Geoff B graduated from Stanford University (class of 1985) and worked in journalism for several years until about 1992, when he took up his second career in telecommunications sales. He has held many callings in the Church, but his favorite calling is father and husband. Geoff is active in martial arts and loves hiking and skiing. Geoff has five children and lives in Colorado.
I continue to be astounded at the new temples being announced at General Conference.
As a reminder, in April 2021 the Church announced new temples in 20 locations:
Oslo, Norway
Brussels, Belgium
Vienna, Austria
Kumasi, Ghana
Beira, Mozambique
Cape Town, South Africa
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Cali, Colombia
Querétaro, Mexico
Torreón, Mexico
Helena, Montana
Casper, Wyoming
Grand Junction, Colorado
Farmington, New Mexico
Burley, Idaho
Eugene, Oregon
Elko, Nevada
Yorba Linda, California
Smithfield, Utah
On Sunday, President Nelson announced new temples in:
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Tacloban City, Philippines
Monrovia, Liberia
Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Culiacán, México
Vitória, Brazil
La Paz, Bolivia
Santiago West, Chile
Fort Worth, Texas
Cody, Wyoming
Rexburg North, Idaho
Heber Valley, Utah
Who knew there was a need for a temple in Cody AND in Casper? (I say this as somebody who lives near the Wyoming border and goes there all the time).
It seems only one of two things can be possible: Church membership is expected to grow, or the existing members are paying more in tithing. Or perhaps both are happening at the same time?
What do you make of this massive temple building project announced during the pandemic?
There are many important messages from General Conference so far, but the one that struck me the hardest and seemed so urgent was Elder Kopishke’s message on mental health.
Elder Kopishke shared a very personal message regarding his son who had to cut his mission short because of anxiety. I have three sons who will be hopefully leaving on missions in the coming years, and I imagined how difficult it would be for me and my wife to see our son return early because of such issues. Obviously, as Elder Kopishke pointed out, such a result would also be devastating for our son.
The truth is that many people, including myself, can sometimes be impatient with people suffering through mental health issues. I was raised in the 1960s and 1970s when the primary message from those in authority was: “get over it and suck it up.” People in general had very little patience for what they called “excuses” in those days. Remember that many of these people in authority in those days lived through the Great Depression, World War II and the Korean War. There was not much time for mental health breaks during those days. Survival was at stake. (Check out Clint Eastwood’s character in the movie “Gran Torino” to get a hint at the personalities of many people from that generation).
Our times are easier in many ways — but more difficult in other ways. I have been struck by how many people around me these days are suffering through mental health crises of one kind or another. I think the pandemic and the response to the pandemic are partly to blame, but I also think there are a variety of other reasons for health problems around us.
It seems like we are living in a time when the entire world appears to be in commotion in unexpected ways: “And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.” (D&C 88:91).
So, Elder Kopishke’s message is an important reminder that we need an extra dose of charity these days towards those suffering mental health crises. The Church has some great resources for those suffering mental health issues and those whose family members are suffering mental health issues. Please check out this page here.
One of the most depressing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the massive propaganda campaign by the media/Big Tech/medical establishment to convince the public that there is only one way to respond: by panicking.
One medical health professional in my ward pointed out to me recently that the lockdowns and the various government mandates are new and unproven approaches to a pandemic and the burden of proof should be on the promoters of these approaches, rather than the other way around. In past pandemics (and there have been many in the last 100-plus year), people have understood that the vulnerable should be protected but that most people in society should continue life as normal, and the government should certainly not mandate any specific type of behavior. As the Church has pointed out, wearing masks and taking vaccines should be voluntary.
When I was a boy, childhood diseases appeared regularly in every community. When someone had chicken pox or measles or mumps, the health officer would visit the home and place a quarantine sign on the porch or in the window to warn everyone to stay away. In a large family like ours, those diseases would visit by relay, one child getting it from another, so the sign might stay up for weeks.
We could not blockade ourselves inside our homes or stay hidden away to avoid those terrible contagions. We had to go to school, to employment, to church—to life!….
…Encourage our young people. They need not live in fear (see D&C 6:36). Fear is the opposite of faith.
While we cannot erase wickedness, we can produce young Latter-day Saints who, spiritually nourished, are immunized against evil influences.
The most prominent (and unfortunately successful) propaganda campaign has been to convince many people, including many otherwise very intelligent people, that “the science” is on the side of the new approach rather than the way things have been done in the past. This is why you see people like Dr. Fauci claiming that he represents science, as if one person could stand for science. And, yet, so many people seem to fall for the propaganda.
The good news is that, below the radar and censored by the media elites, there are thousands of epidemiologists and health professionals who are indeed challenging Dr. Fauci’s claim that his approach is the only one that is scientific.
Despite what the media may attempt to tell you, these people are some of the most respected people in their fields. Thousands of them have signed the Great Barrington Declaration, which says that the approach to the pandemic has been all wrong. The approach should be to protect the most vulnerable but otherwise encourage people to go about their lives as normal. Any mask wearing or taking of vaccinations should be voluntary.
I encourage all readers to take a look at the Great Barrington Declaration and examine the credentials of the people who put it together and who have signed it. I want to repeat this point: these are thousands of the most qualified and respected epidemiologists and health professionals in the world, and they oppose our current approach to the pandemic.
I live in a small town in Colorado with one relatively small chapel. Until this Sunday, the chapel housed two wards, one family ward and one young single adult ward. In the last 15 years, Sacrament meetings in the family ward have grown from about 100 people to about 300 people as new subdivisions have grown like mushrooms in the fields around town.
Our primary has more than 100 kids, and we have more than 30 young men. We knew it was only a matter of time until the ward would change because there are hundreds of other new homes being built in our ward boundaries.
So two Sundays ago a counselor to the bishop announced that the stake would make changes in ward boundaries. The counselor made a joke, “let the speculation begin,” and that is what happened. Every time one ward member talked to another, the question was asked, “what will happen to our ward? Will we ever see our friends again?” Many people literally wept at the idea that their friends would be shipped off to other buildings and they would lose the attachments built up over so many years.
Many readers who live in Utah and Idaho may go through boundary changes all the time, but for those of us who had lived with roughly the same ward boundaries for several decades, the alterations seemed potentially traumatizing.
So on Sunday afternoon the stake presidency presented the new boundaries, and basically our ward is being split in two with some additional people added from two other neighboring wards. Both of the wards will meet in our small chapel, along with the single adults ward. I am not sure how three bishoprics and ward clerks will share three small offices, but I guess they will make it work.
