October 2024 Conference Discussion Thread

[Ironhold]

So - 

Who's getting ready for conference? 

What's everyone thinking about ahead of it? 

Any predictions on new temples? 

 

For well over a decade now, the weeks before conference tend to get really stressful for me and mine, as if someone is deliberately trying to frustrate us and break us down. I'm kind of dealing with that right now, especially since I have to work that Saturday morning and there's a chance I might not quite make it home in time. 

[mikbone]

We love conference.  Gonna try Rash Hashanah meal on the 2nd maybe 3rd of the month.  Changing of the seasons.  Gotta get some pumpkins.  

Every conference we get to keep the current senior apostles is joyous.  Lots of experience, humility, and knowledge to share.

Likely we will get instruction to vote accordingly.  Although I’m not excited about our choices.

Wonder if there will be any commentary about the war in Israel or Ukraine.  Or secret lives of Mormon wives.

Lots more temples I’m sure.  Maybe one close to me.

[JohnsonJones]

it is getting closer.  I hadn't thought of how close it was.  It's just around the corner. 

For temples, I'd be happy if they just finish building the ones they've announced.  Some of those announced years ago haven't even been built yet. 

That said...

Georgia could probably use another Temple.  The one that is in Atlanta is beautiful and beloved...it also serves 17 stakes and is the only temple in Georgia currently.

Another good location would be central Utah somewhere.  It's ironic how many temples they have in Northern Utah and yet, a dearth of them where a higher percentage (if I recall the stats correctly) of the population is LDS.

Mississippi could use a temple, though there are not as many members there as other locations, the temples can be a decent drive away. 

Western Texas could possibly use one.  They have people that are many, many hours away from a temple in Western Texas. 

[SilentOne]

On 9/21/2024 at 4:29 AM, JohnsonJones said:

Another good location would be central Utah somewhere.  It's ironic how many temples they have in Northern Utah and yet, a dearth of them where a higher percentage (if I recall the stats correctly) of the population is LDS.

But population density is also much higher in Northern Utah.

[zil2]

My understanding is that at least part of how they decide to add a temple is the usage of the nearest existing temple(s).  I don't know how far in advance the temples in central Utah are booked, but many of the northern Utah temples can be booked up days in advance (apparently, especially for baptisms and confirmations).

[JohnsonJones]

9 hours ago, zil2 said:

My understanding is that at least part of how they decide to add a temple is the usage of the nearest existing temple(s).  I don't know how far in advance the temples in central Utah are booked, but many of the northern Utah temples can be booked up days in advance (apparently, especially for baptisms and confirmations).

 

9 hours ago, SilentOne said:

But population density is also much higher in Northern Utah.

I...do not know.  I have no idea how much they are booked.  I have children in Utah.  They have a temple being built close to them.  I think they did mention about a LOT of temple work going on and it being crowded, now that you mentioned it.  I suppose that would make sense.

I was looking more at distances and travel time (which is why I would have thought the temples being built in places like Russia would be built, as it's not due to the number of Members in some of those locations) for some of the places (such as the South, in comparison to locations in Utah).  I would imagine (no evidence of this whatsoever) that you would have higher participation from those when a temple is an hour away vs. those who have to travel 3 or 4 hours (or in Texas 6-12 hours) and that may also be a factor. 

It is such a blessing to have a temple closer than an hour away.  I suppose that those who live near it realize that and are going much more often.

[zil2]

3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I think they did mention about a LOT of temple work going on and it being crowded, now that you mentioned it.  I suppose that would make sense.

I cannot remember the last time I did an endowment session that wasn't full to capacity (though with women filling the back rows of the men's side).  And I always go in the middle of the day when normal work hours keep others from attending.  Usually the "outside working hours" sessions are already full when I book my session.  Our "ward temple days" are planned a month or two in advance.  FWIW.

