BREAKING APOSTOLIC NEWS: Elder Clark G. Gilbert Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

 Hello again, everyone! As announced by the Newsroom and the Church News, Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authortiy Seventy since April 2021 and the Commissioner of Church Education since August of that same year, has been called as the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. According to the reports, he was called to the apostleship yesterday, and was ordained an apostle by President Oaks and the other 13 apostles earlier today.'

His call fills the vacancy created by the December 27, 2025, death of President Jeffrey R. Holland, who was serving as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he passed away. Elder Gilbert, who was born in Oakland, California, on June 18, 1970, is 55 years old and brings a wide range of experience to his new calling. The reports note he made the following statement in response to his call:

"This is an amazing time to point people to the Savior Jesus Christ. When we do that, we can find joy and comfort and peace in Him. As President [Russell M.] Nelson once said, it’s much harder to find happiness where it doesn’t exist. And we’re so grateful that I have this calling now to witness that Jesus is the Christ. If people all across the world will look to Him, He will make their lives better, more meaningful, more joyful. And it happens in and through our Savior Jesus Christ.”

He grew up in a family where he was taught that there is a connection between education and Church membership. He went on to graduate from BYU in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in education. He also has a a master’s degree in East Asian studies, and a doctoral degree in business administration. He went on to teach at BYU-Idaho and later served as CEO of Deseret Digital Media, president of the Deseret News, president of BYU-Idaho, and the first president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

I was kind of hoping the new apostle would be announced soon, and even though I wasn't expecting Elder Gilbett would fill that vacancy, as soon as I read about his call, the Spirit confirmed to me that he has been called of God. One thing the article doesn't mention is how long he will continue as Commissioner of Church Education, there is precedent for apostles serving in that capacity. If they do replace him down the line in that capacity, there won't be as much of a domino effect as there was with the apostolic call of Elder Gérald Caussé.

I testify that Elder Gilbert has been called of God, and that we will be blessed as we follow his counsel and that of his fellow 14 apostles. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. 

All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

BREAKING TEMPLE NEWS: Site Location Confirmed and Exterior Rendering Released for the Norfolk VirginiaTemple

Hello again, everyone! The First Presidency has just released the location and the exterior rendering for the Norfolk Virginia Temple. The 18,850-square-foot, single-story building and an adjacent Distribution Center will rise on a 23-acre site just off Harbour View Boulevard and Bridge Road in Suffolk, Virginia. The rendering speaks for itself. This update follows the temple's announcement in April 2025 by President Russell M. Nelson.

In view of today's announcement, of the 108 announced temples, there are 54 with confirmed site locations (37 of which also have exterior renderings), and there are now 54 announced temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet. I suspect that number will go down in the 7 Mondays between now and the April 2026 General Conference.

Next Monday is Presidents' Day in the United States, so the customary Monday announcement might be made on Tuesday. I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. 

In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. 

Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband Celebrates His 75th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! Elder Ronald A. Rasband is celebrating his 75th birthday today. Let's get right into this post in his honor. Ronald Anderson Rasband was born in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Rulon Hawkins Rasband and Verda Anderson. He served as a full-time missionary in the Eastern States Mission, which was headquartered in New York City and encompassed the whole New York Metro area, while also stretching into western New York and Pennsylvania. Sometime following his honorable return from his mission, he met Melanie Twitchell in a class they both attended at BYU. At the time, both of them were dating other people, but they soon made arrangements to go on a date themselves, and once they started dating, that was it for both of them. They got engaged eight weeks later, were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1973, and went on to raise their five children.

Following their marriage, they continued their studies at the University of Utah. He later discontinued his college experience in order to begin his professional career in the Huntsman Container Company as a Sales Representative in 1976. Still in that employment 11 years later (in 1987), he was promoted to the position of president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation, where he closely worked with Jon Huntsman Sr. and later served on the board of directors of that company. It was not until 1995 that, in tribute to his success as a businessman, he received an honorary degree in business and commerce from Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University).

As prestigious as his professional career might have been, his life, in similarity to those of his fellow apostles, has been characterized by a variety of assignments in the Church. Elder Rasband has served as a bishop, Temple Square missionary guide, member of the Church’s Sesquicentennial Committee, and, from 1996-1999, as president of the New York New York North Mission. On April 1, 2000, he was sustained as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Over the next 5 years, he served in the Europe North and Europe Central Areas from 2000-2003. Those areas were later consolidated into a single Europe Area before subsequently splitting agin in August 2022. From 2003-2004, Elder Rasband presided over the Utah Salt Lake City Area. In August 2004, responsibility for oversight of the work of the Church in North America was transferred to the Presidency of the Seventy (with oversight for the US and Canada subsequently being delegated back to area presidencies in August 2018).

He then served from 2004-2005 as Executive Director of the Temple Department. He was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2005, at which time he was assigned oversight for the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. Two years later, his assignment shifted to supervising the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South Areas (from 2007-2009).

With the April 2008 call of Elder D. Todd Christofferson to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Rasband had become the second most senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy. The following April, as a result of Elder Neil L. Andersen's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Rasband became the Senior President of the Seventy, and, as such, was given oversight for all areas in the United States and Canada.

He was still serving in that same assignment when, in October 2015, he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. With Elders Gary E. Stevenson and Dale G. Renlund called at the same time (something that had not happened since 1906), the number of those who had served as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reached a total of 100. Elder Rasband is currently the fifth in seniority among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the eigth in overall apostolic seniority. He also ranks as the third oldest among the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve, and the sixth oldest among all 14 apostles.

As I’ve noted previously, I have an indirect personal connection to Elder Rasband. When my wife was initially involved in the institute program, Elder Rasband was one of her instructors. As a result of the three apostolic vacancies in 2015, my wife was one of many who felt Elder Rasband would be called to the apostleship to fill one of those, and she (and others who felt the same way) turned out to be right.

I will never forget praying in advance of the October 2015 General Conference for my own personal witness to know that whoever was called had indeed been chosen by the Lord. The moment President Eyring read the names of the three new apostles, I received the witness I had requested. That experience is one that has been repeated for every apostle called since I entered my adult years.For that reason, I gratefully sustain not just Elder Rasband, but also each of the other 13 apostles in their divinely-appointed roles.

Having served for nearly 25 years as a General Authority, Elder Rasband has had 27 opportunities to address us in General Conference: 1 as a General Authority Seventy, 5 more while in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 21 since his call to the apostleship. Any of those addresses, covering a wide variety of topics, is well worthy of review.

I am grateful to be able to provide both birthday tributes to and attest to the spiritual confirmation I continually receive regarding the inspired calls of those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. I am likewise grateful to have the opportunity to share the latest details on the global ministries of these Brethren.

I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples sites. I’ll be sure to pass word of those along to you all as soon as I learn about them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.