the article suggests it will happen. So I am not alone in my assertions on this issue.
Both Orsons were excommunicated. I think in the case of Orson Pratt someone was chosen to replace him, but then moved out of the Quorum to allow him back.
At one point since John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff were called at the sane time Wilford Woodruff had more seniority. It was later decided ordination time was the biggest issue, so John Taylor was given more seniority since he was ordained at least a few weeks earlier.
I think the memorial service will be taken as a closing time for the period of morning. I think the first Presidency will be sustained in solemn assembly at general conference. I also think a new apostle will be called. I could be wrong, but I think going though all general conference without a First Presidency will be seen as not wise.
The Salt Lake Temple was announced during an apostolic interregnum. The Nauvoo Temple was Aldo dedicated during such a period. I am not sure any other Temple developments were done in such a period.
I could of course be wrong on many of these points.
Logan, I'm truly impressed with your work on mapping the 200 mile and 3 hour driving distances on your map for all known sites worldwide.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1F0XFGpLcQtvSGW49Z5SJIUFL6AL5N3o&ll=17.239210067397522%2C-17.28390493438286&z=3
Personally, last year i reduced my circular 200 mile radius (as the crow flies), down to 50 mile radius for all known sites inside the USA, Canada and Mexico. I'm considering also for Brazil and Philippines (that have their own Administrative Areas). And down to 100 Mile circular radius, everywhere else. But I just copied your 200 driving miles and 3 driving hours also into my map. Thanks, Great work.
Among those injured in the Grand Blanc attack was the head of temple facilities for the Detroit Temple. I believe he is in critical condition.
I also wonder if the blogger known as Snješko, is going to update his/her map for this Conference.
Here is their link from last April Conference. Last updated April 6th.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10lauuaMZA5ZyrCXU5DpKk1kbhZKpCExq&ll=39.08724286633134%2C-111.33395331640659&z=6
The Church News posted earlier that Elder and Sister Bednar visited the victims and survivors.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/10/01/elder-david-a-bednar-visits-church-shooting-victims-michigan/
James, have we seen both memorials and funerals held for a prophet? It makes me think that the memorial was planned to pay respect to President Nelson before a new Prophet is sustained at general conference. I thought today’s memorial paid great respect to President Nelson and allows a new first presidency to be called this weekend.
The original Newsroom release said that a successor is not anticipated to be named until after the funeral of the Church President, and, as the article I shared notes, the meeting to determine what to do is usually held the Sunday after the funeral, not the "memorial service". I think the only reason they are having both is that the memorial service gave the general Church leaders their chance to pay tribute to President Nelson, while the funeral proper will focus more on messages about President Nelson from his family. The funeral will only occur the Tuesday after General Conference. To reorganize the First Presidency before the previous prophet is laid to rest has never once been done before, and the counselors in the dissolved First Presidency customarily sit with the deceased prophet's empty chair between them. That has been the case for every prophetic funeral since at least Joseph Fielding Smith. A 6-prophet precedent is not likely to be broken in the case of President Nelson's funeral. You'll see that is the case by this time next week.
I’m excited to watch this. He spoke at the BYU real estate conference a few years back about the temple building process.
No, but we have also never had a prophet with 8 children and upwards of 120 grandchildren, and they need their chance to honor and pay tribute to their deceased father and grandfather. That's the difference in this case: the Church leaders who would traditionally have spoken at the funeral proper spoke during the memorial service to give the Nelson family sufficient time on the program to honor their father and grandfather however they have felt impressed to do so. That is the difference here.
As the source I cited explained in detail, the earliest the First Presidency is likely to be organized is the Sunday after the funeral. And there is absolutely past precedent for the President of the Quorum of the Twelve to preside at General Conference. Nothing I have seen leads me to believe we will see the First Presidency reorganized this weekend. In fact, given what President Oaks said about honoring President Nelson's plans for the upcoming General Conference and acting on the prophetic priorities he laid out while he was still able to, that's a clear indication to me that President Oaks as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside over both the General Conference weekend and the funeral of President Nelson. Any reorganization of the First Presidency can and should wait until after the funeral. It would be highly improper, disrespectful, and a clear break of established precedent (where the counselors in the First Presidency sit between the vacant chair of the deceased prophet at his funeral) if a First Presidency were to be sustained at General Conference. It will not happen.
