January 16, 2018

"Order in All Things" (short essay)

Photo Copyright © 2018 mci
Something to pass along – I’ve numerous non-member friends who receive my daily messages – and they’ve great questions about the passing of President Monson and what happens next. Below some of my responses:
Over the history of the various dispensations of the Church there’s always only been one called as Prophet – but they too need help – therefore they call two (sometimes very rare) they can call a 3rd as counselors – thus the 1st Presidency is the Prophet and his 2 councilors – then there’s still the Quorum of the 12 Apostles – which as of today is down the 11 – until a new member is called. Want some more confusion? – The 2nd Councilor in the new 1st Presidency is also the next senior Apostle – which means he’s also the President of the Quorum of 12. Therefore – the 3rd Senior Apostle – President Nelson – President Oaks (also President of the Quorum of 12) and then the 3rd Senior Apostle is M. Russell Ballard who’s now the Acting President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. Smile – simple stuff – there are many who can’t figure it out. But the Lord’s Church is a Church of Order (common sense).
Having allowed me to have some clarity of thought to share with others – just think of the Apostles as 1-15 - #1 living is always the President of the Church! All of the 2-15 have the same keys of authority but not activated. I’m sure Pence has a little black bag (but not activated). #2 living is always the President of the Quorum of 12. This is because when #1 dies – he becomes the acting President of the Church. Here’s not a good example but might suffice – if #1-7 were killed in a terror attack – then #8 automatically becomes the acting President of the Church. There are other organizations – which next in line is the 1st Presidency of the Seventy (of which there are 7). If this were to occur - #8-15 would meet and prayerfully inquire of the Lord for those who should now fill the empty seats in the Quorum of the 12 (first) then reorganizing the 1st Presidency.
Here are the First Presidency and the Quorum of the 12:

President Russell M. Nelson was sustained and set apart as the 17th president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ on Sunday, January 14, 2018 in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple. Prior to his service as head of the Church, President Nelson served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from July 15, 2015, until his call as the Church’s leader. He has served as a member of the that quorum since April 7, 1984. An internationally renowned surgeon and medical researcher, Dr. Nelson received his B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Utah (1945, 47). Honorary scholastic societies include Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He served his residency in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and at the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded his Ph.D. Degree in 1954. He also received honorary degrees of Doctor of Science from Brigham Young University in 1970, Doctor of Medical Science from Utah State University in 1989, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Snow College in 1994.
His professional work included the positions of research professor of surgery and director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency at the University of Utah and chairman of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Author of numerous publications and chapters in medical textbooks, President Nelson lectured and visited professionally throughout the United States and in many other nations prior to his call as a General Authority. A host of awards and honors have come to him, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Utah; the Heart of Gold Award from the American Heart Association; a citation for International Service from the American Heart Association; and the Golden Plate Award, presented by the American Academy of Achievement. He has been awarded honorary professorships from three universities in the People’s Republic of China.
Dr. Nelson has served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the American Heart Association, and president of the Utah State Medical Association.
He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in Religion.
President Nelson has held numerous positions of responsibility in the Church. He served as stake president of the Bonneville Stake from 1964 to June, 1971, when he was called as general president of the Sunday School. Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, he was serving as a Regional Representative assigned to the Kearns Utah Region. He had previously served as Regional Representative for Brigham Young University.
Born September 9, 1924, President Nelson is the son of Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson. He and his wife, the former Dantzel White, have ten children. Sister Nelson passed away in February 2005. In April 2006, he married Wendy L. Watson.


1st Councilor President Eyring previously served as first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric from April 1985 to September 1992 and as Church commissioner of education from September 1980 to April 1985 and also September 1992 to January 2005.
President Eyring was president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, from 1971 to 1977. He was on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1962 to 1971.
He holds a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Utah and master of business administration and doctor of business administration degrees from Harvard University.
Born in Princeton, New Jersey, 31 May 1933, he has served the Church as a regional representative, a member of the general Sunday School board and a bishop.
President Eyring is married to the former Kathleen Johnson, and they are the parents of four sons and two daughters.

