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Boise Temple
The remodeled Boise Idaho Temple was rededicated in three sessions on Sunday, November 18 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving) by President Thomas S. Monson. The dedicatory sessions were broadcast to stake centers throughout the area.

Meridian Temple
The Meridian Idaho Temple is currently in the planning and approval phase. It will be built on a 12-acre site on Linder Road in Meridian, approximately 12 miles from the Boise Temple. These two temples will serve to meet the needs of the Saints of the Treasure Valley and its surrounding region. The temple in Meridian will be Idaho's fifth temple. Temples were completed in Idaho Falls in 1945, Boise in 1984, Rexburg in 2008, and Twin Falls in 2008.

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Tropical storm Sandy
Starting in the Caribbean as a hurricane, this massive storm moved north up the Atlantic during the final week of October and made landfall in New Jersey and New York, where it combined with a wet storm coming from the west and a blast of cold air coming from the north. It eventually affected some 20 states with massive flooding, huge waves that destroyed beaches and seaside homes, horrific winds that toppled trees and widely disrupted power to millions of homes, dumped incredible amounts of snow in higher elevations in West Virginia and surrounding areas, caused gas shortages, and resulted in closure of the New York Stock Exchange, cancellation of tens of thousands of flights across the country, and postponement of the New York Marathon. The barometric pressure was the lowest ever recorded in New England. That was some mega-storm, and our prayers and best wishes are to all those who were affected by it in any way.

Don't forget to vote!
The campaigning is nearly over. Many have already voted early. The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 6. Remember to vote.

Boise Temple open house and dedication
The open house for the renovated Boise Temple continues another week (through Saturday, November 10). The cultural celebration will be held on Saturday, November 17. And the rededication will occur in three sessions on Sunday, November 18. The temple will open for ordinance work on Tuesday, November 20.

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General conference
The 182nd semi-annual general conference will convene in Salt Lake City on Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7, with sessions each day beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. These sessions will be broadcast broadly across the face of the earth by television, radio, cable, satellite, and the Internet. Also, the general priesthood meeting will be held Saturday evening at 6:00.

President Thomas S. Monson, sustained and revered by Latter-day Saints worldwide as prophet, seer, and revelator, will preside over the conference, assisted by his two counselors in the First Presidency, Presidents Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Boise Idaho Temple
The First Presidency announced an open house for the remodeled Boise Idaho Temple from Saturday, October 13, through Saturday, November 10, excluding Sundays. The temple will be rededicated in three separate sessions on Sunday, November 18. A cultural celebration featuring music and dance will be held the evening before on Saturday, November 17.

The temple closed for extensive renovation in July 2011. The temple in Boise is the Church's 27th operating temple of 138 temples worldwide.

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Brigham City Temple

President Boyd K. Packer, a Brigham City native who now serves as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is scheduled to dedicate the new temple in Brigham City on Sunday, September 23. The dedicatory services will be broadcast in three sessions to all stakes in Utah and to stakes in southeastern Idaho that are a part of the temple district. Regular church meetings are cancelled in those stakes that Sunday.

We had an opportunity to walk through the temple during the second day of the open house on Monday evening, August 20. I took this picture of the front of the temple with my iPhone at the conclusion of the tour.

Let the games begin!

This past week's Republican national convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, shared the headlines with tropical storm (later hurricane) Isaac, which in the end sidestepped Florida and came ashore along the Louisiana coast. The convention officially nominated Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as the Republican ticket for the November elections.

The Democratic national convention will be held this coming week (September 3-6) and will nominate President Barack Obama and Joe Biden, incumbent president and vice president, as the Democratic ticket.

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London 2012
The summer Olympic games of the XXX Olympiad opened in London on Friday, July 27. They end on Sunday, August 12. London is the first city in the world to officially host the modern Olympics three times (in 1908, 1948, and now in 2012).

Brigham City open house and dedication
The newly built Brigham City Utah Temple will be open to visitors of all faiths from Saturday, August 18, through Saturday, September 15 (excluding Sundays and Saturday, September 8). Advance reservations may be made by visiting www.templeopenhouse.lds.org (maximum 20 reservations per person) or by calling 1-855-537-2000.

The Brigham City temple, the 14th in Utah, will be dedicated on Sunday, September 23, in three sessions. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to stakes throughout Utah and also to stakes in southeastern Idaho that are within the temple district. All regular Church meetings will be cancelled that day to allow members to participate in the dedicatory services. There will also be a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on Saturday, September 22.

