My ward, the Fry Sauce Canyon 19th Ward, has a betting pool going each general conference. (Bishop Sweetbread usually wins; I think he cheats with an inside source.) My picks (with odds):
My ward, the Fry Sauce Canyon 19th Ward, has a betting pool going each general conference. (Bishop Sweetbread usually wins; I think he cheats with an inside source.) My picks (with odds):
I would suggest Ririe, Idaho a better spot than Rigby. It is much smaller in population, and the church can just mow over objections by their town council and build a temple with a spire over 500 feet tall in order to be seen even if one is hiking in the nearby mountains. It would help spread the glorious work of the Lord to the deer and antelope who play.......
Nelson likely hopes that these temples will retroactively spur the activity that would have justified their construction in the first place. They are physical tokens of his optimistic faith that the church can avoid the fate of so many of America’s mainline churches whose congregants are leaving in droves. “If you build it,” the voice told Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella in “Field of Dreams,” “they will come.” “If we build them,” Nelson seems to be urging, “they will remain.”
It is yet to be seen whether the gamble will succeed. Perhaps future historians will point to this period as a massive overreach, with hundreds of little-used temples appearing as much a symbol of loss as they are drains on the budget. Or perhaps they will be pillars of an energetic and thriving faith.
An interesting take on the strategy behind building temples where active membership levels don’t justify it.
Premise 1. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
Premise 2. The best evidence for the Book of Mormon is eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion. Therefore, the best evidence for the Book of Mormon is notoriously unreliable.
If the LDS Church desires to make a profound impact, few settings offer a more poignant opportunity than deeply impoverished neighborhoods with high crime rates.
Yesterday, I revisited an area where I once worked. A decade had passed since I last visited and the neighborhood looked even more desolate than before. As I drove, a stake center suddenly emerged on my right. It had been there during my time working in the area, but amidst the decaying surroundings, it seemed to radiate even more brightly. It didn't need a towering steeple to command attention; its very presence stood as a beacon.
Cities like Compton, California, come to mind, where the phrase "Straight Outta Compton" could take on a whole new meaning. Tijuana, too, offers a powerful setting for transformation. And if temples truly are beacons of light and truth, imagine the impact of another one in Haiti
The Bobo-Dialasso Temple name would be fun to hear at the General Conference, and even better if they actually built it in nearby Logofourosso.
It would be expensive to import all that aluminum siding and materials from Utah. Good thing Jacobsen Construction is non-union to hold construction costs down. Make the spire tall enough to see from Mount Kilimanjaro.
Juchitán de Zaragoza, Mexico
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Medellín, Colombia
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Puerto Montt, Chile
Dublin, Ireland
Milan, Italy
Abuja, Nigeria
Kampala, Uganda
Maputo, Mozambique
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Queen Creek, Arizona
El Paso, Texas
Huntsville, Alabama
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Summit, New Jersey
Price, Utah
“But if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.” Heber C. Kimball, 8 Nov. 1857