3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I was looking more at distances and travel time (which is why I would have thought the temples being built in places like Russia would be built, as it's not due to the number of Members in some of those locations) for some of the places (such as the South, in comparison to locations in Utah).

I'm sure that is the case in some places.  But they also have to staff those temples and use them.  I'm confident the Lord knows where to place temples, and when.

[pam]

I will miss it this year. I'll have to watch after the fact. I'm heading to New Hampshire the Thursday before. My daughter is getting married on the Saturday of conference and then I'll be walking the Freedom Trail in Boston on Sunday.  

[NeuroTypical]

Cool Pam!

[Just_A_Guy]

I don’t know if this is happening elsewhere, but our temple president (Saratoga Springs) had apparently asked stake presidents to have their wards quit organizing youth temple trips—they’re tying up all the reservation slots and blocking families from attending together.

Edited September 26, 2024 by Just_A_Guy

[mikbone]

On 9/26/2024 at 8:04 AM, Just_A_Guy said:

I don’t know if this is happening elsewhere, but our temple president (Saratoga Springs) had apparently asked stake presidents to have their wards quit organizing youth temple trips—they’re tying up all the reservation slots and blocking families from attending together.

I wondered when this would become an issue.  

I wouldn’t doubt that we start making some few changes to the temple experience to allow youngsters to experience more of the temple.

I recall a twelve year old child that loved hanging out in the temple.

 

Edited September 27, 2024 by mikbone
age correction

[Carborendum]

20 hours ago, mikbone said:

I recall a 8 year old child that loved hanging out in the temple.

Quote

And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

 -- Luke 2:42

 

[Ironhold]

Let's just say that the period of time since Friday morning has been quite trying for me, to the point that my blood pressure is up and I've already had to treat two shirts for the aftermath of nose bleeds. 

It's going to be a toss-up as to whether or not I make it to Conference at this rate...

[NeuroTypical]

Oof.  Well, they're getting everything up on YouTube faster every conference.

 

[LDSGator]

1 hour ago, Ironhold said:

Let's just say that the period of time since Friday morning has been quite trying for me, to the point that my blood pressure is up and I've already had to treat two shirts for the aftermath of nose bleeds. 

It's going to be a toss-up as to whether or not I make it to Conference at this rate...

We love you bro. The entire forum is praying for you. 

[laronius]

I have a friend who has a cousin who knows an institute teacher who is related to a former general authority who may or may not have said that Pres Nelson is going to...

Maybe it's just my circle of acquaintances but the rumor mill has been pretty quiet this time around. Not that it was ever an accurate indication of what was going to happen but it was generally one of the indicators that GC was near. 

I do in reality have a friend who is Native American who attended a sweat lodge this past weekend where representatives from many of the major tribes across the country were in attendance. The topic of discussion was what to do if civil war breaks out following this election. Apparently some of them are taking it pretty seriously. While I don't think the outcome will be a full-blown civil war, localized violent protests are fairly likely. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear some speak about civility and not getting sucked into acting out in unChristlike ways. 

 

Edited October 1, 2024 by laronius

[mikbone]

War - Israel just invaded Lebanon, who knows what Iran is gonna do.

Repentance - Gentle reminder

Jesus

The Family: A Proclamation to the World, reminder that we are not to act like the Secret lives of Mormon wives.

Temples - likely 20-25 announced, will continue to see changes to services.

Our football fans may get a shout out as they have been great LDS ambassador's recently. 

Being good citizens - voting

[SilentOne]

Some of the recently released hymns & songs will be performed.

And new temples will be announced. I haven't made my full guessing lists yet (I've made it a tradition to compete against myself in recent years for most correct guesses), but I'm liking Albania to get one in the next few years.