That being said, under duress, I have included the prospect of a new First Presidency in my predictions in the unlikely event that I'm wrong. But the Deseret News article I shared is not the only source suggesting what I'm saying on this. If needed, I can cite other sources that say the same thing. Or, and this is the easiest option all around, as someone who has studied apostolic interregnums since 1970 extensively, you can take my word for it and the Deseret News supporting source as a clear indication that what I say is correct.
Do you really think President Oaks would break precedent and disrespect the memory of his predecessor in the way you describe? President Oaks and now-Elder Eyring promised President Nelson that they would fulfill his prophetic priorities, including honoring what he planned for General Conference weekend, to the letter. That is not the mark of someone who intends to buck tradition and precedent in the way you describe. President Nelson's chair will be empty for his funeral. The First Presidency will not be reorganized until after his funeral, full stop.
Nancy, Cancun Temple was announced in October 2023 Conference
With the church announcing the successor will be called after Nelson's funeral, here are the three potential scenarios I can think of:
- Elder Oaks makes announcements in conference as president of the quorum apostles.
- If President Nelson somehow prerecorded his speech, a potential that he'll make the announcements in a pre-recorded video.
- Temple announcements are delayed until the next president is called, and announced out of conference.
- Temple announcements get delayed until April 2026.
James, you are doing it again... ease up, will ya? Some of your comments are becoming pointed and you are stating some of your assumptions and opinions as if they are fact.
Under the unit map section of Rick's Church of Jesus Christ temples website You can select The radius of 50, 100, and 200 miles for each temple. But I think that is also as the crow flies. Some distances may vary based on windy roads, due to geography such as mountain passes and rivers and canyons and the such.
Here https://youtu.be/WjqnTubnxnk?si=UWe6-Jw0byusRShK is an interview by Stephen Jones on his Ket's Get Real Podcast with Larry Wilson who was executive director of the trmple department when President Nelson became the prophet. Evidently there was a presentation where he presented plans for 60 new temples and President Nelson said he wanted to add another 0 at the end of the number.
Based on what was said it appears that in 2018 the 15-year plan for announcing temples was to announce 60. President Nelson said to announce 600. Assuming that is still the vision (which I almost think is a low ball assumption) the plan would be to announce another 400 temples by 2033.
Also often the fastest way for point A to point B involves going on major roads, not small by ways, which means it could involve going out of your way and adding more miles to the minimum technical even driving distance.
I believe it was Orson Hyde that was nearly replaced; Joseph had actually called Lyman Sherman (see D&C 108) to replace him, but Lyman then died before he could be notified of his call and Orson repented and was readmitted shortly thereafter.
Based on the dates I have been able to look up, President George Albert Smith died 2 days before the first public meetings of general conference. They did his funeral during general conference, and they extended conference to a 4th day to do the solemn assembly.
I do not believe the Church has ever done a tribute meeting distinct from the funeral for a president of the Church as they did for President Nelson yesterday, so I think we are already in fully uncharted territory.
2 new area seventies were announced. Both are from Venezuela.
I was half expecting a public announcement of who the first presidency is today. We will see what happens.
The Stephen Jones Podcast I mentioned above is actually called "Let's Get Real".
There is a lot of good information contained in that podcast.
Besides the just shocking change of the 15 year plan from 60 temples to 600, there are a few other details. President Nelson has made the decision to announce temples with no approvals and in some cases with no locations available. It means that it takes longer from the day it is announced until completion. However I think it is in the long run a better plan.
Elder Wilson describes the Russia Temple as one that President Nelson moved far higher up than the 15 year plan would have placed it at.
He talks a lot about the Temple Sites committee. They also approve art work for temples and he talks about decisions to make changes in the used artwork.
He also indicates that in the process of considering what sort of guidelines there should be for women serving as temple workers when they have children under 18 President Nelson mainly consulted Joy D. Jones in that meeting. She expressed the view that there was a time when all her children were in school she could have served as a temple worker but the guidelines did not allow it, and that she thought allowing it would be a good thing.