Boise open house and dedication
The remodeled and refurbished Boise Idaho Temple will be open to visitors from Saturday, October 13, through Saturday, November 10 (excluding Sundays). It will be rededicated on Sunday, November 18, in three sessions. A cultural celebration will be held the day before on Saturday, November 17. Free tickets for the open house will become available at a later date.

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On Thursday, June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much anticipated ruling on the controversial Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare). The court struck down the provision, based on Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce, on the overreach of Congress in requiring a person to buy health insurance. But they upheld in their 5-4 decision the constitutionality of the entire law on the basis that the fine is tantamount to a tax, which Congress does have authority to levy. A  deft bit of jurisprudence there.

The Manaus Brazil Temple was formally dedicated Sunday, June 10, in three sessions by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency. The dedicatory sessions were broadcast to congregations of the Church in Brazil. The new temple, located in a beautiful site alongside the Rio Negro (which a few miles downstream joins another major river to form the Amazon River), is the 138th operating temple in the Church.

Numerous wildfires have been burning throughout the unusually dry West, particularly in Colorado and Utah. Dry conditions, coupled with strong winds, have spread the fires and stretched the resources of fire fighters. Many communities are cancelling fireworks celebrations in connection with the Fourth of July because of dry conditions. 

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A busy summer for London

Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee is occurring this year, marking 60 years of the queen's reign. She came to the throne on February 6, 1952 (her coronation took place on June 2, 1953). The official website of the British monarchy calls the coming few days (June 2 through 5) "the Diamond Jubilee central weekend." The queen turned 86 on April 21 of this year.

London this year will also be hosting the XXX Olympic summer games beginning July 27 and running through August 12.

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Brigham City Temple

The Brigham City Utah Temple, the Church's 14th temple in Utah, is scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, September 23, in three sessions. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all stake centers in Utah. The public open house will run from Saturday, August 18, through Saturday, September 15 (excluding Sundays and Saturday, September 8). Open house tickets will become available starting July 30 at BrighamCityMormonTemple.org.

Other temple dedications

The Kansas City Missouri Temple, the second in that state, will be dedicated on Sunday, May 6. The Manaus Brazil Temple, the sixth to be completed in that country, will be dedicated on Sunday,  June 10.

Provo City Center Temple

The Provo City Center Temple groundbreaking will be held on Saturday, May 12. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve will preside at the ceremony.

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Names Submitted for Temple Ordinances

"We would like to reiterate," the First Presidency wrote to members of the Church on February 29, "the policies first stated in 1995 concerning the submission of names for proxy temple ordinances.

- Our preeminent obligation is to seek out and identify our own ancestors. Those whose names are submitted for proxy temple ordinances should be related to the submitter.

- Without exception, Church members must not submit for proxy temple ordinances any names from unauthorized groups, such as celebrities and Jewish Holocaust victims. If members do so, they may forfeit their New FamilySearch privileges. Other corrective action may also be taken.

- Members are encouraged to participate in FamilySearch indexing which is vital to family history and temple work."

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Political caucuses
For those family members who live in Utah, the Democratic party will hold political caucuses on Tuesday evening, March 13, and the Republican party on Thursday evening, March 15. The First Presidency has urged members of the Church to attend the caucus of their choice. They feel strongly enough about it that they have asked that any Church meetings or activities on those evenings be canceled or rescheduled. Widespread grassroots participation is essential to prevent those with special agendas, interests, or leanings from hijacking either party.

Open house and dedication of temple in Manaus
The First Presidency has announced that the public open house for the Manaus Brazil Temple (where our son Michael served his mission) will run from Friday, May 18, through Saturday, June 2 (except Sundays). The temple will be dedicated in three sessions on Sunday, June 10, and will be broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout Brazil. A cultural celebration will occur the evening before on Saturday, June 9.

The temple in Manaus will be the sixth in Brazil. The Saints in Manaus, because of the city's unique geography in the heart of the Amazon, have still been far away (as in a week's travel by boat and bus) from any of the other five temples in Brazil. This will be a great blessing for them.

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The price of a first-class postage stamp went up to 45 cents on Sunday, January 22. It was the first rate increase in two-and-a-half years. Previously purchased Forever Stamps can still be used to pay postage.