My guessing aids:

Temples, Stakes, and Districts Map

Countries Without Temples (I'm expecting all nations to eventually have at least one):

Africa

Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia

Asia/Middle East

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

Europe

Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Vatican City

Also Wales and Northern Ireland

Central America/Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago

Oceania

Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu

South America

Guyana, Suriname

Also French Guiana and the Falklands

North American Geographic Areas Without Temples:

States/Provinces/Territories

New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Yukon

Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Northern Mariana Islands, Rhode Island, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacan, Nayarit, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas

Utah Counties

Beaver, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Sevier, Summit, Wasatch, Wayne

[NeuroTypical]

12 hours ago, mikbone said:

Temples - likely 20-25 announced

Ooo gutsy!   The last 4 GC's saw 15, 19, 15, 18 announcements.  Fingers crossed!

I've also started tracking temples by GNP of their countries.  It's cool to see how many are going into poorer nations where the members couldn't hope to build one on their own.

 

 

6 hours ago, SilentOne said:

My guessing aids:

Temples, Stakes, and Districts Map

Dang that's a cool website.

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

On 9/21/2024 at 4:29 AM, JohnsonJones said:

it is getting closer.  I hadn't thought of how close it was.  It's just around the corner. 

For temples, I'd be happy if they just finish building the ones they've announced.  Some of those announced years ago haven't even been built yet. 

That said...

Georgia could probably use another Temple.  The one that is in Atlanta is beautiful and beloved...it also serves 17 stakes and is the only temple in Georgia currently.

Another good location would be central Utah somewhere.  It's ironic how many temples they have in Northern Utah and yet, a dearth of them where a higher percentage (if I recall the stats correctly) of the population is LDS.

Mississippi could use a temple, though there are not as many members there as other locations, the temples can be a decent drive away. 

Western Texas could possibly use one.  They have people that are many, many hours away from a temple in Western Texas. 

Nephi, Price and Fillmore could all use a temple.

Edited October 1, 2024 by Emmanuel Goldstein

[Ironhold]

On 9/30/2024 at 4:02 PM, LDSGator said:

We love you bro. The entire forum is praying for you. 

In the course of 72 hours, the starter on my car went out, my blood sugar crashed due to a failed attempt at fasting (I'd been told Sunday was Fast Sunday), I was dealing with numerous old injuries as a result of being crammed into a tight space where I couldn't stretch, I got a contaminated store-brand bottled beverage from 7-11 (it was fruit juice, yet there was something milky under the lid), and I wound up with a series of sinus headaches due to what's going on with the weather. 

All this spiked my blood pressure to the point that the damage to my sinuses had ruptured twice. 

This is most likely going to be a big conference for everything I'm having to deal with on my way up to it. 

[mikbone]

Food Supply, financial independence.

[laronius]

On 10/1/2024 at 3:39 PM, Ironhold said:

In the course of 72 hours, the starter on my car went out, my blood sugar crashed due to a failed attempt at fasting (I'd been told Sunday was Fast Sunday), I was dealing with numerous old injuries as a result of being crammed into a tight space where I couldn't stretch, I got a contaminated store-brand bottled beverage from 7-11 (it was fruit juice, yet there was something milky under the lid), and I wound up with a series of sinus headaches due to what's going on with the weather. 

All this spiked my blood pressure to the point that the damage to my sinuses had ruptured twice. 

This is most likely going to be a big conference for everything I'm having to deal with on my way up to it. 

Yeah you are due something good.

Hopefully you realize that you are not required to fast if it's harmful to you, right? No reason to add to all the craziness of life that you are already facing.

[Carborendum]

On 10/1/2024 at 7:50 PM, mikbone said:

Food Supply, financial independence.

I'm afraid that it may be too late to get started.  But we do have time to "top it off".

[laronius]

On 10/1/2024 at 5:50 PM, mikbone said:

Food Supply, financial independence.

Don't really hear about these too much anymore. There's the occasional talk but not like you use to hear, not with the same seeming urgency. While what previous prophets have said is still valid we generally view the words of current prophets as taking priority. If we suddenly do get another push in this area hopefully people pay attention. Covid was a good reminder but we tend to have very short term memories.