Around the Church

Church President Dedicates Calgary Temple

President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Calgary Alberta Temple on October 28, 2012. He was assisted at the dedicatory events by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy, Executive Director of the Church’s Temple Department.

The Calgary Alberta Temple is the eighth in Canada and the third in Alberta.

President Monson Rededicates Boise Temple

Following significant upgrades and modernizations, the Boise Idaho Temple was rededicated on November 18, 2012, by President Thomas S. Monson.

The evening before the rededication, President Monson told a group of 9,200 young people gathered for the youth cultural celebration that the temple “shines as a beacon of righteousness to all who will follow its light.” Read more at news.lds.org.

Tabernacle Choir Launches YouTube Channel

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir launched an official channel on YouTube in high-definition quality at YouTube.com/MormonTabChoir in October 2012.

In addition to musical performances, the site will feature music videos and episodes of Music and the Spoken Word.

Saints in Botswana Rejoice at Creation of First Stake

On November 4, 2012, 881 Saints met in a chapel in Botswana, Africa, to witness the creation of the Gaborone Botswana Stake, the country’s first stake. Africa Southeast Area President Elder Dale G. Renlund and Elder Colin H. Bricknell, Area Seventy, presided over the meeting.

“The stake will be a place of refuge, a place of learning, a place of goodness and safety, a place of order, a place of kindness and love, and a place of God,” Roodepoort South Africa Stake president Daniel Hall said. “From this stake will spread the gospel of Christ into the lives and the hearts of the Botswanan people.”

Elder Holland Dedicates Central African Republic

In October 2012, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered a prayer of dedication and blessing upon the country and people of the Central African Republic.

During his visit to the Africa Southeast Area, Elder Holland also met with members in priesthood leadership trainings, special stake conferences, and other meetings. Read more by searching “Central African Republic” on news.lds.org.

During his visit to the Africa Southeast Area, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (back right, with Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy and children from the Bangui Branch in the Central African Republic) said he wanted members everywhere in Africa to know of the grandeur and greatness of the Church.

Photograph courtesy of Church News