It’s important for us each to remember that those called to the Quorum of the 12 – need be holding no other leadership position in the Church.  President Nelson when called was one of the world’s leading heart surgeons – here are the other members:
President M. Russell Ballard has served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since October 6, 1985, traveling throughout the earth to instruct Church members and direct day-to-day affairs of the worldwide Church. On January 14, 2018, he was sustained and set apart as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on 8 October 1928 to Melvin R. and Geraldine Smith Ballard. He attended the University of Utah.
As a young man, he served a mission to England for the Church where he was a counselor in the mission presidency. He has also served as a bishop twice.
In 1974, he was called as president of the Canada Toronto Mission, where he was serving when called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April of 1976. As a member of the Seventy, he supervised and trained leaders in his assigned geographic regions. He later served as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy from February 1980 to October 1985, overseeing the Church’s Quorums of the Seventy. Much of his ministry has been focused on missionary work.
Prior to his call as a full-time Church leader, President Ballard had interests in the automotive, real estate and investment businesses. He has served on many Church and civic committees and boards.
He married Barbara Bowen in the Salt Lake Temple on 28 August 1951. They are the parents of two sons and five daughters.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 23 June 1994. At the time of this call, Elder Holland was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, to which he had been called on 1 April 1989.
From 1980 until his call as a general authority in 1989, Jeffrey R. Holland served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is a former Church commissioner of education and dean of the College of Religious Education at BYU.
A student leader and varsity athlete at Dixie High School and Dixie College in his native St. George, Utah, he received his bachelor and master degrees in English and religious education, respectively, from Brigham Young University. He obtained master and doctor of philosophy degrees in American studies from Yale University.
Elder Holland was active in professional educational activity prior to his call to full-time Church service. He served as president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU), on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Presidents Commission. For his work in improving understanding between Christians and Jews he was awarded the Torch of Liberty award by the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'rith. He has served on the governing boards of a number of civic and business related corporations and has received the Distinguished Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America. He is the author of eight books, one of which he co-authored with his wife, Patricia.
Elder Holland was born 3 December 1940 to Frank D. and Alice Bentley Holland. In 1963, he married Patricia Terry. They are the parents of three children.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was called as second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on February 3, 2008. He served in that position until January 2018. He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church on October 2, 2004. He has served as a General Authority since April 1994.
Elder Uchtdorf was born on November 6, 1940 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, to Karl Albert and Hildegard Opelt Uchtdorf. His family became members of the Church in 1947 in Zwickau, Germany. They fled to Frankfurt/Main in 1952 where he received an education in engineering. He joined the German Air Force in, 1959 and served for six years as a fighter pilot.
In 1965, Elder Uchtdorf began working for Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot. From 1970 until 1996 he flew as captain of the B737, Airbus, DC10, and B747. While also working as training and check captain, he received several management responsibilities. These positions included Section Chief Pilot B737, head of Lufthansa pilot school in Arizona, head of all cockpit crews, and finally Senior Vice President Flight Operations and Lufthansa Chief Pilot. He was also chairman of the Flight Operations Committee of the International Air Transport Association.
Dieter Uchtdorf and Harriet Reich married in 1962. They have two children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. With his call as an Apostle, the Uchtdorfs left their homeland and now live permanently in the United States.
Dieter and Harriet Uchtdorf enjoy outdoor activities, cherish the arts, and are happiest when spending time with their family.
(he was the pilot of plane hijacked and not only saved the plane and all of the passengers)

David A. Bednar was ordained and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 7 October 2004. Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Bednar served as an area seventy, area authority seventy, regional representative, twice as a stake president and as a bishop.
Elder Bednar was born on 15 June 1952 in Oakland, California. He served as a full-time missionary in southern Germany and then attended Brigham Young University, where he received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. He also received a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from Purdue University.
After completing his education, Elder Bednar was a professor of business management at Texas Tech University and at the University of Arkansas. He then served as the president of Brigham Young University–Idaho (formerly Ricks College) from 1997 to 2004.
Elder Bednar married Susan Kae Robinson in the Salt Lake Temple on 20 March 1975, and they are the parents of three sons.