Monday, February 6, will be the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

The public open house of the Kansas City Missouri Temple will be from Saturday, April 7, through Saturday, April 21 (excluding Sundays). The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 6, in three sessions. A cultural celebration will be held the day before.

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Book of Mormon
After a year studying the New Testament, the adult and youth Sunday School classes in the Church will be studying the Book of Mormon during 2012. The Book of Mormon is published in 82 languages and is partially translated into 25 more languages. Early this past year the 150 millionth copy rolled off the presses.

Bible videos on the life of Christ
"A new movie set representing ancient Jerusalem and other areas in which Jesus Christ lived and ministered has been created in Goshen, Utah," according to a year-end report on LDS Newsroom. "Videos produced on the set help people better understand the life and ministry of the Savior. Recently, the Church released the first segments from these Bible videos. These videos, shot on the new movie set, were announced at the First Presidency’s annual Christmas devotional and given as a gift to the world."

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An invitation to greater faithfulness

The following letter from the First Presidency (Presidents Thomas S. Monson, Henry B. Eyring, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf) was addressed to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was to be read in sacrament meetings:

"As we approach the close of another year, we express gratitude for the good being done by Church members throughout the world. We are aware, however, of the continued suffering of so many. We urge members of the Church to greater faithfulness in keeping their sacred covenants, honoring the Sabbath day, fasting with a prayerful heart, and paying a full tithe and a generous fast offering.

"Church members will soon have the privilege of meeting with their bishops for tithing settlement and a review of their fast-offering donations. We invite you to avail yourselves of this opportunity to be faithful in the payment of tithes and generous in your fast offerings. These sacred contributions are used to build up God's kingdom on earth and to assist those in need. Faithful observance of these principles will bring blessings to the saints and relief to the distressed."

Christmas devotional

The First Presidency invites Church members and their friends to participate in this year's Christmas devotional on Sunday evening, December 4, beginning at 6:00 p.m. mountain standard time. The one-hour program will feature Christmas messages from Presidents Thomas S. Monson, Henry B. Eyring, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf, as well as music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square.

Those wishing to watch the broadcast from their homes may access it live on various broadcast, cable, satellite, and Internet television stations and broadcast, satellite, and Internet radio stations throughout the world, including Mormon Channel HD Radio. The devotional will also be available online at mormonchannel.org (audio only) and LDS.org (audio and video).

Audio and video archives in multiple languages will be available on LDS.org shortly after the broadcast.

Anniversary of Welfare Program

The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Welfare Program. Aside from noting the program’s historic anniversary, the resolution congratulated, “the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the significant contribution that its Welfare Program has had on United States citizens and many people throughout the world; and commend[ed] the many efforts made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members, through its Welfare Program, to serve others regardless of religious affiliation.”

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New temples
In the opening session of the October general conference, President Thomas S. Monson announced plans for six new temples, including a second one for Provo (in the now-to-be-rebuilt Provo Tabernacle, which was destroyed last December by fire). Provo will become the second city in the world to have two temples. The other is South Jordan, which has both the Jordan River Temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

The other new temples, in addition to Provo, will be built in Paris, France; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Durban, South Africa; Barranquilla, Colombia; and Star Valley, Wyoming.

Temple prophecy
The new temple announced for Star Valley fulfills a 19th century prophecy mentioned in an 1894 issue of The Deseret Weekly: "A fine tract of bench land on the eastern portion of Afton will afford a beautiful site for a Temple hereafter to be built, as per prophecy of Elder Moses Thatcher."

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The 181st semi-annual conference of the Church convenes in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday morning, October 1. The general sessions begin at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. MDT on both Saturday and Sunday, and are widely broadcast on television and radio in Utah and surrounding states, over the Church satellite system to stake centers and other meetinghouses worldwide, on BYU-TV wherever it is available, and on the Internet. The general priesthood session begins at 6:00 p.m. MDT Saturday evening and is broadcast to stake centers and other meetinghouses worldwide.