I have to admit that I think that Wikipedia could have a seperate article entitled "The Administration of Russell M. Nelson".
Elder Wilson also has some very interesting observations on Russell M. Nelson and his ability to interact with people in positive ways. He also has stories about President Nelson's ability to play a large amount of piano works from memory.
His closing observation about President Oaks being a very outgoing person who will try to greet everyone present before a meeting is very interesting. President Oaks is seen by some as stern, but he is more complex than that.
2 New Area Seventies were called in the Caribbean Area during the Leadership session.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/10/02/2-new-area-seventies-named-sustained-leadership-session-october-2025-general-conference/
I heard a rumor that the property recently bought in Little Rock is for a new stake center to replace an older chapel. My speculation was for a temple site but I guess we'll see.
Again, I wish to thank all of you for your thoughts and excitement on the growth of the Kingdom, and our excitement about this being a very unique and special general conference. That being said, I just woke up from a good nap in which I dreamed I was on a very crowded bus. I got the last row all to myself where I could watch everyone else, yet enjoy my own space and privacy. I had no idea where we were going, but I didn’t care. I was at total peace while listening on my headphones to the Tabernacle Choir At Temple Square sing, “I Stand All Amazed”. Then I woke up thinking of this blog and the wonderful brothers and sisters here. Thank you again. Y’all and the song have made my night and have really prepared me now for conference…
Wow! After I posted the preceding, I went to You Tube to listen to “I Stand Alk Amazed”. You Tube followed it up with “Praise To The Man”, and then, “The Spirit of God”. I cried and cried with gratitude! Praise to the men—Jesus and Joseph Smith— who have made all the beauty of the Plan of Salvation accessible to us all! Have a great evening and great and spiritual re-awakening through that which we get to experience at general conference!
We've had some meetinghouses being torn down to build a temple in their place. Is it possible that the property for the older chapel in Little Rock is better suited for a temple than that new property that was bought possibly for a steak center?
Of note regarding the question of whether we will get a reorganized First Presidency today, the Church News released the PDF of general authorities for this general conference and it has the Quorum of the Twelve as the presiding body of the Church. That definitely seems to weigh in favor of a reorganization next week.
Incidentally, this might also be the first time the Church has ever formally published one of these charts without a First Presidency, since the last conference presided over by the Twelve was all the way back in 1951. I'm not sure if the old Improvement Eras had these charts, and even if they did, publication time constraints probably didn't allow for them to update after President Smith's death.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/10/02/general-authority-chart-updated-download-september-2025-general-conference/
@Gary C Williams
Sounds like a pretty good dream. :)
I mean, I'm slowly coming around to the "after conference" position, but it seems to my recollection that they routinely release charts before conference, even when the calling of GA seventies is widely expected, so we would see this either way.
James S., I see you added Prince George BC and Little Rock AK to your final list yesterday.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/167yYyARci-WW20ifvzCc9o1T0MLRqy3sZh5OZmYdsbY/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0
Sorry, I meant Little Rock, Arkansas.
Looks like the Wards of the Cottonwood Heights Utah Brighton Stake (506648), are going to be renamed after GC.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fshrinkage-in-cottonwood-heights-utah-v0-itsfobpoxssf1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1206%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dffabe4956fea9209171e1db1ccae803cfe70fbc2
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/506648
As was reported on another site, weeks ago, In the Sandy Utah Granite View Stake (518492), the Glacial Park Ward (155179) and Granite Ridge Ward (225096), have both recently been consolidated.
Interesting how easily people mix up the abbreviations for Alaska and Arkansas. We have a lady in our ward that has since moved out, but her address was listed as "Anchorage, Arkansas"
Jonathon, I thought the same thing regarding the chart released this time around. Yes, they release those every six months prior to General Conference (with an additional one sometimes released shortly after General Conference to reflect announced changes in general Church leadership). But this is the first such chart, to my knowledge, that shows the Quorum of the Twelve with more than 12 members.