Elder Quentin L. Cook was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 6 October 2007. Called as a general authority in April 1996, he served in the Second Quorum, the First Quorum, and the Presidency of the Seventy.
As a Seventy, he served in the area presidency in the Philippines, as president of the Pacific Islands and the North America Northwest Areas, and as executive director of the Missionary Department.
At the time of his call to be a general authority of the Church, he was vice chairman of Sutter Health System. Previously, he was president and chief executive officer of a California healthcare system. Prior to that, he was a business lawyer and managing partner of a San Francisco Bay Area law firm. He has been a board member of several profit and not-for-profit corporations.
He has served the Church as a bishop, stake president and counselor in the San Francisco California Stake, and regional representative and area authority in the North America West Area. As a young man, he was a missionary in the British Mission.
He is a native of Logan, Utah, received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Utah State University, and a doctor of jurisprudence from Stanford University.
He married Mary Gaddie on 30 November 1962. They are the parents of three children.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 5 April 2008. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy.
During his tenure in the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Christofferson had supervisory responsibility for the North America West, Northwest and Southeast Areas of the Church. He also served as executive director of the Family and Church History Department. Earlier, he was president of the Mexico South Area of the Church, residing in Mexico City.
Prior to his call to serve as a full-time general authority of the Church, Elder Christofferson was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corporation (now Bank of America) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously, he was senior vice president and general counsel for Commerce Union Bank of Tennessee in Nashville, where he was also active in community affairs and interfaith organizations. From 1975 to 1980, Elder Christofferson practiced law in Washington, D.C., after serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica (1972-74).
Born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, he graduated from high school in New Jersey, earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he was an Edwin S. Hinckley Scholar, and earned his law degree from Duke University.
Among other callings, he has served the Church as a regional representative, stake president and bishop. As a young man, he served as a missionary in Argentina.
Elder Christofferson and his wife, Katherine Jacob Christofferson, are parents of five children.

Elder Neil Linden Andersen was named an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 4 April 2009.
Elder Andersen was serving as the senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy prior to his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve. He was named a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1993, at age 41. He previously led the work of the Church in southern Brazil and, again as a member of an area presidency, oversaw the Church in western Europe. He has also assisted in supervising the work of the Church in Mexico and Central America. In addition, he supervised Church audiovisual production, including the filming of The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd and managed construction of the broadcast facilities in the Conference Center as the executive director of the Church Audiovisual Department. He speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish in addition to his native English.
Prior to his call as a general authority, Elder Andersen served as a mission president in the France Bordeaux Mission and as president of the Tampa Florida Stake.
Elder Andersen was born in Logan, Utah, and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, on a dairy farm where he remembers doing "typical Idaho farm work, from morning to night.” In high school, he excelled in student government, serving as governor of Idaho Boys State.
He graduated from Brigham Young University, where he was a Hinckley Scholar, and earned a masters of business administration from Harvard University. After completing his education, he settled in Tampa, Florida, where his business interests included advertising, real estate development and health care.
Elder Andersen and his wife, Kathy Williams Andersen, are the parents of four children.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He had been serving as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy since 2005 and was serving as the senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy when called to the Twelve. Elder Rasband was named a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 1 April 2000. He has served as a counselor in the Europe Central Area Presidency, president of the Utah Salt Lake City Area, executive director of the Temple Department; and has supervised the North America West, Northwest, and three Utah areas as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.
  
Elder Rasband attended the University of Utah. In 1995, Utah Valley University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Business and Commerce. In 1976 he joined Huntsman Container Company as sales representative, and in 1987, he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation.
When he left Huntsman Chemical Corporation in 1996 to serve as a mission president in New York, he was also serving as a member of the Board of Directors.
Elder Rasband has held numerous Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Eastern States Mission (1970-1972), Temple Square missionary guide, bishop, and member of the Church’s Sesquicentennial Committee. He presided over the New York, New York North Mission from 1996 to 1999.
Elder Rasband was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1951. He married Melanie Twitchell in 1973. They are the parents of five children and have 24 grandchildren.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson, 56, was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He was serving as the presiding bishop of the Church at the time of his call to the Twelve, a position which he has held since April 2012. He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 2008 and served as president of the Asia North Area. His previous Church service includes full-time missionary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, high councilor, bishop, stake president’s counselor, president of the Japan Nagoya Mission and ward Sunday School teacher.
He received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Utah State University. He cofounded Icon Health & Fitness, Inc., where he served as president and chief operating officer until 2008. He was involved in civic activities and served on boards and advisory councils. 
Elder Stevenson was raised in Cache Valley, Utah. He is married to Lesa Jean Higley, and they are the parents of four sons.

Elder Dale G. Renlund was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at the time of his call, to which he was called on April 4, 2009. He previously served as president of the Africa Southeast Area.
After receiving B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Utah, Elder Renlund received further medical and research training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was a Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah and the Medical Director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals (UTAH) Cardiac Transplant Program.
Elder Renlund has served in numerous church callings including full-time missionary in Sweden, stake president, bishop, and Area Seventy.
Elder Renlund was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in November 1952. He married Ruth Lybbert in 1977. They are the parents of one daughter.

“Order in All Things”

cji
1/17/18

From the dawn of creation
traversing into our day
order in all things done
ways of the Father and Son
could be said for clarity
order and organization
common sense and reason
eternal and thus forever
unchanging in all things
implicate in God’s Law
from the dawn of creation!



Copyright © 2018 – cji

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