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Hurricane Irene

The most recent natural disaster to hit the United States, in a year of many natural disasters, Irene moved in from the Atlantic Ocean and strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane as it passed over the Bahamas. Curving toward the north, the storm made landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks as a Category 1 hurricane. Although the storm weakened into a mere tropical storm, it resulted in extensive flooding and damage as far north as Vermont. In anticipation of the storm, New York closed down its subway system for the first time ever for weather-related causes. Millions of people across the 12 affected states were without power. Vermont suffered its worst flooding in centuries. The Catskill Mountains in New York received between 10 and 12 inches of rain. That's a whole lot of rain. At least 48 deaths occurred as a result of the storm.

New book published for women

A new book, Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society, has recently been published under the direction of the First Presidency and is currently being distributed to all Mormon women over the age of 18 to help them in their efforts to follow the Savior, increase their personal faith, strengthen their families, and serve others. The book is intended as a resource for personal study and teaching in the Church and in the home.

Daughters in My Kingdom is unique in the Church in that it was written by an individual woman rather than a committee. It was written by Susan W. Tanner, a former general Young Women president who now serves a mission with her husband John in Brazil. (Incidentally, John grew up in the same ward in southern California that Claudia grew up in. John and I served missions in Brazil at the same time in the late 1960s, I in the north and he in the south. After our missions, he served as my vice-president when I was president of English Circle at Brigham Young University. For many recent years John was academic vice-president at BYU.)

General women's meeting

The annual general Relief Society meeting will be held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday evening, September 24, beginning at 6:00 p.m. MDT. It will be broadcast widely to stake centers throughout the world, over the Internet, and on local television stations in Utah. It is anticipated that members of the Relief Society general presidency and a member of the First Presidency will address the sisters.

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Deadly tornado
It's been nearly two weeks since a deadly tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, wiping out two-thirds of the town that had been home to some 50,000 people and resulted in the deaths of 134 people. No members of the Church were killed, although some were injured and some lost their homes.

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Osama Bin Laden
President Obama addressed the nation on Sunday night, May 8, to announce that U.S. special forces had found Osama Bin Laden and taken him out. An al Qaeda leader of terrorism directed against America, he was a mastermind behind the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon nearly ten years ago. This coming September 11 will mark the tenth anniversary of those horrific events.

Flooding and other crazy stuff
All the snow and rain many parts of the country experienced this past winter is now beginning to translate into widespread flooding in many areas, especially up and down the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries. More than two million acres of farmland have flooded already, not to mention many homes flooded or wiped out, and the Mississippi River hasn't even crested yet.

Our daughter and her family in southern Illinois had to keep a sump pump going around the clock to keep ahead of basement flooding from all the rain they were getting.

And just weeks earlier some of the deadliest tornadoes in memory touched down across many states throughout the Southeast. Alabama was particularly hard hit. Our son-in-law, who just finished his coursework at pharmacy school in Atlanta, was among hundreds of Church members who traveled to Alabama to help in the massive clean-up effort. He got to wear one of the bright yellow Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts.

All this craziness probably dwarfs the flooding anticipated here in Utah when the record-breaking snows in our mountains actually starts melting and coming down. Unless, of course, you live where it actually floods.

And Texas is experiencing a major drought. It's either feast or famine.

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Infamous leaders killed
President Obama spoke to the nation late Sunday evening, May 1, to report that Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed by American special forces in Pakistan. Our daughter Eliza shared with us this interesting item in the New York Daily News about a similar announcement from 65 years earlier

"Osama Bin Laden and Adolf Hitler share a towering reputation for evil—and also an anniversary. Both were declared dead on May 1. Late on May 1, 1945—about as late as President Obama's TV announcement Sunday—German radio announced that Hitler had fallen 'fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany.' He had actually committed suicide the day before."

Temple rededicated
The Atlanta Georgia Temple, originally dedicated 28 years ago, has been closed for the past nearly two years for extensive remodeling and updating. This past Sunday, May 1, it was rededicated in two sessions by President Thomas S. Monson. Paul and Eliza Challis from our family attended a broadcast of the dedicatory service in their chapel in Atlanta Sunday morning.

Choir to tour east coast
Five cities. Seven days. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square go on a whistle-stop tour in June 2011 to eastern cities in the U.S and Canada. They will visit five cities beginning Monday, June 20, and return home a week later.

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Temple dedication
Following extensive renovation, the Georgia Atlanta Temple is being rededicated by President Thomas S. Monson in two sessions on Sunday, May 1. A public open house has been held this month and ends this Saturday, April 23. There will be a cultural celebration on Saturday, April 30, the evening before the dedication.