If I recall correctly (and I've only seen a few editions of the Improvement Era), there was actually no "conference edition" of that particular magazine. Back then, conference proceedings were mainly released in the all-text General Conference reports or the audio on casette tapes. My parents had years of old Church magazines in their basement when I was growing up, and I would spend hours at a time pouring over them, which is where I first gained a solid grasp and testimony of how apostolic and prophetic succession works. But this is indeed the first time such a chart has been released by the Church News without the inclusion of the First Presidency.
Michael, I just happen to be watching the evening news on KSL, and a short time ago, it was reported that there will be heightened security at General Conference. In a separate story, former Assistant Church Historian Richard Turley Jr. said that, because the last several apostolic interregnums have been longer (9 days between the death of Howard W. Hunter and the ordination of Gordon B. Hinckley, 7 between the death of Gordon B. Hinckley and the ordination of Thomas S. Monson, and 12 between the death of Thomas S. Monson and the ordination of Russell M. Nelson), this is indeed expected to be the first General Conference in the last century without an organized First Presidency. If, as I suspect, the Quorum of the Twelve meets after General Conference to reorganize the First Presidency, it seems most likely that the reorganization will take place next Thursday (2 days after President Nelson is laid to rest), bringing the length of this current apostolic interregnum to 12 days as well. I'm conjecturing next Thursday because the dedication of the Elko Nevada Temple is set to occur on October 12, and since that dedication hasn't been pushed back, I don't think it likely that the reorganization will take place on that day.
I will be just as intrigued as everyone else to see what actually happens here. We are indeed in uncharted territory. Hope these observations, such as they are, are helpful.
Chris D., your analysis is correct. On another note, I still believe we will see 18 temples announced, but I don't know whether the Church will view those as Nelsonian temples or the first batch of temples announced by President Oaks.
Sidenote, Ryan. Is that like the ongoing internet joke about Vacationers going to Sydney and get off the plane in Vienna?
And I know for a fact that Matt at least is interested in the reports of changes at the Ward/Branch level. It was reported elsewhere, that during reorganization of the Woods Cross Utah North Stake (382140), these are the new Ward names. The Woods Cross 8th Branch (164720) was consolidated.
Farm Meadows (ex-Woods Cross 9th) Ward (164712)
Hogan Park (ex-Woods Cross 6th) Ward (82902)
Ruflin Acres (ex-Woods Cross 2nd) Ward (9490)
Tanglewood (ex-Woods Cross 3rd) Ward (7358)
Valley Meadows (ex-Woods Cross 12th) Ward (249750)
West Woods (ex-Woods Cross 13th) Ward (386634)
Woods Cross 8th Branch (164720) (?? Merged)
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/382140
James, I can confirm that they did, in fact, release general conference editions of the Improvement Era, because some members that we lived with in Springfield IL had an entire stack of them dating back to the late fifties.
While I used to suspect a reorganization today or tomorrow, I now agree with James.
Perhaps. I've seen some pretty interesting things, like people thinking AL was the abbreviation for Alaska, people that think we're actually part of Canada, or we're just a small island off the coast of Mexico next to Hawaii. One that really gets me is when people don't know how to pronounce some names (I don't get upset or anything, because how many foreign city names have I butchered?), like pronouncing Kenai as "ken-eye" instead of "keen-eye."
One thing that I don't think I will ever get an answer for, is over 20 years ago, congregations in Anchorage went from numbers to names (my homeward, Anchorage 4th Ward became Chugach Foothills Ward, but the boundaries changed and I am no longer in that ward or even stake, but still meet in the same building as them), for some unexplained reason, the Anchorage 16th Ward (Samoan) didn't get renamed. The other Samoan ward got the name Dimond, and Anchorage 16th didn't get renamed Tikishla Park until we temporarily got a 3rd Samoan ward. Just odd it didn't get renamed when all the other wards did, perhaps they couldn't think of a name?
With the Mwanza Tanzania District (2236230) now having 11 Branches (4 of those added within last couple of months this summer like the Butima, Kisessa, Mahina and Sauti Branches). I wonder how close they may becoming the 2nd Stake in the country.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2236230
I had a copy of an Improvement Era from the 1970s in my house, and the cover featured 17 members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency. Of the additional figures, I think one was a Third Counselor and another an Assistant to the Twelve, something like that. The situation was obviously different, but I think it's worth noting that we've seen this before at some point.
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